November 11, 2022

‘Space Troopers’ are Real and US Space Command has 300 of Them (Source: Task and Purpose)
While the name sounds like something out of a space opera, ‘space troopers’ are a real part of the United States military and actively helping defend U.S. interests in the final frontier. In fact, there are more than 300 of them working with the Joint Task Force-Space Defense, a component of U.S. Space Command that protects satellites from threats on the ground and in space.

Though the members of JTF-SD work in the 21st-century world of satellite defense, their nickname stems from much older technology. Bridget Bonnette, chief of public affairs for the task force, recently explained that its first commander, Army Maj. Gen. Tom James, “saw a similarity in our space defense mission and the operations of traditional cavalry operations. (11/10)

He Paid Virgin Galactic $175K in 2007 for a Spaceflight. Now 84 and Tired of Waiting, Got His Money Back (Source: Chicago Sun-Times)
Shefket Chapadjiev watched a beaming Richard Branson and his fellow space tourists floating 53 miles above Earth last year on a spaceflight years in the making. But for the 84-year-old Elk Grove Village man, his own dream of spaceflight has felt like a distant, dying star.

Chapadjiev, who paid $175,000 15 years ago for a ticket on Virgin Galactic’s commercial spaceship, finally got tired of waiting and asked for a refund. After having previously been urged to keep waiting just a little longer, this time he got it. “This has been for 15 years, and always we’re supposed to be flying next year, next year,” says Chapadjiev, a native of Bulgaria. “People from Bulgaria keep asking me, ‘What happened?’ ” (11/11)

Kanyini CubeSat Coming Together in Adelaide (Source: Space Daily)
With its 2023 launch announced by the South Australian government, here's a look inside the Kanyini CubeSat. It's the multi-million-dollar satellite that will collect invaluable data from space once it takes off into the cosmos. But the pieces of the puzzle that make up the $6.5 million CubeSat mission, dubbed Kanyini, have been scattered across labs and workshops across South Australia - until now. (11/10)

Zimbabwe a Rising Force in Space Law Moot Court (Source: Sunday Mail)
Zimbabwe has become a force to be reckoned with in space law moot court, specifically the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Competition, which local universities joined just two years ago.  This year, the Midlands State University raised Zimbabwe's flag high by scooping the best participant in the African Region, and coming in third position out of 81 teams worldwide. (11/10)

Views Sought on Shetland Spaceport Plan (Source: Insider UK)
An environmental assessment of the planned SaxaVord spaceport in Shetland has been put out for consultation. To carry out spaceflight activity in the UK, launch operators must be licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority and have "adequately considered any potential environmental effects of their intended activities", as well as taking steps to avoid, mitigate or offset the risks and their potential effects.

SaxaVord's site is located on the Lamba Ness Peninsula, in the north east of Unst. Shetland Space Centre is proposing up to 30 launches per year over the next 30 years, comprising both orbital and sub-orbital launches. While no licence is yet in place, work is already underway at the Lamba Ness launch site. Earlier this week, the SaxaVord team completed the initial concrete launch stool. (11/10)

Chinese Firm Plans to Develop Commercial Remote Sensing Satellite System (Source: Xinhua)
The China Siwei Surveying and Mapping Technology will build its new-generation commercial remote sensing satellite system by 2025, the Science and Technology Daily reported Thursday. Zhang Xiaodong, general manager of the company, made the remarks at the ongoing 14th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, also known as Airshow China, in the southern port city of Zhuhai. (11/10)

Joint NASA-ULA Heatshield Test Goes Better Than Planned (Source: Space Policy Online)
NASA and the United Launch Alliance teamed together to test a new type of heatshield that can be used here on Earth or on Mars. Launched today in conjunction with a new weather satellite for NOAA, the test went even better than planned, with the Low Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID, successfully recovered from the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. ULA is interested in nearer-term possibilities such as using it to return the BE-4 engines that will power its new Vulcan rocket back to Earth for reuse. (11//10)

Apple Lays the Groundwork for Emergency SOS Via Satellite Service (Source: Space News)
Apple said Nov. 10 its $450 million investment in an SOS via satellite service has helped Globalstar upgrade ground stations across the United States and elsewhere with high-power antennas. These upgrades were needed to increase the reliability and coverage of Globalstar’s satellite constellation, Apple said ahead of the service’s debut later this month, to ensure iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro users can reach emergency crews while outside terrestrial networks. (11/10)

The Difficult Search for Dangerous Space Junk (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Getting rid of the deadly debris orbiting the Earth should become a priority for firms trying to do business there. If only they knew exactly where it is. The space race comes with a growing litter problem: U.S. officials expect the number of satellites to increase almost tenfold to 58,000 by 2030, many of them with lifespans not much longer than five years. There may be little choice but to mount a cleanup operation. The main questions are who will do it and how the junk will be found.

