July 13, 2022

The Webb Space Telescope’s Profound Data Challenges (Source: IEEE Spectrum)
All of JWST's data-collecting prowess would be moot without the spacecraft’s communications subsystem. The Webb’s comms aren’t flashy. Rather, the data and communication systems are designed to be incredibly, unquestionably dependable and reliable. And while some aspects of them are relatively new—it’s the first mission to use Ka-band frequencies for such high data rates so far from Earth, for example—above all else, JWST’s comms provide the foundation upon which JWST’s scientific endeavors sit. JWST can produce up to 57 GB each day.

JWST is parked at Lagrange point L2. It’s a point of gravitational equilibrium located about 1.5 million kilometers beyond Earth on a straight line between the planet and the sun. It’s an ideal location for JWST to observe the universe without obstruction and with minimal orbital adjustments. Being so far away from Earth, however, means that data has farther to travel to make it back in one piece. It also means the communications subsystem needs to be reliable, because the prospect of a repair mission being sent to address a problem is, for the near term at least, highly unlikely.

Given the cost and time involved, says Michael Menzel, the mission systems engineer for JWST, “I would not encourage a rendezvous and servicing mission unless something went wildly wrong.” According to Menzel, who has worked on JWST in some capacity for over 20 years, the plan has always been to use well-understood Ka-band frequencies for the bulky transmissions of scientific data. Specifically, JWST is transmitting data back to Earth on a 25.9-gigahertz channel at up to 28 megabits per second. The Ka-band is a portion of the broader K-band (another portion, the Ku-band, was also considered). (7/8)

NASA CubeSat Mission Demonstrates Cutting-Edge Science, Climate Research (Source: NASA)
Five satellites developed by schools from Florida, Alabama, and Massachusetts, along with NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, will soon launch into low-Earth orbit on the next ELaNa (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) mission. ELaNa 45 consists of five small satellites, known as CubeSats, which will fly as auxiliary payloads on NASA’s SpaceX 25th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-25) mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff is targeted for July 14, 2022, from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport.

CLICK A is a CubeSat project run out of Ames and includes collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Florida. Other CubeSats flying aboard the ELaNa 45 mission include CapSat-1 from The Weiss School in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; JAGSAT from the University of South Alabama; BeaverCube from MIT; and Drag Deorbit Device (D3), from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. (7/11)

Russia Threatens ISS European Robotic Arm After ExoMars Termination (Source: Space News)
The European Space Agency has officially ended cooperation with Russia on the ExoMars mission, prompting a Russian threat to halt use of a European robotic arm on the International Space Station. ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher announced July 12 that the ESA Council formally decided to terminate cooperation on ExoMars, where Russia would have launched a European rover called Rosalind Franklin to the surface of Mars. That cooperation has been on hold since March.

While ESA has previously only suspended cooperation, it appeared highly unlikely that work with Russia would ever resume. Aschbacher said that the decision came because “the circumstances which led to the suspension of the cooperation with Roscosmos – the war in Ukraine and the resulting sanctions – continue to prevail.”

Since ESA’s decision to suspend work with Russia on ExoMars, it has been examining how to replace Russia’s contributions. That included not just the Proton launch of the spacecraft but also the Kazachok landing platform and some instruments and radioisotope heating units on the rover. Options include cooperation with NASA as well as entirely European alternatives. (7/13)

ESA Launches First Vega-C Mission (Source: Space News)
The European Space Agency launched the first Vega-C rocket this morning. The Vega-C lifted off at 9:13 a.m. Eastern from Kourou, French Guiana, at the end of a two-hour launch window. Technical issues halted the countdown twice earlier in the window. The rocket is carrying an Italian physics satellite, LARES-2, that will be deployed nearly 85 minutes after liftoff, with six cubesats to be deployed about 45 minutes later. The Vega-C is an upgraded version of the Vega small launch vehicle, with about a 50% increase in payload performance. (7/13)

JWST Success Could Bode Well for Other NASA Projects (Source: Space News)
The success of JWST despite its past difficulties could build momentum for other NASA programs. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that both President Biden and Vice President Harris were excited by the images when viewing them at a White House event Monday, asking "a million questions" about them as well as the agency's funding needs. Nelson said he was not worried about Congress supporting the agency's $26 billion budget proposal for fiscal year 2023. One Senate appropriator in attendance at the JWST event, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), said he would work "very hard" to fully fund the NASA budget proposal. (7/13)

