April 27, 2024

NASA’s No to Mars (Source: Space News)
In a stumbling statement this week, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson presented the NASA position on Mars Sample Return: “The bottom line is that $11 billion is too expensive and not returning samples until 2040 is unacceptably too long,” he said April 15. Actually, it was his top line — NASA had already signaled they would not support Mars Sample Return (MSR) — indeed the budget decision had been made a couple of months ago and had resulted in layoffs of much of the MSR workforce.

Nelson’s line (top or bottom) was disingenuous. The 2040 date is a NASA marketing date for its human program, and has no reality for the actual development of a human mission to Mars. Just look at the already existing delays in the Artemis program before it even starts work on a human lunar landing. Similarly, the $11 billion ought not to be a problem for the agency spending nearly ten times that much on Artemis, and likely will require 50 times that much for humans to go to Mars. Nelson cited wanting the samples back before a human mission to Mars; 2040 would be just fine. Click here. (4/17)

Private Firm Advances with New Liquid-Fuel Rocket Development (Source: Space Daily)
Orienspace, renowned for producing the world's mightiest solid-propellant carrier rocket, is now embarking on the development of a new liquid-fuel rocket, as revealed by the chief designer of the upcoming model. The chief designer, Huang Shuai, outlined the details of the Gravity 2 model on Wednesday in Wuhan, Hubei province, stating that the new reusable rocket would come in two versions: a standard model and an enhanced model equipped with two side boosters.

The standard model will stand 70 meters tall, have a width of 4.2 meters, and feature a liftoff weight of 715 metric tons. It is designed for reusability, with the first core stage engineered to withstand at least 30 uses. The rocket will have a liftoff thrust of 990 tons, capable of transporting a minimum of 17.4 tons to low-Earth orbit or 11.9 tons to a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometers. "If everything proceeds according to our plan, the rocket will be ready for its first flight about the end of 2025," said Huang. (4/26)

Satellogic Partners with O.N.E. Amazon to Develop the Internet of Forests (Source: Space Daily)
Satellogic announced a partnership with O.N.E. Amazon aimed at environmental and investment sustainability through innovative conservation technologies. The collaboration, revealed on Earth Day, highlights the role of advanced geospatial sciences in environmental health and preservation. The partnership focuses on the development of the Internet of Forests (IoF), an extensive sensor network coupled with machine learning to monitor vital environmental indicators within the Amazon rainforest. (4/23)

NASA and FAA Unite to Advance Wildland Fire Management Technologies (Source: Space Daily)
NASA has teamed up with the FAA to form a research transition team dedicated to advancing wildland fire management technologies. This collaboration is responding to an increase in frequency and scale of wildland fires, as noted by the U.S. Forest Service. The Wildland Fire Airspace Operations research transition team will explore and test innovative technologies and concepts to enhance airspace integration. This initiative is vital for enabling more effective prevention, monitoring, and combating of extensive wildland fires. (4/22)

Scientific Projects on China's Space Station Yield Significant Results (Source: Space Daily)
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) has completed over 130 scientific research and application projects aboard its space station, reporting significant advancements, according to a recent press conference. Lin Xiqiang, the deputy director of the CMSA, noted that more than 300 scientific experiment samples have been successfully returned to Earth by astronauts in five separate missions.

Participation in these projects has included over 500 scientific research institutes both within China and internationally, contributing to substantial developments in areas such as space life science, space medicine, materials science in space, and microgravity fluid physics. This collaboration has resulted in over 280 research papers being published in top-tier international journals. (4/25)

Tuberville: ‘If President Trump is Elected,’ Space Command Jobs Will Come to Huntsville (Source: AL.com)
Alabama U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville said Thursday that if former President Donald Trump wins the presidential election in November, the fight over Space Command’s headquarters will be settled in favor of Huntsville. “It’s not settled. They can’t spend any money toward expanding Space Command until this last review is done, which will be after the election. If President Trump gets elected, there will be a lot of employees moving from Space Command to Huntsville.” The headquarters has been in Colorado Springs, Colo. since the command was started. (4/25)

