April 11, 2024

Artemis Ups Japanese Participation with Two Planned Moonwalkers (Source: Space News)
Two Japanese astronauts will walk on the moon on future Artemis missions under a new agreement with NASA. NASA and the Japanese government announced Wednesday that Japan will provide a pressurized lunar rover to be delivered by NASA to the lunar surface ahead of the Artemis 7 mission in the early 2030s. NASA, in exchange, will provide seats for Japanese astronauts on two landing missions, making Japan the first nation after the U.S. to land its astronauts on the moon under Artemis. The announcement did not disclose what missions the Japanese astronauts will get to fly on. (4/11)

Kendall Remains Opposed to Space National Guard (Source: Air and Space Forces)
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall says he remains opposed to a Space National Guard. Kendall said Wednesday that a National Guard space component "doesn't make any sense" and is the "worst option" for how to handle Air National Guard space units. The Air Force has proposed moving some of those units into the active-duty Space Force, a proposal that the governors of Colorado and Utah oppose. (4/11)

CCT Forms Spaceport Development Partnership (Source: CCT)
Command and Control Technologies Corporation is pleased to announce the formation of the Spaceport Development Partnership. A consortium of small businesses experienced in all aspects of the development of critical ground system infrastructure for space launch and testing operations. Partnership representatives are attending the Space Symposium this week. CCT has a 25+ year history of supporting major launch and range programs and customers including Northrop Grumman Antares, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority, the Alaska Aerospace Corporation and NASA Wallops Flight Facility. (4/10)

Angara Heavy-Lift Rocket Debuts at Vostochny Spaceport (Source: AP)
The third time was the charm for Russia's Angara rocket. The Angara-A5 rocket lifted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome at 5 a.m. Eastern Thursday after scrubs the previous two days. The launch was primarily a test flight for the rocket, intended to eventually replace the Proton, and the first Angara-A5 rocket to launch from Vostochny. (4/11)

Space Force Digitizing Spaceport Infrastructure (Source: Space News)
Spaceport infrastructure is finally moving into the digital age. The U.S. Space Force is now embarking on a comprehensive overhaul of the IT infrastructure used at mission control centers at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The antiquated IT architecture at both major launch ranges means that critical software applications, such as those used for tracking vehicle telemetry data, monitoring environmental conditions and predicting weather, operate in disconnected silos rather than as an integrated enterprise system. Upgrades will help enable higher launch rates at the spaceports. (4/11)

SDA and Norway Test Space Data Network (Source: Space News)
The Space Development Agency is working closely with Norway to test the communications network underpinning its constellation. SDA is installing an antenna in northern Norway to improve the geographic distribution of ground stations used by SDA satellites. SDA is also testing Link 16, an encrypted tactical data protocol used in NATO radios, with Norwegian forces. (4/11)

Companies Partner for Bigger Role in ESA's HydRON (Source: Space News)
Kepler Communications is partnering with Airbus Defence and Space and Tesat-Spacecom on an optical relay network in LEO. The companies signed an agreement seeking a bigger role in the European Space Agency's High Throughput Optical Network (HydRON) program. HydRON envisages a multi-orbit, terabit-per-second transport network for extending the reach of fiber networks on the ground. In the new consortium, Kepler plans to leverage technology it is already developing for its own LEO optical data relay network that will enable continuous communications with LEO satellites. (4/11)

Orion Plans Cubesats to Support Military Weather Needs (Source: Space News)
A company hopes to demonstrate how cubesat-class satellite can provide critical weather data for the military. Orion Space Solutions launched a 12U cubesat last month to test technologies for the Space Force's Electro-Optical/Infrared Weather System (EWS) program. The military is considering deploying a distributed architecture to monitor weather conditions from space in a more affordable way. A second, much larger EWS satellite is being developed by General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems for delivery in 2025. (4/10)

Rotating Detonation Design Boosts Drone Speed (Source: Live Science)
Venus Aerospace successfully conducted the first test flight of a drone equipped with its "rotating detonation rocket engine," nearly reaching the speed of sound. The firm plans to utilize this design to develop ultra-fast commercial aircraft in the future. (4/10)

