July 27, 2022

Orbit Fab to Donate Regolith to Lunar Resources Trust (Source: Space News)
Orbit Fab, a startup that is developing an infrastructure for in-space refueling of spacecraft, announced plans to purchase a small amount of lunar regolith and transfer it to a trust to promote sustainable management of lunar resources. The Colorado-based company said July 26 that it signed a letter of intent with Breaking Ground, a trust established last year seeking to develop approaches for managing lunar resources. Under the agreement, Orbit Fab will purchase lunar regolith from another company and donate it to Breaking Ground to hold in trust.

The intent of the transfer is to create a model for transfer of lunar resources and to develop management approaches for such resources that are “cooperative, adaptive, plural, and balanced to fit the needs of as many stakeholders as possible,” the two organizations said in a statement. Breaking Ground sees the trust as a way to avoid future conflicts over, or monopolization of, lunar resources by companies or countries that could hinder future activities on the moon. The trust can create precedents for the transfer of lunar resources and help mature approaches for management of those resources. (7/26)

Jury Hands Pratt & Whitney Win In Palm Beach Cancer Case (Source: Law360)
A jury determined Tuesday that Pratt & Whitney was not liable for a cancer cluster in a Palm Beach County, Florida, neighborhood near the company's former rocket and aerospace testing site. After deliberating just a few hours, jurors came back with a defense verdict for Pratt & Whitney, which had been accused by nearby homeowners in western Palm Beach County of failing to properly treat dirt contaminated with radioactive elements that was later used as fill for the housing development. (7/26)

No Official Word From Russia to NASA on ISS Withdrawal (Source: Space News)
NASA officials said Tuesday they have heard nothing from Russia about plans to end participation on the International Space Station despite public comments to that effect by the new head of Roscosmos. Russian media reported that Yuri Borisov, who was selected to lead Roscosmos earlier this month, told Russian President Vladimir Putin "the decision to withdraw from this station after 2024 has been made."

However, at an ISS research conference Tuesday, NASA officials said that Roscosmos had not notified them of any plans to end its partnership on the ISS. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson also said the agency "has not been made aware of decisions from any of the partners" to end cooperation on the ISS. Russian officials have previously discussed leaving the ISS at some point after 2024 in favor of a national space station. However, that station is unlikely to be ready before the decade's end. (7/27)

Mexican-Born Astronaut Katya Echazarreta to be Honored by President (Source: New York Post)
She went from working under the glow of the Golden Arches to outer space — and now the first Mexican-born woman to reach the cosmos is a star in her own right. Katya Echazarreta, who joined the crew of Jeff Bezos’ spaceflight company Blue Origin last month, will be honored by the president of Mexico. The 27-year-old trailblazer is set to share her historic journey during an Aug. 2 meeting with Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mexico City, in a bid to help others in her homeland who have scientific aspirations. (7/23)

Canadian Startup Plans Launches From Brazil (Source: SpaceQ)
While Canadian based C6 Launch Systems waits for the Canadian government to move forward with regulatory changes that will allow companies like C6 to launch in Canada, they are moving forward with preparations for their first suborbital test at a foreign spaceport. Today, C6 Sistemas, the Brazilian subsidiary for C6 Launch Systems, signed a launch services agreement with GNC Brasil Sistemas Críticos for the first suborbital launch by C6 from the Brazilian Alcantara Space Center. (7/25)

China Launched Six Satellites on Small Launcher (Source: Space News)
A new Chinese small launch vehicle placed six satellites into orbit on its first launch Wednesday. The Lijian-1, or ZK-1A, rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 12:12 a.m. Eastern and placed six smallsats into orbit for technology demonstration and other applications. Lijian-1 is a four-stage solid-fuel rocket capable of placing up to 1,500 kilograms into a sun-synchronous orbit. The rocket is operated by CAS Space, a commercial spinoff from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Lijian-1 is now the largest operational Chinese solid launcher, and CAS Space is also developing larger rockets. (7/27)

After Space Station Launch, Core Stage of Heavy-Lift Chinese Rocket Expected to Re-Enter on July 31 (Source: Space News)
The core stage of a Chinese rocket launched Sunday is expected to reenter this weekend. The Aerospace Corporation predicts the Long March 5B core stage to make an uncontrolled reentry at 3:52 a.m. Eastern July 31, plus or minus 22 hours. The core stage was left in orbit from last weekend's launch of the Wentian space station module, and there is no ability to control the stage's reentry.

