Rocket Lab announced the signing of a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) with the Department of Commerce that would see Rocket Lab receive up to $23.9M in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act. The proposed investment would enable Rocket Lab to increase its production of compound semiconductors for spacecraft and satellites, as part of an expansion and modernization of the company’s facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This proposed CHIPS investment would create more than 100 direct manufacturing jobs. (6/11)
Assured Space and Phantom Space Team for Data Relay Constellation (Source: Space News)
Assured Space and Phantom Space are joining forces to develop a data backhaul service for satellites. The companies said they will work together on a 66-satellite constellation called Phantom Cloud that will provide data relay services for satellites. Assured Space is a decades-old high-tech products and services company that recently pivoted to focus on RF telecommunications and electronics, while Phantom Space is a startup developing satellites and small launch vehicles, but has yet to fly any missions. The companies did not disclose schedules or funding for the constellation. (6/11)
Kepler Demonstrates Optical Data Relay Service in LEO (Source: Space News)
Kepler Communications has successfully tested optical inter-satellite links between a pair of data relay prototypes in low Earth orbit (LEO), the Canadian operator announced June 11. Mina Mitry, Kepler’s CEO, said the company moved terabytes of data across two pathfinders over testing scenarios ranging from seconds to hours to mimic expected customer behavior. (6/11)
Yahsat Orders LEO Satellites From Airbus (Source: Space News)
Yahsat has ordered two low Earth orbit satellites from Airbus Defence and Space as part of a multi-orbit strategy. The satellites will be based on the Arrow platform that Airbus originally developed for OneWeb. The companies didn't disclose details about the missions for the satellites but Yahsat's CEO said they were part of the company's strategy "of providing multi-orbit satellite solutions to its customers." Yahsat also finalized a contract with Airbus for two GEO satellites, Al Yah 4 and 5, after funding early design work last year. (6/11)
Kepler Tests Optical Data Relay in LEO (Source: Space News)
Kepler Communications has tested an optical data relay network in LEO. The company announced Tuesday it tested optical intersatellite links between two prototype satellites, moving terabytes of data between them. The links adhered to optical communications standards developed by the U.S. Space Development Agency (SDA), according to Kepler, and used SDA-compatible optical user terminals. Starting next year, Kepler plans to deploy data relay satellites along two near-orthogonal planes in sun-synchronous orbits to keep line of sight with LEO spacecraft, providing real-time connectivity for them. (6/11)
SpaceX Starlink Service Planned in Sri Lanka (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX’s Starlink may land in Sri Lanka next after President Ranil Wickremesinghe approved the satellite internet service. President Wickremesinghe greenlit the launch of Starlink internet in Sri Lanka over the weekend. He announced the project on social media and provided further details on Starlink’s potential in Sri Lanka. Starlink internet may launch in Sri Lanka after a two-week public consultation period. (6/10)
Direct-to-Cell Could Disrupt Military Satellite Comms Plans (Source: Space News)
Commercial direct-to-cell satellite networks could disrupt billion-dollar military satellite programs. Col. Eric Felt, director of space architecture at the office of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration, said at a conference Monday that direct-to-cell is a "really disruptive thing" and could potentially enhance or replace dedicated military narrowband satcom systems like MUOS. The Space Force is procuring additional MUOS satellites to keep the network in service into the 2030s, but the service is considering what will come after that system. (6/11)
China Selects 10 New Astronauts, Plans for Foreigners (Sources: Space News, Wu Lei)
China has selected 10 new astronauts. The 10 astronauts include eight pilots and two payload specialists, the latter being the first Chinese astronauts from Hong Kong and Macao. The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) didn't name the new astronauts or their genders. The new astronauts will be eligible for mission assignments after two years of training, and could fly on both Tiangong space station missions and planned future lunar missions.
