July 10, 2022

Quantum Encryption Spacecraft Closer to Launch (Source: UKRI)
Speqtre, an innovative secure communications cubesat, has passed a major milestone in its journey to space. The mission, which will demonstrate quantum key distribution (QKD) from space, has passed its critical design review. This means that the team can now build and test a full model of the satellite. QKD enables a way of encrypting data communications so that it cannot be hacked, even by future quantum computers. UK leadership in this area will help to open access to a global market thought to be worth up to US$15 billion (£11.5 billion) over the next ten years. (7/7)

Safran Acquires Orolia and Plans to Become the World Leader in Resilient PNT (Source: Safran)
After an exclusive negotiation process that began in December 2021, Orolia — a company recognized globally for its positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) and related activities, technologies and equipment — today joins Safran Electronics & Defense, the European leader and world number three in inertial navigation systems.

Orolia employs more than 435 people in Europe and North America and has revenues of around €100 million. Its solutions include atomic clocks, time servers*, simulation and resilience equipment for GNSS signals, as well as emergency locator beacons for commercial aviation and military applications. These make Orolia a highly complementary and synergistic part of Safran Electronics & Defense’s activities as it meets the challenges of positioning, navigation and synchronization in contested and vulnerable environments. (7/8)

We Must Disengage Russia From the International Space Station Partnership (Source: The Hill)
The International Space Station (ISS) partnership has survived trying times over the years. During my last spaceflight in 2014 to 2015, Russia annexed Crimea, started a civil war in Ukraine, shot down a civilian airliner, and the West imposed sanctions. The ISS was the sole bright spot while relations between the West and Russia sank to their lowest levels since the Cold War — until now.

The invasion of Ukraine is in its fifth month, yet the ISS partnership continues to function as it has for more than two decades. Crews are training. Flight controllers are monitoring vehicle systems. Managers are planning, allocating and negotiating. Engineers are designing. Rockets are launching. Government money is being spent. We have kept our heads down (some may say buried them in the sand) and pressed on with the work at hand.

But the picture is not all rosy. Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, has become unhinged. He has tweeted not-so-veiled threats against NASA and the West, bragging that Roscosmos is making nuclear weapons that could be used against us. He has threatened to leave American astronauts stranded in space. He has threatened to de-orbit the ISS so that it falls onto our territory. Much worse than these juvenile ramblings (if threats of nuclear war are juvenile) is the actual war that Russia is waging in Europe. They have killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians. They have intentionally targeted civilians (also known as war crimes). They have senselessly destroyed hundreds of billions of dollars of property. (7/9)

India Moves to Establish New Spaceport (Source: Times of India)
The state government handed over 2,000 acres of land at Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district to the Indian Space Research Organization last month to develop a satellite launch port, Isro chairman S Somanath said. Somanath said Isro must obtain environment, site and safety approvals to begin the project. “It will take two years to set up the facility, which will have a new launchpad, radar, ground stations, tracking systems and safety systems, among others.” (7/10)

UK's Norfolk Spaceport Plan Rockets Big Step Forward (Source: Eastern Daily Press)
The space industry is set to take off in Norfolk after plans to build a rocket launch pad in the North Sea progressed to a second stage. Gravitilab is spearheading ambitions for the offshore 'space port' to make it easier to blast its rockets into the earth's outer atmosphere. Although the concept still has obstacles to overcome, the firm's managing director, Mark Roberts said that "there is no particular reason why we should be nervous about it being a viable option".

He added: "One of the biggest hurdles we have is around airspace, but we've started that process and got to stage two of what is a very long process. "Stage one is really viability, if it's a completely lunatic idea they switch it off at a very early stage." The exact location of the space port has yet to be decided, but the company revealed that it will be somewhere off the Norfolk coast. (7/10)

No Damage to Relativity Space Rocket at Cape Canaveral From Fire at Launch Site, CEO Says (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
New rocket company Relativity Space is gearing up for its first ever launch testing its Terran 1 rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and a fire spotted at the launch site prompted its CEO to reassure people the rocket was fine. Images posted of flames and smoke rising from Launch Complex 16 by media outlet Talk of Titusville on Twitter had Relativity cofounder and CEO Tim Ellis commenting the rocket was well, and the launch pad damage was minimal.

