October 14, 2022

Proprietary Starlink Tech Impedes Integration Into DoD Hybrid Architecture (Source: Space News)
The growth of Starlink is causing other headaches for the Defense Department. A Pentagon official said Starlink's use of proprietary technology would make it difficult to integrate into a hybrid architecture that it hopes to build. That hybrid space architecture would use commercial communication systems as transport pipes to move data collected by imaging satellites and deliver it quickly to government users. The concept assumes that commercial satellites will talk to each other via interoperable links. Meanwhile, the demand for Starlink's internet services continues to rise across the U.S. military. (10/14)

SpaceX Says it Can No Longer Pay for Critical Satellite Services in Ukraine, Asks Pentagon to Pick Up the Tab (Source: CNN)
Since they first started arriving in Ukraine last spring, the Starlink satellite internet terminals made by Elon Musk’s SpaceX have been a vital source of communication for Ukraine’s military, allowing it to fight and stay connected even as cellular phone and internet networks have been destroyed in its war with Russia.

So far roughly 20,000 Starlink satellite units have been donated to Ukraine, with Musk tweeting on Friday the “operation has cost SpaceX $80 million and will exceed $100 million by the end of the year.” But those charitable contributions could be coming to an end, as SpaceX has warned the Pentagon that it may stop funding the service in Ukraine unless the US military kicks in tens of millions of dollars per month.

Last month Musk’s SpaceX sent a letter to the Pentagon saying it can no longer continue to fund the Starlink service as it has. The letter also requested that the Pentagon take over funding for Ukraine’s government and military use of Starlink, which SpaceX claims would cost more than $120 million for the rest of the year and could cost close to $400 million for the next 12 months. (10/14)

SpaceX Was Paid by US Government to Send Some Starlink Terminals to Ukraine Despite Claiming it Wasn’t (Source: Independent)
The US government is paying SpaceX to send some Starlink internet terminals to Ukraine despite the company saying that it did not think the government had paid any money to it. Elon Musk had sent terminals to Ukraine in order to help keep the country online as it resisted the invasion attempt by Russia. “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route”, Mr Musk tweeted on 26 February.

At the time, this appeared to be a charitable act. “I’m proud that we were able to provide the terminals to folks in Ukraine,” SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said last month. “I don’t think the US has given us any money to give terminals to the Ukraine.” Now, the Washington Post reports that the US federal government purchased more than 1,330 terminals from SpaceX to send to Ukraine. SpaceX itself donated 3,670 terminals. The terminals would come with three months of “unlimited data”.

The agency initially said it was a “private sector donation valued at roughly $10 million,” but that figure has reportedly been removed from the release and now states that the US government “has delivered 5,000 Starlink Terminals” to Ukraine “through a public-private partnership” with SpaceX. (10/13)

Commercial Space Stations Seek Regulatory Clarity (Source: Space News)
Companies developing commercial space stations say they're looking for more clarity from the government on regulations. At a conference Thursday, representatives of several companies noted several regulatory challenges for their plans, including uncertainty about which agency can provide the "mission authorization" required under the Outer Space Treaty. They say that they have to deal today with an "alphabet soup" of agencies, and want more clarity and certainty about who will regulate them and how. (10/14)

National Science Foundation Won’t Rebuild the Arecibo Observatory Telescope (Source: The Verge)
The National Science Foundation (NSF) won’t rebuild the massive Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico following its collapse in late 2020. The agency instead plans to build an education center focused on STEM education and outreach, according to an NSF announcement. (10/13)

Spaceplane Company Interested in Paso Robles Spaceport (Source: Paso Robles Daily News)
Representatives of Dawn Aerospace visited with Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin and city staff recently to discuss working together on the proposed Paso Robles Spaceport at the Paso Robles Airport. Dawn Aerospace is the developer of the Dawn Mk-II Aurora, which is designed for taking off and landing alongside normal aircraft. It merges the world of rockets and aviation. The Aurora is the latest of a series of vehicles that will one day deliver satellites and assets to, and return them from, space.

“Identifying real-world partners such as Dawn Aerospace is a critical part of our spaceport application,” said Martin. “Using their vehicle specifications, we will be able to customize the use of our airport to accommodate these space planes while maintaining general aviation services for regular aircraft.” Martin said city staff is working to draft a letter of intent with Dawn Aerospace. (10/13)

New Report Details the Cislunar Market Opportunities (Source: SpaceQ)
A new industry report released today by NewSpace Global details in a 161 pages the commercial opportunities in cislunar space. The report titled, Cislunar Market Opportunities – In-Space Business Within the Earth-Moon System, is a follow-up to a 2019 report issued by NewSpace Global. NewSpace Global itself is under new management having been acquired by the Multiverse Media Group. Recently, NewSpace Global began restructuring and this report is its first product. (10/13)

Japan Building New Expanded Spaceport In Hokkaido (Source: Aviation Week)
Japan’s Space Cotan Ltd. and the Hokkaido town of Taiki have begun the expansion of Hokkaido Spaceport (HOSPO), part of its vision to create a space Silicon Valley in Japan. The spaceport has been fully operational since 2021 with a basic suborbital launch capability. (10/13)