Also, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said foreign astronauts will be invited to participate in the selection and training process, as international cooperation in crewed space exploration deepens. (6/11)
Stoke Tests Engine for Reusable Rocket (Source: Space News)
Stoke Space successfully tested an engine it is developing for a fully reusable launch vehicle. The company said Tuesday it made the first test-firing last week of the engine for the first stage of its Nova rocket, firing it for two seconds primarily to test startup and shutdown transients. The engine, fueled by liquified natural gas and liquid oxygen propellants, uses a full-flow staged combustion architecture that is more efficient but also more difficult to develop. Stoke says it chose that approach to maximize the performance of the engine in order to make the vehicle fully reusable. (6/11)
Musk: Next Starship Booster Landing Will Use Tower Chopsticks (Source: WCCF Tech)
A successful soft splashdown has opened up the possibility of a tower catch with the fifth flight. Musk shared that the "next landing will be caught by the tower arms." SpaceX intends to build multiple Starship launch pads, and Musk's statement suggests that he is quite confident in his rocket despite the risks from an unsuccessful tower catch attempt. According to SpaceX, the booster is 232 feet tall and it carries 3,400 tons of fuel at liftoff. The tanks are nearly empty at landing due to the need to reduce weight, and to further reduce the rocket's weight, SpaceX will also jettison its hot stage ring in the future. (6/8)
Falcon 9’s Busy Launch Cadence Continues (Source: NSF)
SpaceX is preparing Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center for the upcoming Falcon Heavy launch of NOAA's GOES-U satellite on June 25. Due to this, Launch Complex 40 is taking the brunt of launches from the East Coast and, in doing so, is seeing remarkable turnaround times for every launch. Over the past week, SpaceX brought the total launch count to four launches in 12 days, all from the same pad. (6/10)
Group Says Starship Launch Damaged Texas Coastal Bird Nests (Source: San Antonio Express-News)
An environmental group says last week's Starship launch damaged bird nests nearby. The survey by the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program said several nests used by snowy plover, Wilson's plover and least tern birds were damaged or destroyed after the launch, with missing and broken eggs. None of the bird species that use the nests are formally classified as endangered or threatened, although the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department does consider some of them "species of greatest conservation need." The group's survey found no injured or dead wildlife, but concluded that the effects of Starship launches extend into to state park adjacent to the launch site. (6/11)
Virgin Galactic Plans 2-Year Pause at Spaceport America, Shifts Focus to Arizona Spaceship Production (Source: Source NM)
In November Virgin Galactic laid off 185 employees, including 73 in New Mexico, as a strategy to pivot to building space planes with more seats, outlining a plan to fly several times a month when it returns in 2026. The company has said the facility to build the crafts in Mesa, Arizona, is expected to be operational in 2024.
“The new Delta-class of spaceship will be wonderful,” Richard Branson said. “It will be like building aeroplanes so we can build one after the other, after the other, and in time start bringing the prices down and enabling more people to go to space.” (6/10)
Scientists Warn of Uranium in DoD Space Mission (Source: Ars Technica)
Scientists say the uranium planned for an in-space nuclear propulsion demonstration could be repurposed into a bomb. The DARPA/NASA DRACO mission will use about 300 kilograms of high assay low enriched uranium (HALEU), a class of uranium that it not considered to be enriched enough for use in weapons. However, a study published in Science concluded that even HALEU could be used in a bomb if in large enough quantities. The amount planned for use on DRACO is "marginal" but likely enough for a low-yield bomb. Scientists say the study shows that HALEU should be subject to the higher security standards of highly enriched uranium to avoid it falling in the hands of those interested in using it for weapons. (6/11)
Mars Mountains Get Frosty (Source: The Guardian)
Some mountains on Mars have morning frost. Scientists in Switzerland and the United States said they have detected frost atop some of the tallest mountains on Mars early in the morning, based on observations by ESA's Trace Gas Orbiter and Mars Express spacecraft. The frost may come from moisture carried up the sides of the mountains by winds from lower elevations. The moisture is then trapped in craters at the peaks and condenses into frost. (6/11)
Behind Boeing’s Decade-Long Struggle to Launch Astronauts on Starliner (Source: CNBC)
Of the nearly $5 billion Boeing has received to develop Starliner to date, the company has spent $1.5 billion to cover delay overruns. SpaceX, meanwhile, has completed over a dozen crewed missions to space, launching both NASA astronauts and private citizens since 2020. Watch this video to learn more about the obstacles that Boeing has faced with its Starliner project and what the future may hold for its long-awaited capsule. (6/8)
Was Earth Exposed to Cold Harsh Interstellar Clouds 2 Million Years Ago? (Source: Phys.org)
Scientists theorize that ice ages occur for a number of reasons, including the planet's tilt and rotation, shifting plate tectonics, volcanic eruptions, and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. But what if drastic changes like these are not only a result of Earth's environment, but also the sun's location in the galaxy?