“This grass fire was outside the rocket, from methane flare stack,” Ellis said. “The team and rocket are all safe, and minimal to no pad damage either. Mostly grass.” Relativity’s 3D printed rocket arrived to from its factory in Long Beach, California to the Space Coast last month prepping for a mission dubbed “GLHF,” as in “Good Luck, Have Fun,” which won’t be carrying any customer payloads, but will aim to prove it can perform for future missions when it attempts lift off later this year. A target launch date has not been determined, but earlier company statements said it was targeting before the end of summer. (7/9)

Dish: SpaceX Is Using 'Misinformation Campaign' to Rally Starlink Users (Source: PC Magazine)
SpaceX’s recent effort to petition Starlink users is a “misinformation campaign” designed to mislead the public and the FCC, according to Dish Network. Dish made the accusation this week through the 5G for 12GHz coalition, which issued a lengthy statement(Opens in a new window) that accuses SpaceX of resorting to disingenuous tactics in its battle to secure radio spectrum rights for Starlink. “Starlink has initiated a public misinformation campaign by falsely telling customers and the public that coexistence is not possible in the band among Starlink and 5G services—despite nationwide data proving otherwise,” the coalition says. (7/8)

Tensions Rise Between Russia and Kazakhstan (Sources: @b_nishanov, @SciGuySpace)
The tension between Russia and Kazakhstan has now become a quiet yet easily observable conflict. Kazakhstan has been vocal in its support for Ukraine and president Tokayev told Putin to his face Kazakhstan won’t recognize the puppet states of DNR and LNR. Now Russia halted shipments of Kazakh crude oil to Europe through a pipeline that goes over Russia.

Kazakhstan said it’s committed to energy security in Europe and that it will look for alternative shipment methods. Kazakhstan is also reportedly pulling out of a CIS committee that was looking at setting up a common currency, including with Russia; largely symbolic at this point but if confirmed, a very pointed move. One of the outcomes of this war will be a more confident and muscular Kazakhstan.

According to @SciGuySpace, there are "no impacts yet for Baikonur, which is Russia’s main spaceport, but located in Kazakhstan. Something to watch though." (7/9)

Japan to Start Research on Places on Moon, Mars for Humans (Source: Asahi Shimbun)
Researchers at Kyoto University and contractor Kajima Corp. presented plans to build living facilities required for human habitation on the moon and Mars and a transportation system reminiscent of a galaxy express. “There is no plan like this in other countries’ space development plans," said Yosuke Yamashiki, of Kyoto University. "Our plan represents important technologies crucial to ensuring human beings will be able to move to space in the future.”

They announced that they will undertake a joint study to achieve the plan. However, the plan will only become possible in the 22nd century, at the earliest. At the core of the plan is constructing “artificial gravity living facilities.” The facilities will be able to generate the same level of gravity as on Earth by using centrifugal force created by rotational motions. One of these facilities, called Lunar Glass, will be built on the moon under the plan. Another called Mars Glass will be constructed on Mars. (7/6)

Aerospace’s Slingshot Tests Universal Electrical Port for Satellite Payloads (Source: Breaking Defense)
As the Space Force moves to more fully embrace the use of commercial kit — from antennas to radios to satellite buses — in an effort to speed development, cut costs and keep up with state-of-the-art capabilities, programs often run up against hurdles caused by proprietary corporate technology. Aerospace Corporation’s just-launched Slingshot 1 experimental CubeSat was designed to figure out how to help resolve that problem, via on-board experiments to test various types of modular and autonomous technologies that use open standards and non-proprietary hardware and software.

