April 25, 2022

NASA Extends Exploration for 8 Planetary Science Missions (Source: NASA)
Following a thorough evaluation, NASA has extended the planetary science missions of eight of its spacecraft due to their scientific productivity and potential to deepen our knowledge and understanding of the solar system and beyond.

The missions – Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity rover), InSight lander, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, OSIRIS-REx, and New Horizons – have been selected for continuation, assuming their spacecraft remain healthy. Most of the missions will be extended for three years; however, OSIRIS-REx will be continued for nine years in order to reach a new destination, and InSight will be continued until the end of 2022, unless the spacecraft’s electrical power allows for longer operations.

Each extended mission proposal was reviewed by a panel of independent experts drawn from academia, industry, and NASA. In total, more than 50 reviewers evaluated the scientific return of the respective proposals. Two independent review chairs oversaw the process and, based on the panel evaluations, validated that these eight science missions hold substantial potential to continue bringing new discoveries and addressing compelling new science questions. (4/25)

NASA Gives Green Light for OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft to Visit Another Asteroid (Source: University of Arizona)
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will swing by Earth to deliver a sample from asteroid Bennu on Sep. 24, 2023. But it won't clock out after that. NASA has extended the University of Arizona-led mission, which will be renamed OSIRIS-APEX, to study near-Earth asteroid Apophis for 18 months. Apophis will make a close approach to Earth in 2029. The spacecraft will make its first maneuver toward Apophis 30 days after the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft delivers the sample it collected from Bennu back in October 2020. (4/25)

Experts Issue Call to Regulate Space Debris as Levels of Junk Mount (Source: Space Daily)
Proliferating levels of debris are posing a threat to the space environment and should be regulated as more satellites are being launched into space, researchers say. Edinburgh University researchers said in a study published Friday in the journal Nature Astronomy the debris is troublesome, potentially affecting "professional astronomy, public stargazing and the cultural importance of the sky" to indigenous populations. The situation can also damage "the sustainability of commercial, civic and military activity in space," according to the report. (4/23)

Beaming Solar Power From Satellite Array is Earth Day Focus for AFRL (Source: Space Daily)
In honor of Earth Day, the Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, is highlighting its efforts toward harnessing the Sun's energy, converting it to radio frequency, or RF, and beaming it to the Earth providing a green power source for the U.S. and allied forces. Key technologies need to be developed to make such a challenging process a reality.

In response to this challenge, AFRL formed the Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstrations and Research, or SSPIDR, project to develop the critical technologies needed for such a system. These technologies include further improving solar cell efficiencies; solar to RF conversion and beam forming; reducing large temperature fluctuations on spacecraft components; and deployable structure concept designs. (4/22)

Spaceflight Inc. Prepares to Launch its 50th Mission (Source: Space Daily)
Spaceflight Inc., the leading global launch services provider, is preparing for its 50th mission, which will launch aboard a Rocket Lab Electron no earlier than April 22. The RL-9 mission, called "There and Back Again," is scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. Following this launch, Spaceflight will have successfully launched 448 spacecraft across 50 missions across a global network of launch vehicles. (4/22)

GE Aviation Taps BAE for NASA Hybrid-Electric Project (Source: Aerospace Manufacturing)
GE Aviation has engaged BAE Systems for the design and delivery of energy management components that will be incorporated into the hybrid electric aircraft being developed under NASA's Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration program. "We are harnessing our expertise in energy management systems and flight critical controls to support the development of electric propulsion systems for the future of flight," said Ehtisham Siddiqui of BAE Systems. (4/25)

Iridium and General Dynamics Bid to Operate SDA's LEO Constellation (Source: Space News)
Iridium and General Dynamics Mission Systems submitted a joint bid to operate and manage the Space Development Agency's low Earth orbit constellation. Iridium confirmed last week it partnered with General Dynamics on a proposal for the ground operations and integration segment for a communications constellation known as Transport Layer Tranche 1. SDA has ordered 126 satellites from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and York Space Systems, but SDA will select a separate contractor to manage the entire enterprise, including the ground stations, data links and user equipment. (4/25)

Spaceflight Innovation is Front and Center at Florida Tech Student Showcase (Source: WESH)
For the first time since 2019, Florida Tech students were able to showcase their design projects in person. Student teams and their 125 engineering and science ideas were on display for the competition. The displayed innovation can lead to big opportunities.

