January 12, 2023

Astronaut Memorial Ceremony Planned on Jan. 29 in Titusville (Source: ASM)
The annual Astronaut Memorial Ceremony for the 17-crew members of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia who perished in America’s space program will be conducted Sunday Jan. 29 at 1 pm EST at Sand Point Park in Titusville, Florida. Shuttle astronaut, spacewalker and artist Nicole Passonno Stott will be the keynote speaker. The public is invited to attend this reverent and patriotic ceremony that honors the lives and sacrifice made by these pioneers of NASA’s manned space program. The event will be broadcast on the social media platforms on Facebook Live and YouTube of the American Space Museum. Click here. (1/12)

NASA Invites SBIR/STTR Proposals (Source: NASA)
The NASA SBIR/STTR program empowers small businesses and research institutions to develop technologies that impact NASA missions and benefit our nation. The annual NASA SBIR and STTR Phase I solicitations seek technology ideas to address the agency’s wide-ranging goals: from health care to climate change, emergency response to space exploration, and more.

On Jan. 17 the program will host a “Dissecting the 2023 Phase I Solicitations” webinar that will help prepare small businesses and research institutions—especially those new to NASA SBIR/STTR or those who have been unsuccessful in previous submissions—to put together a strong Phase I proposal. The event is free and open to the public, and pre-registration will not be required. Click here. (1/12)

Ball Completes Payload Integration for DoD Weather Satellite (Source: Air Force Magazine)
Ball Aerospace has successfully completed the production of a spacecraft bus for the US Space Force’s (USSF) next-generation Weather System Follow-on-Microwave (WSF-M) satellite. The company has also concluded the integration and environmental testing, using a microwave imager (MWI) instrument, of the satellite bus. With the completion of this significant milestone, Ball Aerospace has commenced the process of space vehicle assembling, integration and testing before the final delivery to the USSF. (1/11)

Sidus Space Partners with ViaSatellite to Showcase Potential Value of Space-Derived Data to Industry Leaders (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space announced its partnership with ViaSatellite to educate industry leaders about the potential value of space-derived data in a webcast series, entitled The Future Space Economy. Attendees will have an opportunity to learn more during the upcoming webcast, “Building in Space: Infrastructure for a New Frontier,” on Jan. 23, featuring Carol Craig, Founder and CEO of Sidus Space. (1/12)

SpaceX Capsule Lands Safely Off Florida Coast on Return from ISS (Source: Space Daily)
SpaceX confirmed Wednesday its Dragon cargo spacecraft successfully splashed down off the coast of Florida after returning from the International Space Station. The uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft splashed down at 5:19 a.m. EST, off the coast of Tampa, Fla., marking an end to the company's 26th contracted mission to resupply the space station for NASA.

"Once Dragon has been retrieved by SpaceX's recovery team, the critical science aboard the spacecraft will be transported via helicopter to [Kennedy Space Center] and provided to researchers," the company tweeted. The spacecraft carried approximately 4,400 pounds of scientific experiments and other cargo back to Earth, including high-pressure oxygen and nitrogen gas tanks that will be refilled on the ground for a future launch. (1/11)

Martian Meteorite Contains Large Diversity of Organic Compounds (Source: Space Daily)
The Martian meteorite Tissint contains a huge diversity of organic compounds, found an international team of researchers led by Technical University of Munich and Helmholtz Munich's Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin and including Carnegie's Andrew Steele. Their work is published in Science Advances. Tissint, which crash landed in Morocco more than 11 years ago, is one of only five Martian meteorites that have been observed as they fell to Earth. Pieces of it were found scattered around the desert about 30 miles from the town after which it is named.