Slingshot 1 is a 12-unit CubeSat, about the size of a shoebox, carrying 19 experimental payloads — 16 of which were designed by Aerospace’s lab. The experiments range from on-board processing software to a novel small thruster engine. “So, we looked to answer: ‘How can we test technologies more quickly on orbit? How can we decrease the satellite development timeline to be able to plug and play payloads or experiments … into a spacecraft bus and launch them’?” explained Hannah Weiher, Slingshot program manager at Aerospace’s Innovation Lab.

But perhaps the most important, she said in an interview on July 6, is the electrical interface the lab developed — essentially a universal USB port designed using open standards to allow for those “plug and play” payloads. While designing the various experiments, Weiher said, “we determined there’s a need for a standardized interface.” (7/8)

Aliens Could Use Quantum Signals to Communicate with Earth (Source: Physics World)
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) might want to add quantum communication to its list of ways for aliens to get in touch. According to calculations by researchers at the University of Edinburgh in the UK, quantum signals would be a viable means of establishing contact across interstellar distances – a result that also suggests we might need to update our technology to recognize any such signals coming in our direction.

This finding might seem surprising, given that setting up quantum links here on Earth has proven no easy task. Such links are based on creating entanglement between individual nodes and teleporting quantum states between them, but these states are fragile, and their tendency to decohere – that is, to lose their quantum nature – limits the stability of the links. Interstellar links, therefore, represent a bold step forward. Could quantum information survive the hostile space environment during a journey towards an interstellar receiver? (7/8)

Dramatic Sampling Shows Asteroid Bennu is Nothing Like Scientists Expected (Source: Space.com)
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission unleashed an unexpected explosion when it touched down on asteroid Bennu in October 2020 to collect a precious sample to carry home to Earth. Mission scientists have described the dramatic sample retrieval, which led to surprising discoveries about the asteroid's nature, in two new studies. And the results aren't just intriguing: The researchers say that the findings might have implications for a possible future deflection mission, should the 1,640-feet-wide Bennu (one of the riskiest known near-Earth asteroids) ever threaten to impact the planet.

"We expected the surface to be pretty rigid, kind of like if you touch down on a gravel pile: a little bit of dust flying away and a few particles jumping up," Dante Lauretta, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona and principal investigator of the OSIRIS-REx, mission told Space.com. "But as we were bringing back the images after the event, we were stunned," he continued. "We saw a giant wall of debris flying away from the sample side. For spacecraft operators, it was really frightening."

Six months after sample collection, in April 2021, the researchers got another glimpse of the OSIRIS-REx touchdown site. When the spacecraft first arrived at Bennu, that site, called Nightingale, sat within a 65-foot-wide impact crater. After touchdown, mission scientists found a brand new 26-foot-wide gaping hole in the surface, with displaced rubble and boulders scattered around the site. That's a surprisingly large scar; scientists had expected to scoop out a bit about as wide as the sample collector itself, 12 inches. "But we sunk in," Lauretta said. "There clearly was no resistance whatsoever. The surface was soft and flowed away like a fluid." (7/8)

Aerojet Rocketdyne to Pay $9 Million to Resolve U.S. Cybersecurity Allegations (Source: Reuters)
Rocket engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne (AJRD.N) has agreed to pay $9 million to resolve allegations it misrepresented its compliance with cybersecurity requirements in federal government contracts, the U.S. Justice Department said. Aerojet did not respond to requests for comment. Aerojet provides propulsion and power systems for launch vehicles, missiles and satellites and other space vehicles to the Pentagon, NASA and other federal agencies, the Justice Department said.

The settlement resolves a 2015 lawsuit filed by former Aerojet employee Brian Markus under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Markus and Aerojet reached a settlement of the case on the second day of trial in April, the Justice Department said. He will receive $2.61 million as his share of the settlement. The settlement was approved on July 5 by a U.S. District Court in California.

