April 19, 2023

Lower Space Company Price Tags Pave the Way to More Acquisitions (Source: Space News)
A drop in space company valuations could open the door to more transactions in the industry, according to an April 17 Space Symposium panel on the outlook for deals, as long as they can navigate increasing regulatory scrutiny. “There were a lot of deals that we haven’t participated in over the last five years because the companies were overvalued,” said Megan Crawford, co-founder of venture capital firm SpaceFund. The poor trading performance of space companies that went public via a SPAC, coupled with high inflation and other macroeconomic challenges, are weighing on valuations as investors become more conservative in general. (4/18)

Space Force: Too Early to Predict Vulcan Delay Impacts (Source: Space News)
The Space Force says it's too soon to predict what effects the latest delay in ULA's Vulcan Centaur will have on national security launch efforts. The head of the U.S. Space Force launch program office, Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, said he has been briefed on an incident during testing of Vulcan's Centaur upper stage last month that caused a fireball and damaged the stage and test rig. ULA has delayed the first Vulcan launch, which had been scheduled for May, to at least June or July. The Space Force was expecting Vulcan to launch its first national security mission in late 2023, after two certification launches, but that now appears unlikely. (4/19)

NASA Releases Moon/Mars Architecture Report (Source: Space News)
NASA released a detailed architecture describing its plans for human exploration of the moon and Mars. The 150-page document, published Tuesday, describes how the various programs in the overall Artemis effort meet the objectives for the broader exploration strategy NASA released last year. The architecture focuses on the next few Artemis missions but also looks out to later lunar missions and initial human Mars missions. In addition, NASA published white papers describing elements of the architecture, like the Gateway, in greater detail. (4/19)

Nelson Warns of Potential Funding Shortfall for Mars Sample Return (Source: Space News)
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson warned Tuesday that the agency's Mars Sample Return program could need $250 million more over the next two years. Nelson, testifying to Senate appropriators, said he learned of the additional costs projected for the current 2023 fiscal year and 2024 during a recent visit to JPL. He did not disclose what problems led to the increased costs. Senators said they were concerned that cost growth in MSR would hurt other agency science programs. Nelson said that while NASA is seeking a record $8.26 billion for science in 2024, "you can't fit 10 pounds of potatoes in a five-pound sack." (4/19)

NASA Awards Omnibus Multidiscipline Engineering Services III Contract (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded the Omnibus Multidiscipline Engineering Services (OMES) III contract to Space & Technology Solutions of Houston. This is a cost-plus fixed-fee, IDIQ contract with a minimum ordering value of $8 million and a maximum ordering value of $719 million. The period of performance is from July 1, through June 30, 2028. The contractor will support the Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate, located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. (4/18)

Mission Ax-2 Set to Launch Stem Cells to Space (Source: Space Daily)
Cedars-Sinai investigators, in collaboration with Axiom Space, are sending stem cells to space in early May to explore whether microgravity can make it easier and more efficient to produce large batches of stem cells. This is the first of a series of missions funded by NASA where, for the first time, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) will be manufactured in space by astronauts. Astronauts on the International Space Station will grow and differentiate the stem cells to see whether microgravity has any impact on the way the cells develop into other cell types like brain and heart cells. (4/18)

Calnetix Technologies' High-Speed CO2 Scrubber/Blower System Installed on ISS (Source: Space Daily)
Calnetix Technologies has announced that their Four Bed Carbon Dioxide Scrubber (FBCO2) high-speed blower system was successfully installed by NASA on the International Space Station (ISS). The magnetically levitated blower system is providing the airflow for the FBCO2 system in a microgravity space environment and has been operating continuously since February 22. (4/16)

SwRI Joins New NASA Institute to Qualify, Certify Additive Manufacturing Methods (Source: Space Daily)
Southwest Research Institute will contribute to a new NASA institute to improve understanding and enable rapid certification of metal parts created using advanced additive manufacturing (AM) techniques. The Institute for Model-based Qualification and Certification of Additive Manufacturing (IMQCAM) will work to improve computer models of additively manufactured metal parts and expand their utility in spaceflight applications. (4/13)

Blue Canyon to provide INCUS Satellites to JPL (Source: Space Daily)
Blue Canyon Technologies, a Raytheon Technologies subsidiary, will design and manufacture three microsatellites to support NASA's Investigation of Convective Updrafts, or INCUS, mission. The INCUS mission aims to better understand the complex dynamics of thunderstorms and their impact on Earth's climate and weather models. Blue Canyon's microsats will fly in tandem coordination, each displaying a dynamic atmospheric radar and dynamic microwave radiometer measuring the atmospheric conditions of Earth. (4/14)