With only limited interest from big aerospace companies, startups have stepped up. Months after its inception in 2018, Switzerland’s ClearSpace signed a $86.3 million contract with the European Space Agency, or ESA, to eliminate remains of a Vega rocket by 2025. ClearSpace will use a robot to get hold of the debris and burn it in the atmosphere. Then there is Tokyo-based Astroscale, which has raised $300 million in venture capital since its inception nine years ago. This September, the U.K. Space Agency awarded £4 million, equivalent to $4.6 million, to both companies to remove defunct British satellites by 2026. (11/11)

JPSS-2 Deploys Solar Array After Delay (Source: Space News)
A weather satellite is in good condition after suffering a problem deploying its solar array immediately after launch Nov. 10. NASA launched the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) 2 spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket early Nov. 10 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, deploying the satellite into its planned polar orbit. While the agency initially stated that the spacecraft extended its single solar array shortly after reaching orbit, the agency said about three hours after liftoff later that telemetry was unable to confirm the deployment. (11/11)

Only Minor Damage to SLS and Orion After Hurricane Winds (Source: Space News)
Initial inspections of the Space Launch System and Orion rocket show only "very minor" damage so far after the passage of Hurricane Nicole Thursday. A NASA official said late Thursday that inspections performed by cameras at the pad found only minor issues, such as loose caulk and tears in weather coverings, caused by the storm. Additional on-site inspections by personnel are underway. It's unclear if the storm will further delay the next Artemis 1 launch attempt, currently scheduled for Nov. 16. The agency defended its decision to leave the vehicle at the pad rather than rolling it back to the Vehicle Assembly Building, saying that by the time forecasts showed the storm would be a greater threat than anticipated, the safest course of action was the leave the vehicle at the pad. (11/11)

Space Force Readies for December Launch of Transport and Tracking Layer Satellites (Source: Space News)
The Space Force's Space Development Agency (SDA) remains optimistic it will launch its first set of satellites next month. SDA's goal is to deploy 28 satellites in two launches contracted with SpaceX, one in December and one in March. These include 20 satellites that make up the Transport Layer Tranche 0 and eight for the Tracking Layer Tranche 0. Derek Tournear, director of SDA, said Thursday he had "high confidence" in that December launch but cautioned there was risk "because we are pushing industry to go as quickly as possible." He said it's important for the agency to get Tranche 0 satellites on orbit by March so they can be tested in military exercises next summer. (11/11)

AFRL Awards $72 Million to Advanced Space for Cislunar SSA Spacecraft (Source: Space News)
The Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) awarded a $72 million contract to Advanced Space to develop a cislunar space situational awareness spacecraft. AFRL said Thursday it selected Advanced Space to build its Oracle spacecraft for launch in late 2025. Oracle, previously known as the Cislunar Highway Patrol System, or CHPS, will test technologies to detect and track objects in cislunar space, also called XGEO by the military. (11/11)

UK Awards Service Licenses for Starlink and Telesat Lightspeed Constellation (Source: Space News)
The U.K. government has awarded new satellite communications licenses to SpaceX and Telesat. SpaceX got approval from British regulator Ofcom to increase the number of non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) gateways in the U.K. from three to nine, enabling Starlink to add more capacity and improve network redundancy in the country. Ofcom granted Canada's Telesat a license to connect broadband terminals in the U.K. to its planned Lightspeed NGSO constellation. Ofcom also said Thursday it is continuing to review how it manages spectrum used by the space sector. (11/11)

China to Increase Launch Rate for Heavy-Lift Rocket Prone to Dangerous Reentries (Source: Space News)
China plans to increase the launch rate of a heavy-lift rocket notorious for uncontrolled reentries of its core stage. Liu Bing, director of the general design department at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, told Chinese media that the Long March 5B will be used for launching satellite constellations. The Long March 5 series "will be transferred to the high-density launch stage," Liu said, to support "large-scale and rapid access to space." The Long March 5B has flown four times, primarily to launch Chinese space station modules, and each time left a core stage in orbit that performed uncontrolled reentries days later. (11/11)

Behnken Retiring From NASA Astronaut Corps (Source: NASA)
NASA astronaut Bob Behnken is leaving the agency. NASA said Thursday that Behnken will retire from the agency Friday after 22 years. He is best known for piloting the first commercial crew mission with astronauts on board, SpaceX's Demo-2 Crew Dragon flight in 2020. He previously flew on the STS-123 and STS-130 shuttle missions and was chief astronaut from 2012 to 2015. (11/11)

Starfish Space Reveals Ambitious Plan to Demonstrate Satellite Docking (Source: GeekWire)
Just three years after it was founded, a Tukwila, Wash.-based startup called Starfish Space is putting the pieces in place to demonstrate how a low-cost satellite can hook up with other spacecraft in orbit. If next year’s experiment with a prototype satellite called Otter Pup succeeds, that could open the way for a fleet of bigger Otter spacecraft to take on bigger tasks, ranging from satellite servicing to on-orbit spacecraft assembly. (11/9)