"Some people come in here; they'll get jobs right off the bat. You'll have someone here hand them a resume and they'll say, ‘I love what you did. This will be great for my company. Let's chat after this,’" Peter Zappala of Florida Tech said. With the rapid growth of the space industry in Brevard and a specialty at the school, space flight is front and center.

For projects such as Oasis, the student team claims it will help make deep-space flight more feasible for humans. "It's a long-term permanent installation that rotates. Essentially, it's a space catapult. It flings things into a higher orbit — thus reducing chemical fuel needed and all rockets can be a lot smaller to get into orbit," Connor Geren, a Florida Tech senior, said. (4/25)

Kleos Offers Satellite Radio Frequency Monitoring (Source: Space News)
Kleos Space announced plans Monday to offer customers dedicated, taskable radio frequency monitoring capabilities. With its new Mission-as-a-Service model, the company will offer customers exclusive access to satellites for fixed periods. The company had previously been selling RF monitoring data to government and commercial customers, and will continue to sell such data in addition to its new dedicated offering. The company operates three clusters of four satellites with plans for as many as 20 satellite clusters. (4/25)

US ASAT Ban to Inform UN Working Group Plans (Source: Space News)
A ban on one type of ASAT testing announced last week was timed to inform upcoming discussions by a United Nations working group. A State Department official said at a webinar last week that the announcement by Vice President Kamala Harris that the U.S. will not perform destructive direct-ascent ASAT tests was "meant to spur a meaningful discussion" at a meeting next month of a United Nations Open-Ended Working Group on reducing space threats.

That working group, set to meet four times over the next two years, will discuss potential norms of behavior and rules for reducing space threats. Other topics the U.S. plans to bring up at the meeting include "safe and professional" operations of national security spacecraft and avoiding interference with command and control systems. (4/25)

South Korea Supports ASAT Testing Ban (Source: Space News)
The U.S. ASAT testing ban has support from South Korea but faces skepticism from China. South Korea's foreign ministry said last week it welcomed the testing ban and supported U.N. efforts to develop rules for responsible space behaviors. However, China's foreign ministry questioned why the ban didn't cover other types of ASAT tests and pressed the U.S. to support an initiative by China and Russia to ban the placement of weapons in outer space. (4/25)

Space Force Cloud Platform to Hold Radar Tracking Data (Source: Space News)
The Space Force says that data from radar tracking objects in low Earth orbit can now be fed directly into a cloud computing platform. The data from the Space Fence radar on Kwajalein Atoll is now going into the Unified Data Library (UDL), a Space Force-led initiative to integrate multiple sources of space domain awareness data of different classification levels into a common platform. The Space Fence is the first of the military's Space Surveillance Network sensors to be integrated into the UDL. (4/25)

Flat Technology Budget for NASA Spells Problems for New Initiatives (Source: Space News)
A flat budget for NASA's space technology programs is creating challenges for the agency. In a presentation to a National Academies committee Friday, Jim Reuter, associate administrator for space technology, noted that the space technology budget for 2022, $1.1 billion, is the same amount the agency received the previous two years after seeking $1.425 billion in its budget proposal.

When programs spelled out in the spending bill are accounted for, there is a shortfall of $377 million for other space technology programs compared to the budget request. He said that that would limit NASA's ability to start new space technology activities but added he was hopeful that the budget would grow again in fiscal year 2023. (4/25)
 
HawkEye 360 Releases Dark Ship Maritime Analytics (Source: Parabolic Arc)
HawkEye 360 released a new maritime association analytics capability which analyzes RF signal geolocations and third-party global AIS maritime geolocations to provide insight into potential dark ship activity in key areas of interest across the world. The maritime insights enable organizations to understand anomalies in the maritime domain and more effectively employ other collection and surveillance modalities to gather intelligence. (4/25)

China Considers Asteroid Deflection Test (Source: Space News)
China is proposing an asteroid deflection test similar to NASA's DART mission. The mission, slated for launch by 2026, would observe a potentially hazardous asteroid and then collide with it to attempt to alter its orbit. DART will collide with a small moon orbiting the asteroid Didymos in September to change its orbit to test the effectiveness of what are known as kinetic impactors. The Chinese mission would be part of a planetary defense plan that includes setting up an early warning system and conducting technical studies. (4/25)

