May 16, 2022

Wealthy Nations Carving Up Space and its Riches, Leaving Others Behind (Source: Space Daily)
Satellites help run the internet and television and are central to the Global Positioning System. They enable modern weather forecasting, help scientists track environmental degradation and play a huge role in modern military technology. Nations that don't have their own satellites providing these services rely on other countries. For those that want to develop their own satellite infrastructure, options are running out as space fills up.

Inequity is already playing out in access to satellites. In the not-so-distant future, the ability to extract resources from the Moon and asteroids could become a major point of difference between the space haves and have-nots. As policies emerge, there is the risk that these inequities become permanent. There are only 1,800 geostationary orbital slots, and as of February 2022, 541 of them were occupied by active satellites. Countries and private companies have already claimed most of the unoccupied slots that offer access to major markets, and the satellites to fill them are currently being assembled or awaiting launch.

If, for example, a new spacefaring nation wants to put a weather satellite over a specific spot in the Atlantic Ocean that is already claimed, they would either have to choose a less optimal location for the satellite or buy services from the country occupying the spot they wanted. Orbital slots are allocated by an agency of the United Nations called the International Telecommunication Union. Slots are free, but they go to countries on a first-come, first-served basis. When a satellite reaches the end of its 15- to 20-year lifespan, a country can simply replace it and renew its hold on the slot. This effectively allows countries to keep these positions indefinitely. (5/16)

Air Force Seeks Quick Movement on Space Command HQ, After Second Report's Release (Source: Space News)
The Air Force hopes to move forward with a final decision on the location of U.S. Space Command headquarters soon after the release of a second investigation. At a House Appropriations Committee hearing Friday, Frank Kendall, secretary of the Air Force, said the service would "move forward with a final decision as quickly as we can" if a GAO investigation finds no issues with the decision to place the headquarters at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.

That GAO investigation is complete but has not been publicly released yet. However, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) said he was briefed on the report and that it showed Redstone Arsenal ranked the highest in the Pentagon's assessment. A final decision, Kendall said, would depend on an environmental assessment and "some other considerations" and could take several months. (5/16)

Aggressive Axiom Astronauts Strained NASA Crew (Source: Space News)
The crew of a private astronaut mission who spent two weeks on the International Space Station last month said they tried to do too much, putting a strain on themselves and the station's professional astronauts. In a briefing Friday, the Axiom Space Ax-1 astronauts said they enjoyed their time on the ISS, but acknowledged they were "way too aggressive" on their schedule, particularly in the early days of the visit. NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel noted last week that the Ax-1 crew had "a larger-than-expected impact" on both the professional astronauts there and ground controllers. Axiom said the company would look for ways to reduce their impact on the station as part of gathering lessons learned to inform future missions they have planned and the development of commercial modules. (5/16)

Inmarsat to Move Netherlands Ground Station Greece (Source: Space News)
Inmarsat said Friday it would move a ground station from the Netherlands to Greece as part of Dutch efforts to open up C-band spectrum for terrestrial services. Inmarsat had taken the Dutch government to court last year over an initial plan to sell the 3.5-gigahertz band it partly uses for maritime safety services to 5G operators to use from September 2022. An external advisory committee recommended Inmarsat move the ground station but said the Dutch government should not open up that spectrum for terrestrial services until the ground station is established elsewhere. Inmarsat said it is working with Greek authorities to set up a ground station there to replace the Dutch one. (5/16)

SpaceX Says it Will Beat NASA to Mars This Decade (Source: The Hill)
Officially, NASA intends to land astronauts on Mars by about 2040, give or take a year or two. Recently, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer, Gwynne Shotwell, told CNBC that the aerospace company will beat NASA to Mars by at least a decade. Ordinarily, these kinds of predictions would cause eye rolling. However, SpaceX, under the direction of its CEO, Elon Musk, has accomplished things that were once considered science fiction, including the routine landing and reuse of its workhorse rocket the Falcon 9. When anyone associated with SpaceX talks, the world listens.

Musk’s long-term goal is to establish a human settlement on Mars. That goal seems to inform just about everything else he has undertaken during his career as an entrepreneur. The Starship, the massive reusable rocket that SpaceX is developing at its facility in Boca Chica, Texas, is intended to be the instrument of that goal, as it may take the first settlers and supplies across the interplanetary gulfs to the red planet. What has to happen before Shotwell’s prediction becomes reality? First, the FAA has to approve the Starship for flight, a process that has been repeatedly delayed but is now scheduled for the end of May 2022.

When launches of the Starship/Superheavy rocket proceed from Boca Chica, many things must go right in short order for Shotwell’s promise of humans on Mars “before this decade is out” to happen. The first thing will be for the rocket to conduct orbital missions successfully, with both the Super Heavy and the Starship landing back at Boca Chica without exploding. According to Bloomberg, Shotwell hopes those flights will begin the summer of 2022. (5/16)

Redwire Warns of Volatility in Space Markets (Source: Space News)
Space technology company Redwire said that "volatility" among commercial customers could affect its growth forecasts. The company said in an earnings call last week that while it continues to see the commercial market as the one offering the greatest long-term growth potential, it said changing economic conditions had created uncertainty in the timing of orders from commercial customers, which in turn adds uncertainty to its own forecasts. The company, which reported a net loss of $17.3 million on $32.9 million in revenue in the first quarter, reaffirmed earlier forecasts of $165-195 million in revenue and $8-15 million in adjusted EBITDA for 2022. (5/16)

