May 24, 2023

Japan’s GITAI Raises $29 Million for Space Robotics Business (Source: Space News)
Japanese space robotics venture GITAI said May 24 it has raised 4 billion yen ($29 million) to accelerate technology development and its U.S. expansion plans. Tokyo-based early-stage investor Global Brain led the funding round, an extension of a Series B round that raised around $17 million in 2021. GITAI founder and CEO Sho Nakanose said the funds would support efforts to develop a lunar rover and a two-meter-long Inchworm robotic arm. (5/24)

Multi-Launch Deal Could See Orbital Transfer Vehicles (OTVs) Deployed From Spaceport Nova Scotia (Source: Maritime Launch)
Maritime Launch Services announces today that its launch manifest on its medium class launch vehicles has been committed through the end of 2027. With a recent multi-mission Agreement signed for launching client OTVs from a manufacturer in the EU, Maritime Launch has secured medium-class launch vehicle capacity on multiple missions on a rideshare and dedicated payload basis from Spaceport Nova Scotia from 2025 onwards.

“This Agreement, if fully realized, is valued at over $1B in revenue and commits a large portion of our near-term medium-class launch manifest at Spaceport Nova Scotia, proving the strong demand for launch services in the global space market and the viability of Spaceport Nova Scotia”, says Stephen Matier. (5/24)

Has Gaia Found Missing Link in Black Hole Evolution (Source: Space Daily)
When ESA's Gaia spacecraft scanned the Scorpius constellation and its ancient globular star cluster Messier 4, it captured something strange: a huge dark blob at the cluster's centre, 800 times more massive than our Sun. It is normal for globular clusters to have dark centres made up of many dead stars. But the mass at the centre of Messier 4 looks different - despite being especially large, it seems to be squeezed into a surprisingly small volume of space. (5/24)

There is a "Highly Habitable" Planet Just 4 light years from Us, Astronomers Say (Source: Space Academy)
A nearby exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of a star just 4.2 light-years from Earth may be home to a vast ocean, boosting its chances of supporting life. Since its discovery, questions about the conditions at the surface of Proxima b have been swirling; the planet’s mass is just about 1.3 times that of Earth’s, and the red dwarf star it circles is similar in age to our sun.

Studies over the last few years, however, have both bolstered hopes of its habitability and shot them down. Now, a new study has once again raised the possibility that Proxima b could support life, suggesting that under the right conditions, the exoplanet could sustain liquid water. “The major message from our simulations is that there’s a decent chance that the planet would be habitable,” Anthony Del Genio, a planetary scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told LiveScience. (5/24)

DHS an Untapped Market for Satellite Imagery (Source: Space News)
Homeland security remains an untapped market for satellite imagery and analytics. An official with the Department of Homeland Security said at the GEOINT Symposium that there is growing interest in using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) in areas like border security, response to natural disasters and protection of critical infrastructure. However, there remain challenges, such as a lack of skilled analysts and getting data to state and local officials. (5/24)

Satellite Vu Raises $15.8 Million for Thermal Imaging Constellation (Source: Space News)
Satellite Vu has raised $15.8 million for a constellation of thermal imaging satellites. Molten Ventures, an existing Satellite Vu investor, led the Series A-2 investment round announced Wednesday, with several other previous investors also participating. Satellite Vu plans to launch its first satellite, capable of high-resolution thermal imaging, in June on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare flight. If that satellite is successful, the company plans to raise a Series B round to fund the full eight-satellite constellation. (5/24)
 
Study to Examine Effects of Launch Noise on Wildlife (Source: Nature)
A three-year study will examine the effects of noise from launches on wildlife. The nearly $1 million study, funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will use cameras and audio monitors to study how birds deal with the noise from launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Scientists said base officials initiated the study because of concerns that the growing pace of launches there could affect endangered and threatened species in the area. (5/24)

India Prepares for Busy Summer in Space (Source: Times of India)
India's space agency ISRO is preparing for a busy summer that features the launch of a lunar lander mission. S Somanath, chairman of ISRO, confirmed that the agency was planning a July launch of its Chandrayaan-3 lander, although he declined to confirm reports that a specific date, July 12, has been set. A commercial PSLV launch is also scheduled for July, followed by an abort test for its Gaganyaan crewed spacecraft. ISRO's Aditya-L1 solar observatory mission will launch in August or September. (5/24)