US Space Defense is Going to Need Military and Academic Efforts (Source: FNN)
As usual, the government is very interested in looking to academia to help keep pace and recently, the University of Arizona became the U.S. Space Command’s (USSPACECOM) first Academic Engagement Enterprise Center partner to help train the future workforce and increase research and innovation related to space and national security to ensure the future vitality of U.S. space operations. To learn more about what that means, the Space Hour talked to Vishnu Reddy, associate professor and co-leader of the university’s Space Domain Awareness Lab. Click here. (11/9)

NASA Leaves Artemis I Rocket Exposed to Winds Above Design Limits (Source: Ars Technica)
Early on Thursday morning, Hurricane Nicole made landfall near Vero Beach on Florida's eastern coast. Because Nicole had a very large eye, nearly 60 miles in diameter, its strongest winds were located well to the north of this landfalling position. As a result of this, Kennedy Space Center took some of the most intense wind gusts from Nicole late on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

The space agency left its Artemis I mission—consisting of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft—exposed on a pad at Launch Complex-39B. The pad is a stone's throw from the Atlantic Ocean. The National Weather Service hosts data from NASA sensors attached to this launch pad's three lighting towers on a public website. Prior to Nicole's arrival, NASA said its SLS rocket was designed to withstand wind gusts of 74.4 knots. The agency stated on Tuesday in a blog post, "Current forecasts predict the greatest risks at the pad are high winds that are not expected to exceed the SLS design."

From the publicly available data, however, it appears that the rocket was exposed to wind gusts near, at, or above 74.4 knots for several hours on Thursday morning. A peak gust of 87 knots was reported on the National Weather Service site, with multiple gusts above NASA's design levels. It is possible that the 74.4-knot design limit has some margin built into it. So what happens now? Nominally, the space agency is still targeting a launch attempt at 1:04 am ET (06:04 UTC) on Wednesday, November 16. Theoretically that remains possible, but in reality it seems unlikely. (11/10)

JWST Could Find Signs of Alien Life in Exoplanet Atmospheres (Source: New Scientist)
Showing the unambiguous detection of water vapour in the atmosphere of an exoplanet called WASP 96b, it was the first proof that this powerful telescope would be able to deliver what many had doubted, namely, precise details of the contents of atmospheres on worlds beyond our solar system. Just as the beauty of some of those deep-field images captured the imaginations of the public, the quality of this unprecedented graph electrified astronomers. Suddenly, it was clear we really can peer into alien skies like never before.

Finally, we have a fighting chance of spotting the subtle signals that would prove life exists elsewhere – not that it will be easy. Now, astronomers are plotting their next moves. Having whittled down the most promising planets, they are lining up observing time with JWST to probe their atmospheres, thinking again about what signs of life we should be looking for – and sizing up the prospects of success. (11/9)

Momentus Announces Net Loss as Company Gears Up for Next Launch (Source: Parabolic Arc)
In-space transportation company Momentus announced a net third quarter loss of $21.3 million on Tuesday as the company prepared for the launch of its next Vigoride space tug next month. Momentus’ Q3 net loss was more than three times higher than the $5.6 million lost during the same period in 2021. The net loss for the first nine months was $71 million, down from $123.4 million for the first three quarters of last year. The company had cash and cash equivalents worth 81.6 million as of Sept. 30.

“Momentus placed five additional satellites in orbit during the quarter, successfully completed assembly and test of our next generation Orbital Service Vehicle (OSV), Vigoride 5, for launch on the SpaceX Transporter-6 mission targeted for next month, and advanced development of key technologies, such as our innovative and environmentally-friendly Microwave Electrothermal Thruster (MET) that uses water as a propellant,” said CEO John Rood. Momentus’ Vigoride 5 orbital service vehicle (OSV) is being prepared for shipment to Florida for launch aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-6 rideshare mission in December. (11/10)

TIME's Best Inventions of 2022 - Astrobotic Peregrine Lunar Lander (Source: TIME)
The last time the U.S. put metal on the moon was 50 years ago, when Apollo 17 stuck the final crewed lunar landing. But by the end of 2022, an American spacecraft will likely again touch down on the moon’s surface. In 2018, NASA established the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, recruiting the private sector to deliver cargo to the moon in support of future crewed Artemis program missions.

Fourteen companies, including giants like Lockheed Martin, have received CLPS contracts, but it is the small aerospace company Astrobotic that will be first out of the blocks with its 6.2 ft. (1.9 m) tall, 8.5 ft. (2.6 m) wide Peregrine lander. The spacecraft will conduct scientific research and prove that private industry can indeed reach the moon. “We’ve been called the spearhead of Artemis,” says Astrobotic’s Alivia Chapla. “This mission is bringing America back to the moon.” (11/10)

SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell Takes Over Starbase Mars Mission (Source: The Information)
SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell will assume oversight of the company’s Starbase facility in Texas that is building Starship, the rocket planned for a trip to Mars, according to two people familiar with the change. The appointment is part of a reorganization at Starbase that follows a summer of strategy shifts and delays on Starship, a pet project of CEO Elon Musk, who had largely overseen the program before getting wrapped up in his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. Last June, Musk called for SpaceX employees to relocate to the Texas facility to help speed things up. (11/10)