October 26, 2022

T-Minus Launches Suborbital Rockets Into Space Over the Atlantic (Source: T-Minus)
In a two-week campaign in the Outer Hebrides, our launch team launched two 200mm diameter, 25kN thrust Kingfisher rockets within a 2-hour window. These flew successfully into space well above the Von Karman line, reaching approximately 185km altitude and a speed exceeding Mach 6, demonstrating several key technologies developed by the company in cooperation with the Dutch Ministry of Defense. With this major milestone, our 200mm solid rocket motor and the Kingfisher rocket are validated for flight and ready to serve future customers. (10/25)

Orbex Secures US $45.53 Million in Funding (Source: SpaceWatch Global)
UK-based spaceflight company Orbex has secured a US $45.53 million funding in a Series C funding round. The company will use the financing to scale up its resources ahead of its first vertical launch from UK soil. Orbex’s Prime full orbital micro-launcher is 19-meter long, two-stage rocket, capable of carrying payloads up to 180kg into low Earth orbit. Prime is planned to be launched from Space Hub Sutherland, which is aiming to be the world’s first carbon-neutral spaceport.

Prime will be powered by a renewable bio-fuel, Calor’s Futuria Liquid Gas, a form of bio-propane. According to the company, this will help reduce the carbon footprint of launches by up to 96%. Orbex is currently performing a integration- and launch procedure test. Prime’s first launch, will carry a payload developed by small satellite developer Surrey Satellite Technology. (10/19)

There’s a Better Chance of Alien Life on Mars Than We Thought (Source: Daily Beast)
A new study run by Northwestern University scientists and published in the journal Astrobiology has found that ancient bacteria would have the ability to survive under the surface of Mars for much longer than we previously thought. Those buried microorganisms would be guarded from solar radiation that penetrates through the Martian atmosphere, while still living relatively close to the surface.

The new results suggest that our best bet for finding any evidence of current life on Mars would be to advance missions that can drill and extract samples at least two meters below the surface. That’s great news for missions like ExoMars run by the European Space Agency, which will include the Rosalind Franklin rover; and the Mars Life Explorer concept pitched by NASA. Both missions would include the ability to drill down into the surface to extract materials. (10/25)

Aerojet Rocketdyne Considers Sale of Company (Source: Reuters)
Aerojet Rocketdyne's leadership is considering a sale of the company. Industry sources said the company is soliciting bids from private equity firms and others to acquire Aerojet, asking for indications of interest earlier this month. Aerojet previously had an agreement to be acquired by Lockheed Martin for $4.4 billion, but Lockheed scrapped the deal earlier this year, citing antitrust concerns. Aerojet has a market value of $3.6 billion and is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings next week. (10/26)

Space Force Considers Budget Increase (Source: Space News)
The Space Force will seek budget increases in the coming years to counter China's rapid advances in its space program. Gen. David "DT" Thompson, U.S. vice chief of space operations, said Tuesday that the administration understands that more resources will be needed to build more resilient space systems and meet the U.S. military's demand for satellite-based communications, data and other services. The White House requested $24.5 billion for the Space Force in its 2023 budget proposal, about $5 billion more than the service received in 2022. However, analysts have warned that pace of growth may not be sustainable due to rising inflation and economic conditions. (10/26)

Proliferated Constellations Deter Hostile Attacks on Satellites (Source: Space News)
The success of Starlink during the Ukrainian conflict shows the benefits of low Earth orbit constellations, a Space Force official says. Derek Tournear, director of the Space Force's Space Development Agency, said Tuesday that despite threats by Russia to attack Starlink satellites, which provide communications services for Ukraine, Russia had not made any physical attack on them. That illustrates the power of a proliferated constellation to deter attacks and provide resilience, Tournear argued. Even if satellite constellations SDA is developing were attacked, "we expect to be able to absorb a certain amount of attrition," he said. (10/26)

Chinese Spaceplane Raises Orbit (Source: Space News)
A secretive Chinese spaceplane launched in August has raised its orbit. The "reusable experiment spacecraft" had been in an orbit of 346 by 593 kilometers for most of the time since its launch in early August, but recently raised its orbit to 597 by 608 kilometers. The reason for the orbit change is unclear, and China has released few details in general about the mission. The project is being run by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, which is also developing a reusable suborbital spaceplane that secured funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in September. (10/26)

