October 28, 2022

China to Expand Remote Sensing Constellation (Source: Space News)
A Chinese company is preparing to more than double the size of a remote sensing constellation. Changguang Satellite, a satellite manufacturer and operator, initially planned for its Jilin-1 constellation to consist of 138 satellites in orbit by 2025 to provide 10-minute revisit times. Those satellites are now expected to be in orbit by 2023, and the company will then move into a second phase that will grow the constellation to 300 satellites by 2025. The firm secured $375 million in funding for its Jilin-1 project in November 2020 and already has by far the largest Chinese commercial constellation in orbit. (10/28)

Gomspace Delays Financial Results (Source: Space News)
European smallsat manufacturer Gomspace has delayed its financial results after a major customer stopped payments. The company halted work on a contract worth just under half its annual revenues earlier this month, following about $3.6 million in unpaid invoices and $1.6 million of work-in-progress it had yet to invoice. Gomspace expects 2022 revenue to total roughly $17 million to $23 million as a result, down from its earlier $24 million to $27 million full-year forecast. Gomspace has not disclosed the customer but says the dispute comes from an increase of scope that customer is unwilling to pay for. Gomspace does not expect to lay off personnel because of the dispute, instead moving staff to other projects. (10/28)

National Defense Strategy to Rely on Commercial Space (Source: Space News)
The U.S. national defense strategy includes making greater use of commercial space technologies. The unclassified version of the U.S. national defense strategy released by the Defense Department Thursday forecasts a decades-long competition with China and lays out priorities for the military going forward. It warns that China and other rivals are likely to target U.S. satellites in a conflict to cripple the military's access to critical services. The document validates the Pentagon's plan to build a multi-layer network of missile-defense and missile-tracking satellites, and to supplement military space networks with commercial systems. (10/28)

NASA Generated $71 Billion in Economic Impact in 2021 (Source: Space Daily)
NASA's latest economic impact report released Thursday, boasting $71.2 billion in output during the fiscal year 2021. The report from NASA outlines how its activities, including research and technology, affect the economy. Those activities supported more than 339,000 jobs across the United States while generating about $7.7 billion in tax dollars.

NASA's moon to Mars mission was among the biggest contributors, generating more than $20 billion in output. That mission alone was the basis of about 93,700 jobs. It also generated an estimated $2.2 billion in tax revenue. Climate research and technology's economic output exceeded $7.4 billion while supporting more than 37,000 jobs.

The reach of NASA's economic touch spreads throughout the United States with 46 states seeing a boon of more than $10 million. For nine states, that figure is more than $1 billion. The impact NASA has on the nationwide economy continues to grow year over year. The 2021 report, which was the second of its kind, shows a 10.7% uptick from fiscal year 2019. The moon to Mars campaign's contribution to the economy increased by a whopping 42.6% over 2019. (10/28)

NASA Economic Impacts in Florida (Sources: SPACErePORT, NASA)
Florida was near the top of nearly every metric in NASA's 2021 economic impact report. NASA's employment impact in the state was over 33 thousand, with spending of $5.9 billion. The agency's Moon-to-Mars (Artemis) program represented 10,870 jobs and over $2 billion in spending. Florida ranked fourth, behind UT, CO, and AL in economic impacts from Artemis. Click here. (10/27)

NASA Ready for November Artemis 1 Launch (Source: Space News)
NASA says it remains on track to make the next Artemis 1 launch attempt in mid-November. Agency officials said at a conference Thursday that they are making final preparations to roll out the Space Launch System on Nov. 4, setting up a launch Nov. 14. Backup launch windows are available Nov. 16 and 19, but the impending Thanksgiving holiday and restrictions on airspace closures to support holiday travel would allow, at most, one more launch attempt before the window closes Nov. 27, likely Nov. 25. The rocket's flight termination system, which required waivers to support some earlier launch attempts, is certified through the first three launch attempts in November. (10/28)

Amazon Could Use Falcon-9, Starship Rockets to Deploy Some Kuiper Satellites (Source: Space News)
Amazon says it would not rule out procuring launches from SpaceX to deploy its Project Kuiper constellation. Amazon ordered launches in April from Arianespace, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance to launch the bulk of its constellation, which has more than 3,000 satellites. In a webinar Thursday, an Amazon executive said it would consider SpaceX, including its Starship vehicle in development, in order to meet an FCC deadline of deploying half that constellation by July 2026.