Edgybees Satellite Software Brings Unprecedented Accuracy to Satellite Imagery (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Edgybees, the global leader in georegistration software, released its Satellite Software to enhance the accuracy of satellite imagery. Edgybees Satellite Software aligns electro-optical satellite imagery to ground truth, within two to three meters of accuracy, in less than 15 seconds. The software vastly reduces discrepancies and provides clear and concise context to consumers of satellite imagery across industries. (4/25)

Space Startups Urge Government Attention to Supply Chain Issues (Source: Space News)
Space startups argue the government could address supply chain problems by embracing nontraditional business models and manufacturing approaches. Technologies such as highly automated production and in-space manufacturing could help the US become less dependent on fragile supply chains, a panel of entrepreneurs said. A shortage of components, for example, makes it difficult to do iterative design and development of new satellites. Building large numbers of smaller satellites could also provide resilience and flexibility in the event of a conflict. (4/25)

Japan's ispace Working Insurance Coverage for Lunar Lander Mission (Source: Space News)
Japanese lunar lander developer ispace says it's working on an insurance package for its first mission. The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance to insure its initial lander mission from when it separates from the launch vehicle to landing on the moon. As well as covering a failed landing, the insurance would guard against issues stemming from radiation exposure as the lander travels through the Van Allen belts. The insurance would cover the lander itself and not the payloads it is carrying for several customers. (4/25)

Aeva 4D LiDAR Helps NASA Map the Moon (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Aeva announced that NASA’s Kinematic Navigation and Cartography Knapsack (KNaCK) Instrument project, a LiDAR-based mobile terrain-mapping and navigation system designed to support the next generation of lunar and planetary exploration, is using Aeva’s 4D LiDAR technology. Aeva’s technology, including the new Aeries II sensor, is expected to enable the KNaCK Instrument to create highly accurate maps of the lunar surface and provide precise navigation capabilities to overcome the lack of global positioning and navigation systems on the Moon. (4/25)

Copernic Space Seeks to Assist Space Commerce (Source: Space News)
A startup developing an "economic operating system for space in the digital economy" has signed up the former head of the Office of Space Commerce as an adviser. Copernic Space said Kevin O'Connell has joined its advisory board as it works to develop a blockchain-powered platform to make it easy for people to buy and sell space assets, payloads, venture tokens and services. O'Connell, who is also supporting several other companies in the space traffic management field, said Copernic Space is "establishing yet another aspect of the key economic infrastructure" for space. (4/25)

Space Tech Startups Advancing Sustainability (Source: StartUs)
Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into the space industry. This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked SpaceTech startups advancing sustainability. Click here. (4/20)

Planet Joins ESA Third Party Mission Program for Open Access to High-Frequency, High-Resolution Imagery (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Planet Labs announced that Planet’s PlanetScope and SkySat data have joined the European Space Agency (ESA) Third Party Missions portfolio, enabling ESA to utilize Planet data for scientific, research, and pre-operational Earth Observation based applications development. Through distribution under the ESA Earthnet Programme, European researchers, scientists, and companies can access Planet’s high-frequency, high-resolution satellite data for non-commercial use. (4/25)

India Plans Test of Spaceplane Prototype (Source: The Hindu)
India plans to conduct a landing test of a reusable spaceplane soon. The chairman of the Indian space agency ISRO, S. Somanath, said the RLV-LEX glide test could occur before the month's end. In that test, a helicopter will carry the spaceplane prototype to an altitude of 2.3-2.4 kilometers and then release it, allowing it to glide to a runway landing. The test will be the first of several planned in the coming months, although it's unclear when ISRO will have a spaceplane ready for an orbital flight. (4/25)

Japan's IHI Wins Epsilon Launch Contract (Source: IHI)
Japanese company IHI Aerospace has won the first commercial order for its Epsilon small launch vehicle. IHI announced last week that the Institute for Q-Shu Pioneers of Space, or iQPS, will launch two synthetic aperture radar imaging satellites on the sixth flight of Epsilon later this year. The launch will use a new version of the rocket, called Epsilon S, that the company will offer to other commercial customers. (4/25)

Falcon 9 Replica Seeking Permanent Home in UAE (Source: The National)
A full-sized replica of a Falcon 9 first stage that was part of the U.S. pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai is looking for a new home. The replica showed a Falcon 9 standing on its landing legs with grid fins extended, appearing as if it just landed. At an event last week, Christine Lawson, deputy consul general at the U.S. consulate in Dubai, said the U.S. hopes to find a permanent home for the replica elsewhere in the United Arab Emirates after Expo 2020 ended last month. (4/25)