January 11, 2023

NASA Pursues $2B IT Overhaul (Source: FedScoop)
NASA is putting together a $2 billion request for proposals for work consolidating the agency's IT services, including "maintenance of IT systems, development of new applications as needed for NASA, a rationalization of duplicative efforts to create efficiencies across NASA Centers, and other functions." (1/9)

Planet Labs Completes Acquisition of Salo Sciences (Source: Space Daily)
Planet Labs announced the completion of its acquisition of Salo Sciences, a San Francisco-based climate technology company that provides cutting-edge solutions to measure Earth's constantly changing ecosystems. With the purchase of Salo Sciences (Salo), Planet plans to further develop its offerings to enable customers to quantify carbon stocks globally, monitor forest change, and mitigate climate risks. (1/10)

Ask the CIO: NASA Procurement Innovation (Source: FNN)
In this exclusive Jan. 26 webinar edition of Ask the CIO, learn about how one of the most well-known agencies partners innovation and procurement to meet its mission. Host, Jason Miller and guest Karla Smith Jackson, assistant administrator for procurement and senior procurement executive at NASA will dive into innovation and the future of services at NASA. Andy Malay, vice president of public sector at Coupa will provide an industry perspective. Click here. (1/11)

Russia to Launch Replacement Soyuz to ISS (Source: Space News)
Russia will launch a Soyuz spacecraft without a crew to the ISS to replace a damaged Soyuz there. The Russian space agency Roscosmos announced Wednesday it would launch the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft on Feb. 20 to the ISS with no crew on board. It will replace Soyuz MS-22, which suffered a coolant leak last month. Soyuz MS-22 will return to Earth uncrewed. The decision will extend the stay of cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, who flew to the station on Soyuz MS-22 in September and planned to use it to return to Earth in March. Roscosmos did not disclose how much longer they would remain on the ISS. (1/11)

ABL Launch Failure Damages Alaska Launch Pad (Source: Space News)
ABL Space Systems suffered a failure in the first launch of its RS1 rocket Tuesday. The RS1 lifted off from Kodiak Island, Alaska, at 6:27 p.m. Eastern. The company, which was not webcasting the launch, later said the rocket's nine first-stage engines shut down simultaneously shortly after liftoff, causing the rocket to fall back to the pad and explode. The launch facility was damaged, but no one was injured. RS1 is a vehicle designed to place up to 1,350 kilograms into orbit and was carrying two OmniTeq technology demonstration smallsats on its inaugural flight. The failure occurred almost exactly 24 hours after Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne failure and was the fourth launch failure worldwide in the last month. (1/11)

NOAA Readies ~$20 Billion Satellite System Procurement (Source: Space News)
NOAA is embarking on its largest procurement ever, a series of weather satellites projected to cost nearly $20 billion. The $19.6 billion budget for the Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) program, approved in December, covers six satellites, operations and support from 2022 to 2052. Later this month, NOAA plans to award contracts for GeoXO imagers and begin soliciting proposals for GeoXO sounders. GeoXO is the successor to the GOES-R line geostationary weather satellites, the last of which, GOES-U, is scheduled to launch in 2024. (1/11)

NOAA May Move Weather Satellites (Source: Space News)
High demand for space weather data is causing NOAA to consider revising the schedule for the final GOES-R satellite. NOAA officials are discussing the possibility of moving GOES-U into operations soon after it launches to provide imagery and data from the Compact Coronagraph on the spacecraft rather than have it be an in-orbit spare. That instrument is designed to provide imagery of the solar corona in addition to detecting and characterizing coronal mass ejections. That instrument may be in high demand as existing NASA and ESA spacecraft used for space weather monitoring near the end of their lives. (1/11)

Rep. Rogers of Alabama to Chair HASC (Source: Space News)
Congressman Mike Rogers (R-AL) is the new chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Rogers was formally named chairman by the new Republican leadership of the House Tuesday. He had been the committee's ranking member in the last Congress when Democrats were in the majority. Rogers, for years, has been a central player in national security space, including leading efforts to establish what became the Space Force. Rogers has pushed for larger defense budgets but faces a challenging political environment with Republicans divided over spending priorities, including some pushing for defense cuts. (1/11)

