September 15, 2022

KTSAT Taps Satconsult to Provide Expert Oversight of Satellite Construction (Source: Space Daily)
Euroconsult has announced that its affiliate, Southern Aerospace and Telecom Consulting (Satconsult) has contracted with KTSAT to provide expert oversight throughout the build of Koreasat 6A satellite. The contract marks the third time that KTSAT will put its trust in Satconsult's depth of expertise to support the monitoring and control of the manufacturing process and advise on best practices from design through testing of highly strategic spacecrafts. (9/15)

GHGSat Taps Spire to Expand Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Constellation (Source: Space News)
Spire Global said Sep. 15 it will build three 16U cubesats launching in 2023 to expand Canadian greenhouse gas-monitoring operator GHGSat’s constellation. The three satellites, each the size of 16 cubesats, are slated to join the six similarly sized spacecraft that GHGSat currently operates in low Earth orbit. Joel Spark, co-founder and general manager of Spire’s space services business, said the cubesats would be dedicated to GHGSat and not host other payloads. He said the satellites will launch in late 2023, although Spire has not yet allocated them a berth under the multi-launch agreements it has in place with launch providers he did not specify. (9/15)

Rocket Lab Preps for 30th Launch, Makes Strides in Engine Reuse (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
Rocket Lab is set to launch its 30th mission from New Zealand Thursday with a commercial Japanese radar remote sensing satellite for Synspective. While the company does not plan to retrieve the Electron rocket on this mission, engineers recently test-fired an engine recovered from a flight earlier this year, another step toward Rocket Lab’s goal of reusing first stage boosters. The engine was recovered after the first time Rocket Lab caught a descending booster under parachute with a helicopter. The aircraft released the rocket for a soft splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, and Rocket Lab raised the booster from the sea for return to New Zealand. Rocket Lab’s first stage is powered by nine Rutherford engines. (9/15)

Sidus Space Producing Hardware to Support Tranche 1 Launch (Source: Sidus Space)
Space Coast-based Sidus Space will continue producing hardware to support Parsons Corporation’s Tranche 1 (T1) launch for DoD. The T1 Tracking Layer provides the initial missile warning/tracking capability of the National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA). As part of this arrangement, Sidus Space will fabricate flight cables for Parsons evolved secondary payload adapter (ESPA) ring on T1. (9/15)

Space Command Kicks Off Academic Engagement Enterprise (Source: USSPACECOM)
The United States Space Command has selected the University of Arizona as the inaugural member of its new Academic Engagement Enterprise, designed to train the future workforce and increase research and innovation related to space and national security. UArizona's relationship with USSPACECOM will provide a forum for students, faculty and university partners to collaboratively address pressing challenges in human security, exploration, development and settlement of space.

Academic institutions that have joined USSPACECOM’s Academic Engagement Enterprise will receive communications about changes in the Space domain that may impact their students, programs, collaborative research initiatives, and partnerships. They will receive invitations to exclusive  events hosted by USSPACECOM, and gain access to guest lecturers from USSPACECOM on Space strategy, policy, law, innovation, exercises, and workforce professionalization issues. (9/13)

Beyond Gravity Lays Foundation for Next Growth Phase (Source: Space Daily)
Beyond Gravity ignites the next stage on its way to privatization: In addition to Launchers and Satellites, Lithography is established as a third division. The business with apertures and stabilizers for the production of microchips has grown strongly in recent years and is showing promising development. Furthermore, the support functions in the company will be reorganized into Finance, HR and Corporate Strategy and Transformation. The new organization will take effect as of January 1, 2023.

A good 100 days ago, Andre Wall took over the operational management of Beyond Gravity, a leading global space supplier headquartered in Zurich. In view of the planned privatization by 2025 at the latest, the organization is being restructured and the operational business is being structured into three agile divisions: Launchers, Satellites and Lithography. (9/15)

Bezos Pledges $130 Million for Air and Space Museum Expansion (Source: GeekWire)
The design selection process for the Bezos Learning Center planned at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum may sound a bit like “America’s Got Talent” for architects — but the $130 million prize is well beyond game-show proportions. That’s how much money Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is giving to have the 50,000-square-foot center built as an addition to the museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It’s part of Bezos’ record-setting $200 million donation for the National Air and Space Museum’s renovation, which was announced last summer. (9/12)

Microsoft Expanding in Space (Source: Space News)
Microsoft is continuing to expand its role in the space sector on multiple fronts. The tech giant is offering private previews of Azure Orbital Cloud Access, a product that integrates satellites and terrestrial communications, and promises low latency. Azure Orbital Ground Station, which was previously available for private previews, is now publicly available. (9/14)

NASA Preparing for First Planetary Defense System, DART Mission (Source: WESH)
NASA is about to test the first-ever planetary defense system, known as DART. It’ll slam a probe into an asteroid and see if it can alter its path. The small asteroid Dimorphous in the crosshairs for the DART mission later this month is no threat to earth. But NASA is preparing to slam at a spacecraft about the size of a small car into it while traveling at the high speed of 4 miles per second. This test will greatly help scientists understand if this is a viable way to redirect asteroids and comets that could be a threat to Earth in the future. (9/14)

SDA Slips First Tranche 0 Launch to December (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon's Space Development Agency (SDA) will miss its goal of launching its first satellites this month. SDA Director Derek Tournear said Wednesday the first Tranche 0 satellite, previously scheduled to launch late this month, had slipped to no earlier than mid-December. He said components and microchip shortages that have stymied satellite manufacturers industry-wide have caught up with SDA. The 28 satellites in Tranche 0 include 20 communications payloads made by Lockheed Martin and York Space and 8 missile-tracking infrared sensor satellites made by SpaceX and L3Harris. All four companies ran into supply chain delays including, in one case, relying on the same single vendor. (9/15)

