Space Force Moves to Scale, Enhance
Terrestrial Data Transport Prototype (Source: Defense Scoop)
The Space Force’s acquisition arm plans to award a follow-on production
contract in the coming months for a ground-based system that provides a
“data-transfer-as-a-service” capability for the service and other
partners. In 2021, Space Systems Command (SSC) awarded a $46.5 million
pathfinder contract to Sev1Tech to prototype meshONE-T, a terrestrial
network of data transport nodes that facilitates secure and rapid
communications between sites located around the world. (4/18)
Japanese Satellite Will Beam Solar
Power to Earth in 2025 (Source: Space.com)
apan is on track to beam solar power from space to Earth next year, two
years after a similar feat was achieved by U.S. engineers. The
development marks an important step toward a possible space-based solar
power station that could help wean the world off fossil fuels amid the
intensifying battle against climate change.
"It will be a small satellite, about 180 kilograms [400 pounds], that
will transmit about 1 kilowatt of power from the altitude of 400
kilometers." One kilowatt is about the amount of power needed to run a
household appliance, such as a small dishwasher, for about an hour,
depending on its size. Therefore, the demonstration is nowhere near the
scale required for commercial use. (4/19)
Why Is It So Hard to Send Humans Back
to the Moon? (Source: Space.com)
Between 1969 and 1972, the Apollo missions sent a total of a dozen
astronauts to the surface of the moon — and that was before the
explosion of modern technology. So why does it seem like our current
efforts, as embodied by NASA's Artemis program, are so slow, halting
and complex? There isn't one easy answer, but it comes down to money,
politics and priorities. Click here. (4/21)
https://www.space.com/why-is-getting-to-the-moon-so-hard
America's Next Great Space Station
Gets a Vote of Support From Japan (Source: Motley Fool)
Four teams of space companies are working to replace the International
Space Station when it's shut down in 2030. One of the leading teams,
known as Starlab, attracted a new partner in the form of Japan's
Mitsubishi Corporation this month. Mitsubishi is the third major
industrial corporation to sign onto the Starlab project. (4/20)
NASA Reveals 'Glass-Smooth Lake of
Cooling Lava' on Surface of Jupiter's Moon Io (Source: Live
Science)
The new images show Loki Patera, a 127-mile-long (200 km) lava lake on
Io's surface. Scientists have been observing this lava lake for
decades. It sits over the magma reservoirs under Io's surface. The
cooling lava at the center of the lake is ringed by possibly molten
magma around the edges. "The specular reflection our instruments
recorded of the lake suggests parts of Io's surface are as smooth as
glass, reminiscent of volcanically created obsidian glass on Earth,"
Scott Bolton said. (4/21)
New Study Says We May Be Living in a
Variable Universe (Source: Popular Mechanics)
The standard cosmological model known as Lambda-CDM (ΛCDM) proposes
that dark energy is a constant force in the universe. However, an early
“hint” in a new detailed map from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic
Instrument shows that dark energy can actually grow stronger and weaker
over time. While this evidence isn’t enough to be considered a
discovery, it does call into question some underlying assumptions about
how the universe formed and is expanding. (4/18)
NASA Commits to Titan Mission Despite
Cost Increase (Source: Space News)
NASA has confirmed plans for a mission to Saturn's moon Titan despite
costs that have doubled. NASA said last week that the Dragonfly
mission, which will send a rotorcraft to Titan to study its
habitability, had been confirmed to go into full-scale development
ahead of a launch in mid-2028. The total cost of the mission, including
launch and operations, is now $3.35 billion, far higher than when NASA
selected the mission in 2019 as the latest in the New Frontiers line,
which had a cost cap excluding launch and operations of $850 million.
