September 20, 2022

Orbital Assembly and CisLunar Industries Sign Collaboration Agreement (Source: OAC)
Orbital Assembly Corp. (OAC), developing a commercially viable, space-based business park with variable gravity, announced an agreement with CisLunar Industries to collaborate on providing metal-processing services on its Pioneer-class space station. OAC will provide on-orbit facilities to CisLunar Industries, and CisLunar Industries will provide metal processing as a service (MPaaS) and construction and manufacturing materials to OAC.

The Pioneer-class, the world’s first and largest hybrid space stations for both work and play, will be the first free-flying, habitable, privately operated facility in orbit. It will have five spacious customizable modules built around OAC’s rotating Gravity Ring architecture. The ring will accommodate CubeSat format rackspace, communications systems, solar panels, and other systems for commercial, industrial, and research applications. CisLunar Industries plans to utilize OAC’s on-orbit Pioneer station facilities for research and development, testing, materials processing, and manufacturing of finished components for sale to both OAC and its customers. (9/19)

Hollywood Taps Blue Origin to Depict the Future of Life in Space (Source: Orbital Reef)
The Orbital Reef team, led by partners Blue Origin and Sierra Space, today announced at the 73rd International Astronautical Congress a cross-promotional deal with Centerboro Productions to portray the mixed-use space station in the HELIOS feature film. Set in 2030, the film will tell the story of a spaceship, the HELIOS, and its crew during their urgent mission to the International Space Station (ISS). When a massive solar flare hits the station, it is up to astronomer and former NASA astronaut Jess Denver and Air Force Colonel Sam Adler to team up and save humanity.

Throughout the movie, Orbital Reef is featured as the latest-generation space station used as a critical resource by the HELIOS crew. HELIOS producer John Lewis, Vice President and partner of Andrea Iervolino’s Space 11 Corp Aerospace said, "In an era where science fiction films are abundant, we decided early on that we wanted to make a film that was authentic in technology and demonstrates true solutions available to humanity in such a time of crisis.” (9/20)

Axiom Space Signs Historic Agreement with Türkiye to Send First Turkish Astronaut to Space (Source: SpaceRef)
Commercial space leader Axiom Space and the government of Turkey have signed a historic agreement to send the first Turkish astronaut to space. As part of a larger effort by Turkey to expand its space exploration capabilities and establish a national human space program, a Turkish astronaut will be trained by Axiom Space for a future space research mission. Axiom Space will also enable Turkish science and research to be conducted in microgravity. (9/19)

Report Dings DoD for Lack of Planning for Missile Warning Satellite Transition (Source: Space News)
A report warns there is no clear plan for how the Pentagon will transition from current legacy missile-warning satellites to a much more distributed architecture of satellites in multiple orbits. About $4.7 billion of the Space Force's $24.7 billion budget request for 2023 is for new missile-defense satellites that the Pentagon argues are needed to detect and track advanced hypersonic missile and glide vehicles developed by Russia and China. A report Tuesday by the Aerospace Center for Space Policy and Strategy said that while Congress is supportive of those programs, lawmakers have concerns about how those efforts are being orchestrated. There is also a lack of consensus about when that transition should take place. (9/20)

Army Missile Warning System Next on Space Force Consolidation List (Source: National Defense)
After taking control of all of the Defense Department’s satellite communication functions earlier this year, the Space Force is continuing to look for ways to consolidate more systems into its portfolio of capabilities. The Army’s satellite communications mission was officially transferred to the Space Force in August, following the transfer of the Navy’s Satellite Operations Center in June.

This marks the first time all Defense Department military satellite communication functions have been consolidated under a single service, a Space Force release said. Having all of these missions under one service has had a major impact on the Space Force, said Maj. Gen. Douglas A. Schiess, vice commander of Space Operations Command. (9/19)

Space Force Shifting Resources to Intelligence and Cybersecurity (Source: Space News)
U.S. Space Operations Command is assigning cybersecurity and intelligence specialists to work side-by-side with satellite operators. Maj. Gen. Douglas Schiess, vice commander of the Space Force's Space Operations Command, said those assignments are intended to prepare satellite systems from electronic and physical threats. The Space Force is following a directive from Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall to harden space systems against cyber attacks that rivals like China would attempt during a conflict. (9/20)

SAIC Partners with Rogue Space on Orbital Robots (Source: Space News)
SAIC is partnering with startup Rogue Space Systems to develop small satellites for in-space services. The companies announced an agreement Tuesday where SAIC will integrate two Rogue cubesats for a planned 2023 mission. SAIC will later help develop Rogue's fleet of Orbital Robots for space situational awareness, in-space services, assembly and manufacturing. Rogue is one of the dozens of small businesses part of the Orbital Prime program by SpaceWERX to work on satellite servicing technology. (9/20)

Harpoons, Robots, and Lasers: How to Capture Defunct Satellites and Other Space Junk and Bring it Back to Earth (Source: Space Review)
While space debris is a growing problem, there are plenty of potential ways to remove such debris, at least in theory. Ralph Cooney examines some of the concepts and the environmental issues they raise. Click here. (9/20)

