June 28, 2024

Amazon Delays Kuiper Testing (Source: Space News)
Amazon says initial tests of its Project Kuiper broadband constellation will be delayed to next year. Amazon had earlier aimed to start deploying more than 3,200 satellites in the first half of 2024 to begin beta trials with potential customers later in the year. Amazon now says the first production satellites will launch on an Atlas 5 in the fourth quarter of this year. The company provided the revised schedule at the opening of a new factory in Kirkland, Washington, where it will produce up to five Kuiper satellites a day. The company has a July 2026 deadline from the FCC to have half the constellation in orbit. (6/28)

Viasat to Develop Eight Satellites for Spain's Military (Source: Space News)
Viasat won an order for eight satellite communications terminals for Spain's military's maritime patrol aircraft. The contract, announced Thursday, is for terminals that will be installed in Spain's fleet of C295 maritime surveillance aircraft. The terminal is a hybrid Ka- and Ku-band aviation satcom terminal designed to communicate with constellations in different orbits and frequencies. (6/28)

Firefly Plans Launches at Sweden's Esrange Spaceport (Source: Space News)
Firefly Aerospace plans to launch its Alpha rocket from a Swedish site. The company said Thursday that it reached an agreement with the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) to launch Alpha from Esrange Space Centre in northern Sweden starting in 2026. Firefly and SSC say they expect the site to support Alpha launches for commercial, civil and defense customers. The announcement comes days after Firefly said it will launch Alpha from Wallops Island in Virginia. All Alpha launches to date have taken place from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, including one rescheduled for Sunday or Monday. (6/28)

Weather Delay for Japan's H3 Launch (Source: JAXA)
Weather has pushed back the launch of the next H3 rocket. JAXA said Friday that it has rescheduled the H3 launch of the ALOS-4 Earth observation satellite to late Sunday, citing a forecast of poor weather for the previous launch date of Saturday. The launch will be the third for the H3, after an unsuccessful launch last year and successful second launch earlier this year. (6/28)

SpaceX Gets Limited Boost in NLRB Fight From High Court Ruling (Source: Bloomberg)
A Supreme Court ruling on a case involving the Securities and Exchange Commission could affect SpaceX's lawsuit against the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The court, in a ruling Thursday, did not weigh in on whether the SEC's administrative law judges are unconstitutional, leaving in place a ruling from a lower court that they are. SpaceX has made a similar argument about the NLRB's administrative law judges in its efforts to throw out cases the board has filed against the company. Legal experts, though, say differences between the agencies may limit the power of any precedent. (6/28)

China Returns ~2 Kilos From Moon, Plans ~2030 Asteroid Sample Mission (Source: Space News)
China's Chang'e-6 spacecraft returned nearly two kilograms of samples from the far side of the moon. Chinese officials said Friday that the capsule that landed Tuesday had 1,935.3 grams of material the mission collected from Apollo Crater on the lunar farside. The mission was designed to collect up to two kilograms, and the amount returned is more than the 1,731 grams brought back by Chang'e-5 in 2020. Chinese officials also confirmed plans to launch the Tianwen-2 asteroid sample return and comet rendezvous mission in 2025, followed by the Tianwen-3 Mars sample return mission and Tianwen-4 Jupiter mission, both around 2030. (6/28)

South Korean Air Force to Launch Space Operations Group (Source: Korea Times)
South Korea's military will expand a squadron-level unit for space operations into the Space Operations Group in an effort to raise its operational efficiency in the crucial security domain. The Space Operations Group is slated to officially launch Sunday. The envisioned unit will focus on strengthening the response against space threats, as well as capabilities in identifying enemy, information in carrying out the Kill Chain preemptive strike platform and the Korea Air and Missile Defense system, pillars of South Korea's three-pronged deterrence system. (6/28)

CNES Chief Responds Harshly to Eumetsat’s Decision to Ditch Ariane 6 (Source: European Spaceflight)
CNES chief Philippe Baptiste has responded to Eumetsat’s decision to ditch Ariane 6 for Falcon 9, saying that it is a “brutal change” and “a very disappointing day for European space efforts.” The executive committee of Eumetsat, the European meteorological satellite agency, had asked the agency’s board of directors to cancel a contract it signed with Arianespace four years ago to launch its Meteosat MTG-S1 satellite. The mission would have been flown aboard the third Ariane 6 flight, which is expected to be launched in early 2025. The satellite will now be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. (6/28)

Hungarian VR Space Cabin Presented (Source: Budapest Times)
The first fully Hungarian developed simulation space cabin fitted with VR technology was presented in Budapest. The cabin, dubbed SpaceBuzz-HU, enables virtual space travel to Hungarian schools. (6/28)

