December 5, 2022

Analyzing the Deployment of BlueWalker 3 (Source: Space Review)
While astronomers have been concerned about megaconstellations like Starlink for a few years, a new satellite has raised new worries. Brad Young discusses measurements of the brightness of one satellite with a large array, a precursor to a constellation that could further interfere with astronomy. Click here. (12/5)
 
Evaluating America’s Green Energy Options Including Astroelectricity (Source: Space Review)
In the conclusion of his four-part series, Mike Snead examines whether it is feasible for space-based solar power to provide the green energy the United States will need by the end of the century. Click here. (12/5)
 
Europe Selects New Astronauts as it Weighs its Human Spaceflight Future (Source: Space Review)
As part of its ministerial council meeting last month, the European Space Agency announced a new class of astronauts. Jeff Foust reports on the selection, which comes as the agency considers new missions for them and even developing its own human spaceflight systems. Click here. (12/5)
 
The Growing Importance of Small Satellites in Modern Warfare: What Are the Options for Small Countries? (Source: Space Review)
Small satellites are playing a growing role in both government and commercial space activities. Donatas Palavenis examines their increasing capabilities and options for smaller countries to take advantage of them. Click here. (12/5)

Chinese Astronauts Return From Six Months on TSS (Source: AP)
Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth Sunday after six months on the country's space station. The Shenzhou-14 spacecraft undocked from the Tiangong space station and landed in the Gobi Desert in northern China at about 7:10 a.m. Eastern. The spacecraft returned to Earth Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe after spending half a year in space. They oversaw the addition of two modules to the station, bringing it into its final configuration. They also overlapped for several days with the crew of Shenzhou-15, which arrived at the station last week. (12/5)

SpaceX's Starshield Unit to Promote Starlink for DoD and Intelligence Programs (Source: Space News)
SpaceX is rolling out a new business line devoted to national security services. Starshield will leverage the Starlink internet constellation in low Earth orbit to develop products and services, including secure communications, remote sensing and space surveillance payloads, that are in growing demand by U.S. defense and intelligence organizations. SpaceX provided few other details about its plans for Starshield, but the effort suggests the company decided it needed to offer more specialized products to win major government contracts. (12/5)

Ukraine Experience Will Help Define Future Use of Satellites by DoD (Source: Space News)
The head of the U.S. Space Force says the war in Ukraine is a sign of what future use and reliance upon satellites will look like. Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum Saturday, Gen. B. Chance Saltzman said the war has put on display military forces' growing reliance on satellites and has created incentives to disrupt opponents' access to space systems. The Space Force is prioritizing protecting space assets, but it will take years to implement those efforts. He said the Space Force is looking to deploy newer types of satellites and train operators for the contested space environment. (12/5)

Astronauts Deploy New Solar Array on ISS (Source: CBS)
Two NASA astronauts successfully deployed a new solar array during a spacewalk Saturday. Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio spent seven hours and five minutes outside the International Space Station during the spacewalk, completing the primary task of installing one of two new solar arrays delivered last month on a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft. They also disconnected a power cable in another solar array that suffered a short circuit last month. Another spacewalk scheduled for later this month will install the other iROSA solar array. (12/5)

Proliferation of New Systems Could Complicate Earth Orbit SSA (Source: Space News)
A proliferation of national space situational awareness (SSA) systems could create headaches for satellite operators. At a conference last week, Richard DalBello, director of the U.S. Office of Space Commerce, said he expects more countries to develop SSA capabilities to monitor satellites and debris. An area of concern, he said, is that different sensors and algorithms could result in conflicting predictions of potential collisions that could create problems for satellite operators. While there are efforts to develop standards for exchanging data, differences in how the data are collected and analyzed could still cause issues. (12/5)

Pearson Joins Agile as CEO (Source: Space News)
A former Roccor and Redwire executive is the new CEO of propulsion company Agile Space Industries. Chris Pearson is joining Agile after serving as CEO of Roccor, a space structures company, and then an executive vice president of Redwire after that company acquired Roccor. Agile is supplying thrusters for robotic lunar landers built by Astrobotic and ispace, and raised $9 million in a previously unreported seed funding round that closed in October. (12/5)

