June 22, 2024

Musk Has Another Child with Executive at One of His Companies (Source: The Verge)
Elon Musk, who has long touted claims about the world’s supposed depopulation crisis, had another child with an executive at his brain implant company Neuralink, according to a report from Bloomberg. Neuralink director Shivon Zilis reportedly had the child with Musk earlier this year. Musk already has twins with Zilis, which Business Insider discovered in 2022 after digging up a court document. He has three children with the musician Grimes and six children from previous relationships, making for a total of 12 that we know of. (6/21)

SES Announces Successful Syndication and Raising of €3 Billion Acquisition Financing (Source: SES)
SES announces the successful syndication of a €3 billion equivalent acquisition financing package to support the earlier announced agreement for SES to acquire Intelsat S.A.. Prior to the Intelsat deal announcement, Deutsche Bank AG and Morgan Stanley jointly had underwritten a €3 billion bridge facility to support SES’s financing requirements as part of the agreement to acquire Intelsat.

This €3 billion bridge facility has been successfully syndicated now, with a highly oversubscribed level of commitments, to an international group of existing relationship and new banks in the form of a €2.1 billion bridge facility and US$1 billion term loan. The term loan was upsized in syndication on the back of a strong response from the bank group. (6/19)

SpaceX's Starbase Records Show Multibillion-Dollar Boost in South Texas (Source: My San Antonio)
Rockets aren't the only things blasting off at SpaceX's Starbase launch site in South Texas. Statistics shared by the astronautics company detail how it has boosted the economy in more ways than one in the Rio Grande Valley. SpaceX's $3 billion investment into Starbase on Boca Chica Beach is shown to have more than doubled its value to an annual gross economic market value of $6.5 billion.

In turn, the company has brought in $800 million in state and local government capital income and indirect business taxes generated by Starbase's 350+ acres. Through its numerous rocket launches and testing, over 16,500 official visitors flocked to South Texas for Starship launches in 2023 alone. With surges of tourism, even bringing over 11,000 tourists at one launch, SpaceX has been estimated to have brought nearly $100 million at Starbase. (6/21)

Canada's Maritime Launch Services Receives Infrastructure Reimbursement Approval for $30M Satellite Processing Facility  (Source: Maritime Launch Services)
Maritime Launch Services has received approval from the Province of Nova Scotia for the development of a satellite processing facility, as an eligible project for reimbursement under the Capital Investment Tax Credit (CITC) program. The program provides significant financial advantages to eligible corporations that invest in infrastructure and capital equipment for approved projects located in Nova Scotia.

Maritime Launch has received approval for an initial qualification of up to $7.5M in reimbursements under the CITC for the satellite processing facility project. Reimbursement is eligible to begin at the start of the construction of the satellite processing facility, planned for late 2024 and follows approval of a separate application in September 2023 for a project at Spaceport Nova Scotia. (6/21)

The Tipping Point In Commercial Spaceflight: 20 Years Ago Today (Source: Forbes)
Twenty years ago Friday, an unlikely group of aircraft designers and renegade commercial rocket engineers launched a civilian astronaut into space from an obscure desert airfield in Mojave, California. It was June 21, 2004; a peculiar airplane was rolled out of a hanger at dawn. A large crowd of excited onlookers had already gathered along the flight line at the Mojave Airport. White Knight had two widely separated fuselages, with half of its large wingspan between the two. Centered above that central wing was a sci-fi looking cockpit pod. Suspended below was a smaller vehicle with a similar but stubbier profile, SpaceShipOne. (6/21)

New Important Step for Norway and Germany's Space Cooperation (Source: High North News)
In 2021, the German company Isar Aerospace entered into a 20-year agreement with the Norwegian company Andøya Space to launch satellites from the then planned spaceport on the island of Andøya in Northern Norway. Andøya spaceport opened in November, and Norway and Germany have now clarified their responsibilities under international law regarding the imminent German launches. A joint declaration on the countries' obligations, including economic responsibility in the event of an accident, was signed on Wednesday. (6/20)

Rhea Space Activity Demonstrates Secure Quantum Communication with U.S. Special Operations Command in Norway (Source: Newswires)
Recently, Rhea Space Activity, Inc. (RSA) and Liberty Alliance, LLC. conducted a ground-to-ground quantum communication test during a technical demonstration in partnership with U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), Norwegian Special Operations Command (NORSOCOM), and the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment (FFI) in Norway. The demonstration completes the first phase in the development of RSA’s space-to-ground quantum communication capability, the Quantum Lovelace Augmentation Kit (QLOAK). (6/21)

ExLabs Receives Space Force Funding Increase to Further Develop System for Advanced Capture Solutions (Source: ExLabs)
Exploration Laboratories, ExLabs, a pioneering space exploration company, is proud to announce that it has received a $1.9 million Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) to advance its previously awarded SpaceWERX Orbital Prime Direct-to-Phase II contract from last year. This funding combined with private investment, will help accelerate further development of ExLabs' ACQR technology. With this funding, ExLabs will advance its Autonomous Capture & Acquisition Robot (ACQR) system development, providing a versatile solution for capturing and controlling non-cooperative objects. (6/21)

'Puffy Face Bird Leg’ Syndrome and Digital Twinning for Monitoring  Space Tourist Health (Source: The National)
Microgravity could pose significant health risks for some older space tourists, placing a dangerous strain on those with weak hearts, scientists have warned. Microgravity is known to be demanding on the body, leading to the redistribution of bodily fluids that causes “puffy face bird leg” syndrome – with a swollen, puffy face and skinny legs – and changes to the cardiovascular system.