This sample of Martian rock was formed hundreds of millions of years ago on our next-door planetary neighbor and was launched into space by a violent event. Unraveling the origin stories of the Tissint meteorite's organic compounds can help scientists understand whether the Red Planet ever hosted life, as well as Earth's geologic history. Organic molecules contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and sometimes other elements. Organic compounds are commonly associated with life, although previous Martian meteorite research demonstrated that they can be created by non-biological processes, referred to as abiotic organic chemistry. (1/12)

Unibap Receives Order from Thales Alenia Space (Source: Space Daily)
Thales Alenia Space in Italy has placed a contract with Unibap to use SpaceCloud infrastructure to develop a next generation on-orbit processing solution for future satellite missions. Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales 67% and Leonardo 33%, will utilize Unibap's solutions in the mission design process to enable use of SpaceCloud features. (1/12)

China's Space-Based Solar Camera Publishes Data on Solar Atmosphere (Source: Space Daily)
A China-developed space-borne solar camera studying the solar transition region released its first group of scientific data on Wednesday. The 46.5-nanometer extreme-ultraviolet imager or Solar Upper Transition Region Imager (SUTRI), mounted on SATech 01 satellite, was launched into space on July 27, 2022. SUTRI is the first solar imager in the world to work at a wavelength of 40 to 110 nanometers based on a multilayer narrow-band filtering technique. (1/12)

JWST Finds First Exoplanet (Source: CNN)
Astronomers have discovered the first exoplanet in data from the James Webb Space Telescope. The existence of the planet, LHS 475 b, was suggested in data from another NASA mission, TESS, but astronomers used JWST to confirm the planet's existence by observing the planet as it passed in front of, or transited, its star. The planet, 41 light-years away, appears to be a terrestral world but is several hundred degrees hotter than the Earth. (1/12)

Astronomers Dig Out Buried Black Holes with NASA's Chandra (Source: Space Daily)
Hundreds of black holes previously hidden, or buried, have been found using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This result helps give astronomers a more accurate census of black holes in the universe. The black holes in this new study are the supermassive variety that contain millions or even billions of times the mass of the Sun. While astronomers think that almost all large galaxies harbor giant black holes in their centers, only some of the black holes will be actively pulling in material that produces radiation, and some will be buried underneath dust and gas.

By combining data from the Chandra Source Catalog - a public repository including hundreds of thousands of X-ray sources detected by the observatory over its first 15 years - and optical data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), a team of astronomers was able to identify hundreds of black holes that had previously been hidden. They are in galaxies not previously identified to contain quasars, extremely bright objects with rapidly growing supermassive black holes. (1/12)

Capella Attracts Investment with Dual-Use SAR Satellites (Source: Quartz)
Capella Space, a company that uses seven satellites to collect radar imagery of the Earth below, kicked off the year with a big capital raise despite a tough finish to 2022 for capital-intensive private space start-ups. Capella took in $60 million from the US Innovative Technology fund, or UTIP, operated by billionaire Thomas Tull. An entrepreneur and investor, Tull started the Hollywood studio Legendary Entertainment in 2005, and it has since financed hit films like Dune and The Dark Knight.

Raising that much capital at a time when many other venture-backed firms are battening down the hatches for economic slowdown isn’t easy. Capella CEO Payam Banazadeh tells Quartz that his firm has more demand for its imagery than its current satellite constellation can provide. The reason, in a word, is Ukraine. Russia’s invasion of its neighbor vaulted a variety of space data businesses into the public eye. Radar imagery (technically, synthetic aperture radar) is valuable because it can collect data at night and through clouds, and because it can more effectively measure physical objects it detects.

But while there are numerous providers of visual imagery and radio-frequency tracking, commercial SAR providers are effectively limited to Capella and Finland’s ICEYE. (Other companies, including Synspective, PredaSAR, and Umbra are still bringing their products to market.) That defense-friendly capability brought Tull onboard; his new fund is focused on dual-use technologies, which have both national security and commercial applications. (1/12)

SES Secures $323 Million Loan for Satellite Projects (Source: Space News)
SES has secured a 300 million euro ($323 million) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for satellite projects. The loan, announced Wednesday, will will support SES investments in three previously announced broadcast and broadband satellites: ASTRA 1P, ASTRA 1Q and SES-26. The loan covers "slightly below 50%" of the cost of the programs, the company said. EIB said its financing is in line with the European Commission's goal for all households in Europe to have access to at least 100 megabits per second of internet connectivity by 2025. The EIB said the loan is also part of efforts to make Europe's space industry more competitive. (1/12)

