Fleet's Centauri-6 Satellite Enhances
Global Mineral Surveys (Source: Space Daily)
Fleet Space Technologies has successfully launched the Centauri-6
satellite. The satellite joins Fleet Space's constellation, enhancing
its ExoSphere mineral exploration solution and expanding its advanced
SATCOM capabilities utilizing microsatellite technology. Centauri-6
represents another stride in Fleet Space's portfolio. Notably, Fleet
Space launched Centauri-4 with Push-To-Talk capabilities for the
Australian Defence Force. Additionally, Fleet plans to deploy its
SPIDER seismic technology to the Moon under NASA's CLPS initiative with
Firefly Aerospace. (4/8)
Iridium Secures Contract to Enhance
FAA Network Resilience with L3Harris (Source: Space Daily)
Iridium has entered into a five-year commercial agreement with L3Harris
Technologies to provide the Iridium Satellite Time and Location (STL)
service. This service will be deployed across over thirty
L3Harris-operated network backbone nodes and numerous FAA facilities
nationwide. L3Harris manages a proprietary nationwide network for the
FAA, facilitating voice, data, and video communications critical to
National Airspace System operations. The network's need for precise
timing synchronization, vital for supporting various critical
infrastructure applications, is served by the Iridium STL service. This
service significantly reduces reliance on GPS for primary network
timing. (4/10)
NASA Expands Collaboration with
Commercial Partners on Space Station Medical Protocols (Source:
Space Daily)
As the aerospace community expands beyond governmental boundaries, NASA
is leveraging its comprehensive human spaceflight experience to guide
the development of new commercial space stations. By working with
private partners, NASA aims to make space more accessible, ensuring
that the cumulative know-how of over a quarter-century at the
International Space Station translates into safer future missions for a
wider range of participants.
Dr. Rahul Suresh, a medical officer at NASA's Johnson Space Center,
highlighted the lack of established industry standards and government
regulations for managing the health and safety of non-professional
astronauts in orbit. To address this, NASA is imparting its medical
best practices to budding commercial spaceflight entities. This
initiative aims to lay a solid foundation for hosting future NASA
missions on these new platforms. (4/10)
SpaceX Launches Military Weather
Satellite From California Spaceport (Source: Space Daily)
SpaceX launched its second national security mission of 2024 on
Thursday with a Falcon 9 rocket lifting the U.S. Space Force mission
USSF-62 into orbit. The mission took off from California's Vandenberg
Space Force Base. The mission sends a Weather System Follow-on
Microwave satellite, or WSF-M, to low Earth orbit. (4/11)
Space Investors Question the Merits of
Vertical Integration (Source: Space News)
Space investors are questioning the benefits of vertical integration.
Companies like SpaceX have benefited from having more control over
their supply chains, reducing costs and creating greater capabilities.
However, during a panel at Space Symposium this week, executives noted
that vertical integration is more difficult to carry out now given
reduced access to capital. They said there may instead be greater
opportunities for investors to fund companies that fill gaps in the
supply chain. (4/12)
Banding Together for
Direct-to-Smartphone Satellite Services (Source: Space News)
Satellite operators are considering banding together to serve the
emerging direct-to-smartphone market. Viasat CEO Mark Dankberg said his
company is considering investing in mobile satellite services
spacecraft with other companies, an approach he said could enable
seamless roaming from one operator to another. He compared that
approach to terrestrial cell towers that host payloads from multiple
carriers. Dankberg is chair of the Mobile Satellite Services
Association, an industry group founded in February intended to foster
cooperation among mobile satellite services companies. (4/12)
China Completes Lunar Comms Satellite
Testing (Source: Space News)
A Chinese lunar communications satellite has completed tests that will
allow China to proceed with a sample return mission. Queqiao-2
completed on-orbit communication testing in recent days, the China
National Space Administration (CNSA) announced Friday, including
communications with the Chang'e-4 lander on the far side of the moon.