A court filing from Markus said between July 2013 and September 2015, Aerojet received over $2.6 billion in government funds by "fraudulently procuring" Defense Department and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contracts that were "essential components of America’s national defense and aerospace programs" by falsely representing it complied with cybersecurity regulations. (7/8)

Nigerian Official Seeks New National Space Policy (Source: New Telegraph)
A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, has highlighted the need to articulate a new national space policy for the country ahead of the expiration of the current space policy in 2025. Addressing newsmen yesterday in Lagos, the senior advocate of Nigeria said a robust and innovative national space policy is foundational to economic development, continued progress and sustained leadership in space. Agbakoba said although Nigeria was one of the first African nations to articulate and develop a space policy, he noted that there is more left undone as the country moves closer to its 2025 policy deadline. (7/8)

All About the Virgin Orbit Space Launch From Cornwall and When it Could Happen (Source: Business Live)
It was confirmed this week that the first horizontal satellite launch from UK soil will happen in Cornwall this year. Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit is set to launch its next satellite from Cornwall following a successful mission in California, the Government said. It is a huge moment for Spaceport Cornwall and has been years in the making. We are taking a look at what the space launch means and how it works ahead of the pioneering event set to take place later this year.

This is a first for the UK but it has been done before. Virgin Orbit has completed four missions since beginning operations in 2021. The other missions have launched from Mojave Air and Spaceport in California, including the Straight Up mission in June. The team in Cornwall mirrored Virgin Orbit experts in real-time for the Straight Up mission to practice for their own launch. There had been some hopes that the UK launch would happen in the Summer of 2021 after a successful launch in the USA by partner Virgin Orbit. But it is now scheduled to go ahead this year for the Queen's Jubilee year - summer 2022. (7/8)

Blue Origin Has its Reston VA Landing Spot (Source: RestonNow.com)
Jeff Bezos’ commercial space flight company has found its landing spot in Reston. Blue Origin, owned by the Amazon founder, is docking at 2001 Edmund Halley Drive, a company spokesperson confirmed. “Blue Origin has grown to more than 6000 employees and continues to hire top talent,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement. “In addition to the growth we are experiencing at each of our current sites, Blue has opened new offices in Denver, Phoenix, and Reston, Virginia. These sites will allow us to recruit additional talent in these regions.” (7/8)

Explosion, Fire at Vandenberg Space Force Base Sparks Air Quality Concerns (Source: KSBY)
Overnight, the test launch of a Minotaur II+ rocket at Vandenberg Space Force Base ended in an explosion that sparked a fire on the north side of the base. Some Vandenberg Village residents say the air smelled of diesel and smoke, prompting some to mask up inside their own homes. Santa Barbara County’s Air Pollution Control District reported that between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. Thursday morning, the district's Lompoc air quality station reported elevated risks for children, seniors, and people with pre-existing lung conditions.

“We heard a big boom, and I guess that was the missile,” said Bruce Myers, Vandenberg Village resident. “We were anticipating the launch, so we were kind of finding information about it online and I saw that there was an explosion,” said Allison Marsh, Vandenberg Village resident. Vandenberg Space Force Base officials say their planned test launch of a Minotaur II+ rocket ended in failure late Wednesday night, when the rocket exploded. (7/7)

Artemis 1 Launch Team Overcomes Obstacles to Complete WDR Test Objectives (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program and prime launch processing contractor Jacobs completed the Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) countdown demonstration test for Artemis 1 at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on June 20. The fourth run of the test “cut off” at T-29 seconds, several seconds before the desired stop time but after demonstrating the desired objectives of the test.

A second leak in the liquid hydrogen (LH2) tail service mast umbilical (TSMU) connection from the Mobile Launcher to the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage prevented a fully identical terminal countdown sequence and troubleshooting abbreviated the two planned countdown runs down to one. Still, the EGS and Jacobs launch team, along with support from the SLS and Orion programs and contractors was able to isolate the leak, workaround the issue, and complete test objectives.

After reviewing the results of the June 20 run NASA declared the test complete. The Artemis 1 Orion/SLS vehicle is now being prepared for launch inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, with a first launch attempt still possible as soon as late August. (7/8)