Indonesia Aims to Build Cutting-Edge Spaceport But Faces Obstacles (Source: Voice of America)
Indonesia aims to launch 19 satellites into low-Earth orbit next year, part of an ambitious plan to move the country into the forefront of the world's growing space industry and reduce its reliance on other countries for its satellite data. The broader program, known as the 2045 space map, is set to begin next year. Officials hope to boost Indonesia's economy and drive foreign direct investment by leveraging its unique geography as a near-equatorial, fuel-efficient launch point for space travel and research. (6/27)

Ribbon Cut at Amazon's Kuiper Satellite Factory in Washington (Source: GeekWire)
Amazon gave U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and other VIPs a sneak peek at the company’s Project Kuiper satellite factory, where thousands of spacecraft are to be manufactured for a global broadband network. Today’s event included remarks by local officials as well as a ribbon-cutting ceremony — but access to sensitive areas of the 172,000-square-foot facility was limited due to concerns about confidentiality and export control requirements.

The factory, which quietly began operations in April, serves as the manufacturing hub for Amazon’s satellite project. Work is also being done at Project Kuiper’s 219,000-square-foot headquarters in nearby Redmond. (6/27)

Countdown to ESA's Hera Asteroid Mission (Source: ESA)
ESA’s Hera mission is due to launch in October this year on a quest to survey the Didymos binary asteroid system and study the results of the first-ever test of asteroid deflection. The spacecraft is currently undergoing its final system tests in the Netherlands in preparation for transport to its launch site in the USA. Meanwhile, in Germany, Hera’s Mission Control Team recently began launch preparations of their own. (6/27)

Space Race to Build the First Warp Drive (Source: The Debrief)
An international team of physicists behind several revolutionary warp drive concepts, including the first to require no exotic matter, says that recent unprecedented breakthroughs in physics and propulsion have launched the world powers into a Cold War-style, 21st-century space race to build the world’s first working warp drive.

“We have a space race brewing,” said Gianni Martie, the founder of the Applied Physics (AP) think tank and co-author on a pair of forthcoming warp drive research papers, in an email to The Debrief. “There’s still a ton to discover and invent, but we have the next steps now, which we didn’t have before.” (6/27)

Russian Spy Satellite Reportedly Continues Suspicious Maneuvers (Source: Space News)
A Russian inspector satellite known as Luch 2 is on the move again, continuing its pattern of unusual maneuvers that have raised eyebrows in the space intelligence community, the space tracking firm Slingshot Aerospace said June 27. Slingshot reports that the satellite, which has been in orbit for just over a year, has been positioning itself near several communications satellites in what appears to be an ongoing signals intelligence-gathering mission.  (6/27)

Surprising Asteroid Sample Reveals Bennu May Have Originated from an Ocean World (Source: CNN)
An early analysis of a sample collected from the asteroid Bennu suggests that the space rock had an unexpectedly water-rich past — and it may have even splintered off from an ancient ocean world. The biggest surprise was finding magnesium-sodium phosphate within the sample, which remote sensing didn’t initially detect when OSIRIS-REx, or the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security — Regolith Explorer mission, was orbiting Bennu.

Magnesium-sodium phosphate is a compound that can be dissolved in water and serves as a component of biochemistry for life. It’s possible that the asteroid may have broken away from a tiny, primitive ocean world that no longer exists in our solar system, the researchers said. The asteroid’s sample largely consists of clay minerals, including serpentine, which makes the sample remarkably similar to rocks found at midocean ridges on Earth. (6/27)

Gravitational Wave Researchers Cast New Light on Antikythera Mechanism Mystery (Source: University of Glasgow)
Techniques developed to analyse the ripples in spacetime detected by one of the 21st century’s most sensitive pieces of scientific equipment have helped cast new light on the function of the oldest known analogue computer. Astronomers from the University of Glasgow have used statistical modeling techniques developed to analyse gravitational waves to establish the likely number of holes in one of the broken rings of the Antikythera mechanism – an ancient artifact which was showcased in the movie Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

While the movie version enabled the intrepid archaeologist to travel through time, the Glasgow team’s results provide fresh evidence that one of the components of the Antikythera mechanism was most likely used to track the Greek lunar year. They also offer new insight into the remarkable craftsmanship of the ancient Greeks.

