May 12, 2022

The Privatization of Space is Taking Off, but Not Everyone is Over the Moon (Source: The Hill)
In 2030, NASA plans to retire the International Space Station. Launched into orbit in 2000, the station has begun to show its age, from equipment failure to air leaks.

But humans are not leaving space. NASA has partnered with numerous companies to design and build private space stations, which NASA will lease space on. These commercial stations represent a new phase of space exploration and inhabitation, with proponents of privatization saying it will lead to lower costs, more research and development and a robust space economy. Critics point to the risks: lack of accountability, labor issues, environmental damage and more. Click here. (5/12)

Boeing Considers Design Change for Starliner Valves (Source: Space News)
Boeing is considering a long-term design change for valves on its CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle to fix corrosion discovered last year. The company has adopted several changes for the upcoming OFT-2 uncrewed test flight that don't require modifications to the valves, such as dry purges with nitrogen gas to remove moisture. A Boeing executive said a valve redesign is "on the table" as a long-term fix, something the company had not previously acknowledged. The planned design change are considered amid a dispute with the valve supplier, Aerojet Rocketdyne, on the cause of corrosion that made the valves stick during a launch attempt last year. NASA and Boeing said the OFT-2 mission remains on track for launch May 19. (5/12)

Starliner is Years Late, but NASA Says It's Also Necessary (Source: Florida Today)
Boeing and SpaceX were selected by NASA in 2014 to each develop a new craft that would ferry astronauts to the International Space Station following the end of the space shuttle program. While both companies were tasked with doing the same thing, the outcomes couldn't be more different. The agency spent nearly $8 billion to fund its Commercial Crew Program to develop SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule and Boeing’s Starliner.

Boeing launched its Starliner to orbit once in December 2019 for an uncrewed test flight that failed to dock with the ISS and required an emergency return trip home. SpaceX has operated its Crew Dragon capsule since March 2019 completing a total of eight missions, six for NASA and two privately funded ventures. Years behind schedule and over-funded in comparison to SpaceX, Boeing’s Starliner is seemingly just an expensive missed opportunity.

However, NASA, Boeing, and outside experts all agree that a second crew transportation option is still necessary for one reason: Redundancy. If something happens that causes SpaceX to lose its ability to ferry NASA’s astronauts to the ISS, NASA – and America – is left facing a future of relying on Russia for space transportation at $90 million a seat on its Soyuz spacecraft. (5/12)

Space Force: Ukraine Experience Shows Benefits of Megaconstellations (Source: Space News)
A Space Force general said the use of Starlink in Ukraine shows the benefits of megaconstellations. Gen. David Thompson, vice chief of space operations of the U.S. Space Force, told the Senate Armed Services Committee Wednesday that Starlink demonstrates the resiliency of large proliferated constellations, an architecture the military is pursuing for its own future satellite systems. The inability of Russia to block communications in Ukraine during the conflict is "a reflection of these new proliferated architectures that are very difficult to deny overall," he said. (5/12)

Musk Warns of Renewed Russian Efforts to Jam Starlink (Source: Space News)
SpaceX founder Elon Musk, though, warned of renewed efforts by Russia to jam Starlink services in Ukraine. Musk tweeted this week that Starlink had resisted "Russian cyberwar jamming and hacking attempts so far, but they’re ramping up their efforts." His comments come as American and European government officials formally blamed Russia this week for the cyberattack that disabled Viasat's KA-SAT network at the beginning of the invasion in February. That cyberattack disabled tens of thousands of terminals, many outside of Ukraine, requiring some to be replaced. (5/12)

Virgin Orbit Reports $62.6 Million Quarterly Loss (Source: Reuters)
Virgin Orbit remained upbeat about its business prospects despite a widening loss. The company reported Wednesday a net loss of $62.6 million for the first quarter of 2022, much higher than the same quarter of 2021, and revenue of just $2.1 million. The company said that revenue should increase because it is moving from lower "introductory pricing" on its first launches to higher per-launch revenues, and that its cash burn should improve over the course of the year. The company says it has enough cash to operate through the rest of the year without having to raise more capital, and has yet to use an agreement announced earlier this year to sell up to $250 million in stock. (5/12)

Orbex Reveals Small Launcher Prototype (Source: Space News)
Orbex revealed a prototype of its small launch vehicle it plans to launch from Scotland. The prototype of the Orbex Prime vehicle is at a company test site, and parts of it could be used for the vehicle's first orbital launch. The first launch from Space Hub Sutherland in northern Scotland is slated for late this year or early next year, pending readiness of both the vehicle and the new launch site. Orbex says it has customers for the vehicle's first six launches. (5/12)

