February 6, 2023

Setting Sail For Safer Space (Source: SpaceRef)
The Drag Augmentation Deorbiting System Nano (ADEO-N) – a 3.6-sq-m aluminium-coated polyamide membrane attached to four metallic booms – deployed from a 10 cm box aboard the ION Satellite Carrier. Launched in 2021, this is a satellite platform flown by D-ORBIT in Italy, used to deliver miniature ‘CubeSats’ into their individual orbits. By increasing the overall area of the satellite, the ADEO-N sail will increase the gradual air drag acting upon it from atoms at the top of the atmosphere, and speed up its atmospheric reentry accordingly.

ESA structural engineer Tiziana Cardone oversaw the project: “The ADEO-N sail will ensure that the satellite will reenter in around one year and three months, while otherwise it would have reentered in four to five years.” The aim is to contribute to ESA’s Zero Debris Initiative – as ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher has remarked: “If you bring a spacecraft to orbit you have to remove it. (2/3)

Drone Takes UK 'Drop Tower' Microgravity Experimentation to New Heights (Source: Space.com)
A British startup has performed a first-of-its-kind microgravity experiment using a drone. The company, called Gravitilab, flew its adapted quadcopter to an altitude of 2,000 feet (600 meters), where it dropped a specially designed capsule carrying scientific experiments. As the capsule fell toward the ground, its payload experienced over five seconds of weightlessness, which is much more than ground-based drop towers can achieve.

The company, operating from the Predannack military airfield in Cornwall in the southwest of England, plans to start commercial services providing microgravity flight opportunities that have not been available before. (2/2)

Elon Musk Should Not Be In Charge of the Night Sky (Source: TIME)
Elon Musk is an expert at capturing people’s attention, and these days, the headlines are following Musk’s takeover of Twitter and the ensuing chaos as he tries to reshape the platform in the way he believes it should be run. But in the process, we shouldn’t forget what else he’s up to, especially as one of his endeavors threatens to alter our relationship to the night sky itself: Starlink.

While Starlink's effects will be global, they will be more noticeable in some parts of the world than others. Residents of urban areas will already be familiar with light pollution: Because of all the lights that are on at night to illuminate roads, businesses, and public places, we can see far fewer of the stars above us. All of these satellites threaten to make that even worse, especially in parts of the world where the skies are still dark and awash in the cosmic brilliance that can’t be seen from major cities.

Light pollution has already affected animals around the world, and increasing it threatens to disrupt the migratory routes of some bird species, especially since SpaceX’s existing efforts to reduce the reflectivity of its satellites have only been marginally successful. But there’s a deeper problem here. Humans have long had a connection to the sky and the stars above, whether it’s just to gaze up in wonder and contemplation or to guide their societies, and Starlink’s satellites could sever that too. (3/3)

Samsung Failed in Satellite-to-Phone Communication But Huawei and Apple Won (Source: Huawei Central)
There was a time when Samsung used to rush on the lane to win the race for new features. However, this time, even Apple won over the South Korean company to install satellite communication in iPhone 14 series. We may agree that the technological innovation level of satellite communication is at the initial stage but Samsung’s top brass saying that “it’s not yet ready”, kind of sounds like a “failure”.

Samsung failed but Huawei continues to innovate technologies such as satellite communication even with grave difficulties originated by the U.S. sanctions. In the face of challenges, Huawei is bringing new features that make a true difference among smartphone consumers. Moving from the first initial version, Huawei has already planned to install a new satellite communication with the new Mate X3 foldable phone or P60 series. Read more about that in the article below. (2/2)

Layoffs Hit North Carolina Aerospace (Source: WRAL)
The first significant mass layoffs in North Carolina are taking place – two sites in Winston-Salem and another in Rutherford County – according to notices filed with the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Collins Aerospace says it is shuttering two offices in Forsyth County, affecting 163 and 32 positions. The closures are permanent, according to the filings. (2/3)

Mining the Moon: Do We Have the Right? (Source: Cosmos)
In addition to Helium-3, in 2011, NASA further reported scientists had discovered titanium ore, 10 times richer than the ore found on Earth, on the surface of the Moon. When mixed with aluminium or iron, titanium ore makes an alloy that is lightweight, strong, corrosion-resistant and temperature resistant. That could make it an ideal candidate for building structures on the Moon, which will have to contend with massive shifts in temperature, intense solar winds and the corrosive effects of tiny, sharp particles of Moon-dust.

