June 14, 2024

FAA Seeks Public Input on SpaceX Starship's Environmental Impact in Florida (Source: Space Daily)
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration are preparing an environmental impact statement regarding licensing for the SpaceX Starship and its super-heavy launch vehicle and want public input. SpaceX wants a commercial launch vehicle operator license to use Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the FAA says.

SpaceX also wants to build launch and landing sites near the LC 39A to enable Starship launches and landings for the super-heavy booster and Starship at LC-39A. Recoverable super-heavy booster and Starship landings at the launch site or using a droneship and expendable booster and Starship landings in the ocean also are proposed. The FAA says SpaceX needs the agency to issue a vehicle operator license and approve airspace closures, which the National Environmental Policy Act categorizes as a "major federal action." (6/12)

Starship-Super Heavy Launches on the Space Coast: Some Residents Submit Environmental Concerns (Source: Florida Today)
SpaceX officials want to build a Super Heavy catch tower at pad 39A, along with onsite facilities for propellant generation and storage, a cooling tower, air separation unit and deluge system, an FAA fact sheet said.

But 40-year Titusville resident Susan Palma fears more development at the Cape will risk further disrupting the imperiled Indian River Lagoon's natural water flow and salinity. She attended a Wednesday environmental meeting on potential Starship impacts, armed with a written statement warning of dangers of hazardous materials and fauna negatively impacted by air, light and noise pollution. (6/12)

Governor Vetoes Water Treatment Project That Would Support Spaceport Growth (Sources: Space Coast Rocket, SPACErePORT)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has vetoed millions in legislatively approved budget items for wastewater treatment on the Space Coast. The vetoes halt the expansion of treatment capabilities needed to support continued growth at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. This growth has exacerbated water quality problems in the environmetally sensitive Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons within and adjacent to the spaceport. (6/12)

China's Military Spaceplane Testing Proximity Operations (Source: Space News)
China's experimental reusable spaceplane has been using a smaller spacecraft to test proximity operations, potentially even capturing the object. The spaceplane released an object first spotted May 24 by the U.S. Space Force and designated Object G. Observations of the two objects show that the spaceplane approached Object G June 7-8, likely to test rendezvous and proximity operations. While it is unclear if the spaceplane briefly retrieved and re-released Object G, their close approach suggests intentional proximity operations. The spaceplane performed two to three similar operations on its prevous mission in 2022-2023. (6/14)

NGA RFI Seeks Industry Support for NEI (Source: Space News)
NGA is looking to industry for help in monitoring objects in orbit. The agency released a request for information this week seeking input from companies in the emerging non-Earth imagery (NEI) market, or imaging spacecraft, satellites and space debris in orbit. NGA said leveraging commercial NEI capabilities represents an opportunity to augment existing government systems. (6/14)

Kayhan Satcat to Merge Data on Satellites (Source: Space News)
Kayhan Space has unveiled a new tool for getting information on objects in Earth orbit. The company announced Friday the release of Satcat, which merges open-source data on spacecraft and debris with tools to simplify research and analysis. (6/14)

House Appropriators Cut Space Force Budget (Source: Space News)
House appropriators cut the proposed budget for the Space Force. The House Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal year 2025 defense spending bill Thursday that includes $28.7 billion for the Space Force, $900 million less than requested by the administration. The cuts included $185.9 million from an account for procuring GPS 3F satellites, while appropriators expressed skepticism about the service's plans for "Resilient GPS" using commercial technologies. Other cuts were spread among R&D and procurement programs, affecting both classified and unclassified projects. (6/14)

Culture Wars Spark Again as House Weighs Massive Defense Autorization Bill (Source: Washington Post)
The Pentagon is once again at the center of America’s culture wars, as the Republican-led House considers adding divisive provisions from its far-right members to its version of the annual defense policy bill. Far-right lawmakers have proposed amendments to the $895.3 billion legislation that would restrict service members’ access to reproductive health care and certain diversity protections.

The House voted along partisan lines a year ago, narrowly passing an NDAA saddled with ideological provisions and shattering a decades-long tradition of bipartisanship around the annual bill, which sets Pentagon policy and guides spending for the year ahead. Most were later stripped from the bill when the House and Senate versions were merged.