Virgin Orbit Failure Caused by Premature Engine Shutdown on Upper Stage (Source: Space News)
Virgin Orbit said an anomaly on its LauncherOne rocket caused a premature shutdown of its upper-stage engine during Monday's failed launch. In a statement early Thursday, the company said the unspecified anomaly took place when the upper stage reached an altitude of 180 kilometers, causing the NewtonFour engine to shut down and preventing the stage and its payload from reaching orbit. Virgin Orbit did not disclose additional details about the anomaly or how long it will take to investigate it, but said its return-to-flight mission will take place from Mojave Air and Space Port in California. (1/12)

DoD Seeks to Leverage Commercial Space Innovation (Source: Space News)
The U.S. military will need to take advantage of commercial innovation in order to effectively compete with China in space. During a webinar Wednesday, Col. Eric Felt, director of space architecture and integration, stressed the need to "go after and harness commercial innovation from the space industry" so that the U.S. can stay ahead of China.

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall last year rolled out a list of high-priority technologies, including space systems, where the Pentagon intends to pump more funding to remain competitive with China. Felt said that his boss, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition and integration Frank Calvelli, understood that staying ahead technologically is not just about spending more but spending smarter, a process that involves leveraging commercial capabilities. (1/12)

NOAA Wants Improved Space Weather Monitoring (Source: Space News)
The U.S. needs to improve its ability to monitor and model space weather. In recent years, government agencies and Congress, recognizing the growing importance of monitoring space weather as the nation becomes increasingly dependent on satellite services, have established working groups and interagency panels and drafted space weather action plans. Those plans need to be backed by more data about space weather than can be used to more accurately forecast events that could affect satellites or terrestrial systems, officials said at a conference Wednesday. NOAA is gearing up to launch a series of space weather missions, starting with Space Weather Follow-On in 2024, that marks "the beginning of the space weather era for NOAA as an operational agency," a NOAA official said. (1/12)

NOAA Concerned About Spectrum Interference for Weather Satellites (Source: Space News)
NOAA is also monitoring growing demands for spectrum that could impair its terrestrial weather forecasting abilities. The agency is working to better determine its spectrum requirements so it will be in a better position to communicate with other government agencies the consequences of any decision to sell spectrum. It is also studying ways to make satellite sensors more resilient to the loss of particular spectral bands caused by interference. (1/12)
 
US and Japan Agree on Space Mutual Defense (Source: The Guardian)
The United States and Japan agree that an attack in space would trigger a mutual defense treaty. During meetings in Washington, officials with the two countries that they had agreed that an attack "to, from and within" space would invoke that treaty, which states that an attack on either country is an attack on both. Separately, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio will visit NASA Headquarters Friday to sign a space cooperation agreement between the U.S. and Japan. (1/12)

DirecTV Lays Off Managers (Source: LA Times)
Satellite broadcasting company DirecTV is laying off 10% of its management staff. DirecTV said more than 200 managers will be laid off as a cost-cutting measure. The company, which provides direct-to-home satellite TV services, is facing subscriber losses as customers switch to streaming services. (1/12)

India Plans Three Launches in First Quarter (Source: PTI)
The Indian space agency ISRO is planning three launches in the first quarter of this year. Those launches include the return to flight of its Small Satellite Launch Vehicle after a failed inaugural launch last August, a second GSLV Mark 3 launch of OneWeb satellites and a commercial mission by its PSLV rocket. The agency said an abort test of its Gaganyaan crewed spacecraft is also scheduled for April or May. (1/12)

Rocket Lab's First Virginia Launch Now Scheduled for Jan. 23 (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab has rescheduled its first Electron launch from Virginia. The company announced Wednesday the launch from Wallops Island, Virginia, is now scheduled for Jan. 23, carrying three satellites for HawkEye 360. Rocket Lab attempted to conduct the launch last month but was delayed by range paperwork and unfavorable weather. (1/12)

Why Europe Doesn’t Have Its Own SpaceX (Source: Seraphim)
A thoughtful article by Sinead O'Sullivan in the FT considers the call by Joseph Aschbacher from the European Space Agency (ESA) to outsource innovation to the private sector through adopting a NASA-style model in which the ESA buys defined services instead of managing the development of systems that are then marketed by the private sector. SpaceX, which has raised $10bn capital, is the poster-child of the US model working.

