October 25, 2022

First Light for Space Force's WFOV (Source: Space News)
A U.S. Space Force infrared sensing demonstration satellite launched in July will soon start receiving data. The service's Space Systems Command said Monday that "first light" for the sensor on the Wide Field of View (WFOV) satellite will take place soon after completing sensor calibration. WFOV is a mid-sized spacecraft made by Millennium Space with an infrared sensor payload developed by L3Harris under a 2016 contract from the U.S. Air Force. It launched in July on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. The satellite will be able to continuously monitor large sectors of the Earth's surface, and data from it will help develop new missile-warning sensors that the Space Force will deploy in low and medium Earth orbits. (10/25)

Final Pléiades Neo Satellites Ready for Vega Launch (Source: Space News)
The last two satellites for Airbus Defence and Space's Pléiades Neo imaging constellation have arrived at the launch site. Pléiades Neo 5 and 6 arrived in French Guiana last week for launch on a Vega C rocket in late November. The company launched two other Pléiades Neo satellites in separate missions last year, although the two awaiting launch have laser links to increase data speeds for ordering and downloading imagery. The satellites are designed to provide imagery at a resolution of 30 centimeters. (10/25)

Polaris Dawn Private Astronaut Mission Slipped to March, Could Slip Again (Source: Space News)
A private astronaut mission whose launch slipped to next March could face further delays. Polaris Dawn, the first mission of the Polaris Program backed by billionaire Jared Isaacman, was originally scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter but recently slipped to March 2023. A program spokesperson said Monday the launch date would be reevaluated in November depending on the preparations for the mission as well as the manifest of other missions using Launch Complex 39A, including International Space Station missions and Falcon Heavy launches. Polaris Dawn will fly four people on a Crew Dragon for five days, and will include the first commercial spacewalk. (10/25)

Rocket Startup Relativity Eyes New Products with Enlarged 3D Printer (Source: Reuters)
Rocket builder Relativity Space has built a giant 3D-printing robot that could allow the company to build products besides the rockets it plans to launch, Relativity's chief executive said. The Los Angeles-based startup is targeting year's end for the debut launch of its mostly 3D-printed flagship rocket Terran 1, Tim Ellis told Reuters.

The rocket is one of a handful of small U.S. launch vehicles being offered by new companies to send small satellites into orbit. Relativity's upgraded 3D printer, the latest in a lineup named Stargate, will primarily be used to build its bigger, next-generation Terran R rocket, he said. However, Ellis said the company could also explore projects in such areas as clean energy and "materials for other applications."

"This large-format metal 3D printing ... really means that we're just starting with rockets," Ellis said. "As this technology matures and we're showing that we can build it and develop it ourselves, then we will be able to take on other projects." The company is working with a nuclear fusion company to use the new 3D printer to print parts of a fusion reactor, Ellis said. He declined to name the company, citing a non-disclosure agreement. (10/24)

European Space Agencies Adjusting Budgets Amid Ukraine Disruption (Source: Space News)
European civil and military space organizations are revising budgets, programs and policies in light of the war in Ukraine. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions highlighted European dependence on Russia in fields like space transportation, as agencies scrambled to find alternatives to the Soyuz rocket. Defense agencies, meanwhile, have recognized the value of commercial space services, seeing the U.S. as a leader in leveraging commercial capabilities for national security applications. (10/25)

ISS Moved to Avoid Russian ASAT Debris (Source: NASA)
The ISS had to maneuver to avoid debris from a Russian ASAT demonstration. A Progress cargo spacecraft docked to the station fired its thrusters for five minutes and five seconds Monday night to provide "an extra measure of distance" from debris from the Cosmos 1408 satellite destroyed by a Russian ASAT last November. Before the maneuver, the debris was projected to pass within five kilometers of the station. (10/25)

Orbit Fab Gets New Investor (Source: Space News)
In-space refueling company Orbit Fab has lined up a new investor. The company said Tuesday that it secured 8090 Industries as a "new major investor" but did not disclose the size of its investment. 8090 Industries invests in "industrial giants of tomorrow" including alternative energy companies, and Orbit Fab is its first space industry investment. Orbit Fab is developing infrastructure, such as tankers and refueling ports, to allow satellites to be refueled in space, extending their lives and giving them more maneuverability. The company plans to start offering hydrazine refueling services in 2025. (10/25)

