November 10, 2022

Tools for Space Rescue Being Developed in Adelaide (Source: Cosmos)
Technology being developed for space search and rescue is already saving lives on earth, according to NASA, which is overseeing a project with the Adelaide space industry. When an astronaut rolls the moon rover or trips over space junk, the lunar emergency scenario which unfolds takes search and rescue, literally, to a whole new level. On earth yachties, bikers, pilots, and hikers have a remarkable tendency to have accidents in obscure, out-of-the-way places, but help is rarely more than the flick of a switch away.

So how can astronauts, operating within extremely fragile spacesuits and pressurised buggies, be given the same degree of reassurance? Adelaide-based company Safety from Space, the University of South Australia and Flinders University, have been working with the SmartSat CRC (Cooperative Research Center) and NASA’s Search and Rescue unit since 2020, to develop an advanced, low-power emergency radio system. The basis of this technology is already saving lives. But recent innovations by the SmartSat team in advanced signal processing and a unique low-profile antenna can boost performance. (11/10)

NASA Views Images, Confirms Discovery of Shuttle Challenger Artifact (Source: NASA)
NASA leaders recently viewed footage of an underwater dive off the East coast of Florida, and they confirm it depicts an artifact from the space shuttle Challenger. The artifact was discovered by a TV documentary crew seeking the wreckage of a World War II-era aircraft. Divers noticed a large humanmade object covered partially by sand on the seafloor. The proximity to the Florida Space Coast, along with the item’s modern construction and presence of 8-inch square tiles, led the documentary team to contact NASA. (11/10)

Cornwall Space Launch Plan: Government Concern Over Time it's Taking to Get Licence (Source: Cornwall Live)
There is a growing concern in Government over the time it is taking for Spaceport Cornwall and operator Virgin Orbit to receive the required operation licence to launch satellites into space from Newquay. The Science and Technology Select Committee said it was "disappointed" the inaugural UK space launch had not yet happened even though Virgin Orbit's Cosmic Girl Boeing 747 and LauncherOne rockets have been in Cornwall for several weeks, as reported by the BBC.

During a press conference to show the world the rocket attached to Cosmic Girl's wing with a payload of seven microsatellites onboard, Spaceport Cornwall boss Melissa Thorpe said everyone is ready to go. Ian Annett, deputy CEO of the UK Space Agency, confirmed that until Spaceport Cornwall and Virgin Orbit are issued with an operating licence from the Civil Aviation Authority, Cosmic Girl will remain a big plane sitting pretty on the tarmac with a rocket under its wing and nothing more. But he too insisted the UK's first launch is scheduled to happen before the end of the year. (11/9)

How Big a Problem are Starlink Satellites for Astronomers? (Source: Sky At Night)
The team imaged Starlink passes using a widefield lens with a field of view 15 times larger than the width of the full Moon, fitted to a 16-megapixel camera. They collected over 350 observations of 61 Starlink satellites over a four-month period from February 2021, and calculated the brightness of each using the known magnitude of stars in the same frame.

They found that the average magnitude of the first generation of Starlink satellites was +5.1. The magnitude of the DarkSat averaged +7.3 – almost eight times fainter than the earlier Starlinks – but the VisorSats only reduced the glare by 2.3 times to a magnitude of +6.0. They concluded that this generation of VisorSats were so bright that they posed a significant hindrance to astronomers.

One strategy proposed to avoid the problems of Starlink trails is to temporarily close telescope shutters for 10 seconds while a Starlink satellite crosses the frame, but this relies on precise knowledge of when these occur.So the team also checked the accuracy of the predicted Starlink positions in their orbits. They found an average time difference between the published and observed position along their orbit of 0.3 seconds, meaning that such observational pauses are likely to be effective. (11/10)

Spaceport Upgrades Aimed at Attracting New Customers, Meeting Growing Demand (Source: New Mexico Inno)
Scott McLaughlin, Spaceport America's executive director, said that the biggest planned infrastructure improvement is a new multi-use building, called the Spaceport Technology and Reception Center. Refered to as STARC, the building is planned near the Spaceport's entrance and would allow guests to safely watch flights conducted by Virgin Galactic. Tenants and other customers would be able to use the STARC to hold investor meetings, process payloads or run mission control for test flights — all in one spot.

