March 16, 2022

DoD Budget Funds Small Launchers (Source: Space News)
Small rockets were big winners in the 2022 defense spending bill President Biden signed into law March 15. The $728.5 billion spending package provides $70 million for small launch services, including $20 million for the Rocket Launch Systems Program and $50 million for the new Tactically Responsive Launch initiative. A bipartisan group of lawmakers sought Tactically Responsive Launch funding to give military commanders the ability to quickly replace satellites that adversaries damage or destroy. (3/16)

NASA System Predicts Impact of Small Asteroid (Source: Space Daily)
Asteroid 2022 EB5 was too small to pose a hazard to Earth, but its discovery marks the fifth time that any asteroid has been observed before impacting into the atmosphere. A small asteroid hit Earth's atmosphere over the Norwegian Sea before disintegrating on March 11, 2022. But this event wasn't a complete surprise: Astronomers knew it was on a collision course, predicting exactly where and when the impact would happen.

Two hours before the asteroid made impact, K. Sarneczky at the Piszkesteto Observatory in northern Hungary first reported observations of the small object to the Minor Planet Center - the internationally recognized clearinghouse for the position measurements of small celestial bodies. The object was posted on the Minor Planet Center's Near-Earth Object Confirmation Page to flag it for additional observations that would confirm it as a previously unknown asteroid. (3/16)

Astra Space Has Three Cape Canaveral Missions on Tap (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The successful Alaska launch was the ninth launch attempt ever for the company, and joins a November demonstration launch with a dummy payload from Alaska for the U.S. Space Force as its only two to successfully reach orbit. Tuesday’s flight marks the first time the company successfully put an operational payload into orbit.

According to commentary during Tuesday’s launch, the next three launches on the Astra Space manifest are for a $7.95 million NASA contract it was awarded to place six small satellites into orbit that will help track hurricane activity. Kemp had previously stated all three launches would be from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, but no date has been set for any of those launch attempts. (3/16)

NASA’s Plant-Growing Technology Could Be Used to Produce Food at Military Bases (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Air Force is funding a study to identify potential uses of NASA’s plant-growing technology to feed troops in remote locations. Eden Grow Systems and Rhea Space Activity announced March 16 they won a Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 contract to look at possible applications of aeroponic technology to grow produce at  inhospitable locations where some Space Force units are deployed.

Aeroponics is a more specialized version of hydroponics, a technology used to grow plants in sand or gravel instead of soil. With the aeroponics process, crop roots dangle in the air and are misted with a liquid nutrient solution. The technology developed by Eden Grow Systems leverages NASA-funded aeroponic technology to grow plants on the International Space Station.

The U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45, based in Florida, operates a hydroponics facility to support launch operations at Ascension Island Auxiliary Airfield, located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where deliveries of fresh produce are infrequent. The company plan to apply for an SBIR Phase 2 award to carry out a micro-farming demonstration and validate the technology for broader deployment or for specific use cases at remote locations such as Ascension Island. (3/16)

NASA Funds Research to Use Smallsats to Improve Storm Predictions (Source: Parabolic Arc)
NASA is funding research into the development of a constellation of small satellites (smallsats) capable of measuring a storm from start to finish in order to improve weather forecasting. The space agency gave a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) grant worth $175,000 to Jonathan Sauder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to pursue the research project. (3/16)

NASA’s Stennis Space Center Employs Drones (Source: WJTV)
At NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Piloting Unmanned Aircraft Systems, commonly called drones, are becoming a go-to resource for use on difficult and potentially dangerous jobs, helping to save time and costs. Given modern lightweight cameras and other sensors, drones become highly innovative and versatile flying tools. NASA is using drone technology for a variety of reasons, such as aerial imagery, inspections, and mapping.