Two previous Long March 5B launches resulted in uncontrolled reentries of the rocket's first stage in 2020 and 2021, with pieces of the stage surviving reentry. The upcoming reentry will take place somewhere between 41 degrees north and south latitude, but the large error bars on the reentry time make it impossible for now to estimate a more specific reentry location. (7/27)

Chinese Astronauts Set Up New Lab on Space Station (Source: Space Daily)
Astronauts entered the new lab module of China's space station for the first time Monday, in a major step towards completing the orbital outpost by the end of the year. The station is one of the crown jewels of Beijing's ambitious space programme, which has landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon, and made China only the third nation to put humans in orbit. Once completed, Tiangong -- or "heavenly palace" -- will be constantly crewed by rotating teams of three astronauts. (7/25)

China to Put Large Telescope in Orbit Next Year (Source: Space Daily)
China plans to launch a large space telescope next year to fly alongside the Tiangong space station, according to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. The academy said a Long March 5B heavy-lift carrier rocket will deploy the Xuntian space telescope in a low-Earth orbit similar to the track of the Tiangong station as they both circle Earth. The telescope will carry out deep-space observation and research in the frontier fields of science, it said.

The academy is the designer and builder of the Long March 5B, the most powerful Chinese rocket when it comes to carrying capacity for low-Earth orbit. The rocket is central to China's space station program because it is now the only Chinese launch vehicle capable of carrying large space station parts into orbit. (7/25)

NASA Prepares to Award SLS Launch Services Contract to Boeing-Northrop Joint Venture (Source: Space News)
NASA is preparing to award a contract to a new Boeing-Northrop Grumman joint venture to provide Space Launch System launch services. The planned Exploration Production and Operations Contract (EPOC) would have NASA procure SLS launch services rather than the vehicles themselves, starting with the Artemis 5 mission in the late 2020s and extending to as late as 2036. In a procurement filing Tuesday, NASA said it plans to award EPOC to Deep Space Transport LLC, a new joint venture involving Boeing and Northrop.

Boeing builds the SLS core stage and its future Exploration Upper Stage, while Northrop provides the solid rocket boosters. NASA officials previously said they sought a cost reduction of at least 50% with EPOC, although the procurement notice provided no pricing information. (7/27)

Astraius Picks Northrop Grumman and Exquadrum for Air Launch Rocket, with First Mission at Prestwick Planned for 2024 (Source: Astraius)
UK's Prestwick Spaceport has welcomed two rocket businesses to work with Astraius, its launch service provider, as the site gears up for the first launch in spring 2024. Astraius, the UK-based, horizontal launch company, has partnered with Northrop Grumman for the first and second stage motors, and Exquadrum for the upper-stage motor. Northrop Grumman’s Orion solid rocket motors will boost the Astraius launch vehicle after its extraction from the unmodified C-17 carrier aircraft. Completing the mission, Exquadrum’s bespoke Astraius upper stage will precisely place satellites in their intended orbits.

Prestwick Spaceport will play an important role in the creation of up to 4,000 local aerospace and space jobs for Scotland and will help nurture and develop the skills needed to keep the UK at the forefront of what is a globally growing industry for years to come. (7/27)

Viasat Wins ESA Contract to Study Multi-Orbit Satellite Networks (Source: Space News)
Viasat won a contract from the European Space Agency to study multi-orbit satellite networks. The one-year study, to be conducted by the U.S.-based satellite broadband operator's British subsidiary, will examine technical requirements and potential markets for hybrid networks that combine multiple frequency bands and network architectures, including satellites in different orbits and high-altitude platforms. Viasat is in the process of merging with Inmarsat; both companies operate GEO satellites but have studied concepts for constellations in LEO and other orbits. Viasat declined to disclose the amount of funding it will receive from ESA for the study. (7/27)