An August New Mexico Spaceport Authority presentation describes a multi-carrier cell tower and repairs to the Spaceport Operations Center as two other planned projects. Both are set to be completed next year. And the Spaceport is conducting an engineering study for a new taxiway in the HLA that could take four to five years to finish. Money for these projects will in part come from the New Mexico State legislature, which approved the Spaceport's 2024 Infrastructure Capital Improvements Plan allocating $2 million for the taxiway engineering study and $1.5 million for other infrastructure upgrades.

The Spaceport has budgeted $10.8 million in revenue for fiscal year 2023. State appropriations account for nearly $4 million of that projected revenue. But the majority is projected to come from customer fees, leases, utilities and fuel. It's budgeted nearly $7 million in customer revenue for 2023. And because Spaceport facilities have seen an "increased tempo of operations," McLaughlin said, he anticipates surpassing that $7 million number next year. (11/9)

UK Regulator Launches Consultation on Environmental Effects of Unst Spaceport (Source: Shetland News)
A public consultation is being held on the proposed SaxaVord Spaceport in Unst. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it is part of the process for the company applying for a spaceport operator licence. Whilst no licence is yet in place, work is already underway at the Lamba Ness launch site. On Wednesday the SaxaVord team announced the completion of a ‘concrete launch stool’ ahead of expected first rocket launch in 2023. As part of the licence application, Shetland Space Center Limited has submitted an assessment of environmental effects (AEE) for public consultation. (11/10)

MIT Will Return To The Moon For The First Time Since Apollo, Thanks To This Space Startup (Source: Forbes)
In August of 1961, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was awarded the first contract of the Apollo mission, and by 1969 the school’s Instrumentation Lab built the control systems, navigation and onboard guidance for the Apollo command and lunar modules. A team of MIT researchers developed the Apollo Guidance Computer that not only calibrated the exact course to the Moon, but also communicated with 150 other devices onboard, controlling physical elements of the spacecraft. This compact computer was ahead of its time as it weighed only 70 pounds compared to its mammoth predecessors that took over entire rooms.

It’s been half a century since MIT had technology on the Moon’s surface, but that’s about to change. The university will be hitching a ride with space technology company Lunar Outpost during its summer 2023 mission near the Lunar South Pole. The Colorado-based company plans to collect and sell moon rocks to NASA as a part of their Artemis mission under a contract worth a whopping… $1. (More on this later)

The mission, scheduled to take off from Cape Canaveral, will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It will only take a day to complete. Well, a lunar day, which is closer to two weeks for those of us on Earth. To speed up its research process, cut costs of public funding and avoid long proposal timelines that come with government funding, MIT made its arrangements directly with Lunar Outpost rather than working through NASA. Neither MIT nor Lunar Outpost disclosed the financial terms of the deal. (11/9)

New Review Shows JSC’s Economic Impact on Houston, Texas (Source: NASA)
NASA’s second agencywide economic impact statement shows the Johnson Space Center continued to be a multi-billion-dollar direct contributor to Houston and Texas in 2021, with its investments in spaceflight tripling the total downstream impact they have on the local and state economies. JSC plays a key role in the development of a booming low-Earth orbit commercial space economy.

The continued progress and impact of work performed in Houston supports the Artemis program and the nation’s goals of putting the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon. The report shows NASA’s annual contributions to the Texas economy were valued at $9.28 billion and supported almost 42,000 STEM workforce jobs. Of that, more than $3.14 billion and 14,000 jobs were devoted in 2021 to NASA’s efforts to develop a sustained presence on the Moon’s surface and to prepare humanity for the journey to Mars. (10/27)

What This Month’s National Space Council Meetings Could Mean for the Satellite Industry (Source: Fast Company)
Trade groups are urging the White House to use a “light touch” to regulate new orbital sectors, ahead of companies making their own appeals later this month. Mike French, VP for space systems at the Aerospace Industries Association, said AIA is working with members to help shape the process by which industry receives authorization for new space activities. Examples include satellite servicing and debris removal, which will be the subject of two National Space Council listening sessions with industry in November.