The mechanism was discovered in 1901 by divers exploring a sunken shipwreck near the Aegean island of Antikythera. Although the shoebox-sized mechanism had broken into fragments and eroded, it quickly became clear that it contained a complex series of gears which were unusually intricately-tooled. (6/27)

The Race to Prevent Satellite Armageddon (Source: The Economist)
A Russian satellite called Cosmos-2553, which is thought to be secretly testing the necessary electronics some 2,000km above Earth’s surface. A nuclear detonation there would probably be too high to wreak any meaningful direct damage on the surface of Earth. But it could cause what Lieutenant-Colonel James McCue, an outgoing official with America’s Defence Threat Reduction Agency, calls a “satellite Armageddon”. Many of the nearby spacecraft tightly packed in lower orbits would be immediately fried; a greater number farther afield would slowly succumb to the radioactive aftermath. The blast would affect all countries’ satellites indiscriminately. (6/27)

Russian Satellite Breaks Up, Creating Debris in Low Earth Orbit (Source: Space News)
A Russian satellite in low Earth orbit broke up June 26, creating more than 100 pieces of trackable debris and briefly causing the International Space Station crew to take shelter. The satellite, Resurs P1, suffered some kind of event at around 12 p.m. Eastern June 26, U.S Space Command (USSPACECOM) said in a June 27 statement, creating more than 100 pieces of debris. The statement did not indicate any potential cause for the breakup. (6/27)

MDA Space Awarded $1 Billion Contract to Design and Deliver CanadArm3 Flight System (Source: MDA Space)
MDA Space has been awarded $1 billion from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) for the next phases of the Canadarm3 program. The most advanced space robotics system ever conceived, Canadarm3 will be used aboard Gateway, a multinational collaboration led by NASA to establish a space station in lunar orbit to support human and robotic missions to the surface of the Moon – a key element of the Artemis program. (6/27)

North Korea Claims Successful Test to Develop Multiple Warhead Missile (Source: Reuters)
North Korea has successfully conducted an important test aimed at developing missiles carrying multiple warheads, state media agency KCNA said on Thursday, a claim rejected by South Korea as "deception" to mask a failed launch. North Korea said the test was carried out on Wednesday using the first-stage, solid-fuel engine of an intermediate-range ballistic missile. (6/27)

ULA Owners Add ‘Review Team’ After Pentagon Airs Concerns About Launch Schedule (Source: Defense One)
As the Pentagon wonders whether United Launch Alliance will keep its launch schedule, co-owners Lockheed Martin and Boeing have formed an “independent review team” to help keep things on track. Last month, Space Force acquisition czar Frank Calvelli laid out his concerns about ULA’s Vulcan heavy-lift rocket, which first flew in January and is slated to launch 25 national-security missions by the end of 2027.

Calvelli noted that ULA has yet to prove it can build Vulcans fast enough to handle the 70 total launches that the company has on order—and that the company has recently averaged fewer than a half-dozen launches a year. Within a week of Cavelli's letter, Lockheed and Boeing established the new team. The team will look at the entire program “from soup to nuts,” including ULA’s production facilities and launch pad readiness, then provide pointers and techniques that may help keep things on track.

Once that team’s work is done, Tory Bruno said he will establish a review team of his own that will operate “for the next couple of years” until Vulcans are launching quickly enough to suit ULA’s customers. (6/26)

Virgin Galactic and Others Become Operational with FAA’s Space-Age Air Traffic Tool (Source: FedScoop)
Three more companies have started using the FAA’s Space Data Integrator, a tool designed to prepare air traffic controllers for the space age, the agency said. The FAA announced that Firefly, Virgin Galactic, and Sierra Space have become operational with the program.

The move is notable because the platform is supposed to help alleviate the impact of rocket launches on commercial flight schedules — an ongoing problem, particularly in Florida and along the Space Coast where commercial launches occur on a frequent basis. Those three companies “became operational” with SDI in June, according to the agency, while SpaceX has been hooked up to the platform since 2021. (6/26)

Texas Space Commission Gets Executive Director (Source: KTSA)
Governor Greg Abbott is announcing a new executive director of the Texas Space Commission. Norman Roy Garza, Jr. will be leading the way as Texas aims to become a national leader in the space industry and in space exploration. “The Texas Space Commission was created last year to ensure that our great state remains the national leader in space exploration and innovation for decades to come,” said Governor Abbott. “Norman Garza will help lead that mission as the Commission’s first Executive Director.

Thailand Ambassador Meets ISRO Chairman (Source: ISRO)
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Thailand to the Republic of India, H.E. Ms. Pattarat Hongtong, met Shri Somanath S., Chairman, ISRO/Secretary, Department of Space at the U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) in Bengaluru on June 25, 2024. Shri M. Sankaran, Director URSC and Mr. Racha Aribarg, Consul-General of Thailand (at Chennai) along with senior ISRO officials and Thailand diplomats have also participated in this meeting. (6/26)