April 1, 2022

Satellite Imagery Shows Activity Uptick at North Korea Spaceport (Source: 38 North)
Commercial satellite imagery from March 31 shows increased activity around North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launching Station, including the arrival of new materials on the launch pad and vehicles in the VIP area. Major improvements are expected around the complex in line with major upgrades instructed by Kim Jong Un during his March 11 site visit. While the full extent of those improvements will likely take a considerable while to complete, as time will be needed to manufacture and bring in specialized components, activity is gradually picking up around the complex.

Whether this new activity is related to the overall improvement plan or are short-term measures in preparation for a satellite launch in the near future is unclear. On the launch pad, the covered materials that were in front of the main processing building on March 22 were gradually moved, likely into the main processing building. These materials were likely associated with Kim’s instruction to reconstruct and expand facilities related to the “general assembly” of rockets. (3/31)

Florida Company Looks to Revive XCOR’s Lynx Spaceplane to Launch Satellites at California Spaceport (Source: Parabolic Arc)
A Florida company is looking to revive defunct XCOR Aerospace’s Lynx spaceplane as a drone that would launch small satellites into orbit before gliding back to a runway landing. The Quetzalcóatl spaceplane is being developed by Wagner Star Industries of St. Petersburg, Florida. On Tuesday, the Paso Robles City Council voted unanimously to approve a non-binding letter of intent to work with Wagner Star and California Polytechnic State University to enable Quetzalcóatl flights from the Paso Robles Municipal Airport.

The facility would need to be designated as a spaceport by the FAA. Members of the City Council, Planning Commission, and Airport Commission participated in a workshop in which they heard a presentation from Tartaglia Engineering and S.O. Witt and Associates. The latter company is headed by Stu Witt, the former CEO of the Mojave Air and Space Port in California where XCOR was located before it went bankrupt.

XCOR was assembling a two-seat Lynx suborbital spaceplane when it went bankrupt in November 2017. The initial version of the vehicle would have carried a pilot and a passenger on suborbital flights. XCOR also planned to develop a piloted Lynx version that would release an upper stage with satellites from a payload shroud attached to the top of the spaceplane. (3/31)

The Space Industry Has a Big, Ugly Sexual Harassment Problem (Source: Space.com)
Humanity is making a giant leap back to the moon and to Mars. But one giant obstacle continues to plague the humans making this progress possible: sexual harassment. Sexual and gender-based harassment is an enduring and systemic issue across industries, professions and communities around the world. But in 2021, the space industry, in particular, was brought into the spotlight as continued reports of harassment were made public.

This past year, the space industry grew tremendously. From companies like Blue Origin launching their first crewed missions to new and thriving commercial partnerships on and off Earth, 2021 was a landmark year for many in the sector. However, alongside this fast success, the industry's persistent issues of sexual harassment have been made very publicly apparent.

While the industry flourishes, its workers are grappling with unsafe working environments, as reports continue to show. In 2021 alone, and in just a couple of examples, former SpaceX employees as well as a group of current and former Blue Origin employees publicly shared allegations of sexual harassment. With these companies being among the foremost leaders in the industry, these allegations raise questions about the treatment of the people working across the sector, sparking mainstream conversation about the need for change. (3/30)

Meet 15 of the Most Influential Women in Aerospace (Source: Business Insider)
The aerospace industry, like many STEM fields, has historically been dominated by men. Today, women are relatively well represented in the aerospace industry as a whole. In 2019, women held 19% of CEO positions in aerospace in the US, a far higher percentage than found on average in the business world, per a study conducted by the International Aviation Womens Association and Korn Ferry, a management-consulting firm in Los Angeles.

But within individual sectors of aerospace, the numbers are dismal. For example, the report found that in 2019, 3% of global airline CEOs were women. It also found that the number of women holding leadership positions across the industry was unlikely to significantly increase in the near term. The aerospace industry faces a long road to achieving gender equality, and a number of women in the industry today are working to pave the way. (3/31)

Sanders Looks to Shoot Down Bezos’ Moon Plans (Source: Politico)
Jeff Bezos’s space company is back in the running to return NASA astronauts to the moon, but Sen. Bernie Sanders wants him to do it without using taxpayer money. But as the rocket maker gears up for the new competition, it’s also working behind the scenes to combat the Vermont Independent’s assault on its possible role in NASA’s public-private partnership to land on the moon by 2025, according to Blue Origin officials and congressional staff.

Senate leaders have promised Sanders a vote on a resolution urging Congress to strip a provision from a pending bill that would authorize an additional $10 billion for moon landers, calling the measure “a bailout to Jeff Bezos so that his company Blue Origin can launch a rocket ship to the moon.” But the $10 billion, if it is subsequently appropriated by Congress, would actually be granted to NASA to choose between multiple companies — with no guarantee that Blue Origin would be the winner.

The space agency’s public-private partnership is also designed so the winners kick in a significant amount of their own money — a novel approach that the Biden administration said this week it plans to expand to develop a more permanent presence on the moon and foster a commercial space economy. Sanders’ broadside is among his highest profile attempts yet to try to use space billionaires such as Bezos and Musk to strengthen the progressive case for addressing income inequality and curtailing the influence of corporations to secure public money. (3/31)

Blue Origin Launches Fourth Crewed Suborbital Mission at Texas Site (Source: Blue Origin)
Blue Origin successfully completed its fourth human spaceflight and 20th overall flight for New Shepard. The astronaut manifest included: Marty Allen, Sharon Hagle, Marc Hagle, Jim Kitchen, Gary Lai, and Dr. George Nield. Blue Origin is planning more crewed and payload flights throughout 2022 and beyond. If you are interested in flying on New Shepard, visit Blue Origin's website. (3/31)