November 9, 2022

DARPA's Robot Could Start Maintaining Satellites (Source: Space News)
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is working with SpaceLogistics on the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites program, with plans to begin the servicing of on-orbit satellites in 2025. "Instead of relegating satellites to space junk because of a broken part or lack of propellant, our robot mechanic will be making repair 'service calls' in space," said Ana Saplan, DARPA's RSGS program manager. (11/8)

Astra Space to Cut 16% of Staff on ‘Challenging’ Environment (Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC)
Astra Space Inc. is eliminating 16% of its workforce and reallocating some capital as the launch provider grapples with worsening business conditions. The company expects savings from the headcount reduction to be realized beginning in early 2023, according to a statement Tuesday that detailed third-quarter results. Astra is also redirecting near-term investments in its Space Services business to support growth of the Launch Services and Space Products operations.

The company reported a third-quarter adjusted EBITDA loss of $41.4 million, a 26% larger loss than the same period a year prior. Astra brought in $2.8 million in revenue for the quarter from sales of its spacecraft engines. It had $150.5 million in cash on hand at the quarter’s end. (11/8)

OneWeb Expands in Africa and Middle East (Source: Telecoms)
UK satellite player OneWeb has announced collaborations with Airtel Africa and Azyan Telecom. On day one of the AfricaCom trade show in Cape Town, UK based LEO satellite company OneWeb announced it has appointed Airtel Africa as a provider of its satellite internet connectivity services to government and enterprise customers across the African continent. Those services may indirectly end up benefitting consumers via wholesale services and backhaul. (11/8)

Arizona Appeals Court Deflates Subsidies for Space Balloons (Source: Reason)
Government subsidies for sports stadiums are unfortunately common in many states. The practice continues even though it fundamentally involves giving taxpayer money to uberwealthy developers and franchise owners. But a recent court case from Arizona reveals a new spin on the public subsidy problem: passenger balloons to space.

World View Enterprises, a private space technology company based in Tucson, hopes to allow everyday citizens to experience what billionaires like Bezos, Branson, and Musk have achieved: a trip to space. While a ride on a Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, or SpaceX rocket is still prohibitively expensive for all but the very wealthy, World View hopes to offer high-altitude balloon trips that would lift a pressurized passenger capsule 20 miles into the upper stratosphere to what is called "near space." One would not experience weightlessness (and the sticker price still runs $50,000 per ticket), but a participant would see stars and the Earth's curvature against the blackness of space.

But to get passengers to that point, World View needed some help. Enter local government: In January 2016, the Pima County Board of Supervisors approved $15 million in financial incentives for the company to establish its "world headquarters and first launchpad" just outside Tucson. The county would borrow the money through a bank loan, secured by offering several county buildings as collateral. (11/8)

Subtropical Storm Nicole Delays SpaceX Launch (Source: Space Daily)
SpaceX's next launch has been pushed back at least four days due to concerns about the recently formed Subtropical Storm Nicole. The company had been planning to launch its Galaxy 31 and Galaxy 32 satellites for the telecom company Intelsat from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force station on Tuesday. (11/8)

NASA Moon Rocket Launch delayed Again, This Time by Storm (Source: Space Daily)
NASA again rescheduled its long-delayed uncrewed mission to the Moon on Tuesday as Tropical Storm Nicole churned toward the east coast of Florida, officials said. A launch attempt, which had been scheduled for November 14, will now take place on November 16, Jim Free, a senior official at the US space agency, said on Twitter. It is the third delay of the highly-anticipated launch in as many months. (11/8)

Experts Plan to Set Up 'Space Hospital' on Chinese Station to Serve Astronauts (Source: Space Daily)
As China's Tiangong space station recently completed its in-orbit assembly, the country's space medicine experts have started planning to set up a "space hospital" to serve astronauts, according to a leading scientist.

"We are carrying out extensive research, experiments and tests on the ground to advance the preliminary work on a space hospital that can be deployed inside a manned spacecraft like our space station. The value of this project is that it will enable our space explorers to travel deeper and stay healthy during their journey," Du Jichen, a member of the Paris-based International Academy of Astronautics and president of the Aerospace Center Hospital in Beijing, said on Monday in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. (11/9)

First Small Geostationary HummingSat Sold (Source: Space Daily)
Satellite operator Intelsat has placed an order for the first small geostationary "HummingSat" developed as part of ESA's efforts to support fast, dynamic and agile private space firms in Europe. The first HummingSat - which will be called Intelsat 45 (IS-45) - is being developed under an ESA Partnership Project with SWISSto12, an innovative company based in Renens, Switzerland, that was signed in March - just eight months ago. (11/9)

Inspiring with STEM: Intelsat Begins Application Process for STEM Program in Africa (Source: Space Daily)
Intelsat, operator of the world's largest integrated satellite and terrestrial networks and leading provider of inflight connectivity (IFC), is accepting applications to its Space STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) program from teenagers across the African continent.

