June 6, 2023

Should Future Mars Missions Have All-Female Crews? (Source: Space.com)
Given NASA's ambitious plans to land astronauts on Mars by 2040, a hot topic of debate has been who will get to represent humanity on the Red Planet. At the center of that discourse is the 70-year-old argument that an all-female crew would make the most sense both biologically and psychologically, and not just as a matter of diversity and representation.

This argument is backed up by numerous scientific studies that cite the fact that an all-female crew would consume fewer resources than an all-male crew would, making the long-distance journey to Mars more efficient. However, many experts say this argument is no longer relevant and that a diverse crew would ultimately perform better. (6/6)

NASA Picks SBIR and STTR Projects (Source: GeekWire)
NASA is investing $45 million in hundreds of small businesses to work on new space technologies. The agency said Monday it selected 300 proposals from 249 small businesses and 39 research institutions for awards that are each worth $150,000 to study the feasibility of new technologies through the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. Selected proposals range from new spacecraft docking technologies to power beaming. (6/6)

Former Spaceport Cornwall Chief Joins Slingshot (Source: Sky News)
The former head of Spaceport Cornwall is taking a new job with a unit of Slingshot Aerospace. Melissa Quinn will become general manager of Seradata, which performs space market research and was acquired last year by Slingshot. Quinn stepped down as head of Spaceport Cornwall last month, saying at the time she was pursuing a new opportunity in the space sector.  The spaceport hosted in January a failed launch by Virgin Orbit, a company that filed for bankruptcy in April. (6/6)

Trottenberg May Step in as Interim FAA Head (Source: Reuters)
Deputy US Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg may assume the role of interim Federal Aviation Administration Administrator, sources say, as the acting leader Billy Nolen prepares to step down and a new nominee for the position has not yet been named. Nolen is reportedly going to take a role at electric air taxi firm Archer Aviation. (6/4)

L3Harris to Design Space Force Tracking Sensor (Source: Defense News)
The US Space Force has awarded a $29 million contract to L3Harris Technologies to design a sensor for its upcoming Resilient Missile Warning and Tracking satellite constellation. This is in addition to existing contracts with Millennium Space Systems and Raytheon Technologies to develop sensor prototypes for the same satellites, which will be positioned in medium Earth orbit. (6/5)

Blue Origin to Resume New Shepard Launches (Source: Space News)
Blue Origin's CEO says the company will be ready to resume New Shepard launches in the next few weeks. Bob Smith said at a conference in London Tuesday that the company was finalizing work with with the FAA to allow the resumption of New Shepard flights, which had been grounded since an in-flight anomaly last September. Blue Origin blamed that failure to a problem with the engine nozzle on the vehicle. Smith said that New Shepard should be ready to resume suborbital flights in the "next few weeks." He did not provide an updated schedule for the company's New Glenn orbital launch vehicle, whose first launch has been delayed by several years, but said Blue Origin was making good progress on it. (6/6)

Psyche Back on Track After Software Problems (Source: Space News)
An independent review concluded that both the Psyche mission and JPL are back on track after software problems delayed the mission's launch. NASA released Monday a report by an independent review board that assessed how NASA implemented recommendations it made last fall after Psyche missed its 2022 launch window. It concluded that Psyche was in good shape to meet a new October 2023 launch, and that JPL had implemented measures to address institutional problems like a strained workforce and poor internal communications. NASA said it plans to share the findings with other centers working on NASA science missions. (6/6)

Inmarsat Acquisition Propels Impressive Viasat Growth (Source: Space News)
Viasat's $6.2 billion Inmarsat acquisition has created a satellite communications behemoth. That acquisition will help Viasat generate $4.5 billion in revenue for the 12 months to March 31, according to one analyst, nearly 60% more than its forecast without Inmarsat. That revenue is more than even what even Intelsat and SES, two of the largest GEO satellite operators, would generate if they do decide to merge. Viasat will generate $1.6 billion in adjusted EBITDA in the same period, versus $549 million without Inmarsat. (6/6)

TSS Cargo Craft Repositions (Source: Xinhua)
A Chinese cargo spacecraft has returned to the Tiangong space station. The Tianzhou-5 spacecraft docked with Tiangong at 3:10 p.m. Monday, 33 days after departing the station. The cargo spacecraft left to enable the handover between the Shenzhou-15 and -16 spacecraft. Chinese officials did not disclose how long Tianzhou-5 will stay at the station. (6/6)

