August 1, 2022

Space Florida Moving Beyond Arranging Economic Development Incentives Toward Earlier-Stage Venture Financing (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Florida’s aerospace agency wants to expand its role from helping companies finance rocket and satellite projects to more directly getting money into the hands of firms seeking to move burgeoning technology to the launch pad. Space Florida seeks to move beyond arranging financial incentives to working with a more complex array of relationships that involve banks, pension funds and the insurance industry and to engage in equity and debt structures.

“We saw for the first time (at Farnborough), companies that were talking to us about projects, two, three and five years out,” DiBello said. “In the past, we might not see those opportunities until the site-selection advisers were to advertise it. We’re now getting early discussions by companies that want to line up the opportunity in Florida and talk to us about the deal possibilities that are there for establishing here, coming here and thriving here.”

“The spaceport infrastructure money that we have put into spaceport assets around the state is what’s contributing to that increase in launch cadence that we’re seeing as we’re heading toward 100 launches a year,” DiBello said. Over the past decade, Space Florida helped arrange nearly $2.7 billion in financing, mostly for research and development and manufacturing facilities, and DiBello said projects in the pipeline could bump that to $5.5 billion. (8/1)

Space Coast’s First Double Launch Day Set for August 4 (Source: MyNews 13)
Over 30 launches have blasted off from the Atlantic coast of Florida in 2022, but later this week, those on the Space Coast may get to see a glimpse of the future. First, ULA will launch the sixth and final Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (SBIRS GEO 6) spacecraft on behalf of the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) sometime between 6:29 a.m. and 7:09 a.m. EDT. That Atlas V launch will be followed roughly 12 hours later by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter around 7 p.m. (8/31)

Venture Capital's Silent Crash (Source: Financial Times)
The surfeit of capital pushed new fields of science forward at a faster pace. They included technologies like quantum computing and driverless cars, “moonshot” projects that were once considered too risky or long term even for venture capital funds, which typically take a seven- to eight-year view. Significant headway has been reported by start-ups in both fields, though the truly transformative breakthroughs that venture investors hoped for remain out of reach.

The amount of money flowing into commercial space start-ups doubled last year to more than $15bn, according to BryceTech. In the middle of the last decade, annual investments were around $3bn a year. Private investment has backed a flurry of novel rocket technologies, satellite systems and earth imaging services. But start-ups have also ventured on to the frontier of space exploration, says space analyst Laura Forczyk. With NASA planning a return to the moon, private companies hoping to ride in its wake are already plotting lunar activities that range from mining to building cloud computing centers.

“There’s a lot more commercial activity” in areas of space exploration and research that were once considered the province of governments, says Forczyk. If the money dries up, she says, “I don’t know if it’s going to be sustainable.” Back on Earth, venture investors have been left reassessing bets in fields that were once considered among the hottest fields for start-ups. “We’ve realised maybe the world isn’t ready for as many of these things as we thought,” says Howard Morgan. (7/31)

Isotropic is Now All.Space, Developing Upgraded "Smart Terminal" (Source: Space News)
Antenna developer Isotropic Systems has unveiled a new product as well as a new name for the company. Isotropic, now called All.Space, announced Monday a fifth-generation "smart terminal" able to support multiple simultaneous satellite links. The flat-panel antenna will start production late this year. (8/1)

Russia ISS Role to End After 2024 (Source: Space News)
The head of Roscosmos revised comments last week that suggested Russia could withdraw from the International Space Station in 2024. Yuri Borisov said in an interview with Russian television Friday that Russia would end its work on the ISS some time after 2024, but did not give a specific date. He said Russia would comply with the intergovernmental agreement for the station that requires at least one year's notice before withdrawing. However, he said it was unlikely that Russia would remain on the station through 2030, as NASA and other Western partners are planning, citing a lack of research to be done there and concerns of an "avalanche-like" series of failures on aging modules. (8/1)

NASA and Commercial Partners Confident of 2030 Space Station Capabilities (Source: Space News)
Both NASA and the companies proposing to develop commercial space stations say they're confident the stations will be ready by 2030. At a conference last week, they rejected concerns raised by NASA's inspector general and a safety panel that those commercial stations were unlikely to be ready by 2030. The companies said they are on schedule to have stations ready by the late 2020s, enabling a transition from the ISS by 2030. A bigger uncertainty, they said, is the mix of commercial customers that will join NASA on those stations. (8/1)