This partnership with MaxIQ Space chooses high school students from across the continent to be involved in an intensive program where students design, build and, for certain missions, launch satellites into space. This unique opportunity is entirely virtual, with each student receiving a STEM kit and engaging in virtual workshops delivered by space education specialists. Each workshop comprises lessons, practical activities, assignments and experiments. (11/9)

Satellogic Completes Investment in Officina Stellare (Source: Space Daily)
Satellogic Inc. has announced the completion of an ~5% investment in Officina Stellare ("OS"). This includes an option for Satellogic to expand its ownership to up to 12% in the next 36 months and the appointment of Emiliano Kargieman, CEO and Co-Founder of Satellogic, to the OS Board of Directors.

OS, a publicly traded Euronext Growth Milan company headquartered in Sarcedo - Vicenza, is widely recognized as a leader in the design and production of optomechanical instrumentation for aerospace, research, and defense sectors. OS continues to be a telescope provider for Satellogic and specializes in communication, optical, and quantum applications that are the backbone infrastructures for the rapidly growing Space Economy. (11/9)

Viasat-3 Satellite Will Miss Planned 2022 Launch Target (Source: Space News)
Viasat says its first ViaSat-3 satellite will not be ready in time for launch this year. The company expects that satellite to ship from Boeing's manufacturing facilities in California to Cape Canaveral for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9. Viasat hopes to perform that launch in the "earlier part" of the first quarter of 2023, but that depends on the schedule of other Falcon Heavy launches on national security missions. This marks the latest delay for Viasat's next-generation constellation of three ViaSat-3 satellites, which were initially due to begin launching in 2019 before being caught up by supply chain issues caused in part by the pandemic. Viasat said it needs ViaSat-3 to relieve broadband capacity constraints holding back the operator's growth. (11/9)

Telesat Moves Satellite to Replace Retiring Anik F2 Bird (Source: Space News)
Telesat is relocating a C-band satellite it bought from another operator as thruster issues force its Anik F2 spacecraft into early retirement. Telesat said the satellite it bought, whose identity it did not disclose, will arrive at Anik F2's slot in GEO at 111 degrees west in the coming months. Anik F2 will be moved into an inclined orbit after using up fuel faster than expected under a workaround mode that enabled it to continue providing services over the past year despite losing half its four thrusters. The company had no updates to share in a financial report Tuesday on debt negotiations to fully finance Telesat Lightspeed, its proposed low Earth orbit constellation of nearly 200 broadband satellites. (11/9)

Cognitive Space Wins USAF Extension for Satellite Software (Source: Space News)
Cognitive Space won an Air Force contract extension to continue development of satellite tasking software. The $1.2 million contract extension to its SBIR award, called a Tactical Funding Increase, supports work on a version of the company's Cognitive Inference Tasking software for dynamic satellite scheduling on a cloud platform. Cognitive Space said the software platform is used by commercial and government space operators to "optimize and tailor remote sensing mission planning, automate payload scheduling and prioritize tasking." (11/9)

Cygnus Cargo Craft Arrives at ISS (Source: Space News)
A Cygnus spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station early Wednesday despite one solar array not deploying. The station's robotic arm grappled the NG-18 Cygnus spacecraft at 5:20 a.m. Eastern and berthed it to the station's Unity module about two and a half hours later. Video from the station showed that one of two circular solar arrays failed to unfold. Northrop said that spacecraft generated enough power from the one deployed array to operate normally, and NASA proceeded with the berthing. The Cygnus delivered nearly 3,750 kilograms of cargo to the ISS and will remain at the station until late January. (11/9)

Chinese Cargo Craft Departs Space Station (Source: Xinhua)
A Chinese cargo spacecraft undocked from the country's space station early Wednesday. The Tianzhou-4 spacecraft undocked from the station at 1:55 a.m. Eastern and will reenter in the near future. A new cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-5, is scheduled to launch to the station Friday. (11/9)

