September 14, 2022

Sidus Space and Momentus Execute MOU (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space has signed a memorandum of understanding with Momentus Inc.  to explore launching its LizzieSat satellites utilizing Momentus’ Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicle (OSV). The MOU also seeks to foster collaboration between the two companies to use their joint capabilities to seek new opportunities together, expanding both firms’ reach.

Together the firms are discussing undertaking an integrated mission that has characteristics of both a Hosted Payload and Delivery Service. Once in orbit, a Momentus OSV could provide power and data to LizzieSat for deployment, offering mission versatility for customers based on Vigoride’s service capabilities in-orbit. Sidus Space is interested in four potential mission launches with Momentus initially. As part of the MOU, the companies will potentially provide and/or source payloads to one another and explore working together on select government solicitations. (9/14)

NASA Conducts New Series of Flight Tests with Autonomous Sikorsky Helicopter (Source: Aviation Today)
Pilots and researchers from NASA began conducting research flights with the Sikorsky Autonomy Research Aircraft, or SARA, in March. The system uses Sikorsky’s MATRIX Technology that is designed to enable operators to autonomously fly any aircraft, or to fly an aircraft as an optionally piloted vehicle.  NASA’s team has now started a new series of flight test campaigns in the past couple of weeks to continue exploring autonomous technologies in partnership with Sikorsky and the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). (9/12)

NASA Wants to Open Space to More People, Supports Private Missions (Source: SpaceRef)
NASA is seeking proposals for two new private astronaut missions to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s efforts to open space to more people than ever before. With these opportunities, U.S. commercial companies will continue to play an essential role in establishing a sustained presence in low-Earth orbit (LEO) through the agency’s Commercial LEO Development Program. The targeted flight opportunities will occur between late 2023 and 2024.

A private astronaut mission involves U.S. commercial spacecraft transporting private astronauts to the space station, where they conduct activities aboard the orbiting laboratory or a commercial structure attached to it. NASA is enabling up to two short-duration private astronaut missions per year. “We are truly in an exciting era, witnessing a significant increase in access to space and expansion of the commercial marketplace in low-Earth orbit,” said NASA's Angela Hart at JSC. “We recognize the importance of NASA’s continued support, and are dedicated to working with industry to identify areas where our expertise and unique capabilities support expansion, as with private astronaut missions." (9/14)

MDA Selected by Airbus OneWeb Satellites for US Government Program (Source: Space Daily)
MDA has been selected by Airbus OneWeb Satellites (AOS) to design and build Ka-Band steerable antennas. The MDA antennas will be integrated into the portfolio of Arrow commercial small satellites manufactured by AOS. MDA technology has been integrated into more than 350 satellite missions to date, with more than 2,000 antenna subsystems and 3,000 electronic subsystems on approximately 850 satellites currently in orbit. The antennas for AOS will be built, assembled and tested at MDA's state-of-the-art high volume satellite production facility in Montreal. (9/12)

How AST SpaceMobile Compares (Source: Parabolic Arc)
One is our patented delay and Doppler fix, which encourages our phone to wait long enough for the signals to come back. And our satellite design, which is a [wide, thin modular design of solar tiles] that collect solar power. So, I think we done some innovation on the satellite design. We’ve done innovation on the way those signals are delivered to Earth. And we’ve also mirrored cellular architecture to the greatest extent possible. If you look at how cell phones communicate with towers, and in fact the network for the mobile network operator, we’ve mirrored that architecture very closely and captured all the key functions, some on the satellite and some on the ground, using the same infrastructure that the mobile network operators using for terrestrial [communication]. (9/14)

Scientists Propose Ceres Sample Return Mission (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
Planetary scientists have recommended NASA send a sample return mission to Ceres, the only dwarf planet located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. A mission study concept submitted to NASA’s Planetary Science Decadal Survey, which highlights priorities for the space agency’s next decade of planetary missions, recommends a New Frontiers mission to collect and return samples from Ceres, the ocean world closest in distance to Earth.

In 2015, NASA’s Dawn mission found Ceres to have an underground ocean and chemistry that could indicate habitability for microbial life. Believed to have originated in the outer solar system, Ceres is one of a growing number of solar system ocean worlds, which include Jupiter’s moon Europa, Saturn’s moons Enceladus and Titan, Neptune’s moon Triton, and Pluto. (9/14)

Space Force Nominee Supports Expanding Launch Vendor Base (Source: C4ISRnet)
The Space Force should establish a mix of established and emerging launch providers as it finalizes its strategy for the next phase of lift procurements, the White House’s nominee to lead the service said. The service expects to finalize its acquisition plan for Phase 3 of its National Security Space Launch Program this fall in preparation for a competition in 2024. Lt. Gen. Chance Saltzman told the Senate Armed Services Committee the Space Force is trying to strike a balance between maintaining the capabilities of its current vendor base and encouraging more competition and flexibility in future procurements.

