September 23, 2022

Weather a Concern, But NASA Still Planning Artemis I Launch Tuesday (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Even though NASA officials were optimistic the hardware is ready for a potential Artemis I launch attempt Tuesday from Kennedy Space Center, a growing tropical system forecast to hit Florida as a major hurricane next week could force a rollback of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft to the protection of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Tropical Depression Nine formed in the Caribbean on Friday morning, but it’s projected to become a major Category 3 hurricane off of Florida’s southwest coast on Wednesday morning with 115 mph sustained winds, but tropical-storm-force winds could be hitting the Space Coast as early as Tuesday morning. (9/23)

Spaceflight Rideshares with Russia Continue as NASA Astronaut Heads to ISS (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The first Russian cosmonaut to fly on a SpaceX Crew Dragon is set take off from Kennedy Space Center next month, but ahead of that flight a NASA astronaut hitched yet another ride Wednesday on a Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan. NASA’s Frank Rubio, a member of the 2017 astronaut class that are known as the Turtles, is making his first trip into space along with Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin as part of Expedition 68 on board the ISS. The trio launched aboard a Soyuz MS-22 rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and will spend about six months on board the ISS before returning in March 2023. (9/21)

Mangata Seeks Permission to Connect UK User Terminals (Source: Space News)
Mangata Networks, a U.S. satellite startup founded by a former OneWeb executive, has applied for a U.K. license to connect broadband terminals to its planned multi-orbit constellation. The startup expects to begin services in the United Kingdom and across North America and Northern Europe by 2025, according to a license application British telecoms regulator Ofcom published Sept. 20.

These initial services would follow two launches of a total eight satellites in 2024 to highly elliptical orbit (HEO). Phoenix, Arizona-based Mangata announced plans last year for a research and development center in Edinburgh, Scotland, to develop its technologies, although the startup has not said who will build or launch its satellites. (9/22)

Is Space Force Moving Fast Enough for its Rapid Capabilities Office? (Source: Defense News)
The director of the Space Rapid Capabilities Office, created in 2018 to quickly develop prototypes of satellites and other urgently needed military technology, said the Space Force may not be ready when it begins delivering systems this year. “I need to have the processes in place for rapid fielding and acceptance of these things, and that’s not getting a lot of traction right now,” Space RCO Director Kelly Hammett said Sep. 12.

The Space RCO aims to develop the first few units of a defense system and then hand them off to Space Systems Command, the Space Force’s acquisition arm, to manage production. Hammett said his team is on track to deliver 10-12 projects over the next three years. Because most of its programs are classified, the office has not revealed details on the technology and scope of its first deliveries. The Space RCO is supporting an Air Force Research Laboratory effort to use solar energy to provide “logistically agile power” to forces on the ground. Its unclassified budget request included $36 million for that effort and about $9 million to support space capability studies. (9/21)

SpaceX Plans Starlink Service on School Buses (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX plans to bring Starlink internet to students on school buses in the U.S., according to a new filing with the Federal Communications Commission. The space exploration company is collaborating with several school districts for pilot projects in rural areas of the country to support students who have to travel on long bus routes. This gives students internet access while on those long rides. SpaceX is focusing on school bus routes that are over an hour long each way and are also predominantly inaccessible to other mobile broadband services. (9/21)

Stocks for the Commercialization of Space Odyssey (Source: Morningstar)
There’s now a new exotic experience for those looking for memorable ultra-luxe vacations. How about a new hotel, up in space, offering a giant window to the world below as you float in a state of weightlessness? As space continues to fascinate and excite humans, commercial space tourism is projected to skyrocket to about US$9 billion by 2030, growing 37.1% annually from 2022 through 2030.

Intrepid investors drawn to the siren song of space tourism may want to look at the following players. Pioneers in the field of commercial space travel, these companies have technological prowess, strategic tie-ups, bold vision, and leadership backing ambitious projects. Click here. (9/21)

U.S. Space Force Selects the University of Puerto Rico for Partnership (Source: USSF)
The U.S. Space Force and the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez signed an agreement Sept. 9, 2022, making them the 14th member of the service’s University Partnership Program. Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond joined UPRM Chancellor Dr. Rullán at the Johnson Center in Houston, Texas, to finalize the agreement and to learn more about the university’s space initiatives and capabilities.

