September 4, 2022

Artemis 1 Mission is an American Mega-Project (Source: Quartz)
The 100 meter-tall rocket on the launch pad for Artemis 1 is among the largest ever built, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg—the eye-catching evidence of much broader activity below the surface. After missing the first launch window due to a problem with an engine temperature sensor, NASA is aiming to try again at 2:17pm Eastern time on Sept. 3. You can watch along with NASA’s live video feed.

This uncrewed test mission is designed to prove that the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion capsule can safely carry future astronauts to the Moon. The ultimate goal is to put the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface under the American flag, but the Artemis program, like the Apollo missions that came before, is so much more. Scott Pace said that rockets like this one are “strategic national assets.” Their sheer size and complexity dwarf many other undertakings of the US government. (9/2)

India's Skyroot Raises $51 Million (Source: Business Today)
In a major milestone for the country’s fledgling commercial space startup sector, Kondapur-based commercial Skyroot Aerospace has successfully raised $51 million or Rs 403 crore through a Series-B financing round. Led by the Singapore-headquartered long-term investment firm GIC, this makes it the largest funding round ever in India’s space technology sector by far.

This investment will help Skyroot boost its launch vehicle capabilities to tap into the fast-expanding global space economy that was cumulatively worth $469 billion in 2021. Moreover, the global space launch services market is projected to grow from $14.21 billion in 2022 to $31.90 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 12.25 percent, according to a recent estimate. (9/2)

Why NASA Puts Up with Lightning and Hurricanes at Kennedy Space Center (Source: CBC)
Launching near the equator allows a spacecraft to take "optimum advantage" of the Earth's rotational speed, NASA notes. When the U.S. space program was in its infancy, the launch location was actually in White Sands, New Mexico. However, they soon realized with a burgeoning space program — which included launching at far greater heights than they were at the time — they needed to find a better site. Rockets from New Mexico had to launch pretty much straight up and could only reach an altitude of about 160 kilometres since they needed radar and telemetry stations to track them.

The search was on. They soon realized that launching from Florida held two advantages. First, it capitalized on Earth's rotation. Earth rotates from west to east. If you launch from the east, and closer to the equator, Earth sort of gives a rocket an extra boost, which also helps save on fuel. And the less fuel, the cheaper it is. And finally, there was the concern about human life. NASA was worried about what might happen if a large rocket that had an eastward trajectory suffered an anomaly, exploding and leaving debris raining down and endangering human lives. Flying over the ocean eliminated that concern.

Though it's unusual for Cape Canaveral to be hit directly by a hurricane, it is no stranger to hurricanes and their effects. The Cape has been affected by several hurricanes. In 2004, Florida was hit by four — Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne — but it was Hurricane Frances that did the most damage. The Category 2 hurricane produced winds of 112 km/h gusting up to 150 km/h. The storm ripped almost 850 aluminum panels off the Vehicle Assembly Building, each measuring roughly 14 metres by 2 meters. (9/2)

The Next Energy Frontier: A Race for Solar Power From Space? (Source: Breaking Defense)
The idea of using satellites to capture solar radiation in space and beam it back to Earth to use as energy was first posited in 1968, and first caught the interest of the US government during the mid/late-1970s “energy crisis.” After a number of technology development initiatives by NASA and the Energy Department fizzled out due to technical and funding challenges, the Defense Department picked up the baton 40 years later.  A 2007 report by the now defunct National Security Space Office dubbed space-based solar power a “strategic opportunity that could significantly advance U.S. and partner security, capability, and freedom of action.”

But ultimately Pentagon leaders at the time in essence tagged the issue as “not my problem,” and the report was filed away on a shelf somewhere deep in the five-sided building to molder. Now, 15 years after the last failed push, the concept of solar power satellites seems to be back in fashion — not just in the US with initiatives at DoD and NASA, but around the globe. European and US officials with hands-on experience say up to now no European military has expressed interest in the concept. Instead, the continental focus is firmly on climate and future energy independence.

The latter issue currently weighs the minds of leaders in European countries, like Germany, that are heavily dependent on Russian natural gas — as Moscow continues to throttle back exports to Ukraine’s supporters in the ongoing war. However, in the United Kingdom, which is no longer a member of the European Union but continues to participate in ESA, there is support for the concept both from the UK Space Agency and the Ministry of Defence. (9/2)

Nova Scotia Spaceport Project Aims to Launch Clean-Tech Rockets (Source: Space.com)
Canada's new facility — managed by Maritime Launch Services — joins private rocket facilities in Cornwall (U.K.), Scotland, Australia and New Zealand, all looking to cash in on a rapidly growing industry. Launches worldwide had a $9.25 billion value in 2020(opens in new tab), up 14% from the year before, according to a 2021 Space Foundation report. How much of a slice Nova Scotia will take out of the commercial spaceport market remains to be seen, however.

Maritime Launch says they are banking on space companies worldwide that will "choose to establish a corporate presence" near the remote town of Canso, alongside the Atlantic Ocean. Canso is 3.5 hours' drive from Halifax when it isn't slippery or snowing, which would be the case for half the year at least. That said, Halifax's municipal population of less than 500,000 is roughly equivalent to space hubs in Albuquerque (within driving distance of New Mexico's Spaceport America), Colorado Springs, and Cornwall.

Maritime Launch's early ambitions reach only as high as suborbital space. Its debut mission in 2023 will be using a small launcher from a Quebec startup, Reaction Dynamics. The companies signed a letter of intent earlier this year to send more small rockets aloft, if the first launch goes to plan. The collaborators may upgrade the rockets to medium-class when Reaction Dynamics is ready to move forward on a business plan to launch satellite megaconstellations to orbit. Reaction Dynamics, though untested in spaceflight, is trying to stand apart from the competition with clean-technology rockets, using a liquid oxidizer and a polymer-based solid fuel. (9/2)