November 21, 2022

Chinese Coast Guard Seizes Rocket Debris from Filipino Navy (Source: ABC News)
China's coast guard forcibly seized apparent Chinese rocket debris that was being towed by the Philippine navy, in the latest confrontation in the disputed South China Sea, a Philippine military commander said Monday. The Chinese vessel twice blocked the Philippine naval boat before seizing the debris it was towing Sunday off Philippine-occupied Thitu island, Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said. He said no one was injured in the incident.

China denied there was a forcible seizure and said the debris, which it confirmed was from a Chinese rocket launch, was handed over by Philippine forces after a “friendly consultation.” Metal debris from Chinese rocket launches, some showing part of what appeared to be a Chinese flag, has been found in Philippine waters in at least three other instances. Rockets launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on China’s Hainan island in recent months have carried construction materials and supplies for China's crewed space station. (11/21)

Orion Maneuvers Toward Lunar Orbit (Source: Space News)
NASA's Orion spacecraft performed a critical maneuver this morning that will send the spacecraft into lunar orbit. The Orion performed the Outbound Powered Flyby, a two-and-a-half-minute burn of its main engine as it swung by the moon at about 7:45 a.m. Eastern, putting on a trajectory that will take it out to a distant retrograde orbit around the moon. Orion will perform another maneuver Friday to enter that orbit. NASA officials said Friday that the Artemis 1 mission overall was performing better than expectations, despite some minor issues, such as with the spacecraft's star trackers. (11/21)

Artemis 1 Launch Success Draws Praise in Washington, Europe (Source: Space News)
The successful Artemis 1 launch generated widespread praise from the White House and Capitol Hill despite extensive delays. In statements after last week's launch, President Biden, Vice President Harris, and members of key congressional committees all heralded the launch. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said he received a phone call from the president after the launch. The congratulations largely overlooked the extensive delays in the development of the Space Launch System and Orion.

For Europe, the Artemis 1 launch comes just in time for a key European Space Agency meeting. Ministers from ESA's 22 member states meet in Paris Tuesday and Wednesday to set funding levels for programs for the next three years. Agency officials said the successful launch of Artemis 1, with the ESA-provided Orion service module, would help it win support for other exploration efforts it is requesting funding for at the meeting. ESA released last week the results of a poll that showed European citizens supported ESA's work on exploration and space science, along with climate change studies and space debris. (11/21)

Dragon Cargo Capsule is Last Planned (Source: Space News)
A Dragon cargo spacecraft launching to the International Space Station this week is the last new cargo model the company plans to build. The Dragon is scheduled to launch Tuesday atop a Falcon 9 on the CRS-26 mission to the station. The spacecraft, making its first flight, is the third and last cargo Dragon SpaceX plans to build. The company has four Crew Dragon spacecraft and now says it will build a fifth to accommodate additional NASA and commercial crewed missions. SpaceX expects each Dragon to be able to fly up to 15 missions. (11/21)

Additional Approvals Required for EU-Backed Broadband Constellation (Source: Space News)
European funding for a secure broadband constellation still requires additional approvals. The European Parliament and member states agreed on a deal last week to contribute 2.4 billion euros from 2023-2027 for a sovereign network of satellites called IRIS², or Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite. Details of that agreement will be disclosed only after the 27 members of the European Union endorse the provisional funding agreement Wednesday, followed soon after by approval from the European Parliament. The deal covers less than half of the 6 billion euros the constellation will cost, with ESA and commercial partners expected to cover the rest. (11/21)

New Launch Provider Sought for Janus Asteroid Payload (Source: NASA)
A NASA smallsat asteroid mission is looking for a new ride. NASA announced Friday that it will not include Janus as a secondary payload on the launch of the Psyche mission next October after concluding that the revised launch date will keep Janus from reaching its original targets or any suitable alternatives. Janus originally planned to fly by binary asteroids, but has to revise its plans when Psyche missed its original August 2022 launch window because of software testing delays. NASA said "mission design assessments are ongoing for potential future science targets" for the two Janus spacecraft. (11/21)

India Tests Crew Spacecraft Parachutes (Source: PTI)
India's space agency ISRO tested the parachutes for its Gaganyaan human spacecraft Friday. In the test, the capsule descended under two parachutes, confirming it could land safely if one of its three main parachutes failed to deploy. The test is the first in a series simulate different failure modes for the parachute system. (11/21)

How Data Centers Will Take Humanity Forward (Source: Thinking 2 Future)
From sustainable practices to hydrogen-powered backup generators, from programmable chips to data centers on the Moon, impact is the new name of the game. 