NASA's LRO Spots Japanese Lunar Crash Site (Source: Space.com)
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has spotted the crash site of a Japanese private lunar lander. The LRO image, released Tuesday, shows several pieces of debris on the surface after the failed landing of ispace's HAKUTO-R M1 lander April 25. LRO plans to take additional images of the site in the coming months, under different lighting conditions, to better characterize the site. Ispace will hold a briefing on Friday to discuss its investigation into the failed landing. (5/24)

Russia Launches Cargo to ISS (Source: Spaceflight Now)
A Progress cargo spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station. A Soyuz-2.1a rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 8:56 a.m. Eastern and placed the Progress MS-23 spacecraft into orbit. The spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the station at approximately 12:20 p.m. Eastern today. The Progress is delivering more than 2.7 tons of supplies, equipment and other cargo for the station. (5/24)

South Korea Scrubs Launch Attempt (Source: Yonhap)
South Korea scrubbed a launch of its KSLV-2 rocket Wednesday because of a technical issue. Officials said a communications problem between a launch control computer and one on the pad prompted the scrub a few hours before the scheduled launch. The launch could be rescheduled for as soon as Thursday. The rocket, also known as Nuri, is carrying a smallsat called Nextsat-2 and several smaller payloads. The launch will be the third for the KSLV-2 after a failed launch in October 2021 and a successful one, carrying an inert payload, in June 2022. (5/24)

Internet From a Small Satellite in Geostationary Orbit? Sure, Why Not (Source: Ars Technica)
A startup space company says it has successfully deployed and tested a kitchen-stove-sized satellite in geostationary orbit and begun delivering Internet service to Alaska. Earlier this month, the 'Arcturus' satellite, built by a company named Astranis, launched as a rideshare payload on a Falcon Heavy rocket, separating a few hours after liftoff and successfully deploying its solar arrays, boom, and a subreflector.

After gaining control of the satellite, Astranis began to send commands and update the flight software before raising Arcturus' orbit and slotting it into a geostationary position directly over Alaska. Once there, the satellite linked up with an Internet gateway in Utah and communicated with multiple user terminals in Alaska, where Astranis will provide high-speed bandwidth to an Internet service provider, Pacific Dataport.

This was a huge milestone for Astranis, which was founded in 2015 by John Gedmark and Ryan McLinko, to see if microsatellites built largely in-house could deliver high-speed Internet from geostationary space at a low price. This marked the first demonstration that Astranis' small satellite technology actually worked in space and could survive the harsh radiation and thermal environment previously dominated by much larger satellites that cost hundreds of millions of dollars. (5/24)

A Holistic Approach for Launchers and Exploration in Europe (Source: ESA)
Over the past five decades, ESA has paved the way for industrial, commercial and scientific leadership for Europe in several space domains, most notably space science, earth observation, satellite-based navigation and geostationary satellite communication, building up through time a scientific, technical and industrial capability for which we Europeans can be very proud. Likewise, up until 10 years ago, Europe also dominated the commercial launcher sector. European access to space historically goes together with ESA’s priorities to support our space policy serving scientific, technological, economic and security goals.

SpaceX has undeniably changed the launcher market paradigm as we know it. With the dependable reliability of Falcon 9 and the captivating prospects of Starship, SpaceX continues to totally redefine the world’s access to space, pushing the boundaries of possibility as they go along. Once successful, Starship will carry payloads of around 100 tonnes into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) while reducing the launch cost by a factor of 10. Falcon 9 aims to launch 100 times in 2023. Click here. (5/24)

South Korea Scheduled to Launch Research Satellites on Third Nuri Flight (Source: NSF)
On the southern coast of South Korea, the first entirely home-grown launch vehicle in the country’s history is scheduled to make its third flight from the Naro Space Center. Liftoff is scheduled for 09:24 UTC on Wednesday, May 24 from Naro’s Launch Complex 2 (LC-2). The Nuri rocket, also known as KSLV-2, pioneered the use of the South Korean-developed first-stage KRE-075 SL engines. The original KSLV, also known as Naro, used a Russian Angara first stage and RD-191 engine – though it was launched from South Korea.

This is the first operational flight of the Nuri vehicle, which is carrying the 180 kg NEXTSat-2 X-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology demonstrator and four SNIPE 6U CubeSats with a total mass of 40 kg. Three other CubeSat missions, JLC-101-v1-2, Lumir-T1, and KSAT3U, are also on board. (5/23)

Rocket Lab Bolsters Neutron Rocket Program with Purchase of Virgin Orbit Long Beach California Assets (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab has been selected as a successful bidder and is finalizing an asset purchase agreement for the purchase of certain Long Beach California aerospace production and manufacturing assets from Virgin Orbit Holdings. This includes the assumption of the lease to Virgin Orbit’s 144,000+ square foot headquarters and manufacturing complex in Long Beach, California, and certain production assets, machinery, and equipment located there.