Recent drone flights at Stennis recorded imagery of the RS-25’s latest test on Feb. 24. The drone captured live stream video of the test event and the liquid oxygen ground disbursement. Drones at Stennis also track construction progress and record data for historical purposes. The imagery from the aerial cameras provides a high-quality digital record with time marks. Drones at Stennis and NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans also captured imagery of damaged roofs after Hurricanes Zeta and Ida. (3/14)

New UK Space Funding Paves the Way for Pioneering Approaches (Source: Space Daily)
British space technology will help pioneer new approaches to energy, communications and resources, thanks to new projects from the UK Space Agency. Science and Innovation Minister George Freeman announced the 2 million pound boost for 13 new projects during British Science Week (11-20 March), which aims to inspire interest in and celebrate science, engineering, technology and maths for people of all ages. (3/15)

Space Park Leicester Launched by British Astronaut Tim Peake (Source: Space Daily)
UK astronaut Tim Peake officially opened Leicester's pioneering space research, innovation and teaching cluster at a special ceremony on Monday. Space Park Leicester is forecast to contribute 750m pounds a year to the UK space sector over the next decade and is expected to support more than 2,500 direct and indirect jobs. (3/15)

Norwegian Defence Research Establishment Contracts Exolaunch to Launch ARCSAT (Source: Space Daily)
Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), the prime institution responsible for defence-related research in Norway, has awarded a contract to Exolaunch, a global provider of launch, in-space logistics and deployment services for small satellites, to launch its ARCSAT satellite aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9.

The teams of Exolaunch and GomSpace, the ARCSAT's satellite manufacturer, have just completed a successful integration of the ARCSAT satellite into its deployer at Exolaunch's headquarters in Berlin prior to shipment for the launch campaign at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The satellite is scheduled for launch to a sun-synchronous orbit with Falcon 9 NET April 2022 as part of SpaceX's SmallSat Rideshare Program. (3/15)

OneWeb Not Eager to Tear Up Launch Contract with Arianespace (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
OneWeb working with Arianespace, who owes the satellite internet firm six more Soyuz launches, to find rides to orbit for more than 200 of its spacecraft left grounded by an embargo on Western payloads flying aboard Russian rockets. But with launch capacity constrained outside of China and SpaceX, a major OneWeb competitor, the commercial satellite internet provider is facing an inevitable delay in completing its constellation, a milestone previously expected this summer.

Chris McLaughlin, OneWeb’s chief of government, regulatory, and engagement, said the company is working with Arianespace on finding a path to space for the rest of its first-generation satellites. OneWeb’s contract with Arianespace, originally signed in 2015, covers 19 Soyuz launches carrying 648 internet satellites into polar orbit.

Thirteen of those launches have been completed, all successfully, deploying 428 satellites for OneWeb’s broadband network. But that’s just two-thirds of the satellites OneWeb needs to go into full commercial service. OneWeb aimed to launch 36 more satellites March 4 on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, but Russia’s space agency, led by Dmitry Rogozin, set conditions on the mission after rolling the rocket to its launch pad March 2. (3/14)

Australian Consortium Bids for Government Space Grant (Source: Australian Defense)
The Seven Sisters, a consortium of companies in South Australia led by small-satellite developer Fleet Space Technologies, is bidding for the Australian Government Trailblazer grant which funds the development of lunar rovers and associated technologies. The Seven Sisters is an initiative to discover abundant resources for humanity’s exploration of space through the implementation of surface exploration and construction technologies. The consortium, composed of Australian companies and academic institutions, will lead Australia’s contribution to NASA's forthcoming Moon and Mars missions. (3/15)

Aerojet Faction Asks Court To Expand Neutrality Order (Source: Law360)
Half of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc.'s deadlocked board has asked the Delaware Chancery Court to order the company to hire neutral counsel for its upcoming annual meeting, expanding on a temporary restraining order that required the company to stay neutral while the two board factions litigated in court. (3/15)