“We’re still trying to figure out the best way to bend the requirements to take advantage of both the high-end established launch service providers but also find room for these emerging smaller launch service providers,” said Saltzman, who now serves as deputy chief of space operations. “I think that mix creates the kind of flexibility we need, and it’s just about getting the requirements set just right.” (9/13)

Introduce Bill Introduced to Thin Out the 900,000 Pieces of Orbiting Junk That Endanger the Future of Space Exploration (Source: Parabolic Arc)
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, joined U.S. Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS) to introduce the Orbital Sustainability (ORBITS) Act, a bipartisan bill to establish a first-of-its-kind demonstration program to reduce the amount of space junk in orbit.

“There are more than 900,000 pieces of space junk passing over our heads every day, including abandoned Government satellites,” said Sen. Cantwell. “This bill will jumpstart the technology development needed to remove the most dangerous junk before it knocks out a satellite, crashes into a NASA mission, or falls to the ground and hurts someone. We must continue to explore space, and we have to do it safely.” (9/13)

Florida Space Grant Consortium Receives NASA Funding for NASA Space Grant Plant the Moon Challenge Project (Source: FSGC)
NASA has announced just over a one-million-dollar award to the Virginia Space Grant Consortium for the NASA Space Grant Plant the Moon Challenge project. The Florida Space Grant Consortium is one of the funded project partners. The proposal is one of four awards made nationally through the NASA Space Grant KIDS funding opportunity which focuses on providing experiences for students to learn about NASA’s Artemis mission to return human explorers to the Moon and to Mars.

The Challenge will significantly extend the reach of the Institute of Competition Science’s current international Plant the Moon Challenge in a six-state region that includes partnerships with the North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Florida, and Puerto Rico Space Grant programs. Virginia Space Grant Consortium is serving as project lead. (9/14)

NASA Selects Firefly as a Launch Provider for Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) Missions (Source: Firefly)
Firefly Space Transport Services (STS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Firefly Aerospace, Inc, announced today that the company has been selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to provide launch services for the agency’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) missions in the 500-1000 kg grouping utilizing its Alpha rocket. The fixed-price IDIQ contract has a five-year ordering period with a maximum total value of $300 million across all contracts. (9/14)

Whither Mars or Wither Mars? (Source: Space News)
Are we on a good path toward developing and implementing a human mission to explore Mars? It’s widely understood that development for such a mission must begin now to have a mature program architecture and effective integration of science and engineering. NASA has provided the outlines of an Artemis framework for the moon and has been conducting a series of workshops to define the organizing principles for a moon-to-Mars human exploration effort. Our goal here is to suggest steps that should be taken to develop a successful, long-term human Mars program.

To summarize, effective planning today for a Mars mission must include developing a program structure that integrates all components under central leadership; must include science as a core component of the program from the very beginning; must plan for the development of a program rather than just the first human mission; must change the cultures to allow effective integration of engineering, science, human factors, cost, and risk from the very beginning; and must be able to take advantage of multiple missions that are aimed at using all the complementary capabilities of robots and humans.

To succeed, we need a credible program today that will lead to human missions to Mars. NASA is the right agency to carry out this exploration. Collaborations with commercial or international partners certainly can enhance the ability to carry out the missions, possibly to a great extent. However, no commercial missions beyond LEO have yet taken place. We also believe that maintaining a NASA-centered perspective will be necessary to keep an emphasis on the science. Click here. (9/14)

Space Force Nominee Sees China as Most Immediate Threat (Source: Space News)
The nominee to be the next general in charge of the U.S. Space Force called China's capabilities "the most immediate threat" to the United States in space. Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman said at a Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday said that China, and to a lesser extent Russia, were investing to close the gap with U.S. space capabilities: "I'm worried about the pace with which they are making those changes." He added that the Space Force will need to tap the commercial market for innovative technologies to supplement government systems. Saltzman has served as deputy chief of space operations since 2020 and is expected to be swiftly confirmed. (9/14)

Japan and Germany Join Anti-ASAT Pledge (Source: Space News)
Japan and Germany joined the United States this week in pledging not to conduct direct-ascent anti-satellite missile tests that create orbital debris. The separate announcements from Japan and Germany came as the United Nations convened a meeting in Geneva on space threat reduction. The United States plans to introduce a resolution at the UN General Assembly later this month calling for a halt to destructive ASAT testing. (9/14)

OneWeb and Arianespace Reach Settlement on Suspended Soyuz Launches (Source: Space News)
Arianespace and OneWeb announced Tuesday that they have reached a settlement on suspended Soyuz launches. Arianespace had planned to perform six more Soyuz missions to complete the OneWeb constellation when the launches were suspended after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The companies declined to disclose the terms of the settlement but said that Arianespace might resume launches in the future for OneWeb's second-generation constellation. Arianespace will also assist OneWeb on two launches of its satellites on India's GSLV. (9/14)