Rocket Lab Advances Electron Rocket Reusability with Successful Stage Reflight Preparation (Source: Space Daily)
Rocket Lab unveiled plans to reintegrate a previously flown Electron rocket's first stage tank into its production line, marking a crucial step towards achieving the first reflight of the stage. This move underscores Rocket Lab's objective to position the Electron as the first reusable small orbital launch vehicle globally. The company has achieved multiple successful recoveries of Electron first stages, employing parachutes to guide them back to Earth, landing in the ocean, and then transporting them back to the production facility by a modified boat. (4/11)

MDA Space Defines The Next Generation Of Robotics With New MDA Skymaker Product Line (Source: Space Daily)
MDA Space announced MDA SKYMAKERTM, a new suite of space robotics purpose-built to meet the diverse needs of our customers' most ambitious missions. MDA SKYMAKERTM, the world's leading space robotics technology and services, is now available for all missions and applications. Derived from peerless Canadarm technology, MDA SKYMAKERTM provides innovative space companies and ventures with access to the world's most flight-proven space robotics solutions and services, supporting a diverse range of missions including lunar surface rovers and landers, space stations, satellite servicing in all orbits, and in-space assembly and manufacturing. (4/11)

Kinematics Launches Advanced Satellite Ground Station Positioners (Source: Space Daily)
Kinematics unveiled its latest ground station positioner innovations, the Kinematics KX-6 2.4M class Low Earth Orbit (LEO) positioner, and the KX-3 1M class user terminal positioner, marking a significant leap forward in satellite positioning technology. The KX-6 Positioner, an advanced 2.4-meter class X-Y zero-backlash system, is engineered for flawless integration into LEO orbits, featuring rapid slewing speeds of up to 16 degrees per second. The KX-3 Positioner, designed for 1-meter class user terminals, delivers exceptional bandwidth and performance benefits of reflector-based antennas, eliminating the need for high costs and complexity. (4/10)

Space ISAC Launches Affinity Group for LEO Commercial Operators (Source: Space Daily)
The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Space ISAC) has successfully launched the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Owner Operators Affinity Group. This new group aims to unite Commercial Owner Operators to tackle shared threat and security concerns effectively. Space ISAC's Affinity Groups are aligned by market sector, with a clear focus on fostering collaboration among Commercial Owner Operators in various fields, including radar, optical, and communications, to enhance understanding, design, and reporting of security threats.

The inaugural event featured key stakeholders from the FBI, DHS, US Space Force, Capella Space, and Viasat, underscoring the key role of collaborative efforts in threat intelligence sharing within the LEO community. The successful gathering emphasized the essential benefits of inter-organizational cooperation to address the growing security challenges in space. (4/10)

From Miles Above, Satellite Data Helps Spot Hazardous Trees and Reduce Wildfire Risk (Source: Space Daily)
Preventing ignitions that can cause catastrophic wildfires requires focus, vigilance and the integration of ever-evolving technology. And as Pacific Gas and Electric Company continues to make progress - including what the company has calculated to be a 72% reduction of ignitions in high fire-risk areas in 2023 compared to the three-year average - satellite technology plays an increasing role.

That's true with weather-forecasting models and it's true with vegetation management, how a utility with approximately 70,000-square-mile service area in Northern and Central California works to keep millions of trees and limbs away from powerlines. Data showing which trees have the potential to strike powerlines is being added to the next version of PG&E's own vegetation management risk-modeling. (4/11)

Chang'e 6 Lunar Mission to Include European Science Instruments (Source: Space Daily)
China's Chang'e 6 lunar mission is set to carry significant European scientific instruments, adding a layer of international collaboration to its ambitious objectives. The mission aims to collect samples from the less-explored lunar far side, a feat not yet accomplished by previous missions.
The China National Space Administration highlights the inclusion of three European payloads.

A radon measurement device from France's national space agency aims to assess lunar dust movement and volatile chemicals in the moon's regolith and exosphere. An Italian laser retroreflector, crafted by Italy's National Institute for Nuclear Physics, will serve as a range-finder for the Chang'e 6 lander. Lastly, the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, with support from the European Space Agency, will deploy a novel negative ion detector to examine ions released by solar wind interactions with the lunar surface. (4/10)

South Texans Sue to Keep SpaceX From Getting Boca Chica State Park Land (Source: LMT Online)
Multiple South Texas organizations are suing Texas Parks and Wildlife after the commission cleared the way for negotiations to begin on a land swap deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The deal made it past the first steps last month when the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission voted unanimously in favor of pursuing the land swap. After hours of testimony in which many South Texans asked the commission to vote “no” on the proposal, the commission decided otherwise.