New Chairman Wants New NASA Authorization (Source: Space Policy Online)
The new chairman of the House Science Committee says he will seek a new NASA authorization act. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) said at an industry event Tuesday that a "comprehensive" NASA authorization act is a priority for him, along with legislation to streamline commercial space regulations and an "organic act" for NOAA that would formally authorize the agency for the first time. He said it would be vital to fully justify NASA programs to ensure the agency's budget is not cut by members seeking broader spending reductions across the federal government. (1/11)

Astronomers Celebrate JWST (Source: Space News)
Astronomers are taking a "victory lap" for the James Webb Space Telescope. At a conference this week, astronomers and NASA officials celebrated the performance of the space telescope six months after the release of its first science images. JWST continues to meet or exceed performance requirements and has enough propellant to operate for at least 20 years. NASA is taking some of the lessons learned from JWST's development and incorporating them into plans for a future large space telescope, the Habitable Worlds Observatory. (1/11)

Masback Joins Cognitive Space Board (Source: Space News)
A geospatial industry investor and former NGA official is joining the board of a space startup. Keith Masback became an independent member of the board of Cognitive Space, which develops artificial intelligence software tools to manage remote-sensing constellations and schedule satellite operations. Masback is a former National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency official and former president and CEO of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation. He is now an angel investor with a broad portfolio of companies. (1/11)

Kwast Joins Skycorp as CEO (Source: Space News)
A retired general is the new CEO of space logistics company Skycorp. Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast had been serving as an adviser for several space companies since retiring in 2019 but said now was the right time to lead Skycorp, a company working on satellite servicing and related technologies since 1998. Skycorp won a NASA Centennial Challenges prize competition in 2021 for storing and distributing power on the moon, and is a finalist in a similar NASA competition. (1/11)

CAES is Now Frontgrade (Source: Space News)
CAES Space Systems, a supplier of radiation-hardened electronics, has changed its name after being acquired by a private equity firm. The company changed its name Tuesday to Frontgrade Technologies after being sold to private equity firm Veritas Capital. Veritas announced plans to buy the company in October for an undisclosed sum from CAES, the former electronics unit of British defense and aerospace contractor Cobham. Veritas sees opportunities to expand Frontgrade's business in the U.S. national security market as a standalone company. (1/11)

SpaceX Cargo Dragon Capsule Splashes Down Near Tampa with ISS Research Cargo (Source: SpaceX)
A SpaceX cargo Dragon spacecraft splashed down early Wednesday. The spacecraft splashed down at 5:19 a.m. Eastern off the coast from Tampa, Florida, about 36 hours after undocking from the ISS. The Dragon returned experiments and equipment from the station. (1/11)

Astronomers Find Another Earth-Sized Exoplanet Nearby (Source: Space.com)
Astronomers have discovered a second Earth-sized planet orbiting a relatively nearby star. Scientists reported in 2020 the discovery of three planets orbiting a star designated TOI-700, about 100 light-years away, based on data from NASA's TESS mission. One of those planets, TOI-700 d, is similar in size to the Earth and in the star's habitable zone. Astronomers announced Tuesday that additional TESS data revealed the presence of a fourth planet, TOI-700 e, which is also similar in size to the Earth and on the inner fringes of the star's habitable zone. Followup observations by TESS will further refine the orbits and sizes of those planet, while ground-based observations are underway to characterize those exoplanets. (1/11)

DOD Looks to Resilient Rockets (Source: Wall Street Journal)
The Defense Department will require hardened rockets capable of responding to interference from Russia and China, sources say. United Launch Alliance and SpaceX are among companies expected to vie for contracts under the National Security Space Launch program, a program with a $1.3 billion budget for 2023. (1/10)

NASA’s Commercial Lunar Program Ready to Start Fying in 2023 (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
The NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program is on the verge of flying its first missions to the lunar surface this year after delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors. CLPS will deliver science to the lunar surface in support of the Artemis human lunar program and was announced in April 2018 with nine companies winning the right to bid on CLPS contracts that November.