In a new paper, Merav Opher found evidence that some two million years ago, the solar system encountered an interstellar cloud so dense that it could have interfered with the sun's solar wind. Opher and her co-authors believe this shows that the sun's location in space might shape Earth's history more than previously considered. (6/10)
Webb Reveals Asteroid Collision in Nearby Star System (Source: Hub)
Astronomers have captured what appears to be a snapshot of a massive collision of giant asteroids in Beta Pictoris, a neighboring star system known for its early age and tumultuous planet-forming activity. The observations spotlight the volatile processes that shape star systems like our own, offering a unique glimpse into the primordial stages of planetary formation. (6/10)
Webb Is a Supernova Discovery Machine: 10x More Supernovae in Early Universe (Source: SciTech Daily)
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is providing scientists with their first detailed glimpse of supernovae from a time when our universe was just a small fraction of its current age. A team using Webb data has identified 10 times more supernovae in the early universe than were previously known. A few of the newfound exploding stars are the most distant examples of their type, including those used to measure the universe’s expansion rate.
“Webb is a supernova discovery machine,” said Christa DeCoursey, a third-year graduate student at the Steward Observatory and the University of Arizona in Tucson. “The sheer number of detections plus the great distances to these supernovae are the two most exciting outcomes from our survey.” (6/11)
The First Stars in the Universe Could Have Formed Surprisingly Early (Source: New Scientist)
The first stars in the universe, huge behemoths thousands of times the mass of our sun, could have formed in the blink of an eye, cosmologically speaking, after the big bang. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been able to detect distant galaxies from when the universe was barely 300 million years old. Models suggest star formation could have begun even earlier in the 13.8-billion-year history of the universe, perhaps within 200 million years. (6/11)
Gravity Without Mass Is A New Explanation For The Failure To Find Dark Matter (Source: IFL Science)
A new explanation for why we have not found dark matter proposes that it doesn’t exist. Instead, the author thinks we have been misunderstanding gravity. He’s not the first to suggest that, but the new proposal, of gravity without mass created by topological defects in space-time, is particularly novel. (6/10)
'Supercharged Rhino' Black Holes May Have Formed and Died a Second After the Big Bang (Source: Space.com)
Tiny primordial black holes created during the first fraction of a second after the Big Bang may have had company, in the form of even smaller "supercharged" black holes with the mass of a rhino that rapidly evaporated. A team of researchers has theorized that these tiny "rhino" black holes, which would represent an entirely new state of matter. (6/10)
Space Medicine and What’s Next (Source: Mass General Hospital)
Stuart Harris is looking toward the next frontier as founder of MGH SPEAR MED: medicine practiced in Space, Ecological, Arctic and Resource-limited environments, a division of the MGH Emergency Department. In 2022, in collaboration with the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, he created the first graduate level approved space fellowship program. In each fellowship, we prepare clinicians for the unparalleled challenges they would face on the remote parts of Earth and/or space. Click here. (6/10) https://www.massgeneral.org/news/article/into-the-wild-space-medicine
Food Safety Program for Space Has Taken Over on Earth (Source: NASA)
Countless NASA technologies turn up in our everyday lives, but one of the space agency’s most important contributions to modern society isn’t a technology at all – it’s the methodology that ensures the safety of the food we eat. Today the safety procedures and regulations for most of the food produced around the world are based on a system NASA created to guarantee safe food for Apollo astronauts journeying to the Moon. Click here. (6/10)
Researchers Study Multi-Drug Resistant Pathogens on ISS (Source: Indian Express)
Indian Institute of Technology Madras and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) researchers are studying multi-drug resistant pathogens on the International Space Station (ISS), which could have key applications on earth as well for the health of astronauts. The researchers conducted a comprehensive study to understand the genomic, functional, and metabolic enhancements observed in multidrug-resistant pathogens with a particular focus on Enterobacter bugandensis, a prevalent nosocomial (hospital acquired infection) pathogen found on surfaces within the ISS. (6/11)
