December 27, 2022

Australian Satellites to be Launched in Bid to Close Air Traffic Gaps (Source: The Guardian)
Australian-made satellites will soon be launched on a SpaceX rocket in a move designed to close gaps in the country’s air traffic management. The project, created by Canberra-based Skykraft and backed by Airservices Australia, will see a constellation of 200 satellites launched over the next two years to improve flight safety and communication.

The initiative could also have unexpected benefits, in helping to limit turbulence for travellers and ensure planes take the most efficient routes. As it stands, aircraft can only be monitored up to 400km away from land and within sight of a radar. Moving air traffic management into space could deliver more comprehensive coverage, particularly over oceans and in regional and rural locations. (12/26)

Extending ISS' Lifespan Requires Coordination with All Agencies (Source: TASS)
The extension of the operating lifespan of the International Space Station (ISS) requires coordination with all ministries, as well as submitting additional substantiating materials to the Russian government, Roscosmos Executive Director for manned space flights Sergey Krikalev said on Monday. According to the official, the issue is planned to be addressed "immediately after the holidays." (12/26)

China Launches Remote Sensing Satellite (Source: Xinhua)
China launched a remote sensing satellite early Tuesday. A Long March 4B lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 2:37 a.m. Eastern and placed the Gaofen 11-04 satellite into orbit. The satellite is part of a series of spacecraft that provide high-resolution imagery. (12/27)

Omnibus Spending Bill Includes $1.7 Billion More for Space Force (Source: Space News)
An omnibus spending bill passed Friday includes nearly $1.7 billion more than requested for the U.S. Space Force. The omnibus bill, passed by the House on Friday one day after winning approval in the Senate, provides $26.3 billion for the Space Force in fiscal year 2023. The bulk of the $1.7 billion added to the Space Force budget is for new satellites, such as an increase of more than $500 million for the Space Development Agency. Another notable add-on in the omnibus bill is $442 million for a wideband communications satellite. (12/27)

ORBITS Orbital Debris Removal Program Removed From NASA Bill in House (Source: Space News)
A bill that would have directed NASA to establish an orbital debris removal program passed the Senate but died in the House last week. The Senate passed by unanimous consent the Orbital Sustainability, or ORBITS, Act, a bill introduced by the bipartisan leadership of the Senate Commerce Committee in September. The bill would require NASA to identify the most hazardous debris objects in orbit and establish an active debris removal remediation program. The bill did not allocate any funding for that program. The House did not take up the bill before leaving for the holidays Friday, so the bill will have to be reintroduced in the next Congress. (12/27)

Russia Delays Decision on Soyuz Issue (Source: TASS)
Roscosmos will wait until next month to decide what to do with a damaged Soyuz spacecraft docked to the International Space Station. Roscosmos officials previously stated a decision could come as soon as Tuesday, but Sergei Krikalev, head of Roscosmos human spaceflight programs, said on Monday that the meeting today will instead review the status of the investigation and next steps. Roscosmos is considering whether the Soyuz, which suffered a coolant leak earlier this month, can be flown as is, or if a new Soyuz needs to be launched to the station without a crew to replace it. (12/27)
 
Canada's Magnestar Developing Radio Frequency Interference Tech for Satellites (Source: Space News)
A Canadian startup is developing a platform satellite operators can use to detect radio-frequency interference. Toronto-based Magnestar has created a system that aggregates data on previous interference events to determine exactly what occurred and why. Magnestar plans to address the interference problem through various tools, including secure infrastructure messaging. (12/27)

100 Starlink Terminals Active in Iran (Source: Reuters)
Elon Musk claims that nearly 100 Starlink terminals are active in Iran. In a tweet Monday, Musk offered that figure, the first official estimate of the number of Starlink terminals in the country. Musk said in September he would offer Starlink services in the country to help protesters access the internet. He offered no additional information about how the terminals are being used, by whom, or plans for delivering additional terminals. (12/27)

China Deploys Small Satellite From TSS (Source: Space.com)
China deployed a smallsat from its Tiangong space station earlier this month. A deployer on the Tianzhou 5 cargo ship docked to Tiangong released a 12-kilogram satellite called XW-4 (CAS-10), also known as Macao Student Science Satellite 1. The small satellite carries a camera and an amateur radio payload. The Mengtian module recently added to the station includes an airlock that can be used for future smallsat deployments. (12/27)

Nine Alien Planet Discoveries That Were Out-of-this-World in 2022 (Source: Space.com)
As scientists enter the third decade of exoplanet discoveries, they continue to uncover strange, fascinating findings that sometimes raise more questions than answers. From a scorching super-Earth to a football-shaped world, here are the greatest alien planet stories of 2022. Click here. (12/27)

Ten Weird Things About SpaceX's Starlink Internet Satellites (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX's Starlink satellites are among the most well-known spacecraft in the world. While Starlink satellites consistently make headlines for the sheer number of launches SpaceX performs each year, not to mention the impacts the satellites have had on astronomy and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, there are plenty of weird facts about Starlink that fly below the radar. Click here. (12/17)

