May 26, 2022

Is Asteroid Mining Back? (Source: Quartz)
Robots harvesting rare resources in space so we can use them here on Earth is an idea that captures the imagination. Two start-ups, Deep Space Industries and Planetary Resources, made a run at the business in the last decade, winning some important legal battles and launching demo missions. Both failed when it became apparent that actual space mining was well out of their reach.

AstroForge, a start-up that emerged from the incubator Y Combinator, said today that it raised $13 million to launch a spacecraft capable of demonstrating in-space mineral refining in 2023. If all goes according to plan, the company wants to start bringing back metals in the valuable platinum group from asteroids near the Earth by the end of the decade.

AstroForge’s two founders, CEO Matt Gialich and CTO Jose Acain, acknowledge their plan is risky. They believe they can learn from the pitfalls that captured their predecessors, and that the space industry has evolved to support feasible businesses in deep space. (5/26)

Industry Officials Suggest Decentralized, Non-Government Approach to Space Traffic Coordination (Source: Space News)
Decentralized approaches to space traffic coordination might be more effective than those involving government agencies, some argue. Industry officials said that coordination among satellite operators can be effective since even competitors share the need to avoid collisions. One example is the Space Data Association, where members exchange data on their spacecraft to coordinate safe space operations. Those approaches can get around slow progress by governments on developing space traffic management systems. (5/26)

Open Standards Needed for Satellite Servicing (Source: Space News)
Space logistics experts say open standards are critical for encouraging the market's growth. Such standards, panelists said at Space Tech Expo Wednesday, are vital to enable the growth of satellite servicing and related applications by making it easier for companies to develop systems that can repair or refuel spacecraft. Companies can still develop proprietary technologies, they said, but instead put them behind a standard interface. (5/26)

Aerojet Leadership Dispute Playing Out in Court (Source: Breaking Defense)
A battle for the control of Aerojet Rocketdyne is playing out in court this week. The Delaware Chancery Court started hearing a case Monday by Warren Lichtenstein, executive chairman of the company, against CEO Eileen Drake, alleging she misused corporate resources to take control of the company and disparage him.

Both Drake and Lichtenstein are attempting to secure control of the company's board, which is currently deadlocked between the two factions, as they try to make the case that they have a better vision of the company's future. One industry analyst noted that there is little difference between the two in terms of how they want to run the company, including being open to a sale after a planned acquisition by Lockheed Martin fell through. (5/26)

NASA Seeks to Advance Solar Sail Tech (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected a solar sail technology for further development. The agency awarded $2 million this week to a team led by the Applied Physics Lab to continue work on the Diffractive Solar Sailing project, a technology potentially more efficient than traditional solar sails. The award, made through the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program, will prepare the technology for a potential future demonstration mission. (5/26)

Mercury Astronaut's Watch Found (Source: CollectSpace)
A watch worn by Scott Carpenter on a Mercury mission 60 years ago, and once thought lost, has been found. Carpenter wore the Navitimer Cosmonaute watch from Breitling on the Aurora 7 mission, but the watch was corroded by saltwater after splashdown and Carpenter sent it back to Breitling, which sent him a replacement. The original watch that he wore was thought to be lost in the company's archives, but the company said it later found it and recently put it on display to mark the 60th anniversary of the mission. (5/26)

NRO Gives Big Contracts to BlackSky, Maxar, and Planet for Imagery (Source: Space News)
The National Reconnaissance Office awarded contracts Wednesday worth billions of dollars to BlackSky, Maxar and Planet for commercial imagery. The NRO said the 10-year Electro-Optical Commercial Layer (EOCL) contracts are the biggest purchase of commercial imagery, replacing the EnhancedView contract the NRO had with Maxar.

BlackSky said the starting value of its EOCL agreement is $85.5 million and the total contract options are worth $1 billion over the 10 years. Maxar said its EOCL contract is worth up to $3.24 billion over the decade, with a firm five-year base commitment worth $1.5 billion and options estimated at $1.74 billion. Planet did not immediately disclose the value of its contract. (5/26)

Boeing's Starliner Concludes Successful Mission with New Mexico Landing (Source: Space News)
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner landed in New Mexico Wednesday, concluding the OFT-2 uncrewed test flight. The spacecraft landed at White Sands Space Harbor at 6:49 p.m. Eastern, more than four hours after undocking from the International Space Station. NASA and Boeing officials said after landing that the six-day OFT-2 mission was successful. Despite some technical problems, such as malfunctioning thrusters, they saw no "showstoppers" that would prevent them from moving next to a crewed test flight. However, they said it would be up to several months before they're ready to formally schedule that mission. (5/26)

Virgin Orbit Targets August for UK Launch (Source: Space News)
Virgin Orbit says it's targeting late August for its first LauncherOne mission from the United Kingdom. A company executive said at Space Tech Expo Wednesday that it has completed the "majority" of the paperwork needed for a U.K. launch license to perform missions from Spaceport Cornwall. The mission will carry several government and commercial smallsats. Virgin Orbit continues studying options for growing its launch capabilities, from enhanced payload capacity to reusing the rocket's first stage. (5/26)

Sidus Space Selects L3Harris Software for Constellation Support Services (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space has selected L3Harris Technologies InControl and OnTime software for command and control and mission planning for LizzieSat Constellation. InControl will provide satellite command and control software for on-orbit, factory test and ground system monitor and control. InControl supports the full range of command and control system requirements, including telemetry processing, data display and analysis, constellation monitoring and control, onboard system management and ground equipment monitoring and control.

