May 26, 2023

Space Nation Day Event Held at Permian Basin Petroleum Museum (Source: NewsWest 9)
The Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland Texas had a free admission because Space Nation Day, which aims to educate the public on both space exploration and the oil and gas industry. Space Nation, a company focused on space exploration and training, teamed up with the petroleum museum in Midland for the event. What brought the two organizations together were the parallels between space exploration and the oil and gas industry. (5/22)

ispace "HAKUTO-R" Lunar Lander Crashed After Altitude Measurement Problem (Source: ispace)
ispace has reviewed and completed the analysis of the flight data from its HAKUTO-R Mission 1 landing sequence on April 26, 2023. The flight data was obtained by operations specialists at ispace’s Mission Control Center in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. The analysis reveals that the lander fully completed the entire planned deceleration process, slowing to the target speed of less than 1 m/s in a vertical position, but at an unexpected altitude of approximately 5 kms above the lunar surface.

Although the lander did not complete a soft landing, the cause has been identified and improvements are being incorporated into Mission 2 and Mission 3. During the period of descent, an unexpected behavior occurred with the lander’s altitude measurement. While the lander estimated its own altitude to be zero, or on the lunar surface, it was later determined to be at an altitude of approximately 5 kms above the lunar surface. After reaching the scheduled landing time, the lander continued to descend at a low speed until the propulsion system ran out of fuel. At that time, the controlled descent of the lander ceased, and it is believed to have free-fallen to the Moon’s surface.

The most likely reason for the lander’s incorrect altitude estimation was that the software did not perform as expected. Based on the review of the flight data, it was observed that, as the lander was navigating to the planned landing site, the altitude measured by the onboard sensors rose sharply when it passed over a large cliff approximately 3 kms in elevation on the lunar surface, which was determined to be the rim of a crater. According to the analysis of the flight data, a larger-than-expected discrepancy occurred between the measured altitude value and the estimated altitude value set in advance. (5/26)

L3Harris Wins $80 Million Air Force Contract for Satcom Experiments (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory awarded L3Harris Technologies a contract worth $80.8 million to conduct communications experiments using multiple commercial space internet services. Under a program called Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI), AFRL is working with defense contractors and commercial satcom providers to figure out how to integrate commercial space internet services with military platforms and weapon systems. (5/26)

Daytona Museum Spotlights James Webb Space Telescope in New Exhibit (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
When NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope’s first images were revealed in July 2022, the details were stunning, even for most people seeing them on just their computer screen or cellphone. Those images and more released in the past 10 months, though, get a much grander stage with a new exhibit titled “Unfolding the Universe: The James Webb Space Telescope” open to the public starting Saturday at the Museum of Arts & Sciences in Daytona Beach. (5/19)

Blue Origin to Expand Engine Manufacturing in Alabama (Source: LA Times)
Blue Origin will further expand a rocket engine manufacturing plant in Alabama. The Huntsville City Council approved Thursday the sale of nearly 15 acres adjacent to Blue Origin's facility, which will be used to expand the factory. The company opened the 37,000-square-meter plant in 2020 and is completing an expansion to add 18,500 square meters. The new property would allow the company to effectively duplicate its original factory next door. (5/26)

Supernova Spotted by Japanese Astronomer (Source: Space.com)
A supernova in a relatively nearby galaxy has grabbed the attention of astronomers. The supernova was spotted by a Japanese astronomer last week in the Pinwheel Galaxy, also known as M101, 21 million light-years away. It is the closest supernova in a decade and is bright enough to be seen in small telescopes. (5/26)

Northrop Grumman to Launch Space Force Weather Satellite on Minotaur (Source: Space News)
Northrop Grumman won a $45.5 million contract to launch a small weather satellite in 2025, the U.S. Space Force announced May 25. The company’s Minotaur 4 rocket will launch a payload called Electro-Optical Infrared (EO/IR) Weather System (EWS) prototype that will demonstrate commercial weather imaging technologies for military use. The launch contract was a task order awarded by the U.S. Space Force’s Orbital Services Program-4. (5/25)

Orbit Fab Selects Impulse Space’s Orbital Vehicle for In-Space Refueling Demo (Source: Space News)
Orbit Fab announced May 25 it selected an orbital vehicle made by Impulse Space to host a fuel depot for an in-orbit refueling demonstration funded by the U.S. military. A startup planning to offer in-orbit refueling services, Orbit Fab will seek to refuel the U.S. Space Force Tetra-5 spacecraft with up to 50 kilograms of hydrazine. The demonstration, planned for 2025, was funded by the Space Force and the Defense Innovation Unit. (5/25)