Editor's Note: Among the offered amendments is one by Space Coast Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) seeking to increase the required number of firefighters stationed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This would mitigate the growing risks associated with the expanding number of launch operations at the spaceport. (6/13)

First Space Force Guardian in Space to Launch in August (Source: SPACErePORT)
The Space Force will send its first Guardian into space in August (currently Aug. 17) as part of NASA's Crew-9 mission to the ISS. Nick Hague is a colonel in the Space Force who flew previous missions as an Air Force officer. He will pilot the mission and accompany two other NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut. (6/14)

SIA Report Sees Growth in Satellite Industry (Source: Space News)
A new report says growth in the commercial satellite industry is now being fueled by launch, manufacturing and ground equipment. The study released Thursday by the Satellite Industry Association estimated the global satellite industry generated $285 billion in revenue in 2023, a 2% increase from 2022. Growth in launch, satellite manufacturing and ground equipment offset a decrease in satellite services caused by declining demand for satellite TV. Excluding satellite services, the industry would have seen growth of 5% in 2023. (6/14)

Apex Secures $95M to Scale Satellite Bus Production (Source: Space Daily)
Apex announced it has raised $95 million. Apex's satellite bus platform allows faster access to space without the need for a bespoke bus for every launch. This funding will enable increased production to meet growing demand, following the successful launch of Apex's first bus in March and a rise in customer interest. (6/13)

LeoLabs to Develop Novel Space Surveillance Radar (Source: Space News)
LeoLabs has won a contract to develop a new type of space surveillance radar. The company said Thursday it won a $1.245 million contract from AFWERX to develop the S-band 2-D Direct Radiating Array, a radar the company says is designed to track launches as well as satellites in very low Earth orbit. The company had been working on the technology with internal funding, but the AFWERX award will allow it to complete development and deploy it at a site by mid-2025. (6/14)

Aerospacelab to Develop Debris Tracking Satellite for Vyoma (Source: Space News)
Aerospacelab has won a contract to build a debris tracking satellite for Vyoma. The 60-kilogram satellite will be ready for launch by the end of 2025 and carry telescopes for optical tracking of objects in low Earth orbit. Vyoma has two satellites being built by EnduroSat for launch at the end of this year and plans a 12-satellite constellation for debris tracking. The contract marks the second commercial customer for Aerospacelab’s Versatile Satellite Platform-50 (VSP-50) platform following a recent order from California-based navigation constellation developer Xona Space Systems. (6/14)

Blue Canyon to Supply Spacecraft Buses for NASA's PolSIR Mission (Source: Space Daily)
RTX's small satellite manufacturer and mission services provider, Blue Canyon Technologies, has been chosen to construct two 12U CubeSat buses for NASA's PolSIR mission. This mission aims to study ice clouds that form at high altitudes in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Blue Canyon will design and manufacture the bus platforms and provide mission operations services.

The PolSIR instrument - Polarized Submillimeter Ice-cloud Radiometer - will observe the full diurnal cycle of high-altitude ice clouds to enhance climate forecasts and offer climate models with valuable insights on atmospheric changes. (6/13)

NASA Spacewalk Rescheduled After Suit Problems (Source: NASA)
NASA has rescheduled a spacewalk that was postponed Thursday but provided few details about what caused the scrub. NASA postponed a spacewalk by astronauts Tracy C. Dyson and Matt Dominick shortly before it was scheduled to start Thursday morning, citing a "suit discomfort" issue. NASA said late Thursday that the work that had been scheduled for that spacewalk will be done instead on a spacewalk scheduled for June 24. NASA, though, has declined to provide any specifics on the problem that prevented Thursday's spacewalk, and did not identify who will conduct the June 24 spacewalk. (6/14)

Voyager 1 Returning Data Again (Source: Space News)
Voyager 1 is returning science data from its instruments after engineers fixed a computer problem. NASA said Thursday that all four operational instruments on the spacecraft are providing data for the first time since a computer malfunction cut off communications in November. Engineers concluded that a corrupted computer memory chip caused the communications problem and rewrote flight software to correct it. At a committee meeting Thursday, Voyager's project scientist expressed hope that Voyager 1 and its twin Voyager 2 could operate into the 2030s as controllers manage declining power levels. (6/14)