Speedcast to Distribute Starlink Services (Source: Space News)
Speedcast is the first company to sign a distribution deal to resell SpaceX's Starlink broadband services. Speedcast said Starlink would enable higher speeds and lower latency for its customers on oil rigs, merchant vessels, and other remote areas. Speedcast currently connects these locations via capacity it buys from GEO satellites. Speedcast said their agreement marks the first deal of its kind with Starlink, which typically prefers to sell directly to customers. (9/14)

Iceye Plans Optical-Radar Imaging Constellation with Satlantis (Source: Space News)
Iceye is proposing to work with Satlantis on a joint optical-radar imaging constellation. Satellites in the proposed Tandem4EO constellation would fly in formation in sun-synchronous orbit with two Iceye synthetic aperture radar satellites flying in a bistatic formation ahead of two Satlantis satellites designed to gather imagery with a resolution of less than one meter per pixel. The combination could support applications in disaster response, national resources and security, the companies said. (9/14)

Blue Origin Starts Investigation of New Shepard Failure (Source: Space News)
Blue Origin says it's still "super early" in the investigation into Monday's New Shepard launch failure. At a World Satellite Business Week panel Tuesday, a Blue Origin executive said it was too soon to draw conclusions about what caused the failure amid speculations of a problem with the booster's BE-3 engine. Blue Origin plans to use a version of the BE-3 on the upper stage of New Glenn, but that version is significantly upgraded from the one used on New Shepard. The FAA is investigating the launch accident and won't let New Shepard fly again until that is completed. (9/14)

Investors Remain Confident in Space Business Fundamentals (Source: Space News)
Investors and executives still see long-term potential for the space industry despite near-term challenges. During a World Satellite Business Week panel, they said that while many space companies have seen their valuations decline, their long-term fundamentals remain strong. Consolidation of satellite operators may also be positive, they said, reducing capital expenditures and allowing them to invest in new capabilities. (9/14)

NASA's Zurbuchen Stepping Down From Science Post (Source: Space News)
NASA's associate administrator for science is stepping down after six years on the job. NASA announced Tuesday that Thomas Zurbuchen will leave the agency at the end of the year after serving as associate administrator for science since the fall of 2016. Zurbuchen said it's time for new leadership and fresh thinking for NASA's science programs while he looks for new challenges. Zurbuchen has been widely hailed for managing a diverse portfolio of missions from large flagships to innovative commercial partnerships. (9/14)

China Launches Military Satellite (Source: Space News)
China launched a military communications satellite on a Long March 7A Tuesday. The rocket lifted off from the Wenchang spaceport at 9:18 a.m. Eastern and placed the Zhongxing-1E (ChinaSat-1E) satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The satellite appears to be similar to earlier Zhongxing-1 satellites and is believed to serve military customers. (9/14)

Slingshot Aerospace to Share Free Version of Space Traffic Management Software (Source: Space News)
Slingshot Aerospace, a space data analytics company, will provide a free version of its space traffic control software to satellite operators worldwide. Slingshot CEO Melanie Stricklan said the company decided to offer a free basic service to help bring in as many satellite operators as possible into the platform. Satellite operators that sign up for Slingshot Beacon can receive urgent collision alerts so they're able to coordinate satellite maneuvers and communicate with other operators in high-risk situations. Slingshot hopes the free service will attract customers for Beacon's more advanced options such as automated coordination for operators that have larger fleets, and more refined warnings. (9/14)

Skyloom and Space Compass Plan Constellation for Space Data Relay (Source: Space News)
Two companies will work together to establish a constellation to relay data from low Earth orbit to the ground through satellites in geostationary orbit. Skyloom and Space Compass, a joint venture between NTT and Sky Perfect JSAT, are the latest to enter an increasingly crowded market for data relay satellite networks. They see demand from government agencies and commercial firms looking for ways to move data around more quickly and securely. (9/14)

Aalyria Plans Laser Comm for Space and Other Markets, Using Google's Loon IP (Source: Space News)
A startup plans to provide high-speed internet using software and networking technology from Google's ill-fated Loon project to beam internet service from high-altitude balloons. Aalyria Technologies, a startup that emerged from stealth mode Tuesday, wants to use laser communications combined with technology developed for Loon to provide high-bandwidth communications in various markets, including space. Aalyria won an $8 million contract from the Defense Innovation Unit to prototype a network for DIU's hybrid space architecture program that seeks to provide internet connectivity using both commercial and government satellites deployed in different orbits. (9/14)

NASA Funds Projects to Study Orbital Debris, Space Sustainability (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded contracts for studies on economic, social and policy issues of space sustainability. The three studies by university-based teams will examine issues beyond technical and operational effects of orbital debris and instead examine issues such as policy tools and public communications of the orbital debris problem. The results of the one-year studies will be published by NASA. Among the three projets is one by the University of Central Florida titled: Communication and Space Debris: Connecting with Public Knowledges and Identities. (9/13)