How it Feels to Launch Into Space (Source: NPR)
This summer, NPR science podcast Short Wave is launching Space Camp, a series about all the weird and wonderful things in our universe. We start with how to get to outer space in the first place. Click here. (6/11)
Scout Space Telescope to Hitch a Ride on ABL Rocket (Source: Space News)
Scout Space, a startup specializing in space domain awareness through in-space observation, announced June 10 it signed a launch services agreement with ABL Space Systems. The agreement is for the launch of Scout’s “Owlet-01” telescope on ABL’s third flight of its RS1 small-satellite launcher scheduled for later this year — contingent on the success of ABL’s forthcoming second launch attempt. (6/10)
NASA and Contractors Put Gateway HALO Through Tests (Source: NASA)
The Gateway space station’s HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost), one of four modules where astronauts will live, conduct science, and prepare for lunar surface missions, is a step closer to launch following welding completion in Turin, Italy, a milestone highlighted by NASA earlier this year. Teams at Thales Alenia Space gently guide HALO to a new location in the company’s facility for a series of stress tests to ensure the module’s safety. (6/10)
Stoke Tests Engine for Reusable Rocket (Source: Space News)
Stoke Space successfully tested an engine it is developing for a fully reusable launch vehicle. The company said Tuesday it made the first test-firing last week of the engine for the first stage of its Nova rocket, firing it for two seconds primarily to test startup and shutdown transients. The engine, fueled by liquified natural gas and liquid oxygen propellants, uses a full-flow staged combustion architecture that is more efficient but also more difficult to develop. Stoke says it chose that approach to maximize the performance of the engine in order to make the vehicle fully reusable. (6/11)
Musk: Next Starship Booster Landing Will Use Tower Chopsticks (Source: WCCF Tech)
A successful soft splashdown has opened up the possibility of a tower catch with the fifth flight. Musk shared that the "next landing will be caught by the tower arms." SpaceX intends to build multiple Starship launch pads, and Musk's statement suggests that he is quite confident in his rocket despite the risks from an unsuccessful tower catch attempt. According to SpaceX, the booster is 232 feet tall and it carries 3,400 tons of fuel at liftoff. The tanks are nearly empty at landing due to the need to reduce weight, and to further reduce the rocket's weight, SpaceX will also jettison its hot stage ring in the future. (6/8)
Falcon 9’s Busy Launch Cadence Continues (Source: NSF)
SpaceX is preparing Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center for the upcoming Falcon Heavy launch of NOAA's GOES-U satellite on June 25. Due to this, Launch Complex 40 is taking the brunt of launches from the East Coast and, in doing so, is seeing remarkable turnaround times for every launch. Over the past week, SpaceX brought the total launch count to four launches in 12 days, all from the same pad. (6/10)
Group Says Starship Launch Damaged Texas Coastal Bird Nests (Source: San Antonio Express-News)
An environmental group says last week's Starship launch damaged bird nests nearby. The survey by the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program said several nests used by snowy plover, Wilson's plover and least tern birds were damaged or destroyed after the launch, with missing and broken eggs. None of the bird species that use the nests are formally classified as endangered or threatened, although the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department does consider some of them "species of greatest conservation need." The group's survey found no injured or dead wildlife, but concluded that the effects of Starship launches extend into to state park adjacent to the launch site. (6/11)
Virgin Galactic Plans 2-Year Pause at Spaceport America, Shifts Focus to Arizona Spaceship Production (Source: Source NM)
In November Virgin Galactic laid off 185 employees, including 73 in New Mexico, as a strategy to pivot to building space planes with more seats, outlining a plan to fly several times a month when it returns in 2026. The company has said the facility to build the crafts in Mesa, Arizona, is expected to be operational in 2024.