Wallaroo Labs Wins Space Force Contract for AI Support (Source: Space News)
Startup Wallaroo Labs says it won a contract from the Space Force to study AI technologies for spacecraft. The Phase 1 SBIR contract was awarded by SpaceWERX, the technology arm of the U.S. Space Force, in support of the Orbital Prime program to develop technologies for space debris cleanup and other on-orbit services. The five-year-old startup, based in New York City, developed a software platform that helps businesses assess the performance of AI applications and determine if the data analyzed with AI and machine learning algorithms provides any real value. Under the contract, the company will study how those technologies could be used on "edge computers" involved in in-space satellite servicing and related systems. (7/27)

Sierra Space Creates High-Level Group to Support National Security Work (Source: Space News)
Sierra Space announced Tuesday the creation of a group of advisers to support work on national security applications. The eight-person National Security Advisory Group is led by James F. Geurts, former acting undersecretary of the Navy, and includes two former vice chiefs of staff of the Air Force and a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, among others. Sierra Space has previously discussed potential national security variants of its Dream Chaser spacecraft but has not disclosed what missions it foresees that vehicle performing. (7/27)

Lockheed Martin and Maxar Win NASA/NOAH Study Contracts for Future Weather Satellites (Source: NASA)
Lockheed Martin and Maxar have won study contracts for a new generation of geostationary weather satellites. NASA, acting on behalf of NOAA, awarded the Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) phase A studies to the two companies Tuesday, each valued at about $5 million. The companies will use the 10-month studies to refine their concepts for the GeoXO satellites ahead of an award for production of the satellites expected in 2024. The GeoXO satellites will succeed the current GOES-R series of four satellites, three of which have been launched. (7/27)

JWST Discoveries Wowing Astronomers (Source: BBC)
Astronomers are using some of the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope to look back earlier into the history of the universe. Analysis of those images turned up one galaxy with a redshift — a measure of cosmological distance — of 14.3, translating to an age just 280 million years after the Big Bang. Another group of astronomers say they have found an even more distant galaxy with a redshift of 16.7. "Textbooks are going to be rewritten on even just the data we've gotten in the first week" from JWST, said one astronomer. (7/27)

Aldrin's Apollo 11 Jacket Fetches Over $2.7 Million at Auction (Source: CollectSpace)
A jacket worn by Buzz Aldrin during the Apollo 11 mission sold at auction Tuesday for nearly $2.8 million. That jacket, part of a set of Aldrin's memorabilia auctioned off by Sotheby's, set a record for the most valuable space-flown artifact, exceeding the $2.05 million paid in 2019 for a gold medallion that Neil Armstrong flew on Apollo 11. The auction overall generated more than $8.1 million. One item that did not sell was a pen that Aldrin used to close a broken circuit breaker on the Apollo 11 lunar module to enable the spacecraft to lift off from the moon. The pen, expected to fetch $1-2 million, did not hit its reserve price. (7/27)

Why is India’s Space Industry Looking for Private Sector Investment? (Source: The Hindu)
Principal Scientific Adviser Ajay Kumar Sood stated earlier this month that the government would soon come up with a new space policy to increase private sector participation in the industry. Consultations have already been held and the final version of the policy would soon be referred to the Empowered Technology Group for further examination. Enhancing space technology would be beneficial to bolster connectivity and combat climate-related implications through a more secure and effective means.

Private sector’s involvement in the long term, as with other commercial sectors, is believed to help spur investment and expertise in the realm which is capital-intensive and demands high technology. The Indian Space Industry was valued at $7 billion in 2019 and aspires to grow to $50 billion by 2024. The country’s standout feature is its cost-effectiveness. India holds the distinction of being the first country to have reached the Mars’ orbit in its first attempt and at $75 million — way cheaper than Western standards. (7/26)

NASA Mars Rover Discovers Mystery Object (Source: Space Daily)
Is it tumbleweed? A piece of fishing line? Spaghetti? A tangled object discovered by NASA's Mars Perseverance rover has intrigued space watchers. But the most plausible explanation is it's likely remnants of a component used to lower the robotic explorer to the Martian surface in February 2021. The bundle of debris was first spotted July 12 by the rover's front left hazard avoidance camera -- but when Perseverance returned to the same spot four days later, it was gone. (7/21)