EOSDA Gains Data From New Satellite (Source: Space News)
EOS Data Analytics (EOSDA) is now getting data from a satellite that is also a testbed for a new thruster. EOS Sat-1, built by Dragonfly Aerospace, launched in January and is now supplying data for EOSDA and its agricultural applications. The satellite includes a Hall effect thruster from Ukrainian startup Space Electric Thruster Systems that was tested in space for the first time on that satellite. All three companies are part of the Noosphere space group, established in 2015 by entrepreneur Max Polyakov to create an integrated space business. (6/6)

Nearly Two Decades After NASA, China and Europe Eye Commercial Cargo Plans (Source: Ars Technica)
In just the last month, both the European and Chinese space agencies have issued a call for private companies to develop the capability to deliver cargo to space stations in low-Earth orbit. On May 11, the European Space Agency announced a "Commercial Cargo Transportation Initiative" that would see one or more providers develop the capability to deliver 2 metric tons to the International Space Station by 2028 and be capable of safely returning 1 ton to Earth. Each proposing company must procure its own rocket for a demonstration mission.

Less than a week later, on May 16, the China Manned Space Engineering Office announced a "Low-cost Cargo Transportation System" plan to hire private companies to deliver cargo to its Tiangong space station. Eligible providers must be capable of delivering at least 1.8 tons to low-Earth orbit. The Chinese spacecraft do not need to return cargo but should be able to dispose of 2 metric tons. The Chinese space agency said it would pay no more than $17.2 million per ton of cargo delivered. (6/6)

Evidence Mounting That Avio Intends to Split from Arianespace (Source: European Spaceflight)
Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo told Wired that work being done on a reusable demonstrator may be a prelude to an entirely new product line for the company. Ranzo’s made the statements during an interview with the Italian version of the technology website as part of its “Italy, Place of Innovation” series of articles. Ranzo stated that an in-flight demonstrator that the company had received European covid recovery funds to develop will determine whether it is “feasible” for Avio to develop reusable launch vehicles.

The vehicle in question is the two-stage In-Flight Demonstrator (IFD) which will be used to validate the company’s M60 and M10 methane-fueled rocket engines and to experiment with first stage reentry and reusability. If the experimentation is successful, Ranzo stated that he does not exclude the possibility of opening a new “innovative, cleaner, and less expensive product line.” This appears to be even more evidence that the company is eyeing a split from Arianespace which currently manages the marketing and launch of Avio’s Vega line of launch vehicles. (6/6)

Intelligence Officials Say US Has Retrieved Craft of Non-Human Origin (Source: The Debrief)
A former intelligence official turned whistleblower has given Congress and the Intelligence Community Inspector General extensive classified information about deeply covert programs that he says possess retrieved intact and partially intact craft of non-human origin. The information, he says, has been illegally withheld from Congress, and he filed a complaint alleging that he suffered illegal retaliation for his confidential disclosures. Other intelligence officials with knowledge of these programs have independently provided similar, corroborating information, both on and off the record.

The whistleblower, David Charles Grusch, is a veteran of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). He served as the reconnaissance office’s representative to the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force from 2019-2021. From late 2021 to July 2022, he was the NGA’s co-lead for UAP analysis and its representative to the task force. Grusch said that the craft recovery operations are ongoing at various levels of activity and that he knows the specific individuals, current and former, who are involved.

“His assertion concerning the existence of a terrestrial arms race occurring sub-rosa over the past eighty years focused on reverse engineering technologies of unknown origin is fundamentally correct, as is the indisputable realization that at least some of these technologies of unknown origin derive from non-human intelligence,” said Karl Nell, the retired Army Colonel who worked with Grusch on the UAP Task Force. Congress has not been provided with any physical materials related to wreckage or other non-human objects. (6/5)

Digital Twins Gaining Traction in Military Satellite Programs (Source: Space News)
Digital twins for years have been hyped as the next big thing in the space industry. While the technology is still evolving, companies in this sector see a growing demand for digital engineering tools to design complex satellite networks. The Space Force is using a digital twin to plan an experiment called Tetra 5, to refuel satellites in orbit. “This is an example of a program that requires the delivery of a digital twin along with the physical system,” said Robbie Robertson. (6/5)