“The new Delta-class of spaceship will be wonderful,” Richard Branson said. “It will be like building aeroplanes so we can build one after the other, after the other, and in time start bringing the prices down and enabling more people to go to space.” (6/10)
Scientists Warn of Uranium in DoD Space Mission (Source: Ars Technica)
Scientists say the uranium planned for an in-space nuclear propulsion demonstration could be repurposed into a bomb. The DARPA/NASA DRACO mission will use about 300 kilograms of high assay low enriched uranium (HALEU), a class of uranium that it not considered to be enriched enough for use in weapons. However, a study published in Science concluded that even HALEU could be used in a bomb if in large enough quantities. The amount planned for use on DRACO is "marginal" but likely enough for a low-yield bomb. Scientists say the study shows that HALEU should be subject to the higher security standards of highly enriched uranium to avoid it falling in the hands of those interested in using it for weapons. (6/11)
Mars Mountains Get Frosty (Source: The Guardian)
Some mountains on Mars have morning frost. Scientists in Switzerland and the United States said they have detected frost atop some of the tallest mountains on Mars early in the morning, based on observations by ESA's Trace Gas Orbiter and Mars Express spacecraft. The frost may come from moisture carried up the sides of the mountains by winds from lower elevations. The moisture is then trapped in craters at the peaks and condenses into frost. (6/11)
Behind Boeing’s Decade-Long Struggle to Launch Astronauts on Starliner (Source: CNBC)
Of the nearly $5 billion Boeing has received to develop Starliner to date, the company has spent $1.5 billion to cover delay overruns. SpaceX, meanwhile, has completed over a dozen crewed missions to space, launching both NASA astronauts and private citizens since 2020. Watch this video to learn more about the obstacles that Boeing has faced with its Starliner project and what the future may hold for its long-awaited capsule. (6/8)
Was Earth Exposed to Cold Harsh Interstellar Clouds 2 Million Years Ago? (Source: Phys.org)
Scientists theorize that ice ages occur for a number of reasons, including the planet's tilt and rotation, shifting plate tectonics, volcanic eruptions, and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. But what if drastic changes like these are not only a result of Earth's environment, but also the sun's location in the galaxy?
In a new paper, Merav Opher found evidence that some two million years ago, the solar system encountered an interstellar cloud so dense that it could have interfered with the sun's solar wind. Opher and her co-authors believe this shows that the sun's location in space might shape Earth's history more than previously considered. (6/10)
Webb Reveals Asteroid Collision in Nearby Star System (Source: Hub)
Astronomers have captured what appears to be a snapshot of a massive collision of giant asteroids in Beta Pictoris, a neighboring star system known for its early age and tumultuous planet-forming activity. The observations spotlight the volatile processes that shape star systems like our own, offering a unique glimpse into the primordial stages of planetary formation. (6/10)
Webb Is a Supernova Discovery Machine: 10x More Supernovae in Early Universe (Source: SciTech Daily)
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is providing scientists with their first detailed glimpse of supernovae from a time when our universe was just a small fraction of its current age. A team using Webb data has identified 10 times more supernovae in the early universe than were previously known. A few of the newfound exploding stars are the most distant examples of their type, including those used to measure the universe’s expansion rate.
