May 30, 2023

Boeing Begins Construction of New Advanced Coatings Center in Missouri (Source: Airforce Technology)
Boeing has started construction of a new advanced coatings center in St. Louis, Missouri, to support the post-assembly phases of future aerospace vehicles. The new Advanced Coatings Center will be operated by Phantom Works, a Boeing division focused on research, development and prototyping. The program will allow Boeing to scale a platform-agnostic, modular and flexible digital production system for deployment across future defence programs.

This marks the third new facility as part of Phantom Works’ Production System of the Future program. Last fall, the company opened the new purpose-built Advanced Composite Fabrication Center in Mesa, Arizona. Boeing also opened a Laboratory and Test facility in St. Louis.  Additional facilities are planned in coming years. Missouri Governor Mike Parson said: “With more than 15,000 employees, Boeing is Missouri’s largest manufacturer that helps spur this state’s economic growth every day. This new facility shows our commitment to growth and our investment in the talented workforce.” (5/29)

Moving (Too) Fast, Musk Riles Locals in Texas (Source: Daily Mail)
Musk has begun spending billions to build campuses for SpaceX and Boring Company across the Lone Star State, with the co-sign of Republican Governor Greg Abbott. Despite widespread approval of Musk and the jobs and industry he's bringing to Texas, many are saying he's simply moving too fast. Local officials have had their own complaints, with the Bastrop County's former director of engineering and development saying they were 'regularly hounded' by Boring Company staff, according to the Washington Post. He argued they were consistently trying 'to expedite and approve permit applications that are incomplete and not in compliance.' (5/29)

SpaceX Preparing for August Starship/Super Heavy Launch (Source: The Street)
Just hours after the April 20 Starship explosion, Musk said SpaceX would likely attempt another flight "in 1 to 2 months." ... "3 months ago, we started building a massive water-cooled, steel plate to go under the launch mount," the tech mogul said on April 21, just 24 hours after the explosion. "Wasn’t ready in time & we wrongly thought, based on static fire data, that Fondag would make it through 1 launch... Looks like we can be ready to launch again in 1 to 2 months," he added without providing an exact date.

He has just given an update with new, more precise details. These new elements suggest that the next attempt could take place in August. "Another step closer to Mars — the first flight test of a fully integrated Starship and Super Heavy rocket," SpaceX posted on Twitter on May 26, with behind-the-scenes and the April flight footage. To what Musk said: "Major launchpad upgrades should be complete in about a month, then another month of rocket testing on pad, then flight 2 of Starship." (5/28)

Japan Will Try to Beam Solar Power From Space by 2025 (Source: Engadget)
Japan and JAXA have spent decades trying to make it possible to beam solar energy from space. In 2015, the nation made a breakthrough when JAXA scientists successfully beamed 1.8 kilowatts of power, enough energy to power an electric kettle, more than 50 meters to a wireless receiver. Now, Japan is poised to bring the technology one step closer to reality. A Japanese public-private partnership will attempt to beam solar energy from space as early as 2025. The project, led by Naoki Shinohara, a Kyoto University professor, will attempt to deploy a series of small satellites in orbit. Those will then try to beam the solar energy the arrays collect to ground-based receiving stations hundreds of miles away. (5/28)

China Launches Crew to TSS (Source: Space News)
China launched a new crew to its Tiangong space station overnight. A Long March 2F rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 9:31 p.m. Eastern Monday, placing the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft into orbit. The spacecraft docked with Tiangong seven hours later. The spacecraft is commanded by Jing Haipeng, making his fourth spaceflight, with Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao on board. Zhu and Gui are the first members of the third class of Chinese astronauts, selected in 2020, to go to space; Gui is the first Chinese civilian to fly. The three will relieve the Shenzhou-15 crew who have been on Tiangong since November. That crew is slated to return to Earth on Saturday. (5/30)

China Plans Human Moon Missions by 2030 (Source: Space News)
Chinese officials announced plans to land humans on the moon by 2030. At a briefing Monday, officials said they were moving ahead with plans to develop a new launch vehicle, crewed spacecraft, lander and spacesuits needed for a landing by the end of the decade. The launch vehicle, called Long March 10, will be based on the Long March 5, with a test launch scheduled for 2027. The initial landing mission will be a short-term stay lasting just six hours, but will be the basis for longer-term missions to create a base at the lunar south pole. (5/30)

DARPA and BAE Plan AI-Supported Satellite Tracking (Source: Space News)
DARPA is working with companies to develop AI tools to automate the tracking of data collected by military satellites. BAE Systems won a $7 million contract for the project, called Oversight, with several other companies also involved. The Oversight program will pursue AI-enabled software that autonomously maintains constant "custody" of a large number of targets tracked by satellites. (5/30)

A Milestone for Parabolic Flight (Source: Space Daily)
On 23 May 2023, at 09:00, a very special Airbus A310 taxied to the runway at Bordeaux-Merignac Airport. The aircraft set off on a special flight - the first of a total of three flights that make up the 40th parabolic flight campaign of the German Space Agency at DLR, which will take place in Bordeaux from 15 to 25 May 2023. On board are 11 experiments - three from the fields of biology and human physiology and eight related to fundamental physics, technology and materials science. (5/24)

Deloitte Adding a Space Entity to its Repertoire (Source: (FNN)
The accounting firm Deloitte recently announced the launch of a formal space practice to connect organizations in rapidly growing global space ecosystem. It hopes to start consulting small and large organizations navigate an industry that’s forecasted to grow to more than $1 trillion by 2040. To find out more, I chatted with Brett Loubert who is principal of Deloitte Space. Click here. (5/29)

DARPA Launches Initiative to Help Tech Companies Work on Classified Programs (Source: Space News)
Greg Kuperman, program manager at DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office, worries that innovations emerging from the commercial space industry will never reach potential customers in the U.S. military. Discussions about next-generation technologies, particularly in the space sector, quickly veer into classified territory, and many commercial businesses developing these technologies don’t have security clearances. So much of the leading-edge technology is coming from commercial businesses and startups that DoD never hears about.

Kuperman is looking to attract more space businesses to work with DARPA. He currently oversees a program trying to develop low-cost optical satellite terminals, and a separate project seeking innovation in space sensors for low Earth orbit. Satellite antennas — including design, materials and manufacturing techniques — that can increase performance at less weight and cost are a key area of interest for DARPA, he said. “But in order to actually appropriately say what the problem is, I need to have a conversation at the classified level.” (5/30)