ISS Partners Consider Roles in Future Commercial Stations (Source: Space News)
Partners on the International Space Station are studying how they can participate in future commercial space stations. With the ISS set to retire in 2030 and be replaced by one or more commercial stations, European and Japanese officials said Tuesday they're looking at how to use those new stations. Approaches used for the ISS, like barter arrangements, may not work for commercial stations, while there may be political obstacles to direct payments from governments to American companies operating those stations. (10/26)

NanoAvionics to Expand Smallsat Production (Source: Space News)
NanoAvionics plans to expand its smallsat production with a multimillion-dollar investment plan from its new Norwegian owners. The Lithuanian company, now formally called Kongsberg NanoAvionics after finishing the sale of a majority stake to Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace last month, said investment by Kongsberg will help expand the company into the defense market and increase production of smallsats. The company is ramping up research and development activities under its investment plan to make its modular satellite architecture more secure and reliable, which would help capture a larger share of the defense market.  (10/26)

Array Labs Raises $5 Million for Radar Satellite System (Source: Space News)
Silicon Valley startup Array Labs raised $5 million to start work on a radar satellite system to provide 3D imagery. The startup's seed round, announced Tuesday, was backed by Seraphim Space and Agya Ventures, a real estate technology fund. The company will operate groups of satellites that will image a location simultaneously from different perspectives, creating 3D data products. A similar concept was considered by the Air Force Research Lab two decades ago but canceled because the technology was not mature yet. Array Labs argues advances in smallsats and electronics now make it feasible. (10/26)

Russia Launches Cargo Craft to ISS (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
A Progress cargo spacecraft is on its way to the ISS after a launch Tuesday night. A Soyuz-2.1a rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 8:20 p.m. Eastern and placed the Progress MS-21 spacecraft into orbit. With about 2.5 tons of cargo on board, the spacecraft will dock with the station Thursday at 10:49 p.m. Eastern. (10/26)

NASA JPL Voyager Veteran Retiring (Source: NASA)
The only person to serve as project scientist for NASA's Voyager missions is finally retiring after five decades on the job. Ed Stone was appointed project scientist for the Voyager 1 and 2 missions in 1972, five years before their launch to the outer solar system. He held that role even while serving as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory director from 1991 to 2001 and after formally retiring from JPL in 2001. Linda Spilker, who was the project scientist for the Cassini mission and earlier worked on the Voyager missions, will take over as Voyager project scientist. (10/26)

Schirra Watch Sells at Auction for $1.9 Million (Source: CollectSpace)
A watch owned by Mercury 7 astronaut Wally Schirra sold at auction for a record $1.9 million. Schirra received the gold Omega Speedmaster Professional watch as a gift from Omega in 1969 after the Apollo 11 landing, along with the members of the Apollo 11 crew and 20 other astronauts. The watch was a gold replica of the ones worn by the Apollo 11 astronauts. A similar watch given to Apollo 11's Michael Collins sold at auction earlier this year for $765,000. (10/26)

Discovery Could Dramatically Narrow Search for Space Creatures (Source: Space Daily)
An Earth-like planet orbiting an M dwarf - the most common type of star in the universe - appears to have no atmosphere at all. This discovery could cause a major shift in the search for life on other planets. Because M-dwarfs are so ubiquitous, this discovery means a large number of planets orbiting these stars may also lack atmospheres and therefore are unlikely to harbor living things.

This planet orbits its star twice during the course of a single day on Earth. It is slightly larger than Earth, and it is much closer to its star than Earth is to the sun, making GJ 1252b intensely hot as well as inhospitable. Earth also loses some of its atmosphere over time because of the sun, but volcanic emissions and other carbon cycling processes make the loss barely noticeable by helping replenish what is lost. However, in greater proximity to a star, a planet cannot keep replenishing the amount being lost. (10/24)

'Marshmallow' World Orbiting a Cool Red Dwarf Star (Source: Space Daily)
A gas giant exoplanet with the density of a marshmallow has been detected in orbit around a cool red dwarf star by a suite of instruments, including the NASA-funded NEID radial-velocity instrument on the WIYN 3.5-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF's NOIRLab. The planet, named TOI-3757 b, is the fluffiest gas giant planet ever discovered around this type of star.