By suing, the organizations are aiming to reverse the commission’s decision. While the state would gain hundreds of acres in exchange for a few dozen acres, South Texans have argued Texas Parks and Wildlife could simply purchase the land near the wildlife refuge without ceding any land. Now that their wish has gone unfulfilled, multiple groups are pushing back.

The South Texas Environmental Justice Network, the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, and Save RGV banded together for a lawsuit.  The suit alleges that Texas Parks and Wildlife violated statutory requirements for the proposal, including the requirement to consider alternatives to giving away public park land; the requirement to ensure the minimization of harm to the public park land; and the requirement to consider the best interests of the local community and TPWD. (4/10)

FAA: No Current Plans to Tax Commercial Space Launches (Source: Space News)
An FAA official said the Biden administration has no plans for the time being to levy taxes on commercial launches, similar to those on airlines, to address the launch industry’s impact on airspace. The Biden administration was proposing to tax companies that perform commercial launches, modeling the tax on those the Department of Transportation charges on commercial airline tickets that go into a trust fund that supports airport infrastructure and airspace operations.

Editor's Note: If it could be arranged to allow spaceports to access Airport Improvement Fund grants, launchers and spaceport authorities should lobby for adding a modest tax that would feed into that trust fund. (4/10)

Kepler Partners Up for ESA’s Optical Data Relay Constellation (Source: Space News)
Kepler Communications, a Canadian small satellite operator, is teaming up with Europe’s Airbus Defence and Space and its independent laser terminal subsidiary Tesat-Spacecom to develop an optical relay network in low Earth orbit (LEO). The Canadian company is leading the group to help bid for a greater role in the European Space Agency’s High Throughput Optical Network (HydRON) program. (4/10)

L3Harris Taps Mercury Systems to Supply Solid-State Data Recorders for Missile-Warning Satellites (Source: Space News)
Mercury Systems announced a $31 million contract April 10 to supply solid-state data recorders to L3Harris Technologies for the U.S. Space Development Agency’s Tracking Layer Tranche 2. In January, SDA awarded contracts to L3Harris, Lockheed Martin and Sierra Space to produce 18 Tracking Layer Tranche 2 satellites apiece with infrared sensors to track hypersonic missiles in flight. (4/10)

U.S. Government Plans Review of Space Technology Export Controls (Source: Space News)
The State and Commerce Departments will start a process this summer to update space systems on export control lists, potentially lessening the restrictions on some technologies. Chirag Parikh, executive secretary of the National Space Council, said the upcoming review was needed to reflect rapid changes in space capabilities since the last time space export controls were reformed in the early 2010s.

The plan is for the State Department and Commerce Department to release an advance notification for potential rulemaking in mid-June. That will consider what technologies currently on the U.S. Munitions List, which is administered by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), could be moved to the Commercial Control List, which is under the less restrictive Export Administration Regulations (EAR). (4/10)

Pentagon Research Chief Calls for Commercial Radiation-Hardened Electronics (Source: Space News)
Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, is calling on commercial industry to develop affordable, radiation-hardened electronics. The comments from the Pentagon’s top research official were further evidence that the U.S. military is concerned about the possibility of detonation of a nuclear weapon in space that could degrade or permanently disable individual satellites or entire constellations. (4/10)

Small Astranis GEO Broadband Satellites are Getting Bigger (Source: Space News)
Astranis announced plans April 10 to deploy 50% larger broadband satellites from 2026 to offer five times more throughput, while still remaining far smaller than typical geostationary spacecraft to save costs. CEO John Gedmark said Omega is designed to provide more than 50 gigabits per second of throughput, compared with 10-12 Gbps for each of the nine satellites customers have ordered for launch over the next two years.

