July 1, 2022

China Considers New Rockets for Sea Lainch Platform (Source: Space News)
China is studying launching liquid-fueled rockets from sea-based platforms. China has already demonstrated launches from an ocean-based platform using the solid-fueled Long March 11, but Orienspace and the state-owned China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) are developing larger, liquid-propellant Gravity series rockets and adapted Long March 8 launchers for sea launches. The Haiyang seaport in the eastern coastal province of Shandong is attracting a range of space sector firms and is fostering an industry chain for sea-based launches. (7/1)

House Reduces FAA AST's Proposed Budget Increase (Source: Space News)
House appropriators reduced much of a proposed budget increase for the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation. The House Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill Thursday that includes $33.675 million for the office for fiscal year 2023, slightly more than what it received in 2022 but less than the request of $42.5 million. The report accompanying the bill directed the office to complete a long-overdue study on spaceports, with a focus on evaluating programs that could fund infrastructure at commercial launch sites, and to wrap up a new agreement with NTSB on investigating commercial spaceflight accidents. (7/1)

China Considers More Ambitious Space Science Missions (Source: Space News)
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is evaluating a proposed list of ambitious space science missions. The "New Horizons Program" includes 13 candidate missions in four broad fields of space astronomy and astrophysics, exoplanets, heliophysics, and planetary and Earth science. CAS is expected to select five to seven missions for development in the latter half of the decade. Among the missions are a Venus orbiter, asteroid sample return mission and a radio astronomy mission using a constellation of small satellites in lunar orbit. (7/1)

India Taps Brakes on Human Spaceflight, Lunar Exploration (Source: PTI)
India's space agency is putting the brakes on both its human spaceflight and lunar exploration programs. At a press conference after Thursday's successful PSLV launch, ISRO Chairman S Somanath said the country's first crewed launch will not take place either this year or next year. He said the delay would provide more time to test a launch abort system for the Gaganyaan spacecraft. India originally projected a first crewed Gaganyaan launch this year to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its independence. Somanath also said ISRO was "not in a hurry to go to the moon" with its Chandrayaan-3 lander. The agency is taking time to make the lander more robust and improve sensors he suggested may have been inadequate for the failed Chandryaan-2 lander. (7/1)

Alabama Company Awarded NASA Contract to Assist Marshall Space Flight Center (Source: Huntsville Business Journal)
NASA recently announced the awarding of a facilities engineering design and inspection services contract to Vanguard Pacific of Foley. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract is to provide architecture and engineering design services at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. The contract will go into effect on August 1, 2022, and is valued at $25.6 million with a maximum potential IDIQ value of $22.5 million, for a total value of $48.1 million. Vanguard Pacific will be responsible for design services in support of the minor construction contract for projects of $1 million or less covering master planning, surveillance, and inspection services at Marshall. (6/30)

Florida Students to Hear from NASA Astronauts Aboard Space Station (Source: NASA)
Florida students will have an opportunity soon to hear from NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The space-to-Earth call will air live at 11:05 a.m. EDT on July 6, on NASA Television. NASA astronauts Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins will answer prerecorded video questions from Gifford Youth Achievement Center students. The Gifford Youth Achievement Center in Vero Beach is a nonprofit organization providing year-round educational programs to improve academic achievement for students from disadvantaged communities. The downlink will be part of a science fair focused on how NASA enables space exploration entitled, Living in Space, Preparing on Earth. (6/30)

NASA Seeking Partners for Sustainable Flight Demonstrator (Source: AVweb)
NASA plans to select one or more industry partners for the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project, an effort to "reduce carbon emissions from aviation and ensure US competitiveness" in sustainable commercial aircraft design. The project, according to NASA, aims to support a "new era of cutting-edge improvements that will make the global aviation industry cleaner, quieter, and more sustainable." (6/30)