Which agency owns the process matters less than what the process looks like, French said, adding that the goal is to avoid creating unnecessary layers of burdensome red tape. The Satellite Industry Association is pushing for the White House to update the almost-20-year-old Commercial Remote Sensing Policy to better encompass new remote sensing technologies not addressed in existing policy, like radio frequency and infrared. (11/9)

EU Countries, Lawmakers Likely to Clinch Deal Next Week on Satellite Internet System (Source: Reuters)
EU countries and European Parliament lawmakers are likely to reach a deal on a $6 billion satellite internet system next week, driven by the bloc's push to cut its dependency on foreign companies and the Ukraine war. The European Commission announced the initiative to build and operate a satellite internet system in February, part of EU industry chief Thierry Breton's campaign for strategic autonomy. The EU scheme comes amid growing concerns about Russian and Chinese military advances in outer space and a surge in satellite launches. (11/9)

Musk's Twitter Takeover Contrasts With SpaceX (Source: Quartz)
Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover has seen the serial entrepreneur lay off thousands of employees, disappoint advertisers, confuse users, and announce a variety of sometimes contradictory product changes. For space fans, it can be disconcerting, and not just because the stress on Musk’s personal fortune and attention is likely to cost SpaceX. If you (like me) have ever told anyone that SpaceX is a pretty amazing company that does some incredible things, Musk’s very public meltdown imposes some cognitive dissonance.

What, then, is Musk doing differently at Twitter than he has at SpaceX, his most successful firm? His demands for excessive hours and callous approach to firings haven’t changed, that’s for sure. The answer lies in corporate strategy. SpaceX emerged from Musk’s post-PayPal interest in launching some kind of stunt mission to Mars with his newfound wealth. But he discovered that tens of millions of dollars was not enough money to buy even the cheapest rocket. He also found aerospace engineers—not top executives, but people managing development programs—and learned about their pain points, and what they thought would work if someone just tried it.

This helped SpaceX develop a customer-focused strategy: More than anything, people who bought rockets wanted to pay less. The engineers told him how to do it: Let’s stop relying on the moribund aerospace supply chain and buy new tech off the shelf. Let’s push toward mass production. Let’s take a look at this old NASA program to develop a reusable rocket—what if we did that? (11/10)

Rocket Lab Wins $14 Million in Contracts to Supply Hardware for U.S. Military Satellites (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab USA won two contracts worth $14 million to provide separation systems for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency satellites, the company announced Nov. 9. Separation systems are interfaces that attach satellites to rockets and release them in space once the rocket reaches its intended orbit. Rocket Lab will provide separation systems for 84 satellites made by Lockheed Martin and another undisclosed manufacturer for the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 1 Transport Layer, projected to launch in 2024. (11/9)

MDA Selects Rocket Lab to Supply Satellite Operations Control Center for the Globalstar Constellation (Source: Space Daily)
Rocket Lab USA has been selected by MDA to develop the Satellite Operations Control Center (SOCC) for Globalstar's growing constellation. MDA is the prime contractor for Globalstar's new Low Earth Orbit constellation. The SOCC contract builds on the existing relationship between MDA, Rocket Lab, and Globalstar established in February 2022 when Rocket Lab was awarded a $143 million contract design and manufacture of 17 spacecraft buses for Globalstar's new Low Earth Orbit satellites. These new satellites and SOCC will augment Globalstar's existing constellation, delivering reliable mobile satellite voice and data services from space. (11/10)

Rocket Lab Announces Launch Window for Inaugural Electron Launch From Wallops Island (Source: Space Daily)
Rocket Lab USA has announced it plans to launch its first Electron mission from Virginia during a launch window opening December 7 EST. The mission, named "Virginia is for Launch Lovers," will deploy satellites for leading radio frequency geospatial analytics provider HawkEye 360. It will be Rocket Lab's first lift-off from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA's Wallops Flight Facility - a launch pad developed to support Electron missions from U.S. soil for government and commercial customers.