Astra Working to Avoid Nasdaq Delisting (Source: Space News)
The CEO of Astra says he is confident the company can avoid delisting of its stock from the Nasdaq exchange. Chris Kemp said Astra has "lots of different strategies" to address a low stock price that triggered a delisting warning earlier this month. That includes increased sales of its spacecraft electric propulsion systems, such as an order from Astroscale announced Thursday. The company remains best known as a launch provider, but retired its Rocket 3.3 vehicle earlier this year after several launch failures in part because its 50-kilogram payload capacity wasn't sufficient to meet market demand. Astra is now working on a rocket with about 10 times the payload capacity. (10/14)

Phase Four Uses Iodine for Thruster Propellant (Source: Space News)
Phase Four, another spacecraft electric propulsion company, has introduced a new thruster that uses iodine as propellant. The Max-V thruster came from work funded by the U.S. Air Force AFWERX program and will be available in the second half of 2023. Using iodine avoids the rising costs and supply chain challenges associated with electric propulsion systems that use xenon or krypton. Iodine is less expensive and readily produced in the United States, the company noted. (10/14)

Lucy to Swing by Earth (Source: NASA)
A NASA asteroid mission will swing by the Earth this weekend. The Lucy spacecraft, launched a year ago, will perform a gravity assist flyby of the Earth on Sunday morning, passing 350 kilometers above the Earth just after 7 a.m. Eastern. The flyby is the first of three the spacecraft will use to send it to the two sets of Trojan asteroids that lead and follow Jupiter in its orbit around the sun. (10/14)

Sidus Space Named as Merit Award for Technology Winner (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space has been honored as a winner in the 2022 Merit Awards for Technology. The Merit Awards for Technology recognizes global businesses and industries for technologies that touch every part of our lives ranging from consumer and business-to-business products, solutions, leadership and innovation. Sidus Space was awarded gold for the space category. (10/14)

Broccoli Gas: a Better Way to Find Life in Space (Source: Space Daily)
Broccoli, along with many other plants and microorganisms, emit gases to help them expel toxins. Scientists believe these gases could provide compelling evidence of life on other planets.

These types of gases are made when organisms add a carbon and three hydrogen atoms to an undesirable chemical element. This process, called methylation, can turn potential toxins into gases that float safely away into the atmosphere. If these gases were to be detected in the atmosphere of another planet using telescopes, they would be suggestive of life somewhere on that planet. (10/13)

Next-Generation Spacesuits on Drawing Board for NASA Moon Mission (Source: Space Daily)
Nicole Mann, spacecraft commander of NASA's SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavor, just arrived at the International Space Station last week wearing a spacesuit designed decades ago for male test pilots. The suit, originally developed for Space Shuttle missions that started in 1981, has been upgraded through the years, but has far outlasted its original 15-year design.

All that will change when astronauts aboard Artemis III sport the next generation of spacesuits. The mission planned for late 2025 is to feature the first lunar walk more than 50 years. NASA recently awarded Axiom Space of Houston, an emerging player in the private space industry, a $228.5 million contract to design the new suits. The space agency provided the technical and safety requirements for Axiom to design, develop and produce the next-generation protective gear. NASA says the public-private collaboration will boost innovation and cut costs. (10/12)

Ukraine’s Starlink Problems Show the Dangers of Digital Dependency (Source: Financial Times)
This week, Chris Bryant, a British politician, floated a once unimaginable idea in parliament: “Is there a moment at which we might have to consider sanctioning Elon Musk?” he asked. The reason? He “seems to be playing a double game” in the Ukraine war. The defense minister brushed it off. But Bryant raised this for two reasons. First, Musk has posted tweets that appear to echo some elements of Vladimir Putin’s ideas about Ukraine (such as Moscow’s claim to Crimea).

Second, a strange tangle has erupted around Starlink, the mobile satellite internet system created by Musk’s SpaceX company. And while this is still partly swathed in the fog of war, investors and policymakers should pay attention, since it has implications that extend well beyond Ukraine. When Russia invaded Ukraine, Musk agreed to transfer Starlink terminals into the country, to provide internet to civilians and the military alike. Musk deserves praise for this, in my view.

But recently events became odd. Last month Musk suddenly tweeted that “Starlink is meant for peaceful use only” (even though American officials tell me that SpaceX is selling thousands to NATO groups at ever-increasing prices). Ian Bremmer, head of the risk consultancy Eurasia Group, alleged that Musk told him he had declined Ukrainian requests to turn on coverage in Crimea, fearing Russian retaliation. Musk retorted that “nobody should trust Bremmer”. Other officials have corroborated Bremmer’s point. (10/13)

Jah Wins MacArthur Grant (Source: Quartz)
Moribah Jah, an expert in orbital debris, has been awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, popularly known as a genius grant. Jah has been a key voice arguing for more attention to the orbital debris problem as a professor at the University of Texas, and he co-founded a new firm to address the problem with Apple legend Steve Wozniak. (10/13)

Did Elon Musk Really Lose $80 Million Helping Ukraine? (Source: Quartz)
Elon Musk, in the midst of some amateur geopoliticking, made an interesting claim: The serial entrepreneur said his company lost more than $80 million helping connect Ukrainians to the internet in the midst of a Russian invasion. That number doesn’t jibe with what we know about Starlink, the satellite network SpaceX has built to deliver broadband from orbit, or its experience in Ukraine. Either Starlink is playing a much larger role in the conflict than expected, burning more cash than we know, or Musk is exaggerating his company’s contribution. SpaceX did not respond to questions about the figure. (10/6)