Astronomers using the WIYN 3.5-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, a Program of NSF's NOIRLab, have observed an unusual Jupiter-like planet in orbit around a cool red dwarf star. Located approximately 580 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Auriga the Charioteer, this planet, identified as TOI-3757 b, is the lowest-density planet ever detected around a red dwarf star and is estimated to have an average density akin to that of a marshmallow. (10/24)

Private Space Industry Has a Major Sexism Problem That's 'too Toxic' to Fix (Source: Newsweek)
It is no secret that women are underrepresented in the space industry. What is less well known are the challenges many women who are in the industry face. Like so many other male-dominated professions, women in the space sector are often faced with a culture of sexual harassment and misogyny that can be difficult to escape. Today, only one in five aerospace workers are women, a figure that has hardly changed in three decades.

In 2021, employees from two of the biggest aerospace companies, Blue Origin and SpaceX, came forward to share their experiences of sexual harassment and misconduct. "We were all fed up of seeing our friends being harassed," Caleigh MacPherson, co-founder of Astro Advocates and Allies. "Over 250 people have reached out for either support, to tell their stories, or to help rewrite policies and expectations," MacPherson said.

"We are 16 months into this whole endeavor–in that time, 16 cases have been fully resolved, 6 set in motion, and 12 are being revisited after being completely ignored for years" ... "Things have not gotten better," MacPherson said. "In small ways they have, but things are not massively different...Some of it's the red tape, some of it is people sticking their heads in the sand. If you look at the metrics of the female turnover in the workforce in the space industry it's still a lot faster than men." (10/25)

Gilmour Space Offers Tech Demo Satellite Mission From Australia in 2024 (Source: Space Daily)
Australian rocket and satellite builder, Gilmour Space Technologies, is offering a new rideshare mission into Low Earth Orbit - this time, on one of its G-class satellite buses (or G-Sat) scheduled to be launched in late 2024. "We're calling this our Kangaroo-1 mission, and it will be capable of carrying 125U (or 125 units) of payload volume into a mid-inclination orbit," said Shaun Kenyon. (10/25)

Scientists Discover the Source of one of the Rarest Types of Meteorites (Source: Space Daily)
Since return mission Hayabusa2 brought samples of asteroid Ryugu back to Earth in 2020, a team of experts from across the world have been examining them to learn more about the origins of our solar system. Carbonaceous chondrites are an extremely rare group of meteorites which have been known to contain organics and amino acids - ingredients for life. They are the most primitive and pristine materials of the solar system and can provide unique information on where water and the building blocks of life were formed, and what planets are made from.

the team conclude that Ryugu, now a near-Earth object, was among the group of asteroids known as the Cb-type which formed billions of kilometres away from Earth, towards the edge of the Sun's influence, in a region of space such as the Kuiper Belt, or perhaps even deeper into space. Professor Sara Russell, a Senior Research Lead at the Museum who co-authored the paper, says, 'It's only within the last decade we've begun to appreciate just how far objects in the solar system can move towards, and away from, the Sun.' (10/25)

China Completes Test of Vacuum Liquid Oxygen-Methane Rocket Engine (Source: Space Daily)
China has completed a test of its largest-thrust vacuum liquid oxygen-methane engine, which was designed for use on a commercial rocket, the engine maker said. Developed by the Chinese private rocket company LandSpace, the engine, coded TQ-15A, has a vacuum thrust of up to 836 kilonewtons. It will be used as the second-stage main engine for the second batch of the company's ZQ-2 rocket, which can carry a payload of at least 6 tonnes to low-Earth orbit. (10/24)

Planet Launches Nonprofit Program to Drive More Access to Timely, Global Satellite Data (Source: Space Daily)
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL)reports the launch of its Nonprofit Program, an offering that provides access to Planet imagery and support services specifically for nonprofits and non-governmental organizations (NGOS).

