July 12, 2022

Canoo Testing New NASA Crew Transport Vehicles (Source: Fox News)
Electric truck company Canoo has begun testing for the Crew Transport Vehicles it is developing for NASA's upcoming Artemis Moon mission. The American startup in April won a $147,855 contract to provide the vehicles to the program, which requires that they be delivered by June 2023. Canoo recently took three vans, appropriately painted red, white and blue, to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for some preliminary evaluations.

The contract calls for street legal vehicle with the capacity for one driver, four suited-up flight crew members, and three additional staff, plus six equipment bags, cooling units, and two cubic feet per passenger for miscellany. At least two large doors for entry/egress and emergency exit are needed, and it has to use a zero-emissions powertrain. Canoo is working on several consumer and commercial models it plans to begin producing at its Oklahoma factory next year. (7/11)

Articulating a New National Space Policy for Nigeria (Source: Business Day)
Space policy is the political decision-making process for, and application of, the public policy of a state (or association of states) regarding spaceflight and uses of outer space, both for civilian (scientific and commercial) and military purposes. It sets out a nation’s commitment to leading in the responsible and constructive use of space, promoting a robust commercial space industry, leading in exploration, and defending the state’s interests in space.

A national space policy recognizes that a robust, innovative, and competitive commercial space sector is foundational to economic development, continued progress, and sustained leadership in space. It commits to facilitating the growth of a commercial space sector that supports the nation’s interests, is globally competitive, and advances leadership in the generation of new markets and innovation-driven entrepreneurship. (7/11)

House Considers UFO Amendment to Defense Authorization Bill (Source: FNN)
The House will consider its version of the 2023 Defense authorization bill soon, and that means lawmakers from the whole legislative body are adding their two cents for what should be in the bill. To date, representatives have proposed 1,223 amendments to bill that already stretches more than 1,300 pages. Among them, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) wants to create a system within DoD for reporting UFOs. The system would report the event and any government or contractor activity related to it. The system would serve as a mechanism to prevent unauthorized public reporting of classified military or intelligence programs. (7/12)

OneWeb Backs Up Starlink 5G Interference Warning (Source: Space News)
Plans to use the 12 GHz band for terrestrial 5G would severely disrupt non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) broadband across the United States, OneWeb said July 11 in analysis supporting an earlier study from SpaceX. In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, OneWeb urged the regulator to reject a request from satellite broadcaster Dish Network and spectrum holder RS Access to run two-way mobile services in the band. If approved, “it would leave significant areas of the United States unusable by the otherwise ubiquitous NGSO [fixed satellite service] user terminals,” wrote Kimberly Baum, OneWeb’s vice president of spectrum engineering and strategy. (7/12)

Fire Erupts From Starship Booster Before Static Fire Test (Source: Space News)
A test of a SpaceX booster for the first Starship orbital flight ended in a fiery anomaly Monday afternoon. Flames unexpectedly erupted from the base of the Super Heavy booster called Booster 7 during testing at SpaceX's Starbase facility at Boca Chica, Texas. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk acknowledged the incident was "not good," but initial inspections revealed no major damage to the booster. The incident also caused one or more fires to break out around the pad. While SpaceX is expected to perform a static-fire test of the booster ahead of the first orbital launch, such a test was not planned for Monday. (7/12)

Successful Static Fire Test for ABL Rocket (Source: Space News)
ABL Space Systems said it successfully static fired the first stage of the RS1 rocket that will make the company's first orbital launch attempt. The company tested the stage Saturday at the spaceport on Kodiak Island, Alaska, where it plans to conduct that first launch. In parallel, the company completed pre-flight testing of the rocket's upper stage. The company has not set a date for the first RS1 launch, although company executives said it is still several weeks away. (7/12)

India Opens Space Situational Awareness Center (Source: India Today)
India's space agency ISRO opened a new space situational awareness center. The System for Safe & Sustainable Operation will track objects in low Earth orbit and provide warnings of potential collisions with Indian satellites. An Indian government minister said the new center demonstrates the country's commitment to space sustainability. (7/12)

ESA Committee to Advise on Exploration Plans (Source: ESA)
ESA has established a committee to provide advice on the agency's human and robotic exploration plans. The 12-person high-level advisory group includes a former NATO secretary general and prime minister as well as economists and an explorer. The group, commissioned by ESA's director general in February after a space summit, will provide input on ESA's exploration plans ahead of the next ministerial meeting in November and publish a final report in March 2023 to inform a second space summit in the latter half of next year. (7/12)

World View Hires Astronauts (Source: World View)
World View has hired former NASA astronauts, among others, to provide safety and technical advice. The company, which is developing stratospheric balloons to carry people for tourism flights, said it hired former NASA astronaut Greg Johnson as its chief test pilot while Charlie Precourt, another former astronaut and Northrop Grumman executive, will lead an independent technical oversight committee. The company also hired Ron Failing, the former director of safety at Virgin Galactic, to be its vice president of aviation safety. (7/12)