Classified, ‘Substantial’ New Military Space Capability Should be Online by 2026: Space Force Chief (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Pentagon expects to have a new, “substantial,” potentially-offensive classified capability in space by 2026, the head of the US Space Force told senators. Asked specifically by Sen. John Boozman, R-AR, about what return on investment the Pentagon has gotten from appropriators adding funding to classified programs in the fiscal 2023 budget, Gen. Chance Saltzman, the chief of space operations, indicated at least one program had its timeline accelerated thanks to the extra money. (4/18)

Northrop Grumman Completes Transport-Layer Satellite Review (Source: Space News)
Northrop Grumman completed a critical design review (CDR) of a Space Development Agency communications satellite in just 13 months. Northrop is one of three companies that won SDA contracts in early 2022 to deliver 42 satellites apiece by 2024 for the Space Development Agency's Transport Layer Tranche 1, a global communications network in LEO. A Northrop executive said getting to a CDR for a typical military satellite program usually requires "multiple" years of work. (4/19)

Space Command Seeks More Funding (Source: Space News)
U.S. Space Command is seeking more funding and resources from the Pentagon to defend the nation's spacecraft and fill growing demands for satellite services. Gen. James Dickinson, head of Space Command, said his command is "putting out demand signals" for services. That includes publishing initial capabilities documents that support budget proposals. Four such documents have been released on space domain awareness, space combat power, joint space command and control, and a joint space communications layer, with more in development. (4/19)

Space Force Sees Increase in Foreign Military Sales Requests (Source: C4ISRnet)
As countries look to strengthen their space capabilities, the U.S. Department of Defense is fielding more requests for the Space Force to export satellites and other capabilities. Since the service was created in 2019 as a separate service within the Department of the Air Force, there’s been a growing interest from international partners in purchasing a broader range of systems from the Space Force, according to Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs Kelli Seybolt.

The Pentagon uses the foreign military sales process to export technology and training to allies and partners. Because the number of classified programs is much higher within the space portfolio than for other defense capabilities, there are more restrictions on what capabilities the U.S. can export or share with other countries. Seybolt said the international affairs office wants to make it easier for countries to navigate that process by establishing “export baselines,” where it can work through any projected issues early on. (4/18)

Rocket Lab to Take Next Major Step Toward Electron Reusability by Launching Pre-Flown Engine (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab is taking the next major step in evolving the Electron launch vehicle into a reusable rocket by launching a pre-flown Rutherford engine. The 3D printed engine, previously flown on the ‘There and Back Again’ mission launched in May 2022, has undergone extensive qualification and acceptance testing to certify it for re-flight, including multiple full mission duration hot fires where the pre-flown engine performed flawlessly and on par with a new Rutherford engine.

While the engine is ready for re-flight now, the Electron rockets scheduled for launch in the second quarter are already built with complete Rutherford powerpack assemblies so this pre-flown engine will join the production line to be integrated with an in-progress rocket. The engine is one of several recovered Rutherford engines that collectively have now been through many successful full duration hot fires to support testing and R&D efforts for recovery. The engine joins multiple systems that have been re-flown on Electron including helium press systems. (4/19)

Momentus’ New Spacecraft Engine Continues Successful In-Space Testing (Soure: Momentus)
Momentus continues to advance through its Microwave Electrothermal Thruster (MET) in-space testing campaign, completing more than a dozen test firings ranging from 30 seconds up to five minutes – the expected range for Momentus standard missions. (4/17)

NRO Seeks Electro-Optical Capabilities (Source: Space News)
The National Reconnaissance Office is seeking new electro-optical capabilities in its latest bid for commercial Earth observation. In a request for proposals scheduled to be released in the fall, NRO will invite U.S. companies and foreign-owned companies with U.S. subsidiaries to share information on new sensors, innovative ways of processing data and constellations. NRO Director Christopher Scolese said at Space Symposium Tuesday that his agency was not looking for specific technologies but instead wants "to see what's out there" from companies interested in working with NRO. (4/19)