The launch window has been set following recent progress by NASA in certifying its Autonomous Flight Termination Unit (NAFTU) software, which is required to enable Electron launches from Virginia. (11/10)

Atlas Launches LOFTID at California Spaceport (Source: Space News)
An Atlas 5 launched a weather satellite and a reentry technology demonstration payload this morning. The Atlas 5 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 4:49 a.m. Eastern carrying the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) 2 weather satellite and the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) payload. The Centaur upper stage deployed JPSS-2 into its polar orbit nearly a half hour later. However, NASA said nearly three hours after liftoff it had yet to receive telemetry confirming the spacecraft had deployed its solar array as expected.

LOFTID was released from the Centaur 75 minutes after liftoff and, after inflating its heat shield, reentered and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean east of Hawaii to be recovered by a ship. LOFTID is designed to test a technology that could be used for Mars missions and rocket recovery. The inflatable heat shield, six meters across, is larger than rigid aeroshells that can fit within rocket fairings. NASA envisions developing larger inflatable decelerators, up to 16 meters across, that can be used to land spacecraft on Mars that are much heavier than possible with current landing technologies. ULA partnered with NASA on the test and is interested in using the technology to recover engines from its Vulcan rocket for reuse. (11/10)

NASA Approves Lunar Trailblazer Mission (Source: Space News)
NASA approved plans to continue work on a lunar smallsat mission despite a cost overrun. The agency said Wednesday it will continue the Lunar Trailblazer mission for launch in mid-2023 after a review triggered by cost overruns by the spacecraft's subcontractor, Lockheed Martin. The mission replanned the remaining work on the mission and will "seek out more operational efficiencies" through the remainder of its development. Lunar Trailblazer was one of three missions NASA selected in 2019 for its SIMPLEx smallsat program, each with a $55 million cost cap. Lunar Trailblazer now has an estimated cost of $72 million, a figure that also includes earlier changes to the mission. (11/10)

China Plans Reusability for Long March 9 Rockets (Source: Space News)
China plans to incorporate reusability into its future Long March 9 heavy-lift rocket. Original plans for the Long March 9 called for the rocket to be expendable, but a new version of the vehicle displayed at the ongoing Zhuhai Airshow in southern China showed grid fins like those on the Falcon 9 used to recover the first stage. A Chinese official later confirmed that the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology is working to make the first stage reusable. The Long March 9 is designed to place up to 150 tons into low Earth orbit or 50 tons to lunar orbit. (11/10)

Hurricane Makes Landfall Near Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
Hurricane Nicole made landfall in Florida overnight, battering the Kennedy Space Center with high winds. The storm, a Category 1 hurricane, made landfall near Vero Beach, south of KSC. Weather stations at the center recorded hurricane-force wind gusts, including some that appeared to exceed the levels NASA previously said the Space Launch System, currently at Launch Complex 39B, was rated to withstand. Winds are decreasing as Nicole, now a tropical storm, weakens and moves west, but it's unclear what effect the storm will have on preparations for the Artemis 1 launch attempt scheduled for Nov. 16. (11/10)

Former Tesla Executive Leads SpaceX Starship Program (Source: Bloomberg)
A former Tesla executive is now working on SpaceX's Starship program. Omead Afshar has been named vice president of Starship production at SpaceX, according to company sources. He previously led operations at Tesla's "gigafactory" in Texas, and it was unclear if he was still working for Tesla in addition to his new SpaceX role. He had been the subject of an internal investigation at Tesla this summer about a plan to obtain "hard-to-get construction materials." (11/10)

SES Picks Arianespace to Launch EAGLE-1 Smallsat on Vega C (Source: SES)
SES selected Arianespace to launch a quantum cryptography satellite. SES said this week it awarded a contract to Arianespace for a Vega C launch of the EAGLE-1 smallsat no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2024. SES signed an agreement with ESA in September to develop EAGLE-1, which will demonstrate quantum key distribution technologies from space. The companies did not disclose the terms of the launch contract. (11/10)