Hubble Gyro Failure Means Fewer Observations (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Hubble has run into more trouble. The space telescope slipped into a hibernating state more than a week ago when one of its three remaining gyroscopes — part of the pointing system — malfunctioned. The same device had been acting up for months and disrupting scientific operations. (6/4)

Astronomers Share $1 Million Prize (Source: Physics World)
Two astronomers will share a $1 million prize for their work in exoplanet science. David Charbonneau from Harvard University and Sara Seager from MIT won the 2024 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics, announced this week. Charbonneau pioneered the use of the transit technique for discovering exoplanets and studying their atmospheres, while Seager led theoretical study of exoplanet atmospheres. (6/14)

NASA and ESA Explore Habitability of Exoplanets with Chandra and XMM-Newton (Source: Space Daily)
Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton are investigating nearby stars to determine if they could host habitable exoplanets. This research will aid future telescopes in making the first images of Earth-like planets. Researchers examined stars close enough to Earth for future telescopes to capture images of planets in their habitable zones, where liquid water could exist.

While future images of planets will be single points of light, their spectra will provide information about surface composition and atmosphere. Factors such as harmful X-rays and ultraviolet light from host stars, which can damage or strip away a planet's atmosphere, are crucial in determining habitability. (6/13)

Satellite Megaconstellations Could Impact Ozone Hole Recovery (Source: Space Daily)
When old satellites fall into Earth's atmosphere and burn up, they leave behind tiny particles of aluminum oxide, which eat away at Earth's protective ozone layer. A new study finds these oxides have increased 8-fold between 2016 and 2022 and will continue to accumulate as the number of low-Earth-orbit satellites increases. The 1987 Montreal Protocol successfully regulated ozone-damaging CFCs to protect the ozone layer, shrinking the ozone hole over Antarctica with recovery expected in the fifty years. But unanticipated growth of aluminum oxides may delay the ozone success story in decades to come. (6/13)

NYU Abu Dhabi Researchers Advocate for Stronger Ssustainability Regulations (Source: Mars Daily)
Researchers at the NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Center for Astrophysics and Space Science call for strengthening existing planetary protection policies to include requirements for preserving the Lunar and Martian environments. They argue that guidelines should be expanded beyond biological contamination to address issues like orbital debris, crowding, and security. They also recommend adding compliance incentives to all existing and improved sustainability policies. (6/4)

Their Dream Was to Build an Organic Farm in Texas. Then Elon Musk Moved In (Source: Texas Monthly)
What seemed serendipitous at the time, they say, now appears more like a cruel twist of fate. Despite sending neighborly letters and reaching out through intermediaries, Connett and Flynn say neither Musk nor his brother has expressed any interest in collaborating with them to ensure the area’s devotion to farming is preserved. Instead, the couple and other local farmers say, three years after Musk’s purchase, the fertile land along the banks of the Colorado, shaded by pecan trees and frequented by bald eagles, is being transformed into an environmentally hazardous industrial park. (6/4)

Virgin Galactic Announces Reverse Stock Split (Source: Reuters)
Space tourism company Virgin Galactic announced a 1-for-20 reverse stock split on Wednesday, sending its shares down 19%. The stock split is expected to go into effect on June 14 after markets close. The company is planning the stock split to meet minimum share price requirements to continue listing on the New York Stock Exchange, Virgin Galactic said. The company's shares were trading at 70 cents per share after the bell, and have fallen more than 65% so far this year. (6/12)

Understanding Elon Musk’s Lead in Outer Space (Source: Bloomberg)
Among his companies, Elon Musk's true love may be SpaceX, the rocket company whose technology may one day be used in getting humans to Mars. But even if interplanetary trips are a long way off, there's no historical precedent for the sheer scale of the outer space dominance that Elon Musk has built out. Between his rockets and his satellite-based internet company Starlink, no one individual has ever completely dominated outer space this way. Click here. (6/12)

Researchers Find Some Temporary Cognitive Decline Among Civilians Who Travel Into Space (Source: WHYY)
In 2021, scientists got a new opportunity to study this when four people made history and became the world’s first all-civilian team to go into space and orbit Earth multiple times before returning to the planet’s surface. The Inspiration4 mission included a billionaire entrepreneur and pilot, a cancer survivor and physician assistant, a data engineer and Air Force veteran, and a geoscientist and professor.