Northrop Grumman Eyes Alternative Rocket Engine Sources (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
Northrop Grumman has confirmed that its inventory is sufficient to cover two Antares resupply launches to the International Space Station next year, and that the company has a backup plan should the supply of Russian-made rockets continue to be stalled by the war in Ukraine. Last year, Northrop Grumman received a NASA contract for six additional cargo missions to ISS. (5/11)

MDA Hopes to Add Its Own Satellites to Missile Tracking Architecture (Source: Air Force Magazine)
As the Space Development Agency moves forward with plans for missile tracking and warning satellites, the Missile Defense Agency hopes to add its own satellites to that architecture, the agency’s director told a congressional panel May 11.

Vice Adm. Jon A. Hill’s comments to the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee came as the Pentagon has placed increasing emphasis on missile tracking and warning from space in response to China and Russia’s rapid development of hypersonic weapons. Specifically, MDA is developing the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor, a program intended to work with SDA’s satellites to track hypersonic and ballistic missiles. (5/11)

Space Force Foresees Arctic Monitoring Role (Source: Space News)
Warming seas and thinning polar ice caps promise to turn the Arctic into a hub of greater economic activity and a new hotspot for military competition, with implications for space systems. The changing Arctic is drawing attention to the importance of space systems to keep watch over the region, monitor the climate and maintain constant communications. Space Force Gen. John Raymond, chief of space operations, said in an interview that service will continue to invest in the Arctic, from facilities in Alaska and Greenland to efforts to fill in gaps in satellite communications coverage in the region. (5/12)

Rubio and Feinstein Team to Support Space National Guard Creation (Source: The Hill)
Two senators have introduced a bill authorizing a Space National Guard. The bill, introduced Wednesday by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), would direct the creation of a National Guard element for the Space Force. A companion bill is in the House. A Space National Guard was considered last year but not included in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act. (5/12)

NOAA Affirms GOES-18 Functional (Source: NOAA)
NOAA released the first images Wednesday from its newest weather satellite. The images are from GOES-18, launched March 1 into geostationary orbit. NOAA said the images from the Advanced Baseline Imager instrument show that that instrument is working well and is not suffering from the cooling system problems that impaired a version of that instrument on GOES-17. GOES-18 will replace GOES-17 as the GOES-West satellite in early 2023. (5/12)

Georgia Spaceport Rebranding as Kings Bay Airport and Spacepark (Source: Spaceport Facts)
The FAA told Camden in 2017 that medium-large Rockets couldn't launch from Spaceport Camden. Last year. the FAA said there are no existing rockets “in the foreseeable future” for the $11 million FAA license. Now it's called the "Kings Bay Airport and Spacepark." Envisioned are air launch systems like Northrop Grumman's Pegasus, parabolic flights for space tourism, and landings of orbital vehicles like Sierra Space's Dream Chaser. Vocal spaceport opponent Steve Weinkle is now running for a county commission seat, after decrying Camden County's taxpayer-funded investments in the controversial project. (5/12)

All-Girl Rocketry Team Inspires at American Rocketry Challenge (Source: AIA)
The Star Chasers, an all-girl team from Nazareth Academy High School in Pennsylvania, will be among the finalists competing in the American Rocketry Challenge this Saturday in Virginia. "When I look at these young ladies, I think about how we should always have eternal optimism and hope for the future because of these wonderful young ladies who are here crafting a better world," said the school's Gregory Severino. (5/12)

Lawsuit Claims Boeing Negligence in Starliner Test Led to Injury (Source: Ars Technica)
In a 2020 lawsuit filed by Tim Lachenmeier, it is claimed that during a March 2017 Starliner parachute drop test, Boeing negligently failed to implement proper safety measures, including, (a) failing to have in place a capsule tie down system to prevent an inadvertent release of the capsule prior to the time of launch, (b) providing an inadequate, unsafe, and defective ladder that they knew could cause catastrophic injury if something went wrong while someone was using it to access the capsule, and (c) failing to provide an adequate grounding system which could have prevented a freak electrostatic discharge event.

He claimed that as he plugged in a capsule release cable, an electrostatic discharge caused one of the pyro activated cutters to misfire, severing the primary restraint lines holding the balloon to the ground. This static discharge sent the capsule hurling upwards instantly and the force pushed the ladder TIM was standing on backwards and away from the capsule. As Mr. Lechenmeier tried to jump away to safety, his right foot landed hard on the Boeing lowboy trailer on which the capsule was mounted, shattering his ankle, before being hit by the ladder. He fell approximately 20 feet, knocking off his hard hat when hit by the ladder, and ultimately landing hard on his neck, back, and hips.

