February 4, 2023

Former Shuttle SRB Dock at Cape Canaveral Spaceport Reactivated by Space Force for Space Capsule Retrieval (Source: SLD-45)
The Hangar AF Wharf at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, dating back to NASA's Shuttle Program, was used as a government resource to recover and repurpose the Shuttle's recovered SRBs. In 2011, when the program retired, the compound sat without a direct purpose to spaceport operations. It has recently become an asset to Space Launch Delta 45 thanks to the newly established Spaceport Integration Office (SIO). The SIO’s mission is to assure the most effective integration, control, and utilization of facilities and resources in support of SLD 45’s mission: to deliver assured access to space for the warfighter and the Nation. (2/2)

SpaceX Preparing for Surge of Geostationary Launches (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX is preparing for a surge of geostationary communications satellite launches after several slow years. In the late 2010s, orders of large geostationary commsats plummeted. Formerly a mainstay of the commercial launch industry, western geostationary satellite launches became much rarer in 2019 and the early 2020s. That downturn was especially noticeable for SpaceX, where geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) launches were one of the most common missions performed by its Falcon 9 rockets from 2014 through 2018. (2/2)

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Kathleen Finch broke a lot of science producers’ hearts in Austin, Texas last week when she said that Science Channel was “not very high on our priority list”. Discovery’s U.S. Networks Group is largely pulling out of original content for the niche cable network. “I will be honest, we are not investing a lot of money in Science Channel,” she said. “We have a really good library of things that we’re able to use there. It’s a small, beautiful network, but it’s not on a very high on our priority list.”

Having said that, the network revealed today that it was airing a new documentary on Science Channel, as well as Discovery+ and HBO Max, about space exploration from Trevor Noah. The former host of The Daily Show is producing For All Humankind, which takes a deep dive into what space exploration means for society by comparing the parallel events of 1969 and 2020. (2/2)

ULA Revamps Facility for Amazon Satellite Launches (Source: Orlando Business Journal)
ULA is moving forward with construction at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport to support launches of thousands of Amazon Kuiper satellites. ULA filed an application with the state of Florida for a permit for “Kuiper SPOC,” improvements to an existing Spaceflight Processing Operations Center as part of its partnership with Seattle-based Amazon’s “Project Kuiper.”

ULA will add the following to an 8.2-acre site owned by the U.S. government: a) Installation of a roadway that loops around the west side of the Spaceflight Processing Operations Center; and b) Construction of more rail tracks used to transport launch equipment from the Spaceflight Processing Operations Center to a launch pad. (2/2)

The New Space Era Will Drive The Economy of Tomorrow (Source: Wilson Quarterly)
The world is undergoing a space renaissance—a period when seismic innovations in technology are powering new capabilities—including advances in the manufacture, propulsion, and launch of space systems. Not only have these changes made it possible for the private sector to explore space and conduct more targeted missions; they have also made these activities more accessible and affordable, giving rise to start-ups and encouraging established aerospace companies to pursue innovative projects that were previously deemed too costly or risky. Private funding has also increased over the past five years—a signal that the industry is attracting attention from investors. (2/3)

Spacemind Launches Three Italian Nanosatellites (Source: Space Daily)
Spacemind, has achieved great success with a series of space launches. The three Italian nanosatellites, DanteSat, Futura-SM1, and Futura-SM3, have been successfully launched into orbit. This has also validated the operation of the new SMPod cubesat deployer, on-board equipment, and a larger version of the Artica deorbiting sail. The two Futuras were launched at the beginning of January and transferred into the planned orbit by an autonomous ION Satellite Carrier Platform, manufactured by the space logistics company D-Orbit, and finally released into space via the new SMPod deployer from Spacemind.

The DanteSat 3U cubesat developed for the Italian publishing house Scripta Maneant to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Dante Alighieri's death: its metal structure is in fact engraved with the Divine Comedy, while the on-board radio transmits the first verses of the work to Earth. It was carried to the ISS by a Dragon capsule then released into orbit in late December via Nanoracks Europe's external deployer. Subsequently, it opened the Artica sail and will soon burn up on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. (2/3)

TAU Establishes First Satellite Observatory for Quantum Optical Communication (Source: Space Daily)
The Center for Quantum Science and Technology at has built the first ground station in Israel for tracking, sensing, hyperspectral imaging, and optical and quantum communication with satellites in orbit around the Earth. The station includes a satellite observatory dome with a diameter of 4.25 meters, a tracking system, a primary high-speed camera and secondary tracking cameras, laser equipment, single-photon detectors, and a tracking robot that can carry two telescopes simultaneously. At this stage, the robot arm holds a 24-inch telescope. (2/3)

LeoLabs Expands Weather Radar Coverage of Southern Hemisphere in the Indo-Pacific Region (Source: Space Daily)
LeoLabs, the leading commercial provider of Space Domain Awareness (SDA) services and low Earth orbit (LEO) mapping, announced the commissioning of the LeoLabs West Australian Space Radar (WASR). This radar site, located in Western Australia, adds critical coverage of the Southern Hemisphere in the Indo-Pacific region. WASR is the latest addition to LeoLabs network of phased array space radars powering LeoLabs Vertex, its vertically integrated space operations stack which enables tracking of resident space objects and the characterization of events in LEO, such as conjunctions and maneuvers. (2/1)

Spain’s New ‘Spaceport’ Could Create 2,800 New Jobs (Source: Construction Europe)
Teruel airport in Spain looks set for major expansion, as the designated host of a number of major aerospace projects. It was announced that PDL Space plans to operate satellite micro launchers from the little-known airport, located some 300km east of the capital Madrid. Another company, Sceye, plans to install stratospheric spacecraft at the airport, which, since coming into commission ten years ago, has been used primarily as a maintenance center for large aircraft. Javier Lambán said 2,800 direct and indirect jobs could be generated through the raft of activities planned at the airport. (2/2)