Launcher Prepares Multi-Payload Deployment with SpaceX Transporter-6 Rideshare Mission (Source: Space News)
Launcher says it's filled the manifest of satellite and hosted payloads for its first space tug mission. The Orbiter tug flying on SpaceX's Transporter-6 rideshare mission in October will deploy satellites for six companies and universities and carry hosted payloads for four other customers. The mission is the first of four Launcher has scheduled for SpaceX Transporter missions as it continues work on its own small launch vehicles. (5/16)

FAA Awards Spaceport License to Huntsville Airport for Dream Chaser Landings (Source: Huntsville Times)
The FAA awarded a license to Huntsville International Airport in Alabama for future landings of Sierra Space's Dream Chaser vehicle. The license, formally known as a Commercial Space Reentry Site Operator License, allows the airport to host landings of Dream Chaser, although the vehicle would need its own reentry license. Sierra Space has not indicated when it might pursue a Dream Chaser landing in Huntsville, with at least initial Dream Chaser cargo missions to the ISS scheduled to land in Florida. (5/16)

Indonesian President Visits Starbase in Texas (Source: Reuters)
Indonesia's president met with Elon Musk at SpaceX's Starbase site in Texas, although primarily to talk about Tesla. Joko Widodo met with Musk Saturday at the SpaceX facility, according to a statement from the Indonesian government. Tesla has been in discussions about investing in Indonesia's nickel industry to use in electric vehicle batteries. Indonesia has also tried to attract SpaceX by offering a launch site in the country, although such a deal would likely have significant regulatory obstacles. (5/16)

Washington Team Takes Top Spot in American Rocketry Challenge (Source: KIRO)
The first and second place finishers in this year's American Rocketry Challenge came from Newport High School in Bellevue, Wash. The top team will represent the US in the International Rocketry Challenge in London this summer. "We had our fair share of challenges, but we were determined to work through them, and that's what made the difference for us in this competition," said Arthur Gwozdz, the winning team's captain. (5/14)

US, UK Collaborate on Commercial Launch Support (Source: Reuters)
Britain and the United States have agreed to collaborate on future commercial spaceflight missions, boosting opportunities for firms from both countries to operate from spaceports in either, the British government said. Britain said the partnership, signed by transport minister Grant Shapps and his U.S. counterpart Pete Buttigieg in Washington this week, would make spaceflight easier and cheaper. The new declaration "lays the foundation for rockets, high-altitude balloons and spaceplanes to lift off from spaceports across the UK very soon," the British government said in a statement. (5/12)

Work Continues to Return Artemis I Moon Rocket Back to Launch Pad for Next Test (Source: Space Daily)
Teams at Kennedy Space Centercontinue to work on the main tasks needed to prepare the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to return to launch pad 39B for the next wet dress rehearsal. After re-tightening the flange bolts on the tail service mast umbilical lines to address a hydrogen leak identified during the previous wet dress rehearsal, engineers determined the seals on the bolts are no longer relaxing, and the system should remain tightly sealed during propellant loading.

As a precaution, teams also moved the location of a heavy cantilevered filter on the tail service mast umbilical, which filters out any contaminants in the gaseous helium - a purge gas - that travels through the drain assist purge line. Engineers did not identify any leaks at its previous location, but relocating the filter will ensure it does not contribute to future leaks. Engineers conducted additional leak checks and have not detected any leaks at ambient air temperature.

Additionally, after replacing the helium check valve on the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS), engineers found a damaged rubber O-ring seal in the flight side of the quick disconnect - the area that separates the ICPS from the mobile launcher during launch. The O-ring came loose and entered the valve, preventing the valve from sealing correctly. Teams removed the flight and ground side of the quick disconnect system and replaced support hardware that was downstream of the check valve. (5/16)

Smarter Satellites: ESA Discovery Accelerates AI in Space (Source: Space Daily)
Could we capitalise on the Earth-based digital revolution to make our satellites smarter? ESA Discovery is funding 12 projects that will explore the potential of applying the latest developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing paradigms to make satellites more reactive, agile and autonomous. This could generate new practical applications that support life on Earth and our exploration of other planets.

Over the last decade, rapid advances in computing techniques, combined with exponential growth in the amount of data being collected, have led to a true revolution of AI feeding on big data on Earth. ESA launched the first artificially intelligent European Earth observation mission in September 2020. The mission consisted of two CubeSats, one of which carried the O-sat-1 artificial intelligence experiment on board. O-sat-1 enabled the mission to automatically discard cloudy images and send only useful data down to Earth. (5/16)

New UK Campaign Encourages Youngsters to Reach for the Stars (Source: Prestwick Spaceport)
A new campaign which aims to educate thousands of young people across Ayrshire and beyond about careers in the UK’s growing space sector is to be launched by Prestwick Spaceport and affiliated aerospace businesses. Running throughout 2022, ‘A New Hope’ campaign, linked to South Ayrshire Council’s ‘Skypath’ initiative, will include an educational outreach video for students and teachers featuring local heroes from Ayrshire and across Scotland.

The campaign will target high school children initially, while a competition to design a ‘Mission Patch’ to mark the inaugural launch of small satellites from Prestwick will be focused on primary schools. The initative seeks to break down perceived barriers to accessing space careers and inspire young people to follow their dreams. It will highlight the increasing need for future generations to consider a career in space to reduce skills gaps that could hinder growth of the sector, an industry that is amongst the fastest growing in the UK and provides a host of benefits to the economy, environment and wider society.

The spaceport, which is being developed alongside Scotland’s largest aerospace cluster, aims to become Europe’s premier space hub and has already secured multi-million-pound funding through the Ayrshire Growth Deal. It is expected that the educational outreach campaign will play an important role in showcasing growing space activity at Prestwick, as well as a multitude of supply chain opportunities beyond launch, creating 4,000 new jobs. (5/16)