SpaceX Investment in Starship Approaches $5 Billion (Source: Space News)
The company filed a motion to intervene last week in a suit brought by several environmental groups against the FAA regarding the agency's approval of plans by SpaceX to launch from Boca Chica, Texas. SpaceX seeks to become a defendant in the case, arguing it would be financially harmed if the plaintiffs win the case and strip SpaceX of its Starship launch license. SpaceX's CFO said in the filing the company has spent more than $3 billion to date on Starship, including launch infrastructure at Boca Chica, and CEO Elon Musk said last month he expects to spend about $2 billion on Starship this year. (5/26)

Virgin Galactic Flies Again From Spaceport America (Source: Space News)
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo made its first suborbital spaceflight in nearly two years Thursday. The vehicle, named VSS Unity, launched from its VMS Eve carrier aircraft at 12:23 p.m. Eastern, reaching a peak altitude of 87.2 kilometers before gliding back to a runway landing at Spaceport America in New Mexico. There were two pilots and four company mission specialists on the flight, the first to go to space since a July 2021 mission that carried company founder Richard Branson.

Unlike other commercial spaceflight companies, Virgin Galactic did not webcast the launch, providing only a trickle of social media text updates. This was the last test flight planned for SpaceShipTwo before beginning commercial service with a flight for the Italian Air Force scheduled for as soon as late June. (5/26)

NASA Panel: Don't Rush Boeing CST-100 (Source: Space News)
A NASA safety panel urged the agency not to rush into a crewed test flight of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner this summer. At a meeting Thursday, the chair of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, Patricia Sanders, said NASA still had considerable work to do to certify Starliner for that crewed mission, currently scheduled for launch as soon as July 21 with two NASA astronauts on board. "That should not be flown until safety risks can either be mitigated or accepted," she said, citing work certifying parachutes, testing software and mitigating battery concerns. She recommended NASA "step back and take a measured look" at the remaining work on Starliner, perhaps through an independent review. (5/26)

Viasat Acquisition of Inmarsat Clears All Regulatory Hurdles (Source: Space News)
Viasat's acquisition of Inmarsat has cleared all its remaining regulatory approvals. The European Commission provided unconditional approval of the deal Thursday, days after the FCC in the U.S. signed off on the acquisition. The companies said they expect to complete the transaction by the end of May, transforming U.S.-based Viasat into a global connectivity provider across multiple spectrum bands. (5/26)

Rocket Lab Launches Second Pair of TROPICS Satellites (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab launched a second pair of NASA storm-monitoring cubesats overnight. The company's Electron rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 11:46 p.m. Eastern Thursday and deployed the two TROPICS cubesats into their planned orbit. The satellites join two others launched on another Electron earlier this month, forming a four-satellite constellation to track the development of tropical storms. The launch, the 37th for the Electron, took place almost exactly six years after the first Electron launch. (5/26)

South Korea Launches Eight Satellites, All But One Successfully Deployed (Source: Space News)
One of eight satellites launched on a South Korean rocket Thursday is unaccounted for. One of four 6U cubesats for the SNIPE space science constellation may not have deployed from the rocket, officials said hours after the launch of the KSLV-2 rocket. Those officials still considered the launch a success, noting the deployment of the other seven satellites, including the primary payload, the NEXTSat-2 technology demonstration satellite. (5/26)

Kleos Partners with General Atomics for RF Constellation Analytics (Source: Space News)
Kleos Space announced a partnership this week with General Atomics. The agreement is designed to make it easier for analysts to derive insights from radio-frequency (RF) data collected by Kleos Space's constellation. Kleos will create new RF data products for General Atomics' Optix cloud-based data processing and analytics platform. (5/26)

New Florida Law Shields Companies From Human Spaceflight Liability (Source: Rolling Stone)
Florida's governor has signed a bill regarding spaceflight on Thursday just one day after he announced his presidential run. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law CS/SB 1318 – Spaceflight Entity Liability along with 27 other bills. The law exempts “spaceflight entity from liability for injury to or death of a crew resulting from spaceflight activities under certain circumstances.” The measure also requires “a spaceflight entity to have a crew sign a specified warning statement.” (5/26)