Hydrosat Gains NOAA License for Thermal Imaging (Source: Space News)
Hydrosat has secured a commercial remote sensing license for its upcoming thermal imaging system. The company said it received a "Tier 1" license from NOAA, the least restrictive of three tiers of licenses the agency provides to commercial imaging satellite systems. The company says the Tier 1 license gives it the highest degree of flexibility in how it can collect and sell data commercially. The company's first satellite, VanZyl-1, will launch early next year as part of a Loft Orbital mission. (8/1)

Aderholt: China Ascendance Requires US Focus, Erratic Russia Cooperation Should be Restructed (Source: Space News)
A top House appropriator offered his vision for NASA in a recent speech. Speaking at the ISS Research and Development Conference last week, Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) said the US was in a new space race with China and "cannot afford to lose focus or momentum." He outlined a set of pillars and goals for civil and commercial space activities, including policy and regulatory issues. In addition to his concerns about China, he warned that Russia is now an "erratic partner" and that cooperation with Russia should be restricted to the ISS. Adherholt, the top Republican on the appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA, did not offer specific plans or funding levels needed to achieve the goals laid out in the speech. (8/1)

ESA Scales Back Athena X-Ray Telescope to Contain Costs (Source: Space News)
ESA is scaling back the design of an X-ray astronomy mission to contain its cost. ESA selected the Athena mission for development in 2014 with a goal to launch the large X-ray space telescope by the mid-2030s. The mission's original cost to ESA, 1.05 billion euros, has since grown to 1.9 billion euros, in part because member states that were to make their own contributions to the mission have backed off and handed over that work, and its cost, to ESA. The agency is now studying ways to scale back the mission to reduce its cost to 1.3 billion euros. Changes to Athena could also affect NASA, which is currently contributing hardware for an instrument as well as other resources, such as testing facilities. (8/1)

Big Crowds Expected for Artemis I Launch in Florida (Source: Florida Today)
At least 100,000 people are expected to watch the first launch of the Space Launch System rocket. Officials on Florida's Space Coast are gearing up for crowds for the launch, scheduled for as soon as Aug. 29 from the Kennedy Space Center. Many hotels in the area are already sold out for the launch. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will start selling tickets to view the launch from the center on Tuesday. (8/1)

Nchelle Nichols Leaves Legacy of Firsts for Hollywood, NASA (Source: Washington Post)
Nichelle Nichols, the Star Trek actress who helped NASA recruit women and minority astronauts, has died. Nichols, 89, played communications officer Uhura on the original series and subsequent movies. In the 1970s, she was hired by NASA to help the agency recruit its first Black and female astronauts in 1978. (8/1)

Rocket Lab Releases Animation of Neutron Launch Ops (Source: Rocket Lab)
Neutron is a medium-lift two-stage launch vehicle under development by Rocket Lab. The vehicle is being designed to be capable of delivering an 8,000 kg (17,600 lb) payload to low Earth orbit in a reusable configuration, and will focus on the growing megaconstellation satellite delivery market. The vehicle is expected to be operational sometime in 2024. It uses LOX and liquid methane propellant on both stages of the vehicle.

On 28 February 2022, Rocket Lab announced that Neutron will launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) within NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on the eastern coast of Virginia. It was also announced that the company will build a 250,000 square feet manufacturing and operations facility adjacent to the Wallops Flight Facility.  Ground was broken for this facility on 11 April 2022. As of December 2021, Rocket Lab is planning for the first launch to take place no earlier than 2024. Click here. (8/1)

James Webb Space Telescope's 1st Stunning Photo is Now a Dress (Source: Space.com)
The clearest and most detailed image of the distant universe ever taken, captured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), was released on July 11, 2022. This image, dubbed Webb's First Deep Field, captures a scene brimming with the oldest galaxies scientists have ever seen. Now, this groundbreaking image is being celebrated through fashion.

In a project combining its two passions — science and clothing — fashion brand Svaha has launched a new JWST-themed collection, including a dress, top and cardigan. The cotton material of each of these items is fully covered with NASA's image, representing just a small speck of outer space in mesmerizing detail. (7/31)