Editor's Note: Accompanying the thread about this alleged Boeing incident, readers pointed to the 2014 death of a SpaceX employee at that company's McGregor TX rocket testing facility. The incident was described as an accident not related to a rocket test, and involved the employee being flung from a truck as it was driving a load of foam material for disposal. The employee was positioned atop the foam as it was caught by wind. (5/11)

Space Safety Concerns Put Economic Growth at Risk (Source: Space News)
LEO will soon be overwhelmed with satellite operators striving to coexist in the same space with little to no international ground rules on acceptable behavior, guidelines for coordination, or models to define acceptable traffic density. To make matters worse, Congress has not fully enabled a lead civil agency to negotiate such matters. This leaves our thriving industry to fend for itself while safety problems and concerns mount.

The US has been working on this problem since 2010, when the Obama administration established an interagency effort to tackle space traffic management; subsequently, in 2018, the Trump administration established Space Policy Directive 3, calling on the Department of Commerce to assume the lead role for ensuring the safety and sustainability of the emerging space economy. The department’s Office of Space Commerce (OSC) has two critical tasks that need a comprehensive strategy: 1) establishing behavioral ground rules for space traffic management and coordination and 2) engaging with industry and facilitating economic growth in the space sector.

While the Biden administration has endorsed these tasks, the department has been slow to focus on them despite the other Commerce roles that impact the space economy, such as trade promotion, export controls, and managing the nation’s weather satellite fleet. Unfortunately, Congress also has failed to fully endow the Office of Space Commerce with the appropriate legal authorities to accomplish these aims—including on-orbit mission authorization for commercial activities beyond communications and Earth observation—a critical missing piece of the U.S. government requirements under the tenets of the Outer Space Treaty. (5/11)

Lift-Off for NASA Suborbital Mission From Norway (Source: Andoya Space)
The NASA suborbital research rocket Endurance lifted off from the Andøya Space launch site at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, on May 11. The primary mission for Endurance was to investigate and measure Earth’s electrical field in order to establish to what extent the ionosphere leaks water into space. It is already known by the science community that the ionospheres on Mars and Venus do this as well. The data returned from the mission will be analyzed further in months and years ahead. During its flight the Endurance reached an apogee of 767 kilometers altitude. (5/11)

Winter is Coming for Mars Helicopter (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
The end could potentially be near for NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter as Martian winter and dust storms wreak havoc on the drone’s vital systems. The Mars helicopter relies on communication relays with the Perseverance rover in order for its onboard systems to be actively monitored by flight controllers on Earth. On May 5, 2022, for the first time since the helicopter’s operation began just over a year ago, Ingenuity missed a planned communication check-in with the rover.

Once the vehicle’s temperature drops below 5 degrees Fahrenheit, a heater automatically kicks on and the spacecraft slowly shuts down in order to protect its electrical systems. With a vital control system shut down, the Ingenuity helicopter is unable to heat itself or communicate with the Perseverance Rover. Scientists at JPL believe that by adjusting the set temperature for which the helicopter’s heater is turned on from 5 degrees to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit, Ingenuity should be able to conserve crucial energy that it is desperately trying to absorb with a lack of sunlight being collected from the solar panels. (5/11)

Coast Guard Fast-Tracks Changes After Cruise Ship Scrubs SpaceX Launch (Source: Florida Today)
The U.S. Coast Guard modified its procedures in the wake of a cruise ship's intrusion into a SpaceX launch zone earlier this year, a high-profile incident that highlighted the need for continued conversations on how to handle the confluence of space and maritime traffic. Among the changes in the works are updated "exclusion zones" for launches and new ways of disseminating launch updates to ship captains. Capt. Mark Vlaun described the changes since Royal Caribbean's ship entered an exclusion zone in January, forcing SpaceX to scrub a Falcon 9 launch.

Vlaun said the January incident was at least partly caused by the maritime industry's use of paper for disseminating information. Captains and crews are often notified of hazards via paper since noteworthy obstacles are usually static and don't change often. "But five-day-old space launch information is not worth the paper it's printed on," he said. His team's decisions impact other industries, too: if the roles were reversed and the rocket delayed the departure of cruise ships, tens of thousands of travelers could see ripple effects that stretch all the way to Orlando International Airport and beyond.

Changes include digitized notices to captains, using QR codes linked to Space Force web-based launch information; revised (often smaller) exclusion zones; and an ongoing study to overlay historical sea traffic with existing launch trajectories. "The reality is right now, this has become one of our busiest and biggest issues for the Coast Guard – this emergence of the space vessel support team," he said. (5/11)