Northrop Grumman to Build Space Force Prototype for Cyber Protection of Satellite Networks (Source: Breaking Defense)
Northrop Grumman will next spring begin testing on a new hardware/software prototype for the Space Force designed to protect large, interlinked satellite networks from cyber attacks, according to company officials. The prototype, called Space End Crypto Unit (ECU), is being developed in tandem electronics firm Aeronix, with planned delivery in 2024. (6/30)

Relativity Space, OneWeb Sign Multi-launch Agreement for Terran R Rocket (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Relativity Space, the first company to 3D print entire rockets and build the largest metal 3D printers in the world, has signed a multi-year, multi-launch deal with OneWeb. Relativity will launch OneWeb’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites on Terran R, the first fully reusable and entirely 3D printed rocket, starting in 2025. These launches will support OneWeb’s deployment of its Gen 2 satellite network, which will add capacity and fresh capabilities to build upon the initial constellation of 648 satellites the company is currently building out. (6/30)

Members [Including From Florida] Launch Bipartisan Advanced Air Mobility Caucus in Congress (Source: Rep. Jay Obernolte)
Congressmen Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) launched the bipartisan Congressional Advanced Air Mobility Caucus, a new Congressional group to educate members and the public about advanced air mobility technologies, associated societal benefits, and regulatory updates needed to promote this revolutionary technology.

Founding members of the Congressional Advanced Air Mobility Caucus include Reps. Bill Foster (D-IL), Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Garret Graves (R-LA), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Buddy Carter (R-GA), Dina Titus (D-NV), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Sharice Davids (D-KS), Michelle Steel (R-CA), David Valadao (R-CA), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Kat Cammack (R-FL), Jake Ellzey (R-TX), Mike Garcia (R-CA), Rick Crawford (R-AR), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), and Scott Franklin (R-FL). (6/23)

Virginia Spaceport Authority Extends Contract with Command and Control Technologies Corp. (Source: CCT)
The Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority has extended CCT's contract through 2023 for continued sustaining engineering support to the Universal Ground Control System at Launch Pad 0-A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. We are proud of our ongoing support to VCSFA and Northrop for the Antares ISS resupply mission and look forward to supporting system maintenance and upgrades going forward! (6/30)

SpaceX Receives FCC Approval to Provide Starlink Service on Planes, Boats, and Other Vehicles in Motion (Source: Drive Tesla Canada)
SpaceX has received approval from the FCC today allowing the aerospace company to provide Starlink satellite internet service on cars, RVs, trucks, boats, and planes while they are in motion. In their authorization of the service, the FCC said it was granting approval to help meet the demands of today’s consumers who require internet connectivity wherever they are, including when they are on the move. (6/30)

VOS Raises €10M and Rebrands to Latitude (Source: Payload)
French launch startup Venture Orbital Systems (VOS) has closed a €10M ($10.4M) Series A. VOS is developing its two-stage Zephyr launch vehicle capable of deploying 100+ kg payloads to LEO. The company is currently targeting 2024 for a maiden flight. The Series A funding will be used to continue the development of the company’s Navier engine. This will include the construction of a test bench, which is currently underway, and a hot fire test at ArianeGroup’s facilities toward the end of the year.

The funding will also be used to progress the development of Zephyr’s tanks, structure, fairing, and onboard electronics and software. With new money comes a new name—VOS has decided to call itself Latitude. CEO Stanislas Maximin told Payload that the rebranding will ensure the company isn’t constrained by its image to only offering launch services. (6/29)

D-Orbit Signs Launch and Deployment Contract with Leading Satellite Telecom Provider Kepler Communications (Source: D-Orbit)
D-Orbit, the space logistics company that is going public through a transaction with Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp., has signed a launch and deployment contract with Kepler Communications. The contract covers the launch of two 6U telecommunications satellites. The satellites will be boarded inside the ION Satellite Carrier (ION), D-Orbit’s proprietary, versatile, and cost-effective orbital transfer vehicle (OTV). After launch, which is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023, the satellite will be released by ION on a 500-600 kilometer Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). (6/30)

Lost in Space: Astronauts Struggle to Regain Bone Density (Source: France24)
Astronauts lose decades' worth of bone mass in space that many do not recover even after a year back on Earth, researchers said Thursday, warning that it could be a "big concern" for future missions to Mars. Previous research has shown astronauts lose between one to two percent of bone density for every month spent in space, as the lack of gravity takes the pressure off their legs when it comes to standing and walking.