One promising avenue for future research and safety in space travel, he said, is the development of human digital twins – a highly detailed virtual model of an individual's physiological systems. “By creating these digital replicas, we can simulate various scenarios and predict how different conditions, such as microgravity, might affect an individual's health. This approach allows for personalised risk assessments and tailored countermeasures,” said Dr. Lex van Loon. (6/21)

NASA Faces $80,000 Claim After Space Debris Hit Florida Family Home (Source: Phys.org)
An American family is claiming more than $80,000 from NASA after a small piece of debris fell from space and smashed through the roof of their Florida home, a law firm said Friday. The problem of space trash has risen in tandem with increased spatial traffic, and NASA's response could set a precedent for how future claims are handled, law firm Cranfill Sumner said. On March 8, an object weighing just 700 grams hit Alejandro Otero's home in Naples, Florida, making a hole in the roof. (6/22)

US Allies Cite Progress, But Say More Needed for Collective Response to Space Threats (Source: Breaking Defense)
While progress has been made toward better transatlantic cooperation, top brass from Europe’s four largest military space operators say there is still a ways to go in working out how Europe and the United States will jointly respond to growing threats from Russia and China.

“What we should do better is try to define a way [toward] collective response to the new kind of threat that could develop,” he said. “We should agree also on some important definitions of what is the threat, what is our responsibility? Once we are agreed on that, then we can move forward to to a collective response.” (6/21)

X-Bow to Develop Solid Rocket Motors for U.S. Navy Standard Missiles (Source: Space News)
X-Bow Systems announced it will develop solid rocket motors for the Standard missile, the U.S. Navy’s primary surface-to-air weapon for anti-air warfare and ballistic missile defense. The company received two contracts, one for $3.3 million to develop solid rocket motors for the Standard missile’s Mk 72 booster, and $4 million for solid rocket motors for the Mk 104 second stage. (6/21)

NASA Again Delays Starliner Departure From ISS (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft and its crew won’t return to Earth from the International Space Station until sometime in July at the earliest, NASA and Boeing said Friday evening. It’s the latest in a series of delays for Starliner’s return, which earlier in the week was moved to June 26. Small helium leaks in the craft’s thruster propulsion system have been a concern since shortly after Starliner lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on June 5 with astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board.

On Friday, one reason given for the new delay was to avoid conflicts with two spacewalks planned at the ISS on June 24 and July 2. “The move off Wednesday, June 26, deconflicts Starliner’s undocking and landing from a series of planned ISS spacewalks while allowing mission teams time to review propulsion system data,” NASA’s Space Station blog reported. NASA said mission managers will evaluate possible Starliner return dates after the ISS spacewalks. (6/21)

Exercise Illuminates Gaps in Responding to Theoretical Asteroid Threats (Source: Space Policy Online)
NASA and other U.S. and international agencies participated in a tabletop exercise in April to work through how they might effectively respond to a potential asteroid threat. This fifth planetary defense tabletop exercise, or TTX-5, postulated a threat 14 years from now and discovered quite a few gaps. International participation was a key aspect of TTX-5 and figuring out the process for making decisions both domestically and internationally is one of them. (6/20)

Starlink Satellites Could Damage the Environment for Decades, Study Says (Source: Independent)
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites could damage the Earth’s protective ozone layer when they are deorbited, new research suggests. Mega satellite constellations such as SpaceX’s Starlink spew copious amounts of aluminium oxide gas in the atmosphere that could deplete the ozone layer, according to the research published last week. (6/21)

GAO Discusses Orion Heat Shield Anomaly Root Cause, Artemis 3 Internal Schedule (Source: America Space)
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a sweeping report on the status of the largest NASA programs which are currently in development. It provided unique insights into the challenges which NASA is encountering as it attempts to implement Artemis, the most ambitious human spaceflight initiative in half a century. The report disclosed one probable root cause for the unexpected behavior of Artemis 1’s heat shield: the low permeability of its ablative material.

Since the middle of last year, the performance of the heat shield has been NASA’s most persistent concern in the lead-up to Artemis 2, the program’s first crewed mission. As it is heated, an ablative heat shield is supposed to slowly char, liberating microscopic flakes and gases; these products then carry thermal energy away from the spacecraft. Instead, Artemis 1’s heat shield lost numerous large chunks of Avcoat in a process known as spallation. Analysis indicated that the permeability of the material was lower than their models had indicated,” the auditors wrote. (6/21)