Sierra Space and ILC Dover to Collaborate on Inflatable Space Station Modules and Spacesuits (Source: Space News)
Sierra Space and ILC Dover announced Tuesday that they would cooperate on developing inflatable space station modules and spacesuits. ILC Dover will be the exclusive partner in providing soft goods for Sierra Space's Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) modules it is developing for commercial space stations and future moon and Mars missions. The companies will also collaborate on spacesuits for Sierra Space's Dream Chaser and spacewalks. The announcement is part of efforts by Sierra Space to build up a commercial human spaceflight program to serve research and other markets. (4/19)

The Moon is the Best Place to Transport Rocket Fuel (Source: Universe Today)
When astronauts return to the Moon in the next few years, the plan is to have them stay for good while establishing a permanent outpost on Earth’s nearest celestial neighbor. Like all space missions, a lunar outpost will require fuel for long-term sustainability, but would it be better to mine fuel on the Moon or get fuel resupply from the Earth? This is what a team of researchers led by Bocconi University in Italy hope to address as they addressed the best option in terms of deriving fuel from either the Earth or the Moon. (4/17)

Elon Musk’s Terms for a Starlink IPO are Nearly Met (Source: Teslarati)
Elon Musk has previously laid out what Starlink would need for it to be worthy of an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the stock market, and it looks like the company has nearly achieved those targets. Starlink is easily the most successful SpaceX project currently available and has the most mass market appeal. The satellite internet project now reaches every continent on Earth and provides internet to some of the planet’s most hostile and hard-to-reach locations. Following this success, Starlink seems poised for an IPO on the stock market. (4/18)

India Approves Construction of Its Own LIGO (Source: Space Daily)
The Indian government has granted the final approvals necessary for construction to begin on LIGO-India, a nearly identical version of the twin LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) facilities that made history after making the first direct detection of ripples in space and time known as gravitational wavesin 2015. The Indian government will spend about $320 million to build LIGO-India, with first observations expected by the end of the decade. (4/18)

Inmarsat Satellite Glitches in Orbit (Source: Space News)
Inmarsat is scrambling to restore services in the Asia-Pacific region after one of its satellites malfunctioned. Inmarsat said the I-4 F1 satellite suffered an unspecified "technical issue" that disrupted its L- and C-band services. The company did not provide other details about the incident, which started April 16, including how many partners and customers are affected. Inmarsat said it has transferred maritime safety services to another "contingency satellite" and expects to bring its Inmarsat Classic Aero services online soon. (4/19)

Inmarsat I-4F1 Satellite Outage Disables Tractor GPS Services for Farming and Some Maritime Safety (Source: ABC.net)
A problem in a British satellite has caused an outage that is affecting some GPS services and some marine safety systems across the Asia Pacific. The satellite outage is impacting modern farming practices that rely on tractor GPS systems for planting and sowing. Big agricultural brands and services are caught up in the outage, including John Deere, Case, Ag Leader and Trimble. On Tuesday, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority told the ABC it was advised by Inmarsat that its Global Maritime Distress and Safety System was also experiencing a significant outage. (4/17)

Viasat Real-Time Earth Antennas Integrated on Microsoft Azure Orbital (Source: Space Daily)
Viasat announced through a collaboration with Microsoft Azure Orbital, the global Viasat Real-Time Earth (RTE) ground service is now accessible through the Azure marketplace. Five RTE sites will be equipped with high-speed connectivity directly to the Azure cloud platform. Satellite operators are able to schedule passes on RTE antenna systems and will soon be able to rely on secure end-to-end connectivity with Azure over the private Microsoft WAN. (4/12)

Maxar Secures Dish Network Order in its First Satellite Contract of 2023 (Source: Space News)
Dish Network said April 18 it has ordered a satellite from Maxar Technologies to expand high-definition broadcast services over North America. The ES XXV satellite is expected to be ready for launch to geostationary orbit (GEO) “within the next few years,” Dish Network spokesperson Ted Wietecha said. A launch provider was not announced. (4/18)

Maxar Rebrands its Spacecraft Portfolio (Source: Via Satellite)
Maxar is rebranding its lineup of satellites to show the company’s broad manufacturing capabilities. The rebrand includes new names to commercialize two spacecraft buses. The new portfolio consists of the Maxar 300 series, Maxar 500 series, and the Maxar 1300 series. The Maxar 300 series is its smallest and most modular bus, optimized for high rate and rapid production.