Startup Space Crystals Plans to Send Customer DNA to Moon (Source: Space News)
A startup plans to send crystals infused with DNA to the moon. Space Crystals plans to send crystals grown in microgravity and infused with customer DNA to the moon next year. The company started accepting $5,000 deposits Monday that go towards the $150,000 cost of sending the crystals on an unnamed mission to the moon next year, with the goal of flying at least 260 customers. While the startup offers a promise of immortality, it’s unclear whether DNA stored in synthetic crystals could be extracted someday. (10/25)

China's Mengtian Space Station Module Mounted on Rocket for Launch (Source: Xinhua)
A Chinese space station module is ready for launch. The Mengtian module, mounted on its Long March 5B rocket, rolled to the launch pad Tuesday for a launch "at an appropriate time in the near future" but believed to be next Monday. Mengtian will dock to the Tianhe core module of the ISS, to which the Wentian module was added earlier this year. (10/25)

Relativity Readies for First Launch at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Ars Technica)
Relativity is gearing up for its first Terran 1 launch before the end of the year, if the launch range is available. The company is moving into final testing of the small launch vehicle in preparation for a demonstration launch from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 16. The company says that while it is still planning for a launch this year, range availability caused by the Artemis 1 launch and airspace restrictions around holidays could delay the launch. The company is also still working on an FAA launch license. Relativity separately announced Monday its latest Stargate 3-D printer, designed to produce components more quickly. (10/25)

Virgin Orbit Gets First License for UK Launch (Source: UK Marine Management)
Virgin Orbit has secured one of the licenses it needs for its upcoming United Kingdom launch. The Marine Management Organisation said Monday it issued a marine license for Virgin Orbit's upcoming launch from Spaceport Cornwall. The launch requires a marine license under U.K. law since it will be dropping material into the sea, namely the rocket's first stage. Virgin Orbit still needs a launch license from the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority for the "Start Me Up" mission, tentatively scheduled for November. (10/25)

White House Says 'Not True' That There is National Security Review of Elon Musk (Source: Reuters)
Reports that the United States was discussing launching a national security review of some of Elon Musk's ventures were "not true," said the White House on Monday. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment on the Biden administration's relationship with Musk or his business dealings with other countries. Asked about a Bloomberg News report last week that said Biden administration officials were discussing whether some of Musk's ventures should face national security reviews, Jean-Pierre said, "Those reportings are not true. ... The national security review - that is not true." (10/24)

SpaceX, Boeing and Lockheed Prepare Future Hardware for NASA’s Artemis Moon Program (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Companies behind NASA’s Artemis moon program—including SpaceX, Boeing and Lockheed Martin—are working on future missions as the agency prepares to try to get its first lunar rocket off the ground next month. Under Artemis, NASA is planning a series of missions using Space Launch System rockets to blast Orion spacecraft to orbit the moon. The agency is planning to blast off the first SLS rocket for the inaugural Artemis next month after two previous efforts were called off because of technical problems.

Boeing is also working on hardware for SLS vehicles slated for those missions. A joint venture between Boeing and Northrop Grumman Corp., meanwhile, is in line to win a NASA contract to build at least five more Space Launch System rockets for future launches. NASA proposed to award the contract to the Boeing-Northrop venture in part because of the companies’ knowledge about how to manufacture SLS rockets.

SpaceX said it has been working on a series of ground tests that would precede the first orbital test flight of its Starship launch vehicle, a version of which NASA wants to use for the third Artemis mission. The vehicle’s role in that flight, currently slated for 2025, would be to transport two astronauts down to the surface of the moon after taking them on board from Orion. NASA already has hardware in hand through the fifth Artemis mission, said Jim Free. (10/24)

New System to Identify Distant Planets for Future Human Habitation Developed by Hebrew University Researchers (Source: Hebrew University)
A new framework to study the atmospheres of distant planets and identify those fit for human habitation has been developed by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Classifying climate conditions and measuring climate sensitivity are central elements when assessing the viability of distant planets outside our solar system as potential candidates for human habitation.