Seraphim Space Investment Trust PLC, a permanent capital vehicle listed on the London Stock Market, is currently the only established public vehicle addressing this massive opportunity in Europe. SSIT has been a catalytic investor in a range of emerging space category leaders such as Iceye, Arqit and D-Orbit.

Europe does indeed need to develop further funding mechanisms, but in the meantime there is growing evidence that sovereign wealth funds are stepping into the breach. Over the next 12-24 months we expect to see several giant commercial space projects, seeded with sums well in excess $100m, backing teams with enormous ambition. Top of the list are various projects focused on harnessing space energy, solar farms in space aiming to deliver clean energy to planet earth. Despite the funding challenges we are predicting some exciting mega-deals which will drive investor interest in the space domain. (1/11)

NASA's Launch Schedule Stays Full for 2023 After a Busy Year with Historic Missions (Source: Fox13)
This year was an amazing and exciting year for NASA. The long-awaited Artemis 1 moon mission finally launched, sending the Orion spacecraft to the moon and back, paving the way for future human exploration of the lunar surface. The historic mission came just weeks after the James Webb Telescope opened our eyes to the universe, which is packed with surprises.

Now, 2023 is shaping up to be another busy year for NASA, with dozens of rockets launching from Cape Canaveral – some to the International Space Station (ISS), others into deep space. Click here. (12/28)

Astronaut Crew is Stuck Waiting in Space After Their Russian Spacecraft Suffered Damage (Source: Florida Today)
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin are faced with extending their stay aboard the International Space Station by several months and will require a new ride home after their Russian MS-22 Soyuz spacecraft sprang a leak last month.

The trio was supposed to use that spacecraft to return to Earth in March. Wednesday, NASA and Russian space officials unveiled a plan to launch an empty Soyuz capsule to the ISS to ferry them back instead. That means the three men will spend several more months at the ISS. (1/11)

ULA's First Vulcan Rocket Departs Alabama for Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: WAFF)
A Decatur-built rocket left the United Launch Alliance (ULA) factory Tuesday morning and is being shipped to Cape Canaveral. The Vulcan rocket was rolled out of the factory and loaded onto the RocketShip, the cargo ship that transports ULA hardware. The journey from Decatur to Cape Canaveral will take about eight days.

The Vulcan rocket is scheduled to have multiple wet dress rehearsals and its first test flight in the first quarter of 2023. A second rocket is scheduled to take flight in the summer and the first Space Force flight by the end of the year. After Vulcan completes its certification flights, it will eventually replace the AtlasV. (1/10)

Why the Failure of the U.K.’s First Orbital Launch Is a Big Deal (Source: Time)
For Virgin Orbit, launch risks involve its goal of becoming more than a niche player in the space launch business, dwarfed by behemoths like SpaceX. “We will work tirelessly to understand the nature of the failure [and] make corrective actions,” CEO Dan Hart said. But those actions do not prevent one more bruise on the Virgin brand, along with the company’s space tourism division, Virgin Galactic, which has promised since 2004 to begin regular suborbital flights for paying space tourists and has yet to deliver on that pledge.

The bigger blow, however, fell on the U.K. The European Space Agency (ESA) regularly launches spacecraft to Earth orbit and beyond aboard its Ariane 5 rocket from a spaceport in French Guiana in South America. Indeed, it was an Ariane 5 that successfully launched NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. But no country has yet launched orbital spacecraft from the European continent. Spaceport Cornwall stands ready to try again, as does Virgin Orbit—which plans to “return to orbit as soon as we have completed a full investigation” into the cause of the failure, said Hart. (1/10)

Branson Has Become a Specialist in Duds (Source: The Telegraph)
It may not have been one small step for man, but it was certainly a giant step backwards for Sir Richard Branson. Like most serial entrepreneurs, the colorful tycoon is no stranger to failed ventures but Sir Richard has become something of a specialist in duds. If Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket had been powered by hype alone then it would surely have gone where no other spacecraft had gone before.