“Webb is a supernova discovery machine,” said Christa DeCoursey, a third-year graduate student at the Steward Observatory and the University of Arizona in Tucson. “The sheer number of detections plus the great distances to these supernovae are the two most exciting outcomes from our survey.” (6/11)
The First Stars in the Universe Could Have Formed Surprisingly Early (Source: New Scientist)
The first stars in the universe, huge behemoths thousands of times the mass of our sun, could have formed in the blink of an eye, cosmologically speaking, after the big bang. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been able to detect distant galaxies from when the universe was barely 300 million years old. Models suggest star formation could have begun even earlier in the 13.8-billion-year history of the universe, perhaps within 200 million years. (6/11)
Gravity Without Mass Is A New Explanation For The Failure To Find Dark Matter (Source: IFL Science)
A new explanation for why we have not found dark matter proposes that it doesn’t exist. Instead, the author thinks we have been misunderstanding gravity. He’s not the first to suggest that, but the new proposal, of gravity without mass created by topological defects in space-time, is particularly novel. (6/10)
'Supercharged Rhino' Black Holes May Have Formed and Died a Second After the Big Bang (Source: Space.com)
Tiny primordial black holes created during the first fraction of a second after the Big Bang may have had company, in the form of even smaller "supercharged" black holes with the mass of a rhino that rapidly evaporated. A team of researchers has theorized that these tiny "rhino" black holes, which would represent an entirely new state of matter. (6/10)
Space Medicine and What’s Next (Source: Mass General Hospital)
Stuart Harris is looking toward the next frontier as founder of MGH SPEAR MED: medicine practiced in Space, Ecological, Arctic and Resource-limited environments, a division of the MGH Emergency Department. In 2022, in collaboration with the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, he created the first graduate level approved space fellowship program. In each fellowship, we prepare clinicians for the unparalleled challenges they would face on the remote parts of Earth and/or space. Click here. (6/10) https://www.massgeneral.org/news/article/into-the-wild-space-medicine
Food Safety Program for Space Has Taken Over on Earth (Source: NASA)
Countless NASA technologies turn up in our everyday lives, but one of the space agency’s most important contributions to modern society isn’t a technology at all – it’s the methodology that ensures the safety of the food we eat. Today the safety procedures and regulations for most of the food produced around the world are based on a system NASA created to guarantee safe food for Apollo astronauts journeying to the Moon. Click here. (6/10)
Researchers Study Multi-Drug Resistant Pathogens on ISS (Source: Indian Express)
Indian Institute of Technology Madras and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) researchers are studying multi-drug resistant pathogens on the International Space Station (ISS), which could have key applications on earth as well for the health of astronauts. The researchers conducted a comprehensive study to understand the genomic, functional, and metabolic enhancements observed in multidrug-resistant pathogens with a particular focus on Enterobacter bugandensis, a prevalent nosocomial (hospital acquired infection) pathogen found on surfaces within the ISS. (6/11)
How it Feels to Launch Into Space (Source: NPR)
This summer, NPR science podcast Short Wave is launching Space Camp, a series about all the weird and wonderful things in our universe. We start with how to get to outer space in the first place. Click here. (6/11)
Scout Space Telescope to Hitch a Ride on ABL Rocket (Source: Space News)
Scout Space, a startup specializing in space domain awareness through in-space observation, announced June 10 it signed a launch services agreement with ABL Space Systems. The agreement is for the launch of Scout’s “Owlet-01” telescope on ABL’s third flight of its RS1 small-satellite launcher scheduled for later this year — contingent on the success of ABL’s forthcoming second launch attempt. (6/10)
NASA and Contractors Put Gateway HALO Through Tests (Source: NASA)
The Gateway space station’s HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost), one of four modules where astronauts will live, conduct science, and prepare for lunar surface missions, is a step closer to launch following welding completion in Turin, Italy, a milestone highlighted by NASA earlier this year. Teams at Thales Alenia Space gently guide HALO to a new location in the company’s facility for a series of stress tests to ensure the module’s safety. (6/10)
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