The James Webb Space Telescope was developed as part of this search to provide detailed observational data about earth-like exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) in the coming years. The study was led by Dr. Assaf Hochman at the HU. The research team examined TRAPPIST-1e, a planet located some 40 light years from the Earth and scheduled to be documented by the James Webb Space Telescope. The researchers examined the sensitivity of the planet’s climate to increases in greenhouse gases and compared it with conditions on Earth.

Using a computerized (ExoCAM) simulation of the climate on TRAPPIST-1e, they assessed the impact of changes in greenhouse gas concentration.  “These two variables are crucial for the existence of life on other planets, and they are now being studied in depth for the first time in history,” says Hochman. Hochman and his research partners found that planet TRAPPIST-1e has a significantly more sensitive atmosphere than Earth. They estimate that an increase in greenhouse gases there could lead to more extreme climate changes than would occur on Earth because one side of TRAPPIST-1e constantly faces its own sun in the same way that our moon always has one side facing Earth. (10/21)

Space Coast-Built Satellites Launched on Historic Mission From India (Source: Bay9 News)
Satellites manufactured on Florida’s Space Coast are once again soaring back into space. Saturday’s launch of 36 satellites for British communications company OneWeb marked several milestones. The satellites, which are manufactured at the Airbus OneWeb Satellites facility on Merritt Island near Kennedy Space Center, launched on Russian Soyuz rockets for the first 13 missions. Now, OneWeb plans to round out its generation one, 648-satellite internet constellation with India’s space agency and SpaceX. (10/23)

NG-18 Mission to Space Station Will Include Research on Mudslides and Heart Cells, a New Bioprinter, and More (Source: SpaceRef)
Mudslides from forest fires cause catastrophic damage in their wake, and research aimed at predicting and possibly preventing them will launch to the International Space Station (ISS) onboard Northrop Grumman’s 18th Commercial Resupply Services mission (NG-18).

This is one of more than 20 investigations sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory flying on this mission. Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, named after former NASA astronaut Sally Ride for this mission, will also carry a next-generation 3D bioprinter that aims to print human tissues in space and seven projects funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).

These payloads and others sponsored by the ISS National Lab will launch on an Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia no earlier than 5:50 a.m. EST on November 6, 2022. More than 800 pounds of supplies, research, and technology demonstrations are flying on this mission, enabling commerce in low Earth orbit and providing value to our nation through space-based inquiries. (10/24)

NASA Proved it Can Deflect an Asteroid. But Spotting Them is Tricky. (Source: Washington Post)
If there happened to be a killer asteroid hurtling on a path to collide with Earth, we now know, thanks to the successful nudge it gave an asteroid last month, that NASA has the ability to deflect it — possibly saving the planet from catastrophic damage, and the human race from extinction. Thankfully, there are no known large asteroids expected to hit the earth over the next 100 years. That’s the good news.

The bad news is NASA estimates that it tracks only about 40 percent of the asteroids large enough that they could cause calamity if they were to hit Earth. To save us, the space agency needs fair warning — years, not months or weeks — to muster the defenses in space needed to safeguard the planet. NASA has been working to drastically improve its ability to spot potentially dangerous asteroids, track them over time and calculate well into the future whether it would hit Earth — a series of highly complicated tasks requiring an array of sophisticated telescopes and tracking stations all over the world.

One of the main tools NASA plans to use in the hunt for killer asteroids is the NEO Surveyor, a telescope that would operate in space and be able to see objects in infrared wavelengths, which is critical in the search for asteroids because they are often hard to spot against the darkness of space. The telescope is expected to launch as early as 2026, and, NASA says, allow it to finally meet a long-overdue congressional mandate that in 2005 directed NASA to find 90 percent of asteroids at least 140-meters in size within a decade. (10/24)

Space Micro Awarded Orbital Prime Contract by US Space Force (Source: Space Daily)
Space Micro Inc, powered by Voyager Space, has been awarded an Orbital Prime contract by the U.S. Space Force (USSF) as part of the first phase of the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. Space Micro proposed the development of Control Moment Gyro Barnacle (Barnacle), a robotic spacecraft that would replace or restore Attitude Determination and Control Systems (ADCS) capabilities and to expand on-orbit servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (OSAM). (10/20)

China to Carry Out Human Lunar Exploration (Source: ECNS)
As it embarks on a new journey, China will make special efforts and innovations in the following areas like aerospace, said Wu Yansheng, board chairman of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. First, we will improve China's capability of entering the space. The capacity of carrier rockets decides how far we can go in space development.