The completion of the tests is the final step before the launch of
Chang'e-6, which will land on the far side of the moon and return
samples to Earth. Chang'e-6 now appears set to launch May 3, based on
airspace closure notices. (4/12)
Amazon CEO Has High Hopes for Kuiper
(Source: GeekWire)
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says the Project Kuiper broadband constellation
is a "very large revenue opportunity" for the company. In an annual
letter to shareholders published Thursday, Jassy emphasized the
potential of the $10 billion system but did not estimate how much
revenue the company expects Kuiper to generate and over what period.
Amazon plans to launch its first operational Kuiper satellites this
year after two prototypes launched last October. The company must
launch half of the planned 3,232 satellites by mid-2026. (4/12)
LeoLabs Using AI to Identify Anomalous
Satellite Operations (Source: Space News)
Space tracking company LeoLabs is using AI to help identify anomalous
satellite operations. A LeoLabs visualization tool shown at Space
Symposium this week tracks maneuvers performed by satellites that
change their orbits frequently and highlights maneuvers conducted by
satellites that did not typically perform them. An example is a series
of sudden maneuvers of three Chinese satellites that raised their
orbits together after remaining in the same orbit for months after
launch last year. The company has also improved its ability to detect
maneuvers in as little as a single orbit. (4/12)
‘Innovation Theater’ Fills Gap Between
Words and Action (Source: Space News)
While government agencies talk about embracing commercial innovation in
space programs, many see a gap between words and action. National
security space agencies are spending only between 2% and 5% of their
budgets on commercial capabilities even as they tout phrases like "buy
what we can, build what we must." Former government officials call that
mismatch "innovation theater" or "buy what we're forced to and build
anything we can get away with," and say factors such as unclear
procurement regulations and reticence to change are to blame. (4/12)
TESS Enters Safe Mode with Technical
Issue (Source: NASA)
A NASA astronomy spacecraft has gone into safe mode. The Transiting
Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, went into safe mode on Monday
because of an unspecified technical issue. NASA says the safe mode was
triggered during "scheduled engineering activities" and that the
spacecraft overall is in good health. The spacecraft, launched six
years ago to search for exoplanets, should return to science operations
in the near future. (4/12)
Illinois Airport Exploring Options for
Commercial Spaceport (Source: WBBM
The Quad Cities International Airport is exploring a new frontier. With
space tourism expected to grow in the coming years, the board of
commissioners at The Quad Cities International Airport in Moline want
to know if the airport could support a commercial spaceport. A state
grant is paying for 90% of a study to look into the potential and
evaluate if the airport has the necessary infrastructure. (11/9/23)
Midland TX Spaceport Leaders Reflect
on Progress, Seek Community Interest (Source: KOSA)
The culmination of a decade of work, growing funding opportunities and
an eye on community outreach has marked the first year of the Midland
Spaceport Development Corporation’s return. In April 2023, City of
Midland and Midland County leaders revived the board, which dissolved
in 2020 after the Midland International Air and Space Port was first
licensed as a spaceport in 2014.
In anticipation of state funding opportunities through House Bill 3447,
the corporation was reestablished in 2023 for the spaceport to qualify.
That bill established the Texas Space Commission, which was launched on
March 26. The spaceport corporation is part of the work completed by
Midland Development Corporation (MDC). The latter recruits, contracts
and negotiates with new companies. However, both corporations have
similar goals. (4/10)
Muon Space Unveils Satellite Platform
Muon Halo (Source: Space Impulse)
Muon Space has launched its innovative satellite platform, Muon Halo.