AST SpaceMobile Closes $75M Funding Round (Source: Space Daily)
AST SpaceMobile has closed of its offering of 13,636,364 shares of Class A Common Stock raising gross proceeds of $75.0 million. B. Riley Securities was the sole book-running manager of the offering. The Company has also granted B. Riley a 30-day option to purchase an additional 2,045,454 shares to cover over-allotments, if any, which would raise an additional $11.25 million in gross proceeds for AST SpaceMobile if exercised. (12/5)

Vivacom Commences Construction of a New Satellite Gateway for OneWeb in Bulgaria (Source: OneWeb)
Vivacom, part of the United Group network, and OneWeb today announced the development of a dedicated Satellite Network Portal (SNP), or ground station, for OneWeb in Bulgaria. The facility will expand communications services and increase access for EU territories to OneWeb’s constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites. This will increase system resilience and improve broadband coverage for regions stretching from Central Europe to Central Asia, including the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. (11/29)

Air Force Chief Calls on Military to 'Pick Winners' Among Startups (Source: Air Force Times)
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown told a forum it is time to start making selections from the many tech startups offering defense-focused products and services. Pointing out rocket maker SpaceX as an innovative company that has attracted attention and could be worthy of investment, Brown said: "What we've got to do is actually pick some winners." “How we align and bring them forward — it’s going to take some nurturing,” Brown said.

Karen Dahut, a former Booz Allen Hamilton executive recently tapped to run Google’s public sector business, said this is the most fruitful time for innovative companies focused on aerospace and defense, given significant VC investment. Dahut advocated for picking several key technologies and giving them to troops for testing. (12/4)

ESA Ground Stations to Support First Commercial Moon Landing (Source: Space Daily)
Mission 1 is the first mission of the HAKUTO-R lunar exploration programme from the company ispace, based in Tokyo, Japan, with offices in Luxembourg and the US. It will be launched into a low-energy transfer orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to the Moon. The journey will take three to five months and see the spacecraft venture out to deep space and back again. Once on the Moon, it will conduct a host of experiments in cooperation with various commercial and agency entities on Earth. (12/1)

Nuclear Submarine 'Buzzed by Underwater Object Travelling Faster Than Speed of Sound' (Source: Daily Star)
A nuclear submarine was buzzed by an unidentified object – travelling under water faster than the speed of sound. The claim came from a scientist who had been carrying out classified work on board USS Hampton. Bob McGwier told fighter pilot turned UFO researcher Chris Lehto how the sub was passed at astonishing speed while it was “running deep and fast” in the late 1990s. He said the encounter was confirmed by a member of the crew who was shocked by the speed of the Unidentified Submerged Object or USO. (12/3)

NASA Looks for a New Twist on Sustainable Aviation (Source: Space Daily)
For a team of NASA and industry researchers seeking to make aviation more sustainable, it's all about the twist. The focus here is on metal alloys whose molecules literally change shape when exposed to a certain temperature range. NASA and Boeing have partnered to look at how using torque from that twisting can lower or raise a part that currently doesn't move, namely an airplane's vortex generators (VG) - small, flat pieces of metal most often seen protruding like fins from the surface of an airplane's wing. The intended result: an ability to decrease drag in flight that could reduce aviation's environmental impact and save airlines money. (11/24)

NASA Satellite Precipitation Data Combined with Air Force Weather System (Source: Space Daily)
Rain gauges are plentiful around the United States, but that's not the case elsewhere in the world - particularly over oceans and sparsely populated areas. That means scientists and other data users have to rely on satellite measurements - such as those provided by NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission - to fill in the gaps. The list of data users now includes the U.S. Air Force's 557th Weather Wing. For the first time, the Air Force meteorology unit has integrated the Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) algorithm into its operational weather forecasts and advisories. (11/23)