The first three CLPS contracts for robotic lunar surface missions were awarded in May 2019, with the winners being Astrobotic Technology, Intuitive Machines, and OrbitBeyond. In November 2019, five additional companies became eligible to bid for these missions.

While OrbitBeyond asked to be released from its contract two months later, citing internal corporate issues, other companies have won CLPS contracts. Masten Space Systems won a contract in April 2020, though its future is to be determined after Masten was acquired by Astrobotic in September 2022. In February 2021, Firefly Aerospace won a CLPS contract to deliver 10 experiments to the lunar surface, while Draper Laboratories won a contract in July 2022. (1/11)

Building a Better Bomber: How the Stealthy B-21 Subverted Bureaucracy (Source: Defense News)
Following a dramatic unveiling of the B-21 bomber in California on Dec. 2, 2022, former Air Force leaders are holding a muted celebration. By moving from contract award to public rollout in seven years, they said in interviews with Defense News that they proved their acquisition strategy worked. Better yet, they said, their unexpected approach might provide best practices for other major programs and serve as an antidote to the beleaguered development of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in the 1990s and 2000s.

Their secret? They learned how to limit bureaucracy. “There were fewer checkers checking the checkers,” James said. Most notably, officials point to the unusual move to put the Rapid Capabilities Office in charge of the B-21′s development. That office had a narrowly focused team of skilled, experienced engineers and program managers, a board of directors to hash out key decisions and reviews, and an ability to cut through red tape, James said.

“No one would have thought the B-21 would have finished on time, on cost,” Roper said in an interview with Defense News. “But that’s an amazing thing to say. It did not finish on time [and] on cost because there were no issues [and] no technical challenges; there were, there was just a more flexible process for dealing with them. And if you give smart people time to solve problems, statistically, they do.” (1/10)

Rocket Factory Augsburg's First Launch to Take Place From UK's SaxaVord Spaceport (Source: RFA)
Launch service provider Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA) and SaxaVord Spaceport have today announced their launch operations partnership. RFA will have exclusive access to Launch Pad Fredo for orbital launches, meaning the company’s first launch of its RFA ONE launch system – currently planned for the end of 2023 – will take place from the northernmost point in the UK.

The commercial Spaceport in Shetland is ideally located for RFA to launch payloads at high cadence into polar and sun-synchronous orbits. Existing logistics and infrastructure, launch readiness, as well as rapid implementation and matching mentality were key factors why RFA chose to partner with SaxaVord. With the multi-year partnership, which includes investments in the double-digit million pound range, RFA is securing its first-flight launch site in order to be able to provide its services individually and flexibly to customer requirements. (1/11)

NASA Rover Discovers Gemstone On Mars (Source: Forbes)
A research team using new methods to analyze data from NASA's Curiosity, a rover operating on Mars since 2012, was able to independently verify that fracture halos contained opal, on Earth a gemstone formed by the alteration of silica by water. The study finds that the vast subsurface fracture networks would have provided conditions that were potentially more habitable than those on the surface. (1/7)

UN Says Ozone Layer Slowly Healing, Hole to Mend by 2066 (Source: NBC)
Earth’s protective ozone layer is slowly but noticeably healing at a pace that would fully mend the hole over Antarctica in about 43 years, a new United Nations report says. A once-every-four-years scientific assessment found recovery in progress, more than 35 years after every nation in the world agreed to stop producing chemicals that chomp on the layer of ozone in Earth’s atmosphere that shields the planet from harmful radiation linked to skin cancer, cataracts and crop damage. (1/9)

Virgin Orbit Stock Continues Rapid Descent (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Shares in Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit are nosediving Tuesday, after a Virgin rocket carrying satellites from the U.K. failed to reach orbit. Virgin Orbit stock stood about 22% lower in early trading. The company's shares have been in a virtual freefall since its Nasdaq listing at the end of 2021 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. (1/10)

Britain's Satellite Hopes Undimmed by Mission Failure (Source: Reuters)
Britain's hopes of becoming a prime launch site for small satellites remain intact despite the failure of what would have been the first launch into orbit from western Europe, business minister Grant Shapps said on Tuesday.