NASA said that the costs included in the cap had doubled because of a
series of replans to the mission caused by budget pressures, as well as
supply chain and related pandemic impacts. NASA will also spend more on
a heavy-lift launch vehicle to allow Dragonfly to reach Titan on
schedule in 2034 despite two years of launch delays. (4/22)
Blue Halo Wins $24.4 Million AFRL
Contract (Source: Space News)
Defense contractor BlueHalo has won a $24.4 million Air Force Research
Lab contract to study vulnerabilities of space systems. BlueHalo will
be tasked to "accelerate the advancement of the directed energy
modeling, simulation and analysis, assessment expertise, and highly
technical capabilities to safeguard strategic U.S. space interests,"
according to a contract announcement last week. AFRL's Satellite
Assessment Center, located at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico,
evaluates the vulnerabilities of space vehicles to lasers and laser
radiation. (4/22)
ESA Graduates Five Astronauts
(Source: ESA)
ESA's latest class of astronauts have graduated. The agency held a
ceremony Monday to mark the completion of the year-long training
program for the five astronauts selected in November 2022. The five
were joined by an Australian Space Agency astronaut candidate. The new
ESA astronauts are now eligible for assignments for future ISS and
other missions. (4/22)
Syrian Astronaut Passes Away at 72
(Source: CollectSpace)
The first Syrian to go to space has died. Muhammed Faris died last week
in Turkey at the age of 72 after a long illness. Faris flew to the Mir
space station in 1987, spending a week in space as Syria's first and,
to date, only space traveler. A Syrian Air Force pilot, he served in
the country's military after his flight, rising to the rank of general
before detecting with his family to Turkey in 2012. (4/22)
Germany's Reflex Aerospace and South
Korea's Flexell Space Team Up to Power Next-Generation Satellites
(Source: Reflex)
Reflex and Flexell Space have signed a LOI to collaborate on
integrating Flexell’s state-of-the-art solar cells into Reflex’s
rapidly manufactured satellite platforms, the companies announced. This
international partnership brings together two NewSpace innovators at
the cutting edge of satellite manufacturing and solar power to usher in
a new era of high-performance, low-lead-time satellites.
Reflex is pioneering new ways of improving satellite design and
production, enabling the serial production of tailored satellites.
Flexell Space, a Hanwha Group company, has developed groundbreaking
solar cell technology that reduces mass while increasing durability and
efficiency. Together, they are both working to meet the growing demand
for flexible, resilient and high-performance satellites. (4/20)
Israel's Momentick Raises $6.5M for
Satellite Methane Monitoring (Source: Axios)
Emissions detection service Momentick closed a $6.5 million seed round
to expand the range of greenhouse gasses that it tracks, the company
tells Axios. Leaks from fossil fuel infrastructure are responsible for
40% of human-caused methane emissions. Momentick is among a handful of
startups using satellites to detect plumes of invisible gas leaking
from fossil fuel infrastructure.
Unlike the Environmental Defense Fund's MethaneSat or the publicly
traded earth imaging service Planet Labs, both of which launched their
own satellites, Momentick is purely a software company, using an
algorithm it developed to interpret images taken by others' satellites.
The approach enables Momentick to be cost-efficient and cover a broader
swath of territory, CEO Daniel Kashmir says. The company says it can
detect leaks below 1,000 kilograms/hour, which is about standard for a
satellite. (4/18)
ST Engineering and EY Sign MOU in
Space Technology and Geospatial Analytics for Sustainability Purposes
(Source: EY)
ST Engineering Geo-Insights and EY Corporate Advisors announced the
signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in space technology and
geospatial analytics, aimed at tackling pressing environmental
challenges. The companies will explore co-developing a geospatial
platform, integrating ST Engineering Geo-Insights’ capabilities into
EY’s existing infrastructure resilience services that focus on rail,
roads, water utilities, pipelines and powerlines.
Both parties will explore using geospatial data to co-develop
sustainability roadmaps and form a joint sustainability product
development working group to focus on five key areas, namely
deforestation; water management and quality; compliance with Taskforce
on Nature-related Financial Disclosures or Task Force on
Climate-Related Financial Disclosures requirements; carbon accounting;
as well as baselining environmental impacts. (4/17)
2024 KSC Community Leaders Update
Planned in May (Source: NASA KSC)
The KSC Community Leaders Update will bring together influential
individuals from our community to update them on the changes taking
place at NASA/KSC. This in-person gathering will take place on
Thursday, May 23, 2024, at 2:00 PM at the Astronauts Memorial
Foundation's Center for Space Education within the Kennedy Space Center
Visitor Complex. Mingling starts at 2:00 PM, the presentation begins at
2:30 PM. (4/22)
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