There was Little Red, a regional airline that lasted all of two years; Virgin cola, which succeeded in capturing all of 0.5pc of the soft drinks market before it was run out of town by the big brands; Virgin clothing, which unsurprisingly failed to be a fashion hit with the kids – or anyone, for that matter; and the less said about Virginware, which closed with a fire sale of 35,000 pairs of Virgin-branded bras and G-strings, the better.

Yet for someone who has reportedly set up more than 400 companies under the Virgin umbrella, the aborted attempt to put Britain firmly on the space exploration map with the first-ever launch of a satellite from home soil must surely count among his most high profile and spectacular flops to date. Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit, after share price falls of 70pc and 80pc respectively, have a combined value of less than $1.6bn. (1/10)

SpaceX Flexes Might with Simultaneous Starship, Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Dragon Operations (Source: Teslarati)
On January 9th, SpaceX demonstrated the breadth of its capabilities by simultaneously operating two orbital Dragons, four rockets, and four launch pads. In the afternoon, SpaceX stacked Ship 24 and Super Heavy B7 at Starship’s lone South Texas orbital launch pad. In California, a Falcon 9 rocket was vertical at Vandenberg Space Force Base for SpaceX’s upcoming Starlink 2-4 launch, which will carry the company’s own internet satellites. In Florida, both of SpaceX’s orbital Falcon launch pads were occupied.

A Falcon Heavy rocket had just gone vertical at Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A, which SpaceX leases from NASA. A few miles to the south, a second Falcon 9 rocket was vertical at SpaceX’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station LC-40 pad for a OneWeb satellite launch. While weather delayed Starlink 2-4, SpaceX was briefly prepared to launch both Falcon 9 rockets just 35 minutes apart.

In low Earth orbit, around 400 kilometers (250 mi) up, a Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft was freely flying in space shortly after undocking from the International Space Station (ISS). Simultaneously, a Crew Dragon spacecraft was docked to the ISS, where it will remain until it returns four astronauts to Earth in February 2023. (1/10)

JAXA Officials Reprimanded Over Experiment Data Tampering (Source: NHK)
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has reprimanded three top officials for tampering with experiment data. The experiment, led by astronaut Furukawa Satoshi, was carried out from 2016 through 2017. It aimed to study the changes the human body undergoes due to the stress of living in an isolated environment. Two researchers on the team were found to have rewritten data from the study.

JAXA sternly reprimanded President Yamakawa Hiroshi and Senior Vice President Suzuki Kazuhiro, and admonished Vice President Sasaki Hiroshi, on Tuesday. The three have given up 10 percent of their salary for this month. (1/11)

Japan Is Changing the Game for Space Powers (Source: The Diplomat)
2023 is going to be Japan’s year in space. In a first for humanity, a privately owned lunar lander, built by Japanese private space company ispace, will attempt to land on the lunar surface by April. If successful, this private Japanese lunar landing will be a game changer for space that will challenge the usual way space exploration has been conducted since 1957, when the erstwhile Soviet Union launched Sputnik.

Space has remained a state-dominated enterprise since then. The private sector has provided the technological innovation for systems like rockets or satellites but never takes the lead when it comes to conducting space business in their own right. Now ispace will attempt to collect lunar samples and then sell them to NASA, as per a pre-agreed contract. While the amount to be paid is just $5,000, the symbolic effect is deeply consequential for the future of the space resources economy. It will set a precedent that private space companies are able to sell the resources they mine in celestial bodies and keep the profits.

Surprisingly, the consequence of this event has been lost amid the strategic analysis of the space economy, which is focused currently on satellite launches and reusable rockets. What ispace will establish is different from just building space platforms – what companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are focused on. Instead ispace is looking toward the space economy of the future – areas that countries like China are focused on, like asteroid mining, space-based solar power (SBSP), and permanent settlements on the Moon and Mars. (1/10)

Arizona's Pima County Approves New Lease for Space Tourism Company World View (Source: KOLD)
World View, a local space tourism company has a new lease with Pima County after the original lease led to a lawsuit from the conservative Goldwater Institute. The Pima County Board of Supervisors approved the new lease in a four to one vote Tuesday after a lengthy discussion about possible negative ramifications this could bring about.