Hours after the groundbreaking mission to launch nine satellites ended when a Virgin Orbit rocket launched from a jumbo jet suffered an anomaly that prevented it from reaching orbit, Shapps said another attempt would follow. "Space is difficult," he told Sky News. "It didn't work. No doubt they'll pick themselves up, dust themselves off and they'll go again." (1/10)

Amazon to Launch, Test Kuiper System (Source: RC Wireless)
Amazon is prepping for more extensive testing of its prototype Kuiper LEO broadband communications system, based on an application for Special Temporary Authority (STA) granted by the Federal Communications Commission last Friday.

Amazon asked for an STA of six months to conduct testing via operation of a ground station in Kapolei, Hawaii, which will provide telemetry, tracking and control to the experimental KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2, using spectrum at 19.3-19.4 GHz (space-to-Earth transmissions) and 27.5-27.6 GHz (Earth-to-space transmissions). The ground station will be co-located with planned gateway Earth stations that will support the commercial Kuiper system, Amazon said in its application. (1/9)

Alaskans Complain OneWeb Services "Too Costly to Adopt" (Source: Total Telecom)
This week, a report from the Telegraph indicates that UK-backed satellite operator OneWeb has closed its vaunted test site in the village of Akiak, Alaska, following complaints from the Alaska Telecom Association (ATA) and local internet providers. Akiak was one of OneWeb’s first test sites and was notable for being a keystone the company’s marketing campaign, designed to show that the LEO satellite constellation could provide internet services to one of the most remote communities in the US.

Less than a year since activation, however, and it would seem that the test site is failing to live up to expectations. According to sources, the ATA and local providers have written to the FCC to complain that the “service is too costly to adopt” and had been discontinued “due to ongoing technical difficulties.” The nature of these technical troubles has not been revealed.

Furthermore, according to the operator, other rural Alaskan test site are still up and running with positive results, perhaps suggesting that the Akiak site is simply an anomaly. Nonetheless, such a closure has shone a worrying light on the challenges OneWeb may eventually face in the consumer space, particularly given the meteoric rise of rival SpaceX’s Starlink constellation in the US and beyond. (1/10)

Bill Gates’ Climate Investment Firm is Backing This Reusable Rocket Startup (Source: CNBC)
Competition from private companies in the space race is heating up, whether it’s to the moon or Mars or beyond. But with ever more focus on clean fuels and reducing carbon footprints, some are tackling how to make the space race clean. Big names like SpaceX are flying rockets that return to earth to be used again, but one Seattle-based startup wants to take that even further.

Stoke Space is developing a clean-fueled, rapidly reusable rocket that can deliver satellites into earth’s orbit, while protecting the earth itself by creating fewer emissions. Its founder and CEO is a veteran of Jeff Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin. Stoke Space is still in the first stages of testing the rocket and is a long way off from taking satellites into space. It is still working through not just the technology, but regulatory and funding hurdles. But its plans are ambitious and built around the idea of launching more satellites to combat climate change. (1/9)

Indian-American Succeeds Another Indian-American As NASA Chief Technologist (Source: NDTV)
An Indian-American aerospace industry expert has been appointed as NASA's new chief technologist to serve as principal advisor to Administrator Bill Nelson on technology policy and programs at the space agency's headquarters. AC Charania joined the space agency in his new role on January 3. He replaces another Indian-American scientist Bhavya Lal, who served as acting chief technologist prior to the former's appointment.

Prior to joining NASA, he served as vice president of product strategy at Reliable Robotics, a firm that works to bring certified autonomous vehicles to commercial aviation. His previous experience also includes working at Blue Origin to mature its lunar permanence strategy, Blue Moon lunar lander program, and multiple technology initiatives with NASA.

Mr Charania has also worked in strategy and business development for the Virgin Galactic (now Virgin Orbit) LauncherOne small satellite launch vehicle program. He also served in multiple management and technology roles at SpaceWorks Enterprises, including helping to incubate two startups, Generation Orbit and Terminal Velocity Aerospace. (1/10)