This partnership will leverage the space and technical prowess to: enhance and encourage collaboration on science, technology, engineering and mathematic fields, build solutions for current and future research projects that further national security objectives in the space domain, and grow and develop a qualified, diverse, and inclusive workforce. (9/9)

HyperScout Selected to Unlock New Orbital Applications to Benefit Our Planet (Source: Cosine)
HyperScout M, the most compact version of cosine’s HyperScout product line, has been adopted by Thales Alenia Space, as high-performance Earth Observation sensor of choice to unlock new on-orbit climate data applications to gather unmatched Earth observation insights. HyperScout M will be launched into space and will collect Earth Observation data from the ISS. Thales Alenia Space, in collaboration with Microsoft, agreed to work together on remote sensing and on-orbit computing to unlock new on-orbit data processing applications to benefit the sustainability of our planet. (9/21)

Reef Starter Announces Innovation Challenge to Increase Access to Space for Startups (Source: Orbital Reef)
Reef Starter today announced applications have opened for the first annual Reef Starter Innovation Challenge. The global challenge, in partnership with TechConnect, will select several early-stage companies to receive awards of up to $100,000 and customized workshops with the Orbital Reef team to accelerate their access to space.

Startup applicants from various sectors are invited to demonstrate how they will leverage a low Earth orbit (LEO) destination, including its unique resources such as the microgravity environment and hard vacuum, to introduce new innovations in space for the benefit of Earth. The unique properties of Earth’s orbit provide a wide range of potential benefits in multiple markets, including biopharma, materials science, agriculture, in-space manufacturing, and quantum. (9/22)

Satellite Operators Seek Waiver Option In Space Debris Rule (Source: Law360)
Multiple satellite operators urged the Federal Communications Commission to make some changes to a draft rule on reducing space debris, saying potential waivers to meeting a proposed five-year deadline to de-orbit old spacecraft may be advisable. (9/21)

TTAB Won't Register 'US Space Force'  Trademark, Citing Netflix Show (Source: Law360)
An intellectual property attorney can't get a trademark registration on the term "US Space Force," the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has ruled, unpersuaded by arguments that a Netflix television series is evidence that the name doesn't always point to the real-life U.S. Space Force. (9/21)

Maxar Technologies Will Pay $27M To Resolve Investor Suit (Source: Law360)
Maxar Technologies has agreed to a $27 million settlement with shareholders to resolve claims that the Colorado space technology company used its $2.4 billion acquisition of a space imaging business to inflate its assets and hide problems with one of the vendor's satellites. (9/21)

Indian Space Company Asks 9th Circ. To Remand $1.3B Enforcement Battle (Source: Law360)
The commercial arm of India's national space agency wants the Ninth Circuit to drop its appeal of a $1.3 billion enforcement ruling, arguing that the massive arbitral award — won by a now-defunct agency contractor — is obsolete after an Indian court overturned it late last month. (9/21)

A Troublesome Rocket Engine Isn’t the Only Problem Plaguing NASA’s Artemis Program (Source: FNN)
Twice postponed launches of its big new rocket may indicate deep problems with NASA’s Artemis program, as it makes plans to get back to the moon and eventually to Mars. The basic guidance the agency uses to manage Artemis may not be suited to such a complex enterprise, at least according to the Government Accountability Office. Click here. (9/21)

'LEGO Masters' Winning Spaceship to Go On Display at KSC Visitor Complex (Source: CollectSpace)
The LMFD intergalactic fire station is bound for NASA's launch site in Florida. The winning build from "LEGO Masters'" astronaut-studded season premiere, which aired Wednesday (Sep. 21) on FOX, the LFMD was judged to be the best personalized spaceship among the 12 competing teams' creations. Firefighters Stephen Joo and Stephen Cassley constructed the craft, which as the winning model will soon go on display at NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