JWST and the Future of Large Space Telescopes (Source: Space Review)
NASA and its partners will release this week the first science-quality observations from the James Webb Space Telescope, starting a new era in space astronomy that will last for decades. Jeff Foust reports on how some astronomers are looking beyond JWST to future space telescopes, and the challenges they face from the struggles to build JWST. Click here. (7/12)
 
An ICAO for the Moon: It’s Time for an International Civil Lunar Organization (Source: Space Review)
The number of countries and companies planning lunar missions presents a challenge for coordination and cooperation. Peter Garretson offers a solution in the form of an organization modeled on the one that has advanced civil aviation. Click here. (7/12)
 
Space and America’s Future (Source: Space Review)
The White House sought a significant increase in NASA’s budget for next year, but that increase may not be enough. Frank Slazer makes the case for even larger funding increases for the agency to keep its exploration plans on track. Click here. (7/12)

Bruno Fears Recession's Impact on Space Industry (Source: Space News)
Fears of a recession could cause a "sea state change" for the space industry, warned United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno. Speaking at an online conference Monday, Bruno said rising interest rates and a potential recession will cause investors to reconsider investments in space companies and be "very, very careful about the companies that can really make a difference" in the market. What likely lies ahead is a shakeout and consolidation, and some companies may not survive, he said. (7/12)

Space Force Hasn't Cracked the Code for Acquisitions (Source: Space News)
A former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff worries that the Space Force has not "cracked the code" on faster acquisitions. Speaking at a conference Monday, retired Air Force Gen. John Hyten, a longtime critic of the Pentagon procurement system, said both the Defense Department and Congress were being risk averse in their approach to Space Force acquisitions. That could keep the service from acquiring new technologies at the pace that is needed to keep up with adversaries, he said. (7/12)

Japan's GITAI Plans Tests of ISS Robotic Arm (Source: Space News)
A Japanese startup will test a robotic arm on the International Space Station next year. GITAI said Monday that its autonomous, 1.5-meter-long dual robotic arm system, called S2, would be mounted on the exterior of the Bishop airlock, a module funded by U.S.-based Nanoracks. The company tested an earlier robotic arm system, called S1, inside the airlock last year. The company hopes to use the technology for applications beyond the ISS, including on-orbit servicing and lunar exploration. (7/12)

Trump Criticizes Elon Musk's "Rocketships to Nowhere" (Source: @realDonaldTrump)
On his not-Twitter Twitter-like app Tuesday, former president Donald Trump put out a message critical of Elon Musk, saying Musk "came to the White House asking me for help on all his many subsidized projects...without which subsidies he'd be worthless." Trump pointed to Musk's "rocketships to nowhere." (7/12)

Biden Unveils First Image From James Webb Space Telescope (Source: UPI)
President Joe Biden on Monday unveiled an image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, the first from the spacecraft's highly anticipated initial group of images since NASA completed alignment and testing of its mirrors. The image, shown during a preview event at the White House, depicts "galaxies that are shining around other galaxies whose light has been bent" NASA administrator Bill Nelson said. "You're seeing just a small, little portion of the universe," he said.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris received a briefing from NASA officials during the event, and previewed the first images from the Webb Space Telescope, which are "the highest-resolution images of the infrared universe ever captured," according to the White House. Biden said that the release of the images "will be a historic moment for science and technology for astronomy and space exploration, for America and all of humanity." "As an international collaboration, this telescope embodies how America leads the world not by the example of our power but by the power of our example," Biden said. (7/11)

China Solicits Name for Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (Source: Xinhua)
China started soliciting suggestions on Monday for a Chinese name of its first solar probe, the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S), according to the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The satellite is scheduled to be launched into space this October. Between July 11 and 24, netizens are invited to suggest a name for the probe that reflects its function while also suggesting China's spirit of scientific exploration and cultural self-confidence. The satellite, which is designed to have a four-year lifespan, will conduct observations on the solar magnetic field, solar flares and coronal mass ejections, to support the forecasting of catastrophic space weather. (7/11)

Uncontrolled Rockets Pose Unnecessary Risk, Study Finds (Source: The Verge)
What are the odds a free-falling rocket will kill one person somewhere in the world? There’s about a 10 percent chance over the next decade if current practices in the space industry stay the same, according to the authors of a new paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy. While that’s not a huge risk, the threat is significantly bigger in some parts of the world than in others. In particular, many countries in the Global South are likely to deal with a larger share of space trash even though they’re not responsible for it, according to the analysis. And it could become a bigger issue as rockets launch into space more frequently to ferry up a growing number of satellites. (7/11)