NASA Finds Damage on Leaky Artemis I Hydrogen Seal (Source: Florida Today)
NASA teams investigating pad hardware at Kennedy Space Center found a potential culprit behind a leaky hydrogen line that scrubbed the Artemis I moon mission's last attempt, making way for a fueling test this week. Managers and engineers have already started preparing for their arrival at the Launch Control Center starting Monday evening, a process that will run through what is essentially a mock countdown similar to launch day. At 3:40 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 21, teams will clear the Space Launch System rocket's pad 39B and slowly begin what until now has been a finicky fueling process. (9/19)

SpaceX Conducts Seven Engine Test of Super Heavy Booster (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX performed the first seven-engine test of its Super Heavy booster on Monday. The vehicle, called Booster 7, fired seven engines during a brief static-fire test at the company's Boca Chica, Texas, test site. SpaceX said the test was a success. Elon Musk later tweeted that the booster will return to a high bay for "robustness upgrades" with a test of all 33 engines as soon as a few weeks from now. (9/20)

China's Chang'e-7 Mission to Launch UAE Rover to Moon (Source: Space News)
China's Chang'e-7 mission will carry the Rashid 2 rover from the UAE under an agreement signed last week. Chang'e-7 is a multi-spacecraft mission involving an orbiter, lander, rover and a small, repetitive movable lander for investigating shadowed craters in the moon's south polar regions. Launch of Chang'e-7 is currently expected in late 2026, according to Chinese reports. It's unclear if any technologies on Rashid 2 would pose export control challenges for launching on a Chinese mission. (9/20)

Europe Seeks to Stay in the Space Race (Source: Space Review)
The International Astronautical Congress is underway this week in Paris, with a major focus on Europe’s place in space. Jeff Foust reports on how ESA is seeking a major budget increase despite, or perhaps because of, the economic and geopolitical challenges on the continent. Click here. (9/20)
 
InSight Mars Lander Detects Meteor Impacts (Source: AP)
NASA's InSight Mars lander detected four small impacts on the planet. The lander detected seismic and acoustic waves from the impacts in 2020 and 2021, whose craters were found in images by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Scientists had hoped to detect more impacts during the mission, but think that noise in its seismometer, perhaps from wind and seasonal changes, may have limited its sensitivity. (9/20)

Return to Panic: How Two Iconic NASA Astronauts Survived the 1970s and Beyond (Source: Space Review)
After the Apollo program, two astronauts had challenging, but very different, physical and emotional experiences. Emily Carney explores how the memoirs and other accounts by Buzz Aldrin and Fred Haise examined their hardships. Click here. (9/20)

Polyakov Passes (Source: CollectSpace)
Valery Polyakov, who set the record for the longest crewed spaceflight, has died at the age of 80. Polyakov joined the Soviet Union's cosmonaut corps in 1972, flying to the Mir space station for a 241-day mission in 1988-1989. He returned to Mir in January 1994, staying there until March 1995. That 437-day mission is the longest single spaceflight by any person. Roscosmos, which announced his death Monday, did not give a cause. (9/20)

Planet to Develop Tanager Hyperspectral Satellites (Source: Space News)
Planet will develop a series of hyperspectral imaging satellites. The satellites, called Tanager, will gather data in 400 spectral bands with a resolution of 30 meters per pixel. The first two satellites will launch in 2023. The company will combine hyperspectral data with imagery from its other satellites to provide data and insights for government and commercial customers. (9/20)

Lynk to Develop Initial 10 Direct-to-Handset Satellites (Source: Space News)
Lynk Global won an FCC license for an initial set of direct-to-handset satellites. The license covers 10 of the company's Lynk Tower satellites with conditions that limit the startup's use of radio frequencies to avoid interfering with other operators. The company has licenses to test the services in 18 countries, including the United States, but has not yet secured landing rights in any country where it plans to provide services. The next step for Lynk is to sign a commercial contract with a U.S. mobile operator (MNO) in the United States, which would then jointly seek permission from the FCC to operate in the country. (9/20)

SpaceX Tests In-Flight Internet with Starlink (Source: Gagadget.com)
SpaceX tested the Starlink satellite Internet in a passenger plane. The demonstration flight was attended by journalists, flying at an altitude of about 500 km from Burbank to San Jose. There were about a dozen people on board, and additional equipment simulated the load on the system as from 30 passengers. Starlink satellite Internet was able to provide speeds of over 100 Mbps for the entire flight. SpaceX's goal is to provide access to Netflix and YouTube at an altitude of 9 km.

Elon Musk's company is trying to take a piece of the pie from Intelsat and Viasat. By comparison, Viasat has data speeds of 2.2 Mbps on American Airlines planes with 100 passengers on board. Intelsat President Jeff Sare says Starlink is a strong competitor in the satellite Internet space. But SpaceX has a disadvantage, which is the low bandwidth of the satellites. They can handle connectivity for 30 passengers on a regional plane, but it's not certain if they can do the same for hundreds of passengers in crowded skies or at airports in major cities. (9/18)