The combination of these assets with Rocket Lab’s existing production, manufacturing, and test capabilities is expected to advance the production of Rocket Lab’s larger launch vehicle, Neutron. Rocket Lab will not be integrating Virgin Orbit’s launch system within its existing launch services. "Securing the lease to the Conant Facility adds to our existing presence in Long Beach and provides co-located engineering, manufacturing, and test capabilities for our Neutron team,” said CEO Peter Beck. (5/23)

ULA Vulcan Rocket Heads Back To Launchpad (Source: Aviation Week)
United Launch Alliance (ULA) returned its first Vulcan rocket to the launchpad on May 22 in preparation for a static test firing of the booster’s dual BE-4 main engines. The Flight Readiness Firing (FRF) is expected to be the last major test of the booster ahead of launch later this year. (5/22)

UC San Diego First to Test Cancer Drugs in Space Using Private Astronaut Mission (Source: UC San Diego)
On May 21, scientists at University of California San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute launched several new nanobioreactor experiments onto the ISS via the second Axiom Space Private Astronaut Mission, Axiom Mission 2. The latest experiments expand their research on human stem cell aging, inflammation and cancer in low Earth orbit. Increasing evidence shows that microgravity conditions can accelerate aging, inflammation and immune dysfunction in human stem cells. Understanding this process is not only helpful for keeping astronauts healthy — it could also teach us how to better treat cancer on Earth. (5/22)

Space Force, IC Warily Approach Agreement on Commercial Intel Imagery Buys (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Space Force and the Intelligence Community are slowly honing in on a multi-faceted agreement about their respective roles in buying intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data from commercial satellite operators, according to officials from both sides, centering on how new contracting arrangements could foster sharing and avoid duplication.

While nothing official has yet been signed, a number of developments, unreported until now — from a new informal accord, to planned meetings with relevant officials, to discussions of a common “marketplace” for commercial buys — suggest a new push to resolve bureaucratic squabbles over the strategically critical capability. How far that gets, however, remains an open question, considering the difficulties involved and the tendencies of large organizations to cleave to the status quo. (5/22)

Instrument to Measure Asteroid Gravity Tested for Space (Source: ESA)
The first instrument to directly measure gravity on the surface of an asteroid has undergone testing in ESA’s Mechanical Systems Laboratory. The GRASS gravimeter will be landed on the surface of the Dimorphos asteroid aboard the Juventas CubeSat – which will itself be deployed from ESA’s Hera mission for planetary defence – and is designed to measure an expected gravity level of less than a millionth of Earth’s own. (5/22)

Axiom’s Second Flight Paves the Way for a Commercial Space Station (Source: WIRED)
The ISS will be active through 2030. In 2021, the agency assigned contracts to a trio of companies—Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, and Nanoracks—to develop competing designs. NASA awarded a separate contract to Axiom in 2020 to develop a habitable module to attach to the ISS, with up to three modules to follow. The first one is expected to launch in late 2025, and once NASA and its partners decommission and deorbit the ISS, Axiom’s modules will detach and merge with each other, becoming a standalone space station.

But in the interim, private passengers and seasoned space agency astronauts will need to learn how to live and work side by side. Over time, as the number of visitors and modules add up, the interactions between Axiom passengers and traditional astronauts could change, especially once the private customers essentially have their own orbital hotel rooms.

As Axiom gets more spaceflights under its belt, the company has been refining its 150-hour passenger training routine. (Shoffner has been through lengthier training, since he was a backup crew member for Ax-1.) Following Ax-1, Axiom added more practice with the software tools the crew will use on orbit to manage their day-to-day tasks. (5/22)

From Moonwalks to Moon Rocks: The Fascinating Science of Lunar Exploration and Environmental Study (Source: Altair)
The exploration of the moon has been one of the most significant achievements in human history. The moon has captured our imagination for centuries, and the idea of exploring it has been a dream of humanity for generations. The moon is a unique celestial body, and its exploration has provided us with invaluable information about our planet, the universe, and ourselves. In this article, we will take a journey through time and explore the history of lunar exploration, the science behind it, what we have learned, and the future plans for lunar exploration. Click here. (5/23)

Damage to Lunar Orbiting Spacecraft Caused by the Ejecta of Lunar Landers (Source: Arxiv)
This manuscript analyzes lunar lander soil erosion models and trajectory models to calculate how much damage will occur to spacecraft orbiting in the vicinity of the Moon. The soil erosion models have considerable uncertainty due to gaps in our understanding of the basic physics. The results for ~40 t landers show that the Lunar Orbital Gateway will be impacted by 1000s to 10,000s of particles per square meter but the particle sizes are very small and the impact velocity is low so the damage will be slight.