Meet the dearMoon Crew of Artists, Athletes and a Billionaire Riding SpaceX's Starship to the Moon (Source: Space.com)
A group of nine people plan to fly a unique mission around the moon. Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa announced on Dec. 8, 2022 the nine crew members, including himself, who would orbit the moon in a SpaceX Starship. The flight date has not been confirmed yet. Maezwawa invited artists around the world to apply for the opportunity, and has said that there are no scientific experiments or other responsibilities for these individuals aside from basic mission safety obligations. Click here. (12/26)

Can We Save Mars Robots From Death by Dust? (Source: Space.com)
NASA's Mars InSight lander died a slow death by dust last week. For months and months, the robot, built to study the tectonic activity on the Red Planet, has been running on less and less power as its 25-square-foot solar power array gradually disappeared under a thick blanket of dust. On Dec. 21, NASA announced it hadn't heard from the lander for days, officially pronouncing the mission dead. InSight, which landed in the flat, seemingly uninteresting Elysium Planitia basin, south of Mars' equator in November 2018, exceeded its expected mission duration by two years. Click here. (12/26)

Scientists are Finally Peering Inside the Sun's Middle Corona (Source: Space.com)
Scientists are one step closer to solving a key mystery about the sun. Researchers have discovered a complex, dynamic, web-like plasma structure in the sun's middle atmosphere, suggesting that the solar wind — the constant stream of charged particles that flows off the sun — forms within this web. The finding comes from rare observations of an elusive region of the sun and pave the way for a NASA mission due to launch next year.

In 2021, researchers announced first-of-their-kind observations of the middle corona in extreme ultraviolet wavelengths. Using advanced instruments with extended fields of view, the scientists found that solar wind structures originate in the middle corona. Now, new observations coupled with data from additional space probes and computer models have revealed a complex plasma network in the middle corona. The Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) on NOAA's GOES-17 weather satellite provides an extended field of view for images of not only the center of the sun but also its sides, providing an unusual glimpse at this region's structure and evolution. (12/26)

Orion Splashdown Highlights Stennis' Vital Role in Space Exploration (Source: Nola.com)
The return of Orion was particularly momentous for everyone at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and even more so for one of our own employees on the recovery ship to operate a camera system tracking the capsule from re-entry all the way to splashdown. Just as companies across the nation worked together to make the Artemis I mission possible, the diverse and inclusive team at Stennis pulled together to test the propulsion systems and engines that helped launch the first mission of the Artemis generation. (12/26)

Craig Technologies Selected as a Teammate on NASA’S Human Landing System (HLS) Proposal (Source: Craig Technologies)
Space Coast-based Craig Technologies is part of a team with prime contractor Dynetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos. The Leidos Dynetics team and Northrop Grumman announced their collaboration on the NASA Human Landing System Bid. Craig Technologies will serve as the primary designer with Sidus Space as the manufacturer of pneumatic equipment used to pressurize the HLS for factory and environmental testing as well as the electrical equipment supplier to support HLS factory and environmental testing. (12/22)

Team of Physicists Suggest LIGO Could Be Used to Detect Giant Alien Spacecraft (Source: Phys.org)
In this new effort, the researchers note that science has advanced to the point that gravity waves can be detected by technology such as LIGO. They further suggest that it is not beyond the realm of possibility that aliens piloting spacecraft could leave gravity waves in their wake that could be detected here on Earth using such technology.

Intrigued by their own idea, the researchers imagined the factors that might be involved for such a scenario to unfold. First, they factored the size of such a craft. They found it would have to be really big to generate gravity waves strong enough to reach Earth—perhaps the size of Jupiter. It would also have to be moving really fast—their calculations showed approximately 1/10 the speed of light. And it would have to be reasonably close—say about 326,000 light-years from Earth. (12/16)

Humans Could One Day Live in Manhattan-sized Asteroid Megacities (Source: Interesting Engineering)
Massive asteroids could one day be home to future space colonizers. That's because a team of scientists from the University of Rochester published, what they call, a "wildly theoretical paper" outlining how we could one day use asteroids as massive city-sized space habitats. The theoretical method involves one large, spinning asteroid and one enormous mesh bag made of carbon nanofibers, a press release explains. (12/19)

Radiation Shielding 3-D Printed On-Orbit by Redwire Team, Funded by Space Florida (Source: Journal of Space Commerce)
The Redwire Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF) has successfully 3-D printed radiation shielding on-orbit aboard the International Space Station. The AMF manufactured a subunit insert of StemRads’s AstroRad radiation vest using Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) plastics.