This new lease is like starting over with World View. This all comes after a ruling that the county violated the state’s gift clause by building the $14 million headquarters for the company. This new lease is meant to avoid those legal issues, but some still have concerns. Supervisor Christy was the only one on the board to vote against the approval of this new lease. Christy said the board only had 24-hours to review the proposed agreement.

“First and foremost, can World View afford this lease?” Christy questioned. “Granted it is a privately owned corporation, but they are leasing public lands, so I feel that there needs to be a certain amount of transparency on world view’s part.” During the ruling that potentially jeopardized the lease, world view stopped paying rent and they owe over $400,000. The company has agreed to pay it back to the county as part of the agreement on the new lease. There are a number of other changes to the lease, including a purchase option at the end of the lease period. (1/10)

Top NASA Officials Talk Future of Glenn Research Center (Source: WEWS)
Just a couple weeks after Artemis I completed its trip around the Moon, top NASA officials paid a visit to the Glenn Research Center to discuss what's next as space exploration ramps up. NASA’s top official, administrator Bill Nelson, told News 5 the amount of funding coming into NASA Glenn and rippling out into the community, which is estimated at $1.9 billion per year, is only expected to grow.

"One of the most important agendas for [NASA] Glenn is the fact of propulsion and electricity; that is essential to our future in space," Administrator Nelson said. "The future is very bright for the Glenn Research Center." ... "This is increasingly a jewel for Cleveland," Sen. Sherrod Brown said. "3,500 jobs here and we know those jobs lead to all kinds of other jobs and we know what that means." (1/10)

Device to Detect Orbital Particles Mounted Outside China's Space Station (Source: Xinhua)
A particle detector has been installed on the extravehicular platform of China's space station to obtain key data used for the space station's safety, extravehicular activities of the astronauts, biological experiments, and the study of space material.

The energy particle detector in Wentian lab has been transported via the cargo airlock cabin, assisted by a robotic arm. The detector used a new material called CLYC for the first time in the world that can achieve high-efficient neutron detection. (1/11)

Researchers Develop AI Method for Mapping Planets (Source: Space Daily)
Creating geological maps of planetary surfaces such as Mars is a complex process. From data collection to data analysis to publication in different formats - the production of maps is based on a time-consuming, multi-step process.

Deep Learning techniques, which use artificial neural networks to analyze data sets, can significantly improve the production process, as broadly shown in both scientific literature and applications. However, until now, open-source, ready-to-use, and highly customizable toolsets for planetary mapping were never released. (1/11)

Vast Space Becomes the Newest Member of "Space Beach" (Source: Space Daily)
Vast, a pioneer in space habitation technologies, has announced the relocation and major expansion of its corporate headquarters to a newly built facility in Long Beach, California, for the established pipeline of premier aerospace talent, proximity to the port and airport and continued efforts to expand commercial space capabilities in the region.

The new structures, which will house the company's business operations as well as a next-generation manufacturing facility, are in the city's Globemaster Corridor Specific Plan, which will help align and reimagine the commercial and industrial area that used to focus on specific aviation manufacturing. (1/11)

NASA Selects Experimental Space Technology Concepts for Initial Study (Source: Space Daily)
The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program fosters innovation by funding early-stage studies to evaluate technologies that could support future missions. The latest round of awards will provide $175,000 grants to 14 visionaries from nine states. Ten of the selected researchers are first-time NIAC recipients. Editor's Note: One project is at the University of Florida, for a "New Class of Bimodal Nuclear Thermal/Electric Propulsion with a Wave Rotor Topping Cycle Enabling Fast Transit to Mars". Click here. (1/11)

Spaceflight Inc. and Maritime Launch Agree to Future Sherpa OTV Missions (Source: Space Daily)
Spaceflight Inc., a premier launch and in-space transportation services provider, has signed an agreement with Maritime Launch Services Inc. (NEO: MAXQ, OTCQB: MAXQF) to launch up to five of its Sherpa Orbital Transfer Vehicles (OTVs). The launches will be from Spaceport Nova Scotia aboard the Cyclone-4M beginning in 2025.