The ever-accelerating demand for data is driving a spectacular expansion of data centers worldwide. While the Covid-19 emergency has been the most disruptive event to impact the industry in many years, it also put the demand for data into hyperdrive. The pandemic necessitated the mass adoption of remote work and teaching, which expanded the need for cloud computing, quick access to information, video conferences, and streaming services.

The total amount of data created, captured, copied, and consumed globally jumped from 41 zettabytes (ZB) in 2019 to 79 ZB in 2021. But this is just the beginning of the escalation data experts believe will happen over the next few years. The IDC (International Data Corporation) figures that the creation and replication of data on the planet will experience a compound growth rate of 23% from 2020 to 2025, when the volume of data is estimated to exceed 180 ZB. (11/16)

Moon Struck: How One Canadian Company is Helping to Drive Humanity’s Lunar Journey (Source: Globe and Mail)
With a relatively small but focused team (Canadensys has about 60 employees split between offices in Stratford and Bolton, Ont.), Mr. Sallaberger is doing business with a number of lunar missions that are under way globally. Brian Gallant, chief executive officer of Space Canada, an industry association, said Canadensys is an example of how a Canadian company can realize commercial success in the space sector on the international front.

He added that the company is not alone in its lunar quest. At an industry gathering in Ottawa last month, a key takeaway was “the optimism surrounding the momentum building in lunar exploration.” The company is expecting to see its first pieces of lunar hardware head to space later this month in the form of cameras provided to a moon lander built by ispace, a private company based in Japan. The cameras will be used to capture key moments during the lander’s mission and provide its first images from the moon’s surface. (11/7)

iSpace Reaches Agreement with Mitsui Sumitomo to Become First User of Commercial Lunar Insurance (Source: Space Daily)
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd. ("MSI"), a subsidiary of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc. based in Tokyo, Japan, has reached an agreement with ispace, inc. (ispace), a global lunar exploration company, to provide the world's first "Lunar Insurance" policy that comprehensively covers risks arising from ispace's Mission 1, from the launch of the rocket to the lunar landing.

The agreement marks the establishment of the world's first comprehensive lunar insurance program, offered by Mitsui Sumitomo, to cover risks associated with lunar missions from launch until landing on the lunar surface. The policy covers from the launch of the rocket carrying the lunar lander, through the establishment of communication and data transmissions between the lander and mission control following landing on the lunar surface. (11/18)

Drug Discovery and Development - In Space (Source: Space Daily)
Carrying out scientific experiments in space allows scientists to study and make drugs without gravity, which can lead to surprising results that improve research back on Earth. According to a cover story in Chemical and Engineering News, an independent news outlet of the American Chemical Society, more commercial entities are expanding offerings in low-Earth orbit, which could someday enable more common and affordable drug discovery and manufacture in space.

The low-gravity environment on the International Space Station (ISS) can speed up the development and discovery of complex molecules used in medicines, writes Assistant Editor Shi En Kim. Misbehaving proteins are the culprit behind many diseases, so scientists will often crystallize a protein to better understand its complex structure. When carried out in space, this process can produce larger and more uniform crystals than those grown on Earth. Click here. (11/18)

Arianespace Vega C Mission Set to Complete Pleiades Neo Constellation (Source: Space Daily)
On Thursday, November 24, 2022 at 10:47 pm local time (01:47 am (UTC) on Friday, November 25), Arianespace's first Vega C mission will lift off from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, with the 30cm resolution satellites Pleiades Neo 5 and 6. This first commercial flight follows the success, July 13, of Vega C inaugural launch operated by the European Space Agency (ESA).

After liftoff from Europe's Spaceport, the Vega C launcher will fly powered by the first three stages for a little over seven minutes. The third stage ZEFIRO 9 will then separate from the upper composite, which comprises the AVUM+ upper stage and the two Pleiades Neo satellites. The AVUM+ stage will ignite its engine for the first time about nine and an half minutes, followed by a ballistic phase lasting approximately 35 minutes, in order to reach the injection altitude of the first satellite. The AVUM+ stage will then restart its engine for a second burn lasting 2 minutes and 30 seconds to circularize the orbit at an altitude of 629 km before releasing the first satellite. (11/18)