ESA Opens Ideas Factory to Boost Space Innovation in Austria (Source: ESA)
A center to innovate the design and manufacture of space hardware has today opened in Vienna. Driving commercialization in space, it is the first of its kind of ESA-backed disruptive innovation centres outside ESA’s own premises. Work at the centre will focus on accelerating the development of manufacturing for space, including the rapid prototyping of new materials, propulsion systems and making spacecraft and satellites. (4/25)

Maritime Launch Services Signs LOI with The Spaceport Company for Tracking and Telemetry (Source: SpaceQ)
In preparation for its first orbital launch in 2025 from Spaceport Nova Scotia, Maritime Launch Services (MLS) has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with The Spaceport Company “to lease a containerized tracking and telemetry station” with an option to purchase multiple stations. The Spaceport Company based in Northern Virginia and founded in 2022 is known for its ocean launching platform concept along with building infrastructure “to solve the problem of launch site congestion.” This includes a transportable container for their launch tracking system. (4/25)

Astroscale Japan Selected for Phase II of JAXA’s Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration Program (Source: Astroscale)
Astroscale Japan announces its selection by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as the commercial partner for Phase II of JAXA’s Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration (CRD2) program, one of the world’s first technology demonstrations of removing large-scale debris from orbit. The CRD2 program aims to remove an unprepared Japanese upper stage rocket body, thereby addressing the increasingly critical issue of space debris. Unprepared objects in orbit pose an additional challenge as they have not been prepared with any technologies that enable docking or potential servicing or removal. (4/25)

US Embassy Marks 248th Independence Day with Shared US-Saudi Vision for Space Exploration (Source: Arab News)
The US Embassy in Riyadh celebrated the 248th anniversary of Independence Day on Thursday with a reception hosted by US Ambassador Michael Ratney. The ambassador welcomed guest of honor Prince Faisal bin Abdulaziz bin Ayyaf, Riyadh Region mayor, along with Saudi officials, and hundreds of Saudi guests, as well as visitors from Washington, including members of the US Congress.The space-themed Independence Day reception served as a symbolic celebration of the future of the US-Saudi cooperation in space, highlighting the profound benefits and possibilities of space exploration, research, and commercial development. (4/25)

SPACECOM Boss Warns China Is Moving ‘Breathtakingly Fast’ During Pacific Visit (Source: Air and Space Forces)
In the wake of a major Chinese military shakeup, the head of U.S. Space Command warned of China’s “breathtakingly fast” advances in space during visits to Japan and South Korea.

Gen. Stephen N. Whiting’s trip to the Indo-Pacific is his first overseas visit since taking command of SPACECOM in January. His arrival in the region comes just a few days after the People’s Liberation Army announced it was disbanding its Strategic Support Force as part of “a significant reform,” wrote Brendan S. Mulvaney, director of the U.S. Air Force’s China Aerospace Studies Institute. (4/25)

China, Latin America Entitled to Forge Close Space Cooperation (Source: China Daily)
Considering the unfathomable expanse of the universe, Earth, the only cosmic body we can call home, appears like a speck on a vast ocean. Yet in the cosmic expanse, a realm of boundless possibilities and uncertainties, lies the future of humankind. China, as a developing country, has made significant strides in space technology, and prioritizes cooperation with other developing countries to ensure equitable access to space resources.

In recent years, China’s cooperation with Latin American countries in space technology has expanded. China’s collaboration with Venezuela on a future lunar exploration station project, including the possibility of sending Venezuelan astronauts to China’s space station, exemplifies this trend. China’s commitment to equitable and mutually beneficial global cooperation ensures that the participating countries can synchronize their access to space technology, expand the frontiers of human knowledge and leverage China’s experience in space research to develop their agriculture, industry and healthcare sectors, and boost their economy. (4/26)