Astra Successfully Launches Satellites From Alaska (Source: Space News)
Astra successfully launched payloads for three customers Tuesday in the return to flight of its Rocket 3.3 vehicle. The rocket lifted off from Kodiak Island, Alaska, at 12:22 p.m. Eastern and the company confirmed a successful delivery of the payloads to sun-synchronous orbit an hour later. The vehicle carried a student-built cubesat and a payload for NearSpace Launch that remained attached to the upper stage as planned. A third, unidentified customer had one or more payloads on the vehicle. The launch was the first for Astra since the failure of a Feb. 10 launch carrying four cubesats sponsored by NASA. (3/16)

Kymeta Raises $84 Million to Expand Manufacturing (Source: Space News)
Antenna maker Kymeta announced Tuesday it raised $84 million to expand manufacturing facilities. Existing investor Bill Gates led the funding round, joined by South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Systems and other investors. Kymeta said the company is now nearly fully funded after commercially launching the first version of its u8 steerable terminal in November 2020 for satellites in GEO. The company plans to commercially launch two more antennas this year, one for LEO satellites and one that can switch between LEO and GEO. (3/16)

Congress Includes $550 Million Down Payment for New Missile Tracking Satellites (Source: Space News)
Funding included in the fiscal year 2022 spending bill for missile-tracking satellites is only a down payment for the full system. Congress added $550 million to the Defense Department budget to procure sensor satellites and launch them to low Earth orbit to detect and track Russian and Chinese hypersonic missiles. While those funds will kick-start the deployment of what the Pentagon calls Tracking Layer Tranche 1, the overall constellation is estimated to cost $2.5 billion to build and launch. The Space Development Agency is expected to release a solicitation for 28 tracking satellites in the next one to two weeks. Two vendors are likely to be selected to supply 14 satellites each. (3/16)

Spire Developing SSA Satellites for NorthStar (Source: Space News)
Spire will develop cubesats for NorthStar Earth & Space to collect space situational awareness (SSA) data. The companies announced Wednesday an agreement for three 12U cubesats for launch in 2023 that will carry SSA sensors, with options for dozens of additional cubesats. Spire will build the satellites and operate them as part of its larger constellation through a "space-as-a-service" agreement. Spire announced a similar agreement with Sierra Nevada Corporation earlier this month to operate cubesats with radio-frequency sensors. (3/16)

Ukrainian Space Companies Struggling to Continue Work (Source: Space News)
Ukrainian space companies are trying to continue work amid Russia's invasion of the country. While the Dnipro region of the country has seen increased attacks in recent days, key Ukrainian space facilities there have not been targeted. Ukrainian space companies, both large and small, are finding ways to continue their work despite the war, one official said. Skyrora, a launch vehicle developer with offices in both Ukraine and the U.K., said the invasion had not hampered the company's work there. (3/16)

NASA to Former Astronauts: Tone Down Russia Criticism (Source: CNN)
NASA is asking former astronauts not to wage a war of words with Russia during the invasion. In a memo, the agency warned former astronauts that "your words carry additional weight and attacking our Russian partners is damaging to our current mission." A few former astronauts had been particularly vocal in their criticism of Russia after the invasion. One of them, Scott Kelly, said he would refrain from further attacks on Russia and Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos. (3/16)

NASA Extends Mars Helicopter Mission (Source: NASA JPL)
NASA has extended the mission for the Ingenuity Mars helicopter. JPL said Tuesday that it approved an extension of the helicopter's mission through September. Originally developed as a technology demonstration of no more than five flights, Ingenuity has now flown 21 times. Ingenuity will serve as a scout for the Perseverance Mars rover as it approaches the remnants of a river delta. (3/16)

GOES-T Becomes GOES-18 After Reaching GEO Orbit (Source: NOAA)
NOAA's GOES-T weather satellite has reached geostationary orbit and has a new name. NOAA said the satellite reached GEO March 14, nearly two weeks after its launch on an Atlas 5. With the spacecraft now in GEO, NOAA formally renamed it GOES-18. The spacecraft will soon begin months of testing before moving to the GOES-West orbital slot and taking over for GOES-17 there early next year. (3/16)