Expect Slowed Growth for DoD Space Budget (Source: Space News)
A new report suggests the recent increase in U.S. military space funding may be short lived. The report by Avascent said that while the White House proposed a record-breaking budget for military space for 2023, the administration's own budget projections show slowing growth in future years, leveling off by 2027. With higher inflation, Avascent concluded that spending "in real dollars may have reached its zenith." That could force some tough decisions in the coming years on initiatives like missile tracking satellite programs. (7/13)

Russian Retaliation Threatened on ISS After ESA Cancels ExoMars Cooperation (Source: Space News)
Russia has threatened to stop use of a European robotic arm on the International Space Station after ESA officially terminated cooperation on ExoMars. The ESA Council formally decided Tuesday to terminate plans to work with Roscosmos on ExoMars, four months after that cooperation was suspended. ESA said it will provide details about the future of the Mars rover mission next Wednesday. Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, then said he would block the use of the European robotic arm on the station's Nauka module, an arm still being commissioned. It's unclear what the implications are of that decision, including how it might affect a spacewalk next week by an ESA astronaut and Roscosmos cosmonaut. (7/13)

China Plans Asteroid Deflection Test (Source: Space News)
China is planning a mission to test asteroid deflection technologies. The mission will launch in 2026 on a Long March 3B rocket, going to the near-Earth asteroid 2020 PN1. An impactor will collide with the asteroid with an orbiter observing the event. The mission appears to combine elements of the separate NASA DART mission, due to collide with a moon orbiting another near-Earth asteroid in September, with ESA's Hera mission that will perform later observations of that asteroid. (7/13)

Rocket Lab Launches NRO Payload From New Zealand (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab launched a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office early Wednesday. The Electron rocket lifted off at 2:30 a.m. Eastern from the company's New Zealand launch site on the NROL-162 mission. Rocket Lab and the NRO declared the launch a success an hour later but provided few details about the mission. NROL-162 and NROL-199, another mission launching on an Electron later this month, are classified spy satellites that the NRO developed jointly with the Australian government. (7/13)

China Launches Data Relay Satellite (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
China launched a data relay satellite Tuesday. A Long March 3B lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 12:30 p.m. Eastern and placed the third satellite in the Tianlian 2 series into a geostationary transfer orbit. The satellites provide data relay services for Chinese missions similar to NASA's TDRS series of spacecraft. (7/13)

SpiderOak Adds Former Air Force General as it Seeks More Space Cyber Business (Source: Space News)
Space cybersecurity firm SpiderOak has added a retired Air Force general to its board. The company announced Tuesday it appointed Ellen Pawlikowski, a former commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center, to its board, as well as Frederick Doyle, a former intelligence official and aerospace executive. SpiderOak uses software that encrypts data throughout private blockchain networks and creates cryptographic keys that give various parties access only to the datasets they need to perform their work. (7/13)

BAE Delivers Jam-Resistant GPS Systems to German Military (Source: Space News)
BAE Systems has delivered an undisclosed number of jam-resistant GPS receivers to the German military. The receivers can access the more secure M-code GPS signal, which is hardened against signal jamming and spoofing and provides cryptography for added security. The deal to sell Germany the GPS receivers was signed two years ago under the Foreign Military Sales program, and Germany is the first non-U.S. buyer of those receivers. (7/13)

Companies Work Toward Faster Response to Satellite Imagery Requests (Source: Space News)
Earth observation companies are changing how their satellites are tasked by customers. The lag between image order and delivery, once typically measured in days and only achieved through lengthy phone conversations, is now being reduced through computer interfaces that allow users to quickly request and receive imagery. While that makes the ordering process more efficient, companies say some customers still benefit from conversations about tasking because of the many variables involved.

BlackSky is the latest company to offer such tasking through Esri's ArcGIS Online geographic mapping platform. The companies announced Tuesday the creation of BlackSky Tasking, a cloud-based application that allows Esri and BlackSky customers to task a satellite and receive the imagery in ArcGIS Online. The millions of AcrGIS users can now order BlackSky imagery directly through that application. (7/13)

CAPSTONE Makes Second Trajectory Correction Toward Lunar Orbit (Source: Advanced Space)
The CAPSTONE lunar cubesat performed a second trajectory correction maneuver Tuesday. NASA and Advanced Space, which operates CAPSTONE, said the small maneuver Tuesday took place as expected, tweaking the spacecraft's trajectory slightly and demonstrating the types of maneuvers it will later perform once in lunar orbit. The maneuver was scheduled for Saturday but postponed to provide more time to analyze spacecraft data. (7/13)