To find out how astronauts recover once their feet are back on the ground, a new study scanned the wrists and ankles of 17 astronauts before, during and after a stay on the ISS. The bone density lost by astronauts was equivalent to how much they would shed in several decades if they were back on Earth, said study co-author Steven Boyd of Canada's University of Calgary and director of the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health. The researchers found that the shinbone density of nine of the astronauts had not fully recovered after a year on Earth -- and were still lacking around a decade's worth of bone mass.

The astronauts who went on the longest missions, which ranged from four to seven months on the ISS, were the slowest to recover. "The longer you spend in space, the more bone you lose," Boyd told AFP. Boyd said it is a "big concern" for planned for future missions to Mars, which could see astronauts spend years in space. "Will it continue to get worse over time or not? We don't know," he said. "It's possible we hit a steady state after a while, or it's possible that we continue to lose bone. But I can't imagine that we'd continue to lose it until there's nothing left." (6/30)

Impact in 2052 Ruled Out as ESA Counts Down to Asteroid Day (Source: Space Daily)
Just in time for worldwide Asteroid Day: a threatening space rock lingered at the top of risk lists around the globe for months, with a real chance of impacting Earth on 2 April 2052. Now, ESA's asteroid team working with experts at the European Southern Observatory have officially removed '2021 QM1' from their asteroid risk list, a result of skilled observations and analysis of the faintest asteroid ever observed with one of the most sensitive telescopes in the world.

With Asteroid Day Live 2022 set for 30 June, we can safely say that the riskiest asteroid known to humankind in the last year will not strike - at least not for the next century.

2021 QM1 was initially discovered on 28 August 2021 by the Mount Lemmon observatory, located north of Tucson, Arizona. To start, nothing stood out as unusual about the discovery - about a dozen new near-Earth asteroids are discovered every dark night. Routine follow-up observations were then acquired from telescopes around the globe, but these started to tell a more worrying story. (6/30)

Successful High-Speed Flight Experiments with New Suborbital Rocket Configuration (Source: Space Daily)
Reusable launch systems are exposed to high dynamic and thermo-mechanical loads during their return to Earth. The German Aerospace Center has now successfully tested high temperature structures, advanced measurement techniques and design tools for the re-entry phase with the STORT (Schlusseltechnologien fur hochenergetische Ruckkehrfluge von Tragerstufen - key technologies for high-energy return flights of launch stages) flight experiment.

In the early morning of 26 June 2022, the three-stage rocket lifted off from the Andoya Space launch site in northern Norway. The upper stage reached a flight speed of approximately 9000 kilometres per hour at the apogee of its trajectory - at an altitude of 38 kilometres. This corresponds to a Mach number in excess of eight. It then descended into the Atlantic Ocean, more than 350 kilometres away from the launch site. Extensive measurement data were transmitted to the ground station during the flight. (6/30)

NASA's Stratospheric Balloon Mission Gets Telescope with Giant Mirror (Source: Space Daily)
An upcoming NASA mission will use a balloon larger than a football field to send a telescope 130,000 feet (about 40,000 meters) above Antarctica. From that height, the telescope will study a phenomenon that chokes off star formation in some galaxies, effectively killing them.

The mission, called the Astrophysics Stratospheric Telescope for High Spectral Resolution Observations at Submillimeter-wavelengths, or ASTHROS, will use a primary mirror (this telescope's main light-gathering tool) that's tied for the largest ever to fly on a high-altitude balloon. Construction of the 8.2-foot (2.5-meter) mirror wrapped up this month. (6/30)