The platform’s integrated hardware and software stack seeks to
revolutionize how LEO satellite constellations are designed, built, and
operated. (4/5)
NATO Member Turkey Seeks to Join
China-Russia Moon Project Instead of US-Led Artemis Program
(Source: South China Morning Post)
Turkey could play an influential role in the International Lunar
Research Station (ILRS) as it seeks to join the project led by China
and Russia, bringing with it high space ambitions and a shifting
political agenda, according to a space analyst. The Middle Eastern
nation had applied to be a member of the ILRS, an initiative to build a
base at the moon’s south pole by 2035, Turkish and Russian media
outlets reported on Monday. It is the first NATO member to apply. (4/11)
NASA Next-Generation Solar Sail Boom
Technology Ready for Launch (Source: NASA)
The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System demonstration uses a
twelve-unit (12U) CubeSat built by NanoAvionics to test a new composite
boom made from flexible polymer and carbon fiber materials that are
stiffer and lighter than previous boom designs. The mission’s primary
objective is to successfully demonstrate new boom deployment, but once
deployed, the team also hopes to prove the sail’s performance. (4/10)
Uranus and Neptune Aren't Made of What
We Thought, New Study Hints (Source: Live Science)
Much about Uranus and Neptune remains unknown. These ice giant worlds
have had just a single spacecraft visitor, Voyager 2, which flew past
them in the 1980s. As a result, scientists have only a hazy idea of the
ice giants' compositions — for example, that they contain significant
amounts of oxygen, carbon and hydrogen. Astronomers have devised models
that match the physical properties that Voyager 2 and Earth-based
telescopes have measured.
Many models assume the planets have a thin hydrogen and helium
envelope; an underlying layer of compressed, superionic water and
ammonia; and a central rocky core. (The water is what gives them their
"ice giant" tag.) Some estimates suggest Uranus and Neptune may each
have 50,000 times the quantity of water in Earth's oceans. But a new
study says these models ignore the way the ice giants formed. As Uranus
and Neptune coalesced from the dust cloud surrounding the young sun,
they gobbled up objects called planetesimals. The team says these
planetesimals resemble present-day comets.
Unlike the supposedly water-rich ice giants, though, a large fraction
of these planetesimal-like objects are rich in carbon. So "how is it
possible to form an icy giant from ice-poor building blocks?" The
astronomers found that those models with methane — either in solid
chunks or, given the pressure, in a mushy state — form a thick layer
between the hydrogen-helium envelope and the water layer. In some
models, methane accounted for 10% of the planet's mass. (4/11)
Space Weather Can Make it Hard to
Predict VLEO Satellite Trajectories (Source: Space.com)
Satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) can venture hundreds of miles off
their expected trajectories when bad space weather hits. The problem
affects the International Space Station, China's Tiangong space station
and many Earth-observing satellites that need a close view of our
planet. Experts say this positioning uncertainty increases the risk of
dangerous orbital collisions, which threaten to worsen the space debris
problem and make the space around Earth unsafe.
"At altitudes of 500 kilometers [310 miles], we can determine the
position of our satellites with the accuracy of 2 centimeters [0.8
inches]," Alex Saltman, CEO of California-based satellite company
GeoOptics, which makes meteorological measurements of Earth's upper
atmosphere, told Space.com. "But at lower altitudes, it becomes a big
problem." The lower the orbit, the bigger the inaccuracy. That's
because space weather affects the density of Earth's upper atmosphere.
(4/11)
Rocket Lab, True Anomaly Selected for
Space Force ‘Tactically Responsive’ Mission (Source: Space News)
The space services company Rocket Lab and startup True Anomaly have
secured contracts to launch a “tactically responsive space” mission for
the U.S. Space Force. Rocket Lab was awarded a $32 million contract and
True Anomaly got a $30 million contract for Victus Haze, a
demonstration mission intended to test and refine the military’s
capabilities for rapidly deploying satellites in response to threats in
space. For Victus Haze, an imaging satellite will be launched to
inspect a suspicious object in orbit. (4/11)
U.S. Invites France, Germany, New
Zealand To Join Space Alliance (Source: Aviation Week)
U.S. Space Command has extended invitations to France, Germany and New
Zealand to join a high-level collaborative group on military space
operations. If accepted, the three nations would join Australia, Canada
and the UK in the U.S.-led Operation Olympic Defender. The operation,
first formed in 2020, focuses on sharing intelligence, planning of
military operations and other efforts focused on safe operations in
space.
Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, said the three
new nations are already working closely together. This includes in the
Space Operations Center at Vandenberg SFB, California, and operations
centers in France and Germany. France and Germany in particular have “a
lot of their own space capability for national defense purposes, and we
have very positive relationships with them," Whiting says. "We’ve done
some exercises together—we’ve done wargames.” Also on April 9, Whiting
announced Spacecom has signed a new space situational awareness
agreement with Uruguay. (4/11)
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