OnTime is modular space mission planning software framework designed to plan, simulate and track mission success from inception to execution with user-specified levels of detail and plug and play capability with external tools. It is designed to aid mission planners by coordinating daily activities through a single user interface. (5/26)

SpaceX Transporter-5 Mission Orbits Dozens of Small Satellites (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
Continuing its average launch cadence of once a week, SpaceX flew a Falcon 9 rocket with the Transporter-5 rideshare mission. Liftoff occurred at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida. Aboard were 59 small satellites and payloads, which were all delivered into a Sun-synchronous orbit within about an hour after liftoff. Today’s launch represented SpaceX’s fifth dedicated small satellite rideshare mission with some customers having flown more than once, such as Satellogic that flew on Transporter-4 earlier this year. The Falcon-9 booster returned to the spaceport and landed safely in preparation for its reuse on a future mission. (5/25)

Industry Looks to Decentralized Approaches to Space Sustainability (Source: Space News)
As governments make slow progress on space traffic management systems, companies may be able work together more quickly to develop processes to support space sustainability. In a panel at Space Tech Expo here May 24, industry officials said it is in the best interest of companies to collaborate on space traffic issues independent of efforts at national and international levels to develop space traffic coordination systems or rules of the road for space activities.

That cooperation is already in place among some satellite operators through the Space Data Association (SDA), where members exchange data on their spacecraft to coordinate safe space operations. “Collaboration amongst competitors is really key to sharing sustainable space,” said Tobias Nassif, director of the SDA. (5/25)

Aerojet CEO Reportedly Offers $48M Deal To End Control War (Source: Law360)
Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. CEO Eileen Drake is reportedly in talks to end a bitter Delaware Chancery Court company control fight in exchange for a $48 million deal that includes a five-year consulting agreement, a source familiar with the development said late Tuesday. (5/25)

Investor Challenges $7.3B Merger Of Satellite Providers (Source: Law360)
A Viasat Inc. shareholder sued in New York federal court Tuesday to block the global satellite provider's $7.3 billion plan to purchase rival Inmarsat, alleging that Viasat and its board of directors omitted financial projections from a securities filing related to the proposed merger. (5/25)

Inmarsat ELEVATE Launched to Accelerate IoT Industry Growth (Source: Space Daily)
With more businesses recognizing the impact of IoT technologies on their operations and on the world, and the number of global satellite IoT connections set to continue growing at a 25% CAGR in the coming years, the need for a 'one stop shop' for IoT solutions has never been greater. To accelerate these IoT opportunities for businesses around the world, Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications, is announcing Inmarsat ELEVATE, a new partner program offering three key pillars to support businesses throughout the IoT ecosystem and to cement the industry's future growth.

The first pillar is a development program for IoT solution providers, system integrators, machinery manufacturers, and OEMs looking to scale, who will be able to take advantage of Inmarsat's ELERA satellite network and footprint. The second pillar is a partner ecosystem, enabling organizations to access each other's knowledge and collaborate with other organizations within the satellite IoT sector. The third pillar is an online marketplace to promote IoT solutions that work seamlessly anywhere in the world, no matter how remote - to ensure every business can benefit.

In the next five years, the goal of Inmarsat ELEVATE is to help partners achieve double digit growth - as well as establishing Inmarsat ELEVATE as the leading IoT marketplace for solutions that work anywhere in the world. Partners will benefit from Inmarsat's global footprint, empowering them to take advantage of opportunities beyond their existing operational regions. Inmarsat will also support building customized growth plans for each partner, and help businesses make sense of global regulations and market access. (5/18)

Stock Market Declines are Taking a Toll on Space Startup Funding (Source: Space News)
"Growth investors have been spooked," Jordan Noone, Embedded Ventures co-founder and general partner, said May 24. Falling stock prices "coupled with the dismal performance" of some 'space SPACs' —  space startups that went public through mergers with special purpose acquisition companies — is prompting investors to retreat to less risky sectors like software and consumer products, said Noone, the co-founder and former chief technology officer of the still-privately-held Relativity Space.

To bring back growth investors, the sector needs to prove that companies can start small and grow large enough to win significant contracts, Noone added. (Perhaps the new NRO imagery contracts to Maxar and 'space SPACs' BlackSky and Planet serve as a promising example.) A recent Y Combinator letter to startup founders backed up Noone's view of the market. The well-known accelerator told startups to "plan for the worst." The best way to prepare for a serious economic downturn "is to cut costs and extend your runway within the next 30 days," according to Y Combinator's May 19 letter. (5/25)