Amazon Readies 172,000-Square-Foot Washington Factory to Build Kuiper Satellites (Source: GeekWire)
Amazon announced Thursday it is opening a 172,000-square-foot satellite production facility in Kirkland, Washington to manufacture thousands of satellites for its Project Kuiper broadband internet constellation. The factory will eventually turn out one to three satellites per day. That will be in addition to an existing 219,000-square-foot research and development facility it already operates in nearby Redmond. (10/28)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Satellites From California, Recovers Booster (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com)
SpaceX launched another set of Starlink satellites Thursday evening. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 9:14 p.m. Eastern and placed 53 satellites into low Earth orbit. The Falcon 9 booster, on its eighth mission, landed on a droneship in the Pacific. The twilight launch and the rocket's trajectory allowed it to be seen as far east as El Paso, Texas. (10/28)

SpaceX Tests Falcon Heavy Prior to Nov. 1 Florida Launch (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX performed a static-fire test of a Falcon Heavy rocket launching a classified payload. The rocket's 27 engines fired briefly on the pad at Launch Complex 39A Thursday evening ahead of a launch now scheduled for Tuesday, a day later than previously announced. The Falcon Heavy, flying for the first time in more than three years, will place a classified payload into orbit on the USSF-44 mission for the Space Force. (10/28)

India Plans February Test of Uncrewed Spacecraft (Source: PTI)
The first uncrewed launch of India's Gaganyaan human spaceflight program is scheduled for February. An official with India's space agency ISRO said the uncrewed launch of the Gaganyaan spacecraft is now scheduled for February, with a second to follow next December. The program, which originally aimed to launch Indian astronauts by the 75th anniversary of India's independence in August 2022, now expects that inaugural crewed flight to take place in late 2024 or early 2025. (10/28)

ULA Expanding Alabama Factory for Vulcan (Source: WAAY)
ULA broke ground on an expansion of its Alabama factory to support Vulcan launches. The 250,000-square-foot facility will be used by Beyond Gravity to produce payload fairings for Vulcan rockets, as well as a warehouse by ULA to store rocket components. The new building will be completed in 2024 and is part of ULA's efforts to increase Vulcan production to support customers like Amazon's Project Kuiper. (10/28)

Insight Lander Detected Strong Marsquake (Source: NASA)
NASA's InSight Mars lander is going out with a bang. Scientists announced Thursday that the lander's seismometer detected a seismic event last December that was one of the strongest felt by the mission. Images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter pinpointed the crater 150 meters across created when the small asteroid, up to 12 meters across, hit the planet. The impact appeared to expose ice closer to the surface than expected, a finding scientists say has implications for future human missions that might be able to access it. InSight is nearing the end of its mission as dust on its solar panels reduces its power, with the lander expected to shut down in the next six weeks. (10/28)

Many Military U.F.O. Reports Are Just Foreign Spying or Airborne Trash (Source: New York Times)
Government officials believe that surveillance operations by foreign powers and weather balloons or other airborne clutter explain most recent incidents of unidentified aerial phenomenon — government-speak for U.F.O.s — as well as many episodes in past years. Intelligence agencies are set to deliver a classified document to Congress by Monday updating a report made public last year that said nearly all of the incidents remain unexplained. The original document looked at 144 incidents between 2004 and 2021 that were reported by U.S. government sources, mostly American military personnel.

Based on interviews with American officials familiar with the findings of the Pentagon and intelligence agencies’ examination of the incidents, some of the incidents have been formally attributed to Chinese surveillance — with relatively ordinary drone technology — and others are also thought to be connected to Beijing. China, which has stolen plans for advanced fighter planes, wants to learn more about how the United States trains its military pilots, according to American officials.

Much of the information about the unidentified phenomena remains classified. While Congress has been briefed on some of the conclusions about foreign surveillance, Pentagon officials have kept most of the work secret — in large measure because they do not want China or other countries to know that their efforts to spy on the American military were detected. But such official secrecy comes at a cost, allowing conspiracy theories about government lies to thrive unchecked. (10/28)

New Technique to Determine Age Will Open New Era for Planetary Science (Source: Space Daily)
The coming decade is expected to bring a veritable bonanza for the science of planets: space missions are scheduled to bring back samples of rock from the moon, Mars, the Martian moon of Phobos, and a primitive asteroid. And scientists say there is a new technique for determining the age of rocks, meteorites, and even artifacts, that could help open up a new era of discovery.