Spaceflight has successfully delivered more than 550 spacecraft across 55 launches, including both rideshare and dedicated launches, on a wide variety of launch vehicles. This includes launching five Sherpa OTVs, which carried more than 50 payloads to space. (1/11)

Lynk Launches World's 2nd and 3rd Commercial Cell-Towers-in-Space (Source: Space Daily)
Lynk Global has reported the successful launch and deployment of two more satellites in the company's commercial cell-towers-in-space constellation. These satellites are covered by the world's first and only commercial satellite-direct-to-standard-phone license that Lynk received from the FCC in September 2022.

A unique capability that Lynk demonstrated during this launch is a new deployer system that supports the launch of multiple satellites at one time on the same ESPA-ring port, which enables the affordable launch of many more satellites. (1/11)

Ovzon Selects Dispersive to Enhance Satellite Communications Security (Source: Space Daily)
Dispersive Holdings, a leader in the stealth networking and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) arena, and Ovzon, a provider of SATCOM-as-a-Service and mobile satellite communications solutions, have reached an agreement in which Ovzon will utilize Dispersive to provide enhanced, secure satellite communications as part of their total solution. Dispersive is deploying its DispersiveCloud solution to provide Ovzon greater overall security in managing its global satellite networks. (1/11)

NASA Scientists Study Life Origins by Simulating a Cosmic Evolution (Source: Space Daily)
Amino acids make up millions of proteins that drive the chemical gears of life, including essential bodily functions in animals. Because of amino acids' relationship to living things scientists are eager to understand the origins of these molecules. After all, amino acids may have helped spawn life on Earth after being delivered here about 4 billion years ago by pieces of asteroids or comets. If amino acids formed in our solar system, then life could be unique here. But if they came from an interstellar cloud, these precursors to life could have spread to other solar systems, as well.

Scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, sought to explore how amino acids and amines - their chemical cousins - may have formed by simulating a mini, cosmic evolution in the lab. The researchers made ices like those found in interstellar clouds, blasted them with radiation, and then exposed the leftover material, which included amines and amino acids, to water and heat to replicate the conditions they would have experienced inside asteroids. (1/11)

SwRI Scientists Find Evidence for Magnetic Reconnection Between Ganymede and Jupiter (Source: Space Daily)
In June 2021, NASA's Juno spacecraft flew close to Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon, observing evidence of magnetic reconnection. A team led by Southwest Research Institute used Juno data to examine the electron and ion particles and magnetic fields as the magnetic field lines of Jupiter and Ganymede merged, snapped and reoriented, heating and accelerating the charged particles in the region. (1/11)

NASA Wants You to Help Study Planets Around Other Stars (Source: Space Daily)
More than 5,000 planets have been confirmed to exist outside our solar system, featuring a wide array of characteristics like clouds made of glass and twin suns. Scientists estimate there could be millions more exoplanets in our home galaxy alone, which means professional astronomers could use your help tracking and studying them.

This is where Exoplanet Watch comes in. Participants in the program can use their own telescopes to detect planets outside our solar system, or they can look for exoplanets in data from other telescopes using a computer or smartphone.

Exoplanet Watch began in 2018 under NASA's Universe of Learning, one of the agency's Science Activation programs that enables anyone to experience how science is done and discover the universe for themselves. Until recently there were limits on how many people could help look through the data collected by other telescopes, but now this program is easily available to anyone. By following the site's instructions, participants can download data to their device or access it via the cloud, and then assess it using a custom data analysis tool. (1/11)

Chinese Scientists Discover Ubiquitous, Increasing Ferric Iron on Lunar Surface (Source: Space Daily)
The Moon has been considered extremely reductive since the Apollo era, as estimated by the low ferric iron content in lunar samples returned in the 1970s. In addition, it has long been a mystery whether a large amount of ferric iron exists on the Moon and how it is formed.

Recently, however, a research team led by Profs. XU Yigang and HE Hongping from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has discovered that high ferric iron content is present in agglutinate glass from lunar soil returned by China's Chang'e-5 mission.

The ferric iron was formed from a charge disproportionation reaction of ferrous iron in micrometeoroid impact processes. This revelation has challenged previous knowledge about the form, content, and evolution of lunar ferric iron. The scientists estimated the three-dimensional distribution of iron species with various valences using EELS-based electron tomography technology. (1/11)