New Launchers Moving Toward Launch (Source: Space News)
Executives of launch vehicle companies say new rockets, in some cases delayed by years, are finally approaching their first launches. In a panel at World Satellite Business Week, officials said they were closing in on the first launches of the Ariane 6, H3, New Glenn, Starship and Vulcan Centaur, mostly in the next year. In particular, ULA said it was working on a first Vulcan Centaur launch "before the end of the year" despite skepticism that either the rocket or its payload would be ready in time. (9/15)

Regional Satellite Operators See Soaring Broadband Demand (Source: Space News)
Regional satellite operators are searching for faster ways to add more capacity to their networks to meet the soaring demand for broadband. Operators such as Arabsat and KT SAT said at World Satellite Business Week that they are planning to order high-throughput satellites soon but are looking at other options, such as agreements with SpaceX for Starlink capacity or working with other LEO satellite operators. Demand for LEO broadband is expected more from governments and business-to-business markets than consumers. (9/15)

AST SpaceMobile BlueWalker Test Satellite Responding to Commands (Source: Space News)
AST SpaceMobile is in contact with a prototype satellite launched over the weekend. The company said its BlueWalker 3 satellite is stable and responding to commands after launch and is planning to deploy its 64-square-meter antenna in a couple weeks. Once deployed, AST SpaceMobile will test the satellite's ability to provide direct-to-phone services, including 4G and 5G connectivity. (9/15)

Microsoft Expanding Azure Space Cloud Services (Source: Space News)
Microsoft announced Wednesday it will begin offering private previews of Azure Orbital Cloud Access, a product that integrates satellites and terrestrial communications and promises global cloud access with low latency. It has now opened its Azure Orbital Ground Station service to all customers. A Microsoft executive confirmed that the company plans to work with multiple satellite operators and has no plans to deploy its own satellites. (9/15)

Morpheus Space Raises $28 Million for Propulsion Systems (Source: Space News)
Space propulsion company Morpheus Space raised $28 million in a Series A funding round. The funding round, announced Wednesday, was led by Alpine Space Ventures. The Los Angeles-based company plans to establish a factory in Dresden, Germany, to produce thousands of propulsion systems annually. It will also expand its sales, business development, contracting and satellite operations organizations. The company was originally focused on producing miniature electric thrusters but has broadened its scope to offer propulsion systems and software to help satellites maneuver in orbit and deorbit at the conclusion of their missions. (9/15)

Telespazio to Distribute Northstar Services (Source: Space News)
Telespazio has signed a deal to distribute Canadian startup NorthStar Earth & Space's planned space domain awareness services. The deal makes Telespazio NorthStar's exclusive distributor for European governments, agencies and institutions. NorthStar plans to deploy its first space situational awareness payloads in low Earth orbit in early 2023 onboard three spacecraft that satellite operator Spire Global is developing. (9/15)

Satlantis to Buy Two OHB Satellites (Source: Space News)
Spanish Earth-observation technology company Satlantis signed a contract to buy two multispectral satellites from OHB Sweden. Satlantis will supply the instrument, a sensor to gather optical and infrared imagery with a resolution of 80 centimeters per pixel, for OHB's InnoSat platform. The satellites are expected to weigh less than 150 kilograms and launch in 2024. (9/15)

NASA Invites Proposals for Two More Private Visits to ISS (Source: Space News)
NASA is requesting proposals for two more private astronaut missions to the International Space Station. NASA announced it was seeking proposals for the missions, one that will launch between late 2023 and mid 2024 and the other in the second half of 2024. NASA selected Axiom Space for the first such mission, Ax-1, which flew in April, and for the Ax-2 mission in the second quarter of 2023. NASA confirmed in the solicitation that it will require the future private astronaut missions to be commanded by a former NASA astronaut. (9/15)

Vast Space Proposes Rotating Space Station (Source: Space News)
A startup founded by a cryptocurrency billionaire is proposing to develop a commercial space station with artificial gravity. Vast Space, started and initially funded by Jed McCaleb, is starting work on a concept for a space station that would rotate, generating artificial gravity. Vast has about 20 employees, including a number who previously worked at SpaceX. McCaleb, with an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion, plans to fund initial operations of the company but later seek outside investment. (9/15)

Starlink Now Available in Antarctica (Source: Space.com)
Starlink service is now available in Antarctica. McMurdo Station, run by the National Science Foundation, is testing use of Starlink for broadband connectivity at the base. SpaceX says that, with the terminals at McMurdo, Starlink is now operational on all seven continents. (9/15)

NASA Extends CASIS Agreement for ISS National Laboratory (Source: NASA)
NASA has extended its agreement with Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) to operate the ISS National Laboratory. NASA said Wednesday it extended the agreement with CASIS through 2027 to manage the resources on the ISS devoted to the national lab. The agreement dates back to 2011, although NASA concerns about CASIS operations in 2019 prompted a review and, eventually, changes in the relationship between NASA and CASIS. (9/15)

ESA Astronaut to Command ISS Mission (Source: ESA)
A European astronaut will get to command the ISS after all. ESA announced Wednesday that Samantha Cristoforetti will take over as commander of the ISS later this month when current commander Oleg Artemyev returns to Earth on a Soyuz. She will be the fifth European astronaut, and the first European female astronaut, to command the station. Cristoforetti was originally slated to command the station but lost that opportunity earlier this year because of changing schedules of visiting vehicles; a delay in the Crew-5 launch restored her chance to command the station. (9/15)