Omega has slightly more mass than these dishwasher-sized 400-kilogram satellites. Traditional broadband satellites weighing thousands of kilograms can reach the size of a school bus, giving them more room for transponders and power. Each satellite in Viasat’s next-generation constellation, for instance, is roughly 6,000 kilograms and designed to provide 1,000 Gbps of throughput. (4/10)

NASA, Japan Advance Space Cooperation, Sign Agreement for Lunar Rover (Source: NASA)
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Masahito Moriyama have signed an agreement to advance sustainable human exploration of the Moon. Japan will design, develop, and operate a pressurized rover for crewed and uncrewed exploration on the Moon. NASA will provide the launch and delivery of the rover to the Moon as well as two opportunities for Japanese astronauts to travel to the lunar surface. (4/10)

UK and Canada Enhance Cooperation in Space (Source: UKSA)
The UK Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency have signed an enhanced MoU to further areas of cooperation and information sharing on space. The MoU provides a more detailed framework for enhanced bilateral collaboration between the UK and Canada on space activities. This includes collaboration on regulation, facilitating the exchange of ideas and information on areas such as space policy, standards, and regulations, helping to ensure free and fair access to space for all. (4/10)

Lonestar Data Holdings Announces 2nd Lunar Data Center Mission in 2024 (Source: Digital Infra Network)
Lonestar Data Holdings, the first company in the world to provide a commercial service from the surface of the Moon, the leader in lunar edge processing and data storage, has announced its Freedom Payload as its second flight to the Moon with Intuitive Machines scheduled for later this year. This landmark mission follows the success of Lonestar’s first payload to the Moon with Intuitive Machines, Independence, which has set a new standard in the growing field of space-based data services.

The Freedom Payload marks a significant leap forward in Lonestar’s ambitious vision to provide global backup, global refresh, and global restore, by establishing the first physical data center beyond Earth, offering Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS), premium data backup services, and edge processing capabilities from the ultimate edge – Cislunar space and the lunar surface. Freedom hosts a number of storage and edge processing customers. (4/9)

The U.S. is Exploring a Railroad for the Moon. It Has a Good Reason (Source: Mashable)
The first U.S. transcontinental railroad, completed with a spike hammered into the track in 1869, transformed the nation. Perhaps the same will happen on the moon. DARPA has begun collaborating with over a dozen companies on potential future lunar technologies, including a moon railroad. It's called the 10-Year Lunar Architecture Capability Study, or LunA-10, and its mission is to find technologies that will catalyze a self-perpetuating lunar economy. It's a salient time; already the new space race is on.

Ultimately, the LunA-10 project will scrutinize different moon concepts developed in 2024, like a lunar railroad or power plant. Some technologies will make the cut — meaning DARPA will help accelerate these concepts — and some won't. The hope is to graduate from the current age of moon exploration to a foundational age wherein countries and industries try out and set the stage for potential lunar endeavors (like a mining project).

Those successful endeavors will then, if all go as planned, reach an industrial age, where real goods and services are made or provided on our natural satellite, some 238,855 miles away. The moon, for instance, could be a fuel depot for deeper space missions to scientifically fascinating Mars or resource-rich asteroids. (3/30)

The $1.8 Trillion Space Economy (Source: Payload)
The space economy could grow to $1.8T by 2035, according to a report released today by the World Economic Forum in partnership with McKinsey & Company. Three global trends are making that eye-watering number possible: Increasing connectivity worldwide, leading to higher demand for satellite internet; Growing mobility, propelling the need for GPS-enabled position, navigation and timing (PNT) services; and a more informed populace with a rising demand for AI-powered insights. Click here. (4/8) https://payloadspace.com/the-1-8t-space-economy/

Relativity Focusing on Florida Launch Pad Ahead of 2026 Terran R Debut (Source: Space News)
Relativity Space is forging ahead with Terran R’s development. Construction of the launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport's Launch Complex 16 is underway. Joshua Brost said the company remains confident in its 2026 launch target. He noted that Relativity is benefiting from close collaboration with the Space Force, which is providing valuable input to ensure the reusable Terran-R can meet stringent requirements.

Relativity was formed in 2015 and initially planned to fly a small rocket, called Terran 1. But the vehicle was shelved a year ago after just one flight and the company pivoted to the larger Terran R, designed to haul up to 20 metric tons to low Earth orbit. It intends to compete in the market currently dominated by the SpaceX Falcon 9. Rocket Lab and Firefly Aerospace also are developing medium rockets for commercial and NSSL missions. (4/10)