"I can't believe that's something that's actually happening," said Cassley in an interview with collectSPACE. "It's a surreal feeling knowing that it's going to get displayed for thousands of people to come to and see." Given just 13 hours to create a spaceship that could dock with a larger LEGO brick space station but also show the judges something about their team, Cassley and Joo designed the LMFD — or LEGO Masters Fire Department — to resemble an iconic symbol associated with their profession. (9/22)

Starburst Ventures Launches New Pre-Seed and Seed Fund for Aerospace and Defense (Source: Space Daily)
Starburst Ventures, the first venture capital fund dedicated to investing across aviation, space, and defense, has announced the launch of its new early-stage fund. Focusing on aerospace, defense, security, as well as enabling sciences and technologies, Starburst Ventures is investing in the next generation of industrial, software and hardware companies.

The fund's team will be led by Starburst Ventures' Founder and General Partner, Francois Chopard. A widely respected industry veteran, Francois founded Starburst in 2012, before A&D became the venture investment category it is today. Francois is joined by Benjamin Zeitoun as Investor. Together they hold a significant track record of securing investment and building startups from the early stage to IPO. (9/22)

Seraphim Develops ESG Investment Monitoring Tool (Source: Financial IT)
Seraphim Space Manager LLP has launched a new proprietary tool to enhance the analysis of climate, sustainability, and social impact risks for the space technology sector and provide improved sustainable-led practices. Seraphim Space has developed a new advanced process in partnership with Sancroft's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) experts to review prospective Seraphim portfolio companies’ exposure to climate, sustainability and social impact risk as part of its investment criteria, and further work with each company to reach net zero and achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals more quickly. It is also launching training for portfolio companies on key ESG themes in the coming month. (9/22)

Space Deal Flow Slows (Source: Quartz)
It’s autumn for SPACs, the blank-check companies that helped hundreds of private companies go public in recent years. The pace of dealmaking is slowing in a bear market for stocks. And yet it still might be the best time to be a retail investor interested in extraterrestrial equities. The boom kicked off with investor Chamath Palihapitiya’s deal to bring Virgin Galactic onto public markets in 2020. Now, the space tourism company’s shares trade for just $5, compared to a bubblicious peak of more than $50.

But Palihapitiya and his backers have made out just fine, earning more than $750 million from a series of SPAC deals in various sectors. This week, he announced he would close his remaining blank-check firms and return their money to investors because no promising acquisitions could be found. That’s why I wonder if Intuitive Machines, a company focused on the emerging lunar economy that announced a merger with a blank-check firm this week, will be the last space SPAC. (9/22)

Northrop Opens Space Assembly, Test Facility in Maryland (Source: Executive Biz)
Northrop Grumman has unveiled a new facility in Baltimore, Maryland, in an effort to expand the aerospace and defense contractor’s space equipment manufacturing and testing efforts. The Maryland Space Assembly and Test 2 facility provides 55,000 square foot space to support digitally integrated manufacturing, assembly and testing of space payload and ground systems, the company said Monday.

MSAT 2 features a thermal vacuum chamber that works to enable engineers to test space payloads in simulated extreme temperatures. Northrop’s existing operations at the Baltimore campus include aircraft flight tests and digital engineering simulation. “Our continued investment in Maryland helps meet our customer needs while strengthening our commitments to this community and our workforce,” said Scott Lee, vice president and general manager for payload and ground systems at Northrop. (9/20)

Virgin Orbit Plans Boeing 747 Rocket Launches From Australia's Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport (Source: Simple Flying)
Virgin Orbit is ready to expand its footprint in the Southern Hemisphere by announcing a launch site in Australia. The satellite launch provider started commercial service last year and since then has been planning its expansion around the globe. Australia’s Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport is all set to get upgraded to become its latest launch site. Australia’s Wagner Corporation, which owns the Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport and Business Park in Queensland, announced on September 20th that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Virgin Orbit to launch rockets into space by 2024. (9/21)