Maxar 300 is the same bus that Maxar is building for L3Harris to support its Space Development Agency (SDA) contract.  The Maxar 500 series is the mid-size platform used for the WorldView Legion satellites, but can be tailored for multiple missions and orbits. And the 1300 series is the well known Maxar Geostationary Orbit (GEO) platform, and the company said the technology can be applied beyond GEO. (4/17)

NASA Sounding Rocket Launch from Wallops to Test New Technologies (Source: NASA)
NASA's Wallops Flight Facility is scheduled to launch a sounding rocket for the Suborbital Technology Experiment Carrier (SubTEC-9) mission April 24. The mission will test several new technologies under development by the Sounding Rockets Program Office (SRPO). Since the first SubTEC launch in 2005, the SubTEC missions have provided an opportunity for the sounding rocket team to test and demonstrate new or improved technologies prior to their use on science missions. (4/17)

Europe’s Ariane 6 Rocket is Turning Into a Space Policy Disaster (Source: Ars Technica)
After much political wrangling among Germany, France, and Italy, the member governments of the European Space Agency formally decided to move ahead with development of the Ariane 6 rocket in December 2014. A replacement rocket for the Ariane 5 was needed, European ministers decided, because of cost pressure from commercial upstarts like SpaceX and its Falcon 9 rocket. With the design of the Ariane 6, they envisioned a modernized version of the previous rocket, optimized for cost.

Because Ariane 6 would use a modified Vulcain engine and other components from previous Ariane rockets, it was anticipated that the new rocket would debut in 2020. European space policy, however, is every bit as political as that of the United States, if not more so. Member nations of Europe make financial allocations to the European Space Agency and expect roughly that amount of money in return in terms of space projects. So the development and production of Ariane 6 was spread across a number of nations under management of a large conglomerate, France-based ArianeGroup.

This approach combined the worst of the parochial politics that guide NASA funding in the United States with the sluggish activity of a traditional aerospace company accustomed to guaranteed contracts. Naturally, therefore, development of the project has lagged and gone over budget. So why is Europe developing a rocket that costs more than a Falcon 9 and is a decade late to the party? Because European nations desire independent access to space. But the Ariane 6 rocket is now failing even at this, its most basic and important task. (4/18)

Russia Unveils Secretive Weapon to Target SpaceX's Starlink in Ukraine (Source: Washington Post)
Russia’s quest to sabotage Ukrainian forces’ internet access by targeting the Starlink satellite operations that billionaire Elon Musk has provided to Kyiv since the war’s earliest days appears to be more advanced than previously known, according to a classified U.S. intelligence report. Moscow has experimented for months with its Tobol electronic warfare systems in a bid to disrupt Starlink’s transmissions in Ukraine, the top-secret assessment, which has not been previously disclosed, contends.

The intelligence finding is striking nonetheless as it appears to affirm what observers had only hypothesized previously: that a program ostensibly designed to protect the Kremlin’s satellites can be employed instead to attack those used by its adversaries. It is unclear whether Starlink outages that have been reported in Ukraine were the result of Russia’s Tobol experiments or other jamming capabilities used by Russian forces, such as the truck-mounted Tirada-2 system. Ukrainian troops reported having experienced disruptions in October, as they moved toward Russian positions during successful counteroffensives in the south and east. (4/18)

DOD Is Set to Release National Defense Science & Tech Strategy (Source: GovCon Daily)
Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said DoD is set to release a national strategy that outlines its science and technology priorities to maintain a technological advantage over adversaries, including China and Russia. Speaking during a virtual National Defense Industrial Association, the 2023 Wash100 awardee said the National Defense Science and Technology Strategy primarily focuses on supporting the development of capabilities to enable joint missions. (4/18)

CSC 2.0 Report Calls for Designation of Space Systems as Critical Infrastructure Sector (Source; GovCon Daily)
The CSC 2.0 project, the successor to the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, has released a report concluding that space systems should be designated as a U.S. critical infrastructure sector to address gaps and demonstrate that the U.S. considers space security and resilience as top priorities. (4/18)

NASA Selects 10 Scientists for JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) Mission (Source: SpaceRef)
NASA has selected 10 researchers from institutions across the U.S. to join the Science Working Team of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission as NASA-supported participating scientists. JAXA’s MMX mission, planned to launch in 2024, will visit the two Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos, land on the surface of Phobos, and collect a surface sample. Plans are for the sample to be delivered to Earth in 2029. (4/18)