In line with Planet's mission to use space to help life on Earth and in effort to enable more impactful uses of Planet's data, the offering addresses two traditional challenges facing nonprofits - limited budgets and resources, and the infrastructure and technical expertise to analyze the data. The goal is that by providing more accessible data products and technical support services, the Nonprofit Program will help users better extract information and create applications that power decisions and enable action. (10/21)

Report Warns U.S. Needs Space-Based Weapons to Defend JADC2 (Source: National Defense)
The Space Force needs to deter adversaries from attacking space infrastructure that is critical for data collection and communications, according to a new report from the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

Satellites and space-based sensors will be a linchpin for joint all-domain command and control — the Pentagon effort to more quickly and effectively collect and transmit data to warfighters anywhere it's needed. This effort starts with the transport layer of satellites in low-earth orbit that the Space Development Agency will start launching in December, said Tim Ryan, a senior fellow at the institute and author of “The Indispensable Domain: The Critical Role of Space in JADC2.”

Released last week, Ryan’s research found that there is currently no back up for the transport layer satellites, he said. While the satellites in space will be hardened to defend against threats such as jamming and kinetic effects, Congress needs to fund offensive and defensive weapons for the Space Force, the report recommended. (10/24)

Aiming for the Moon, Crashing on Earth: The Rise and Fall of the 1989 Space Exploration Initiative (Source: Space Review)
Before Artemis and the Vision for Space Exploration was the Space Exploration Initiative, a proposal by President George H.W. Bush to return humans to the Moon. Dwayne Day examines the development of that proposal and how that planted the seeds for its demise. Click here. (10/24)
 
The Space Investment Crunch (Source: Space Review)
Space startups have enjoyed surging investment in recent years, with many going public. Jeff Foust reports that broader economic problems may make it more difficult for companies to raise money or stay public and could lead to consolidation. Click here. (10/24)
 
Recycling in the Ultimate High Ground (Source: Space Review)
New technologies and a growing commercial presence in space are reshaping how the US military operates in orbit. Ben Ogden argues that a critical element of those changes will be a greater adoption of in-space servicing of spacecraft. Click here. (10/24)
 
Screens and Spaceships: inside the Renovated National Air and Space Museum (Source: Space Review)
The National Air and Space Museum reopened part of its downtown Washington museum earlier this month as part of a multi-year renovation of the popular museum. Jeff Foust pays a visit to see the changes in the space-related galleries, including how some famous artifacts are presented. Click here. (10/24)

Feds Called To Redo $3.3B ICBM Deal Over Payment Plans (Source: Law360)
The US Air Force should pull back BAE Systems' $3.3 billion contract to support the intercontinental ballistic missile program, a federal watchdog said in a decision released Monday, faulting the agency for how it analyzed bidders' employee compensation plans. (10/24)

DC Circ. Won't Rethink Dish's FCC SpaceX Fight (Source: Law360)
The DC Circuit Court has rejected a request from Dish Network to reconsider its decision to allow SpaceX to fly its Starlink satellites in a lower orbit as part of an update to the broadband satellite system. The court rejected claims that the satellites could cause television interference for millions of people. (10/24)

Embry-Riddle Awarded $1.5 Million to Bolster Engineering Workforce (Source: ERAU)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University was selected to participate in a national effort to bolster the engineering workforce, receiving a grant of $1.5 million from the National Science Foundation to provide STEM scholarships to students in accelerated bachelor’s-plus-master’s degree programs.

Twenty-five scholarship recipients will receive $10,000 each year of their five-year accelerated program at Embry-Riddle. Each recipient must demonstrate financial need. The students will earn their undergraduate degrees in Computer Science, Software Engineering or Computer Engineering. Their graduate studies will be in Cybersecurity Engineering, Software Engineering or Electrical and Computer Engineering. (10/24)

Raytheon's Alleged "No Poach" Workforce Scheme Inching Through Courts (Sources: Bloomberg, Law360)
A Justice Department probe into Raytheon Technologies’ allegedly anticompetitive hiring practices portends more of the agency’s criminal enforcement in the labor market, attorneys said. No-poach cases have been fought through civil actions in the past. But addressing them from an antitrust criminal angle is new. The agency’s 2016 guidance on this issue said the DOJ would be looking at no-poach agreements “as a naked restraint of trade, and therefore would be looking in the future to bring these cases criminally.”

Raytheon Technologies Corp.  revealed in February that it received a grand jury subpoena as part of a DOJ criminal investigation into alleged agreements to limit hiring between one of its units and some suppliers. The DOJ indicated as early as a 2016 guidance that such practices could be subject to criminal enforcement. This week, a federal judge decided not to force federal prosecutors to name potential workers impacted by the alleged no-poach conspiracy. (10/24)