During their three-day trip, crew members recorded some of their physiological and mental health stats like heart rate, oxygen level, mood state, sleep quality, alertness and other metrics by running a series of neurocognitive tests and using Apple watches and non-invasive medical equipment. Researchers took that data and studied different areas of health outcomes and changes. They focused on how spaceflight affected cognition, behavior and psychological performance.

“So we’re looking at things like attention, memory, learning, risk-taking or emotional recognition,” Mathias Basner said. “Are you still able to interpret somebody who is emoting anger or fear or happiness? This is all very important and relevant for spaceflight spatial orientation.” The team found that some crew members experienced cognitive decline and issues in several categories during the early phase of flight, but the effects were temporary. All fully recovered later in the flight or shortly after returning to Earth. (6/13)

Starlink User Terminal Now Costs Just $300 in 28 States, $500 in Rest of US (Source: Ars Technica)
You can now buy a Starlink satellite dish for $299 (plus shipping and tax) in 28 US states due to a discount for areas where SpaceX's broadband network has excess capacity. Starlink had raised its upfront hardware cost from $499 to $599 in March 2022 but cut the standard price back down to $499 this week. In the 28 states where the network has what SpaceX deems excess capacity, a $200 discount is being applied to bring the price down to $299. (6/12)

Musk Reportedly Asked a SpaceX Employee, on Multiple Occasions, to “Have His Babies” (Source: Vanity Fair)
Back in 2022, Elon Musk secretly fathered twins with Shivon Zilis, a top executive at one of his companies. “Doing my best to help the underpopulation crisis. A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far,” he tweeted. In contrast to Zilis, a woman at SpaceX reportedly declined, and apparently had to do so more than once. After this, according to WSJ, she continued to work for SpaceX but the relationship with Musk “deteriorated.”

In addition to the baby business, people familiar with the matter also told the Journal that Musk “denied the woman a raise and complained about her performance.” She later left the company with a cash and stock exit package worth more than $1 million, according to the report. In 2022, Business Insider reported that Musk allegedly exposed himself to a SpaceX flight attendant and offered to buy her a horse in exchange for sex acts. She reportedly said no, and the company allegedly reduced her shifts. According to Insider, SpaceX eventually agreed to paid the woman $250,000. (6/12)

FCC Approves Mysterious SpaceX Device: Is It for the Starlink Mini Dish? (Source: PC Magazine)
SpaceX has received FCC clearance to operate a mysterious “wireless module” device that might be a new Starlink router. On Tuesday, the FCC issued an equipment authorization for the device, which uses the 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi radio bands. A document in SpaceX’s filing also says it features antennas along with Wi-Fi chips apparently from MediaTek. Another document calls the device by the codename "UTW-231," and defines it as a “wireless router" supporting IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ax for Wi-Fi 6 speeds up to 1,300Mbps. (6/12)

Engineers Sue Musk and SpaceX Saying the Company Mirrored His Juvenile, Crude X Posts (Source: LA Times)
Former employees say Musk encouraged an inappropriate work environment in the spacecraft company with his social media posts, where he often announced important company news including launch dates and accomplishments, but mixed in memes and jokes filled with sexual innuendo. Former SpaceX engineers say the troubling posts weren’t just private rantings from its billionaire CEO. SpaceX told employees to consider Musk’s posts on X as official statements and news from the company.

Musk’s activity on social media also had another consequence, the lawsuit states: “Musk’s conduct of interjecting this juvenile, grotesque sexual banter into the workplace had the wholly foreseeable and intentional result of encouraging other employees to engage in similar conduct.” At SpaceX’s Hawthorne offices, the suit claims, company meetings and employees mimicked Musk’s humor.

Senior engineers allegedly called mechanical parts “chodes” and “schlongs.” A camera that was placed on the bottom of a second-stage Falcon rocket was referred to as the “Upskirt Camera,” and a structure used by astronauts to transfer from SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station was called the “Fun Tunnel,” a sexual euphemism. (6/12)