Canadians Complain of Rocket Testing Noise by SpaceRyde (Source: Space.com)
Residents of a Canadian town are complaining about neighbors making too much noise… testing rocket engines. More than 700 people signed a petition calling for a halt to engine tests in the Ontario town of Trent Hills, east of Toronto, by SpaceRyde, a startup developing a small launch vehicle deployed from a balloon. Residents complain the noise from the tests is startling and could cause people on horseback or riding bikes to lose concentration. The company says the tests are brief and infrequent, comparing them to a truck revving its engine. SpaceRyde also says "a lot has changed" since the petition was posted but did not elaborate. (11/10)

NASA Needs a New Moon Car for Off-Roading Astronauts at the Lunar South Pole (Source: Space.com)
The search for the next-gen buggy for the upcoming Artemis moon missions has begun. While the previous lunar vehicles, used during the 1970s Apollo missions, were designed for the relatively balmy climate of the moon's equatorial region (or slightly north of there), NASA's Artemis missions are planned for the lunar south pole, where conditions are expected to be much harsher.

NASA has begun the contracting process(opens in new tab) to have private industry build the next moon rover, officially known as the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), which Artemis astronauts will use to traverse the area around the moon's south pole and beyond. The new draft request for proposals, which is the first step in the lengthy contracting process, has been published(opens in new tab) for industry partners to review and comment on before providing a formal proposal to build the LTV. (11/8)

Sacknoff Prize Offered for Space History Research (Source: Space 3.0)
Awarded since 2011, the Sacknoff Prize is designed to encourage original research by university students in the field of space history.
Undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to submit their original manuscript for consideration. Submissions must be postmarked by 30 November 2022. Winners will be announced in December. Students must be enrolled at an educational institution (undergraduate or graduate) at the time of submittal and working toward a degree. Papers already published or scheduled for publication in another journal will NOT be accepted. Click here. (11/9)

How NASA is Upgrading the International Space Station’s Ancient Power System (Source: The Verge)
In the next few weeks, astronauts will be heading out of the airlock on the International Space Station (ISS) on a series of three spacewalks, part of a long-term plan to upgrade the space station’s aging power system. The ISS uses large solar arrays to collect energy from the Sun and convert it into usable electricity for everything from life support and temperature controls to communications with Earth and propulsion systems to allow the station to dodge debris.

The old ISS power system, including eight solar arrays that spread out from the exterior of the station like wings, had been able to meet the power needs of the station to date by generating an average of between 84 and 120 kilowatts of electricity. However, some of the arrays were more than 20 years old and were originally designed for a 15-year service life, so they were showing signs of degradation. That doesn’t mean that the old arrays will suddenly cut out or stop working — though the station has had power troubles in the past — but it does mean that they are gradually becoming less efficient over time. And with large numbers of increasingly complex science experiments being performed on the station, the power requirements are going up. (11/8)

All Is Not Well at NASA's JPL (Source: Gizmodo)
NASA’s JPL is struggling with issues related to budget, staffing, and poor communications, forcing the space agency to delay a highly anticipated mission to Venus. During the annual meeting of the Venus Exploration Analysis Group on Monday, Director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division Lori Glaze described the mission delay as “the most painful thing I’ve ever had to do probably in my whole life.” However, Glaze said that in trying to address challenges highlighted by an independent review board, “there were zero good options.”

NASA recently shared the results of an independent review board that was put together to decide the fate of the Psyche mission. The mission had missed its initial launch window in August 2022 due to development delays, but is now targeting a launch date in October 2023 to study a metal-rich asteroid. However, the report put together by the review board revealed issues that went far beyond the ones that led to the delay of Psyche.

The independent review board noted that there were not enough staff members working on Psyche to allow for its completion on time, in addition to communication issues and staff members working remotely due to the covid-19 pandemic. The board also noted an unprecedented workload and an imbalance between workload and available resources at JPL. (11/8)

The Biggest Challenge for UK Rocket Launch? The Inclement Cornish Weather (Source: The Times)
American rocket engineers can handle the extreme heat and cold at their usual base in the Californian desert but said the torrential rain in Cornwall has tested them to the limit as they prepare for Britain’s first ever space launch. Virgin Orbit’s lead engineer said they found that their equipment is “not as waterproof as it needs to be” to deal with the Cornish weather, but said that the county’s pubs, castles and surfable seas have made a welcome change from the isolation of their normal headquarters in the Mojave Desert. (11/9)