A group with the University of Chicago and the Field Museum of Natural History tested an instrument made by Thermo Fisher Scientific on a piece of a Martian meteorite nicknamed 'Black Beauty' and were able to quickly and precisely date it by probing it with a tiny laser beam-a significant improvement over past techniques, which involved far more work and destroyed parts of the sample. (10/27)

Arbitration Set in Discrimination Case Against Jeff Bezos Company Blue Origin (Source: MyNews LA)
A 48-year-old former Blue Origin LLC employee who alleges he was wrongfully terminated earlier this year because of his age and for complaining about workplace discrimination has agreed to binding arbitration of his claims against the space venture founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos.

On Monday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jon R. Takasugi stayed plaintiff Cristian Bureriu’s lawsuit pending the outcome of the case filed Sept. 7, alleging alleges age and disability discrimination, failure to accommodate disability, failure to engage in the interactive process, failure to take all reasonable steps to prevent discrimination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, harassment and retaliation. (10/25)

This Small Seaside Community Could Be Home to Canada's Frst Spaceport. But Not Everyone is On Board (Source: CBC)
AJ's Pub, one of three restaurants in Canso on Nova Scotia's northeast mainland, already has a Cyclone 4M pizza on its menu. Its namesake is the Ukraine-built rocket that boosters hope will blast off from a spaceport being built near the community by Stephen Matier, president and CEO of the startup Maritime Launch Services (MLS).

"In analyzing locations around North America, this location really fit that bill," said Matier in an interview with CBC Radio's John Chipman. The rockets won't be carrying astronauts. Satellites, mostly for communications, are the planned payload. Canso, a roughly three-and-a-half hour drive from Halifax, offers an ideal launch point for satellites destined for low-Earth orbit over the Atlantic Ocean, Matier said.

But in the idyllic, seaside community largely known for its fishery, two challenges stand in the project's way: a vocal opposition dampening excitement over the potential for new jobs and tourist dollars, and the need for an estimated $180 million more in funding. While MLS says it has worked with people in the community, answering their questions and providing scientific details about the project, opponents maintain the site was chosen without adequate consultation or community input. (10/26)

U.S. Space & Rocket Center Debuts Boeing and ULA Artifacts (Source: WHNT)
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center (USSRC) is set to debut two new artifacts in its “Dare to Explore Frontiers of Space” exhibit. The new and evolving exhibit showcases space exploration technologies, both current and future, for United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan rocket and Boeing’s Starliner Pressure vessel. (10/26)

India’s First Crewed Space Mission by End of 2024 or Early 2025 (Source: Money Control)
After a string of delays, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is looking to demonstrate the capabilities of its Gaganyaan mission by end of 2023, and then go ahead with India’s first crewed space mission by either the end of 2024 or early 2025, R Umamaheshwaran, director of ISRO’s Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) said on Thursday, October 27. (10/27)

India Working on Solutions to Monetize Epace Economy (Source: The Tribune)
The solutions provided by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) would help monetise the space economy, S Somanath, chairman of premier space agency, said. Somanath also said that “Navigation with Indian Constellation” or NavIC had the potential to become a global navigation system. “Solutions provided by ISRO will help monetise the space economy. We have to start looking at our space sector with a whole new perspective on a larger and more monetised economy,” Somanath said, adding that a conducive policy for the space sector was slated to be announced in the near future. (10/26)

Leftover Hardware From Mars Mission to be Used on the Moon (Source: Ars Technica)
The InSight Mars lander's seismometer is called the Seismic Experiment for Internal Structure (or SEIS), and it has recorded over 20 Marsquakes. Now, an instrument based on the same design will measure ground vibrations on the far side of the Moon, the first seismographs on our neighbor since the Apollo era.

Developed by the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP) and the French space agency CNES, the SEIS Very Broad Band (VBB) seismometer that’s now on Mars can detect the tiniest movements—to the tune of 10 picometers, which is much smaller than an atom. Consisting of three pendulums placed at 120 degrees to each other, SEIS measures the vertical and horizontal vibrations of the Martian surface. (10/26)

NorthStar's Space Situational Awareness Services to be Launched by Virgin Orbit in 2023 (Source: NorthStar)
NorthStar Earth & Space announced that the first three of its constellation of 24 satellites dedicated to commercial Space Situational Awareness (SSA) will be among the payloads carried by Spire Global's satellites to be launched by Virgin Orbit. The launch is scheduled for mid-2023.