However, a spacecraft in Low Lunar Orbit that happens to pass through the ejecta sheet will sustain extensive damage with hundreds of millions of impacts per square meter: although they are small, they are in the hypervelocity regime, and exposed glass on the spacecraft will sustain spallation over 4% of its surface. Click here. (5/20)

Air Force Research Lab to Fund Development of Ursa Major’s Rocket Engines (Source: Space News)
Rocket propulsion startup Ursa Major announced May 23 it won a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory contract to support the development of two of the company’s rocket engines. The Colorado-based company said it could not disclose the value of the agreement but said it is an “eight-figure” contract,, larger than a previous $3.6 million Air Force contract it received last year for development of Ursa Major’s Hadley engine for small launch vehicles.

The new contract funds development of the company’s Draper engine for hypersonic vehicles and its 200,000-pound thrust Arroway engine for larger rockets. “Under the contract, Ursa Major will build and test a prototype of its new Draper engine for hypersonics, and further develop its 200,000-pound thrust Arroway engine for space launch,” the company said. (5/23)

TRL11 Raises $3M for Space Video (Source: Payload)
TRL11, a startup aiming to bring advanced video production and monitoring capabilities to the space domain, has raised a $3M pre-seed to scale up its team and production. Founder Nicolaas Verheem hails from the world of media and entertainment, where he founded a company, Teradek, that allowed productions to shoot video wirelessly with no delay in transmission for the first time. Now, with TRL11, he is bringing his expertise in low-latency video technology to the space domain.

The name references Technology Readiness Levels, a government measure of tech viability—on a scale from one to nine. “And we wanted to say, ‘Always take it to 11,’” Verheem told Payload. While Verheem sees various potential uses for video in space, TRL11 is first planning to tackle space situational awareness—specifically, self-awareness. Verheem sees that video capability applied across other spacecraft—OTVs in particular—to identify potential problems with deployment so they can be addressed quickly, before they become mission-ending anomalies. (5/23)

Sea-Based Launch Pads Not New (Source: The Spaceport Company)
Unlike ground-based commercial launch sites, The Spaceport Company’s sea-based platforms would not need an FAA spaceport license known as Part 420. “It comes down to how we define a spaceport, which is a fixed location on Earth, and his moves,” said Pam Underwood, director of the FAA’s Office of Spaceports, on the panel.

Both she and Tom Marotta, though, said safety issues would be captured in the separate launch license for the vehicle launching from that platform. “We still meet the same safety criteria as a site with a Part 420 license. It’s just captured entirely under the vehicle license,” he said. “We are just as safe and just as sustainable.”

Marotta said The Spaceport Company will soon announce “deepening partnerships” with launch providers. It has a memorandum of understanding with Virginia Space, which operates the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, to study how the company’s platforms could be used to augment the spaceport’s existing launch facilities. (4/18)

Three Companies to Buy Most Virgin Orbit Assets (Source: Space News)
Three companies submitted winning bids at a bankruptcy auction for most of the assets of Virgin Orbit, ending any chance that company could return to flight under new ownership. Rocket Lab, Stratolaunch, and Vast made the winning bids for separate segments of the company’s assets, including manufacturing facilities and its Boeing 747 aircraft.

Rocket Lab bid $16.1 million for the lease on Virgin Orbit’s main production facility in Long Beach, California, along with machinery and equipment there. Rocket Lab has its headquarters and a production facility a couple blocks away. Launcher, a launch vehicle company acquired by space station developer Vast in February, bid $2.7 million for Virgin Orbit’s lease on a test site in Mojave, California, along with machinery, equipment and inventory there. While Launcher discontinued plans to build a launch vehicle after the acquisition, it said it would continue work on the E-2 rocket engine it had been developing for it, planning to offer it to other customers.

The bankruptcy auction also accepted the $17 million bid from Stratolaunch for Virgin Orbit’s Boeing 747 and related equipment.  Stratolaunch currently operates its custom-designed Roc aircraft that it uses as a launch platform for hypersonic vehicles it is developing. Sales of two other segments of Virgin Orbit assets have yet to be finalized. Machinery and equipment in another Virgin Orbit facility in Long Beach have been provisionally sold to Inliper Acquisition LLC, a liquidation company, for $650,000. Some assets were not sold at auction, including several LauncherOne rockets in various stages of production. (5/23)