Canopy Aerospace Developing Heat Shields for Space and Hypersonics (Source: Space News)
Startup company Canopy Aerospace is seeking to win business for its new thermal protection technology. The company, part of the TechStars Aerospace and Defense Accelerator, is developing a manufacturing process that relies on software, automation and 3D printing to supply heat shields for the commercial space and hypersonic industries. The company expects to compress the time needed to develop heat shields from years to months. (11/9)

South Africa to Support Artemis Southern Hemisphere Ground Station Requirement (Source: Reuters)
South Africa has signed an agreement with NASA for a ground station that will support Artemis missions. Under the agreement, the South African National Space Agency will establish a ground station with a 20-meter dish that will be used to improve communications coverage for Artemis missions, starting with Artemis 3 in 2025. The South African government will spend about $4 million on the facility. (11/9)

Canada Seeks to Improve Space Domain Awareness (Source: Breaking Defense
Replacing a space situational awareness satellite is a top priority for the new space operations organization of the Canadian military. Brig. Gen. Mike Adamson, commander of the 3 Canadian Space Division, said he wants to improve space domain awareness. The military is relying on Sapphire, a spacecraft launched in 2013 to collect space situational awareness data that is now beyond its design life. The Canadian military started an effort called "Surveillance of Space 2" in 2020 to replace Sapphire, but has not disclosed when that new satellite will launch. (11/9)

Gold Promoted at Redwire (Source: Redwire)
Redwire has named Mike Gold as its new chief growth officer. The company announced the promotion Tuesday for Gold, who was previously executive vice president of civil space business development and external affairs. He will lead business development, marketing and external affairs efforts for the company as it seeks new business from government and commercial customers. Gold came to Redwire from NASA, where he associate administrator for space policy and partnerships. (11/9)

West Coast’s Last Atlas V Rocket to End Era at Vandenberg SFB (Source: Noozhawk)
After more than six decades and multiple versions performing various missions, the West Coast's last Atlas V rocket will fly from Vandenberg Space Force Base this week on a mission to place an advanced weather satellite and a technology demonstrator in orbit. Liftoff of the 191-foot-tall rocket built by United Launch Alliance will aim for 1:25 a.m. Thursday from  Space Launch Complex-3, which can viewed as the large structure with its mobile service tower on South Base.  (11/7)

Virgin Orbit Raises $25 Million From Branson’s Conglomerate as Cash Reserve Dwindles (Source: CNBC)
Virgin Orbit raised $25 million, the company announced Monday alongside its third-quarter results, as the alternative rocket launcher faces a dwindling cash reserve. The company disclosed that Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, an existing shareholder, made the additional $25 million investment on Nov. 4. Virgin Orbit emphasized in its report that it will “continue to be opportunistic in the capital markets,” as the company is “focusing on cost and operational efficiency to improve cash flow.” (11/7)

From ‘Lunar Intelligence’ to Orbital Waystations, the US Needs to Keep the Moon on the Mind (Source: Breaking Defense)
Once firmly stuck in the realm of science fiction, the idea of moon bases and manned missions to Mars is closer than ever before. In the op-ed below, national security expert Joshua Huminski says the US needs to turn its attention back to the Earth’s lunar sibling before America’s rivals lace of up their own moon boots.

Right now, NASA and commercial space is racing ahead to secure America’s position in cis-lunar and lunar spaces, with a view to reaching beyond to Mars. These are heady and exciting times. NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program could well see regular flights to the moon within the next several years. While these will be un-crewed at first, the future goal is, of course, crewed missions to the moon. If we can get cis-lunar and lunar activity right, it’s a jumping off point to Mars and beyond.

While this sounds like speculative (or science) fiction, the pathways and programs for this activity are being lain now. Getting the policies and programs right, right now, will help build a highway of sorts to these critical orbits and our nearest celestial body. But it’s going to require the military, and specifically the Space Force, to get a better understanding of what’s going on around the moon — including what America’s adversaries are up to. (11/7)

Why ULA Dropped About 150K SF of Centennial Office Space Even Though it's Growing (Source: Denver Business Journal)
The Covid-19 pandemic changed United Launch Alliance. The Centennial-based company transformed from a business geared to having workers come to the office daily — which was typical of aerospace and defense contractors — to one where aerospace engineers, executives and other headquarters employees split time between remote and office work.

It’s not a pandemic concession. The new work style — dropping the expectation of hands-on presence every day and making the office an efficient physical space people want to be in — is a permanent shift for ULA. It’s meant to keep the rocket manufacturer an attractive employer in an industry that’s become intensely competitive for talented workers. (11/7)