NorthStar will be the first to monitor all near-Earth orbits from space delivering a radically enhanced level of SSA services to the global satellite community, with timely and precise information for resident space object detection, tracking, orbit determination, collision avoidance, navigation and proximity alerts. (10/27)

Thermal Control Designs Keep Taikonauts Cool on Space Station (Source: Xinhua)
For taikonauts, staying cool and comfortable on China's Tiangong space station is no problem. The station orbits Earth in about 90 minutes at an altitude of 400 km. It experiences large fluctuations in temperature, ranging from 150 degrees Celsius when the station is exposed to the sun to minus 100 degrees Celsius when over the night side of the planet. So how to protect station residents from extreme heat and cold during their six-month stay in orbit?

The answer lies in several thermal control designs courtesy of the China Academy of Space Technology. The fluid loop, with a certain liquid circulating through its pipes, is the key component of the station's thermal control system. Hardware in the Wentian lab module, by far the largest and heaviest component of the Chinese space station, also generates a large amount of heat. Huang's team has developed three sets of liquid cooling systems that can collect and radiate this excess heat to outer space. (10/26)

Congressional Indecision is Leaving Valuable Space Force Personnel in Limbo (Source: Washington Examiner)
The United States Space Force has made remarkable progress in its short lifetime, without missing a beat in providing space- and ground-based warning of missile launches, national-level communications satellites, and navigation services for the entire planet . Space capability is a vital utility for our nation.

But one important dangling issue remains unresolved: what to do with the hundreds of Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard members who provide critical space operations capability for the Space Force and the nation. These people have been orphaned organizationally. Whereas the Space Force has incorporated space units and personnel from the Air Force, Army and Navy, the space-duty reservists and guardsmen remain in legislative limbo. Although they perform essential functions of the Space Force, they are not full team members and legally cannot wear the uniforms of their counterparts, the Space Force Guardians. (10/26)

Europe's Space Sector Hesitates Between Independence and Cooperation (Source: EuroNews)
Europe's space sector is debating this week how to find the perfect balance between encouraging a dynamic new commercial sector and taking into account hyper-sensitive questions around sovereignty and security. Finding the best compromise on those two issues is at the heart of discussions this week at the European Space Forum 2022 in Brussels.

The two-day conference has attracted 700 industry leaders in a hybrid format, with the European Space Agency's Director General opening the event in a keynote speech. "Events of this year show that space tools are indispensable for a strong and independent Europe," he said. It makes for an apparent contradiction: Europe says it wants to become an independent space power, while it  encourages a fast-growing commercial space sector.

One woman at the heart of that search for the right balance between security and commercialisation is Evi Papantoniou, Deputy Director for Space and the Head of the Space Policy Unit in the European Commission. She told the EU Space Forum 2022 that the European Commission needs to ensure autonomous, reliable and cost effective access to space by financing a new breed of launchers, something it is doing by spending Horizon Europe research funding and the EU's new Cassini venture capital funds to help entrepreneurs. (10/26)

Lunar Gateway HALO Module Taking Shape in Italy (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
Structural welding is ongoing for the Habitation and Logistics Outpost module for the Lunar Gateway with the docking section ring formed. Designed by Northrop Grumman and based on the company’s Cygnus resupply spacecraft, the HALO module is being built by Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy. It’s 10 feet (3.07 meters) wide and about 20 feet (6.1 meters) long.

The spacecraft will have two radial docking ports and one forward port. Once the pressure vessel is completed, it’ll be shipped to Gilbert, Arizona, where Northrop Grumman will finish outfitting the spacecraft with various components to support Artemis program astronauts during their Moon missions. (10/26)

NASA Releases Report on Policy Matters in Upcoming Moon Missions (Source: NASA)
With Artemis missions including robotic surface exploration missions, crewed lunar missions carrying the first woman and first person of color, and a base camp to establish the first long-term human lunar presence – NASA, together with commercial and international partners, is returning to the Moon in a big way.

Around the world, government agencies and companies are also making their own plans. More than 20 missions are planned to the Moon between now and 2026. Half of these missions are headed to the Moon’s South Pole, and many are targeting the same handful of craters and other features of interest. Many of these missions are going to operate in proximity to each other on the surface of a celestial body for the first time in history. This will raise challenges humanity has never faced.

A new Lunar Landing and Operations Policy Analysis published Tuesday, Oct. 25, by NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS) examines some of the policy challenges that having numerous missions at the Moon will create. As part of the Artemis campaign, NASA leadership asked OTPS to examine policy concerns that may be associated with these challenges. Click here. (10/27)