SpaceX Launches Cargo to ISS From Florida Spaceport (Source: NSF)
SpaceX launched the Crew Resupply Mission 28 (CRS-28) mission to the ISS on June 5 from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. CRS-28 will resupply the ISS with equipment and supplies needed by Station astronauts and hardware for the coming months, as well as science experiments developed by different agencies, companies, and organizations from around the world. Furthermore, tucked away in Dragon’s trunk are two new iROSA solar panels for the Station. The rocket's first stage was successfully recovered downrange for re-use. (6/5)

Space Forge introduces Returnable, Relaunchable Satellite Platform (Source: Space Forge)
Space Forge reveals their patent protected design of a planet-friendly reusable re-entry system, which will enable the low cost and reliable return of satellites to Earth. Click here. (5/22)

NASA Holds First Vietnam Space Week (Source: VN Express)
The first ever Vietnam Space Week is taking place from June 5-9 in HCMC, Hau Giang and Binh Dinh provinces, with participation of NASA experts. According to the Ho Chi Minh City Computer Association, the host of the event, Vietnam is the first country in Southeast Asia chosen by a NASA Space Week event, which has been held annually in different countries since 2000. Joining the event are Michael A. Baker, former astronaut of NASA and former captain of the U.S. Navy, and Josef Schmid, a NASA flight surgeon and a major general in the United States Air Force Reserves. (6/4)

Could NASA and SpaceX Mount a Joint Mission to Mars? (Source: The Hill)
Both SpaceX and NASA are developing two initiatives that, if put together, would make for a pretty robust mission to Mars. The SpaceX Starship could move 180 metric tons to the Martian surface. If the Starship is combined with a nuclear engine, it could do so in a matter of weeks and not the months that a conventional rocket would require.

A decision to make the mission to Mars a public/commercial partnership will simply extend the NASA approach to space that began with the commercial replacements for the space shuttle, such as the crewed Dragon, and the commercial lunar landers, SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon. Musk gets help to fulfill his dream of a Mars colony. NASA gets to accomplish its decades-old dream of planting the first footsteps on the Martian surface.

The engineering task of integrating a nuclear component into the SpaceX Starship will be formidable. Should Starship be outfitted with nuclear thermal engines? Possibly the best solution would be for NASA to develop a separate nuclear propulsion stage, launch it separately into low Earth orbit and have the Starship dock with it before heading to Mars. (6/4)

Chinese TSS Experiment Samples Head to Labs After Capsule Reentry (Source: Xinhua)
A new batch of scientific experiment samples has been brought back to Earth with the return capsule of China's Shenzhou-15 manned spaceship from China's space station Tiangong, the Science and Technology Daily reported Monday. The samples have been delivered to the scientists of the space application system for subsequent research and studies. The space application system, along with the return capsule of the Shenzhou-15 spaceship, sent back the experimental samples of a total of 15 scientific projects, according to the report. (6/5)

Barbarian in Space: the Secret Space-Laser Battle Station of the Cold War (Source:; Space Review)
In 1987, the Soviet Union launched a spacecraft called Polyus intended to be a prototype of a system to disable American satellites with lasers. Dwayne Day and Robert Kennedy discuss the history of this secret, and unsuccessful, response to America’s Strategic Defense Initiative. Click here. (6/5)
 
Whither Starliner? (Source: Space Review)
Days after a SpaceX Crew Dragon splashed down after its tenth crew flight, Boeing and NASA announced another delay in the first crewed flight of the CST-100 Starliner. Jeff Foust reports on the diverging fortunes of the two commercial crew vehicles. Click here. (6/5)

Cultural Considerations in Space Exploration: Insights for NASA’s Artemis 2 Mission (Source: Space Review)
When the four Artemis 2 astronauts embark on their mission, they will be going to a destination not visited by humans in more than 50 years. Deana Weibel examines some of the cultural implications of that mission, including seeing sights no active astronaut has seen before. Click here. (6/5)
 
A Review of Japan’s Space Policy After the H3 Launch Vehicle Failure (Source: Space Review)
The failure of the first H3 rocket in March had implications beyond that vehicle development program. Junji Miyazawa explains how policy decisions in Japan shaped that failure and how the government should change those policies. Click here. (6/5)