Lockheed Martin Sets Up Skunk Works-Like Fast-Track Space Unit (Source: Aviation Week)
Lockheed Martin Space’s newly established Ignite unit, a Skunk Works-like business development team designed to rapidly mature and progress new technologies for U.S. national defense, security and exploration customers, is ramping up activity with five internally funded pathfinder programs either already on-orbit or destined for launch within the next two years. (4/18)

Astroscale U.S. Moves Into New Denver Headquarters (Source: Aviation Week)
Astroscale U.S. officially cut the ribbon on its new Denver headquarters on April 16, a move intended to anchor itself in the U.S. market. The U.S. subsidiary of Japan-based Astroscale, an in-space servicing and debris removal company, set down roots in Denver in 2019 and is furthering its investment in local operations in pursuit of partnerships and customers in the U.S. The U.S. subsidiary of Japan-based Astroscale, an in-space servicing and debris removal company, set down roots in Denver in 2019 and is furthering its investment in local operations in pursuit of partnerships and customers in the U.S. (4/18)

UAE Astronaut Sends Back Critical Research Samples From Space (Source: Khaleej Times)
Sultan AlNeyadi and his crew have contributed significantly to scientific research by ensuring the safe return of critical research samples from the ISS. This was announced by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) today. The uncrewed Dragon carrying approximately 1,950 kg of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo back to Earth, splashed down just off the coast of Tampa, Florida in the US on Sunday, as part of its 27th cargo resupply mission. (4/17)

Space Law Society at Harvard Law School Hosts Panel on Ethics of Space Mining (Source: Harvard Crimson)
The Harvard Law School Space Law Society hosted a conversation on the ethical and legal concerns of space mining with three space policy experts in Wasserstein Hall. The talk kicked off the fifth annual Space Week, a series of outreach events held by the Space Consortium, an organization of space-focused faculty and student groups at Harvard, MIT, and other Boston-area universities. (4/18)

Japan's Rising Space Ambitions Depend on Getting H3 Rocket to Work (Source: Nikkei)
Japan's space program is at a standstill. Last month's failed launch of the H3 next-generation rocket is only the latest setback to hit the program. Because the H-IIA, Japan's mainstay rocket to date, uses the same systems as the H3's failed second engine, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has suspended H-IIA launches for checking and investigation, too. Epsilon, a smaller rocket, also experienced a launch failure last October. As a result of these troubles, Japan is completely without means to launch satellites for the time being.

Two years of delays with the H3 had already made it impossible to launch satellites previously prepared for space. The Advanced Land Observing Satellite 3, which was due to replace the first ALOS that went out of service in 2011, was lost in the explosion of the H3. ALOS-4 and various intelligence satellites will not be launched on schedule now either. The Martian Moons Exploration mission to bring back samples from Phobos may miss its narrow launch window next year given the rocket troubles.

But while the H3 launch failure will cause delays and has been a major shock, it should not mean the end of Japan's space program. If H3 eventually can be launched stably, satellites awaiting launch will fly one after another. This will be important as Japan's space program is set to enter a fresh phase. (4/18)

Space Can Give Dreams to South Korea's Children (Source: Korea Herald)
Space is not just about new opportunities for future industry, but changing perspectives and presenting challenges and dreams for generations to come, says Paul Yun, a Korean American solar system ambassador for NASA. “What would be wise for Korea is to utilize space to its fullest to bring out every positive factor from it. If space can become a bigger area, not all smart children will be trying to go to medical school. If more children chase space-related dreams, Korea’s space ecosystem will grow naturally and have a bright future,” Yun told The Korea Herald in a video interview last week. (4/17)

Orbex CEO Jettisoned Weeks Before UK Spaceport Construction Due to Begin (Source: Forres Gazette)
Chris Larmour, the founding CEO of Orbex – whose Prime rockets are due to take small satellites into space from next year – is leaving in a management shake-up. The firm said it was "transitioning the company management team to prepare for the next stage of growth" and that Mr. Larmour was stepping back to "allow a focus on new goals".

The shock move comes after the rocket-making firm secured £40.4 million in a Series C funding round led by the Scottish National Investment Bank last year. New investors who came on board in October include the Scottish National Investment Bank, Jacobs, the Danish Green Future Fund and Verve Ventures. Orbex took over responsibility for the construction and running of Space Hub Sutherland from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) late last year, saying the facility would become the company's long-term “home spaceport.” (4/17)