We will upgrade the current carrier rockets and develop a new generation of manned carrier rockets and heavy-lift ones to create a bigger and better stage for China's space development. Second, we will continue to carry out major space projects. For instance, we will carry out manned lunar exploration, build a scientific research station on the moon, bring back samples from Mars, and explore asteroids. These projects will help us walk steadier and further on the road of space exploration. (10/23)

Temporary 80-Bed Accommodation Block for UK Spaceport Staff Given Planning Approval (Source: Shetland News)
Permission has now been granted for a temporary two-storey structure containing around 80 accommodation units for space port staff in Unst. The location in question is the former games court at Saxa Vord. Each modular unit would consist of one room functioning as a kitchen, dining room and bedroom, and a separate bathroom. The planning permission, given to SaxaVord Spaceport, is for a period of five years. It comes ahead of the anticipated first rocket launch from the spaceport next year. Groundwork is underway at the Lamba Ness peninsula. (10/24)

Auroras Blasted a 250-Mile-Wide Hole in Earth's Ozone Layer (Source: Space.com)
Auroras set off spectacular light shows in the night sky, but they are also illuminating another reason the ozone layer is being eaten away. Although humans are to blame for much of the ozone layer's depletion, observations of a type of aurora known as an isolated proton aurora have revealed a cause of ozone depletion that comes from space: Charged particles in plasma belched out by solar flares and coronal mass ejections also keep gnawing at the ozone layer. Before now, the influence of these particles were only vaguely known.

Now, an international research team has found that the effects of isolated proton auroras caused a nearly 250-mile-wide (400 kilometers) hole in the ozone layer, which gaped right below where an aurora occurred. Most of the ozone vanished within about an hour and a half. The researchers had not expected nearly so much ozone to degrade in the wake of this phenomenon, they explained in a statement. (10/23)

Firefly Aerospace Adds Former NASA Administrator James Bridenstine to its Advisory Board (Source: Firefly Aerospace)
Firefly Aerospace announced today that former NASA Administrator James Bridenstine, who led the space agency in advancing its aeronautics, science and space exploration objectives, will be joining the Company's Advisory Board, effective immediately. (10/24)

Space Shuttle vs Dream Chaser: Can This Pint Sized Space Plane Really Replace an Icon? (Source: AutoEvolution)
In truth, the Dream Chaser space plane is derived from a long-dead NASA concept vehicle from the early 1990s. One designed to supplement missions in between Space Shuttle launches. When it became clear there was no way NASA could afford to launch it 100 times as intended, the HL-20 Personnel Launch System was created to help.

Immediately, the similarities between the Siera Space's and NASA's designs are plain to see. With dimensions of 29 feet long and a wingspan of 23.5 feet compared to Dream Chasers' 30-foot length and 23-foot wingspan, the Space Shuttle easily dwarfs both. But don't start doubting Dream Chaser's hauling abilities just yet. Its size is actually its most important attribute.

Whereas the single Space Shuttle launch was a $1.6 billion investment, a smaller space plane roughly a quarter the Shuttle's size is thought to cost at least a quarter what a larger spaceplane would. Indeed, the Space Shuttles could carry as much as 65,000 pounds (29,000 kg) of cargo into Low Earth Orbit. But in a time where Delta IVs, Arian 5s, and Falcon Heavies do a lovely job of launching probes and satellites, there simply isn't as much need for a proverbial "space pickup truck" as the Space Shuttle ultimately became. (10/22)

ESA Endorses Sateliot Standard for LEO 5G IoT (Source: Sateliot)
Spain's Sateliot, the company that will launch the first constellation of low-orbit nanosatellites to provide 5G coverage for IoT, has received the endorsement of the European Space Agency (ESA) through the Future Preparation Generic Programme line of the ARTES programme on the standard powered by Sateliot, Gatehouse (an exclusive Sateliot partner) and 3GPP contributors to connect IoT standard devices from its LEO constellation. (10/19)