The print is part of a joint project with StemRad Ltd., a leader in the provision of personal radiation shielding solutions. The project, which was awarded funding from Space Florida and the Israel Innovation Authority, is focused on conducting on-orbit additive manufacturing of personal radiation shielding from polyethylene waste to develop StemRad’s AstroRad radiation vest. (12/22)

Yearender 2022: Space Exploration (Source: CGTN)
The world has made several major developments in space exploration in 2022. Click here. (12/24)

A Look at Some of the Biggest Space Stories of 2022 (Source: Florida Today)
This year has turned out to be pretty remarkable for the space industry. NASA’s plans to return to the moon after a 50-year absence were finally set in motion. New insights were unlocked by the James Webb Space Telescope. Commercial and private astronaut missions blasted off to the International Space Station, and a Russian war created lasting impacts industry-wide. Records were broken, milestones were achieved, new precedents were set. Click here. (12/23)

Five Awesome 2022 Discoveries About the Red Planet (Source: Cosmos)
Mars has always been a source of wonder. What secrets does the Red Planet hold? This year saw more developments in our understanding of our planetary neighbour thanks to a new team of rovers currently surveying the planet’s surface. Grab a telescope, and join us as we recap some of the awesome Mars discoveries that Cosmos has covered in 2022. Click here. (12/26)

Ten Things We Learned About UFOs and Aliens in 2022 (Source: Space.com)
Few questions are as enticing and pressing for humanity as "Are we alone in the universe?" The search for extraterrestrial life has thus become key to understanding our own place in the cosmos. Such a search couldn't be wider in scope, ranging from sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), also known as unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), to the investigation of signals from beyond the solar system.

Now, with the most powerful telescope ever placed into orbit set to investigate alien worlds, the search for life among the stars has never seemed more promising. Despite some novel research ideas and a renewed commitment to the investigation of UFOs, however, 2022 can be characterized by steps forward and frustrating setbacks. Click here. (12/26)

Reflecting On The X-37B’s Latest Record-Breaking Mission (Source: The Aviationist)
The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle successfully deorbited and landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility on Nov. 12, 2022, at 05:22 AM LT. The landing was accompanied by sonic booms heard around Florida which, together with a Temporary Flight Restriction over the KSC, started the rumor about the X-37B arrival even before the official announcement by the U.S. Space Force.

The mission, called OTV-6, is the sixth mission overall for the unmanned, reusable spaceplane and the third for the first X-37B. Launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41 on May 17, 2020, the X-37B spent 908 days in Low Earth Orbit, setting a new endurance record which surpasses its previous record of 780 days on-orbit, established in 2019 at the end of the OTV-5 mission.

The reusable spaceplane has now flown over 1.3 billion miles and spent a total of 3,774 days in space, conducting experiments for government and industry partners with the ability to return them to Earth for evaluation. “This mission highlights the Space Force’s focus on collaboration in space exploration and expanding low-cost access to space for our partners, within and outside of the Department of the Air Force (DAF),” said Gen. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations. Click here. (12/24) 

This Single Telescope Might Find Hidden Planets and Alien Spacecraft (Source: Daily Beast)
Scientists are excited by the next big thing in giant telescopes. The Vera Rubin Observatory, perched atop an 8,900-foot mountain peak in northern Chile, is on track for completion in late 2023. The U.S. National Science Foundation has poured $300 million into the observatory’s construction since 2007. Private investors have also contributed.

The Rubin Observatory’s 28-foot-diameter telescope and 3.2-gigapixel camera see a huge swathe of the sky in the optical spectrum. Basically, the same part of the spectrum we see with our own eyes. Think of JWST and Rubin as partners. “They are complementary,” Ranpal Gill, the observatory’s communications director, told The Daily Beast. “Rubin is optical with a large [field of view], JWST is infrared with a smaller FOV.”

Because it scans across a 3.5-degree arc—that’s a field of view 100 times wider than JWST’s—Rubin can see the big picture across the entire southern sky. And then tell JWST where to focus its narrower, infrared sensor, which can glean an object’s temperature and material makeup. “It is likely we will discover interesting objects for JWST to follow up on,” Gill said. (12/25)

Why Did Nigeria and Rwanda Sign NASA’s Artemis Accords? (Source: The Hill)
By joining the Artemis Accords, Nigeria and Rwanda have made themselves more attractive to international investment in their space sectors. The two African countries have joined the same space alliance as the United States, France, Japan and 20 or so other countries. They have shown themselves to be serious about using space to develop their countries’ economies and eventually, directly participate in exploration of the moon, Mars and beyond.

Nigeria and Rwanda can participate directly in the Artemis program with the development of CubeSats, suitcase-sized satellites that contain instruments for specific missions. The recent Artemis I mission carried several CubeSats as a rideshare, some of which failed, but all providing small organizations such as universities opportunities for hands-on experience in high-risk, high-rewards space missions. A CubeSat mission would not be beyond the ability of NASRDA or the Rwanda Space Agency, with the participation of local university students, to construct and fly, perhaps as early as Artemis II, currently scheduled for 2024 or 2025.

As Nigeria and Rwanda develop their space economies, the two countries will participate more fully in the Artemis program. African astronauts will walk on the moon on future Artemis missions. Their participation will serve as an example for other countries, especially in Africa, to follow. In return, NASA expands the Artemis Accords to countries across the planet. Russia and China may sneer that the accords are too “America-centric.” However, the principles and norms set out in the Artemis Accords are rapidly becoming accepted by a wide variety of countries. (12/25)