The lunar surface is also known to contain the so-called rare-earth metals that are critical for the green energy revolution, and which can be found in engines, batteries, electronic devices, radar systems and more. Then, there’s the dark side of the Moon. Scientists are fairly convinced that those permanently shadowed regions (PSR) play host to water ice. Scientists know all these resources are there because they’ve analyzed the nearly 400 kilograms of lunar regolith brought back by the Apollo missions. They’ve also peered at the Moon’s surface from lunar orbit, hunting for unique signals in different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Such is the fervour for space-mining that governments and private companies are already vying for access. In 2020, then-US President Donald Trump signed an executive order stating that any American citizen or company can extract and use resources in space. That order is not limited to the Moon – asteroids, in particular, are seen as a possible future source of materials. That move was legal because, under the UN’s 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST) – which remains the overarching legal framework for space activity – each signatory government can determine what rights its own citizens have in space. The treaty does, on the other hand, explicitly prohibit the appropriation of any region of space, because it treats outer space as a global commons. (2/3)

Space Force Leaders Discuss Civil Reserve-Style Group for Space Operations (Source: SFA)
Space Systems Command (SSC) has partnered with The Space Force Association to host a forum of senior Space Force and other DoD Leaders, Guardians, and industry to discuss the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserves (CASR) concept. The discussion will center on understanding the opportunities, challenges, and barriers to CASR. By the end of the two days, leadership should have a better understanding if a Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) concept is applicable to space, and if so, how should a CASR office be proposed, established, funded, and sustained. Click here. (2/3)

Space Coast Bustling with 4 Crew Launches On Tap From SpaceX, Boeing (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Before summer, 14 more humans could launch from U.S. soil as SpaceX has three missions set to lift off from Kennedy Space Center on Crew Dragons while Boeing looks to send its CST-100 Starliner up to the International Space Station for the first time with people on board. “We’re heading into, I would say one of the busiest increments in the history of station,” said NASA's Kathryn Lueders. “We have a string of critical missions coming up.”

That includes not only crewed flights from the Space Coast, but a replacement Soyuz capsule to be sent up from Russia to the station for one damaged by micrometeorites and resupply missions from SpaceX, Northrop Grumman and Russia in the next four months. Click here. (1/31)

Hibari Smallsat Demonstrates Performance of Paddles (Source: Aviation Week)
Satellite builders hae used the principle of reaction torque for decades to stabilize and rotate spacecraft in orbit by changing the orientation of oboard spinning reaction wheels or control-moment gyros. Scientists in Tokyo are trying a related method, similar to hand waving when one sits in a swivel chair. Their satellite, Hibari, was launched in 2021 to see if four flapping solar-array paddles can be used to adjust the attitude of microsatellites.

If Hibari's Variable Shape Attitude Control (VSAC) method works, it could significantly reduce the electrical power requirements of small satellies, and free up volume previously used for reaction wheels and gyros. So far, the demonstration satellite is showing success. "It has worked very well," says Saburo Matunaga. (2/3)

NASA Awards Spacecraft Processing Operations Contracts to Astrotech, SpaceX (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected Astrotech Space Operations of Titusville, Florida, and SpaceX to provide commercial payload processing services for agency missions launching from multiple locations. Under the Spacecraft Processing Operations Contract, NASA will issue a fixed-price, IDIQ contract that has a potential 10-year ordering period. The maximum total contract value is $100 million across all contracts supporting operations from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, as well as Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The contract also includes a special on-ramp provision to enable additional providers and incumbents to submit proposals introducing new commercial processing facilities and support services not available at the time of the initial award. The ordering period runs from approximately February 2023 to February 2033. (2/3)