July 23, 2024

Snakebit Rover (Source: Space Review)
NASA announced last week it was cancelling VIPER, a robotic lunar rover mission, a move that took some by surprise given that the rover was virtually complete after spending nearly half a billion dollars. Jeff Foust reports on why NASA is walking away from the mission and its implications for commercial lunar landers. Click here. (7/23)
 
Staying on Course: The Vital Role of GPS Backup Systems (Source: Space Review)
There is growing concern about the effect of jamming of GPS signals on sectors like aviation. Lauren Miller describes how those concerns can be mitigated by the use of backup systems even as some countries consider doing away with terrestrial alternatives to satellite-based navigation. Click here. (7/23)
 
The Threat From China and Russia’s Space-Based SIGINT Satellites (Source: Space Review)
Both China and Russia have invested in new signals intelligence, or SIGINT, satellites to eavesdrop on Western communications and specifically for naval reconnaissance. Matthew Mowthorpe examines what is known about those satellites. Click here. (7/23)

ABL Suffers Irrecoverable Rocket Damage During Alaska Launch Pad Test (Source: Space News)
ABL Space Systems says its second RS1 rocket suffered "irrecoverable" damage after a test on its launch pad. The company, in a brief statement Monday, said the rocket was damaged by a residual fire after a static-fire test on the pad at Kodiak Island, Alaska. The company was preparing for the first launch of the rocket since its inaugural flight more than 18 months ago, when its engines shut down seconds after liftoff. ABL did not provide any other details about the incident or the impact on its plans. The company has attracted a lineup of customers that includes the U.S. Space Force and Lockheed Martin, and is also slated to perform a "U.K. Pathfinder" launch from SaxaVord Spaceport next year. (7/23)

ESA Confident That Ariane 6 Success Puts an End to Europe's Launcher Crisis (Source: Space News)
ESA's leadership believes Europe's "launcher crisis" is behind it after the Ariane 6 launch earlier this month. Josef Aschbacher called the launch a "100% success" despite an anomaly later in the mission that prevented the upper stage from performing a deorbit burn. ESA expects to provide more details about that anomaly after a task force meeting at the end of this week. The first operational Ariane 6 launch is planned for late this year. The smaller Vega C rocket is also on track for a return to flight between mid-November and mid-December, its first since a failure in late 2022. (7/23)

Space Plays Key Role in DoD Arctic Strategy (Source: Space News)
Space plays a key role in a new Defense Department Arctic strategy. The strategy, released Monday, emphasizes the increasing reliance on satellites for critical activities in the Arctic. The Pentagon is calling for investments in space-based capabilities to enhance communications, intelligence gathering and monitoring activities. A key trend highlighted in the document is China's ambition to expand its footprint in the Arctic through infrastructure investments and an increased military presence, in collaboration with Russia. (7/23)

China Aims for 50 Nations as Partners in Lunar Base (Source: Space News)
China wants to have 50 nations involved in its International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) effort. The chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program said in a television interview that China wants to work 500 foreign scientific institutions in 50 countries on the ILRS, which has the long-term goal of establishing a base at the south polar region of the moon.

China and Russia have attracted 10 countries, while a series of universities, companies, institutes and regional organizations have signed memorandums of understanding on the ILRS. However, that effort is going slower than expected, with China yet to create the International Lunar Research Station Cooperation Organization (ILRSCO) it once said it would set up in 2023. (7/23)

SpaceX Chosen to Launch NASA/NOAA Weather Satellite (Source: NASA)
NASA selected SpaceX to launch a weather satellite. NASA announced Monday it awarded SpaceX a contract valued at $112.7 million for the launch of NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) 4 spacecraft on a Falcon 9 in 2027. JPSS-4 is the fourth and final satellite in the series of polar-orbiting weather satellites. It is unclear if any other launch vehicles were eligible to compete for the launch. (7/23)

Space Force’s Calvelli Aims to ‘Integrate’ Space Acquisition Organizations (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Pentagon's head of space acquisition wants to integrate the various organizations that handle procurement of space systems and services. Frank Calvelli, assistant secretary for space acquisition and integration, announced in a memo earlier this month he has created a high-level office to oversee procurement work by the Space Force's Space Systems Command as well as the Space Development Agency and Space Rapid Capabilities Office. The new office, led by Claire Leon, will work to ensure the efforts by the three organizations fit together. (7/23)

ULA National Security Launch Contract Hits $4.5B (Source: GovCon Wire)
United Launch Alliance has been awarded $1.1 billion contract modification from the US Space Force for launch services under the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 program. The modification boosts ULA's total award to $4.5 billion. (7/22)

Replica Rocket Part of free Exhibition at Spaceport Cornwall (Source: The Packet)
UKSA's 72ft replica rocket has returned to Spaceport Cornwall and will form part of a free space exhibition. It arrived back at its home in Newquay after the rocket completed a Space For Everyone UK tour. The new exhibition coincided with Space Exploration Day yesterday (Saturday, July 20), commemorating man's historic first steps on the moon back in 1969. (7/21)

NASA Suborbital Mission Launches at White Sands NM (Source: Space Daily)
Investigators at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, will use observations from a recently-launched sounding rocket mission to provide a clearer image of how and why the Sun's corona grows so much hotter than the visible surface of Earth's parent star. The MaGIXS-2 mission - short for the second flight of the Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer - launched from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on Tuesday, July 16. The mission's goal is to determine the heating mechanisms in active regions on the Sun by making critical observations using X-ray spectroscopy. (7/22)

Top Official in China's Rocket Force Investigated for Corruption (Source: Space Daily)
A top Chinese official in Beijing's secretive Rocket Force has been placed under investigation for corruption, state media said, deepening a crackdown on alleged graft in the military. Sun Jinming was kicked out of the ruling Communist Party and is under investigation for "grave violations of party discipline and laws", state news agency Xinhua said Thursday, using a common euphemism for graft. (7/19)

Senior Scientists Complain of Unfairness in Promotions at ISRO (Source: New Indian Express)
There are loud rumblings of “unfairness and merit taking a backseat” at the country’s premier ISRO. Some senior scientists complained that there is tangible discrimination in extension of service and disparity in promotions. They pointed out that one person, a “close friend” of a top official, was promoted unfairly. They complained of toxic influence of “caste and regional considerations”, instead of merit, coming to play in the organization. (7/21)

Civilian Guardians Participate in ‘Azimuth’ Missions Training (Source: USSF)
Two procurement experts from the Space Force are the first Guardian civilians to graduate from the demanding “Azimuth” aerospace missions training program for early career personnel. Mallory Avila and Aman Zemoy, both acquisition logistics management specialists with the Space Force’s Space Systems Command, graduated in June from the three-week training program held at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Azimuth is designed to immerse top performers in the board range of aerospace missions conducted across military services. (7/18)

Artificial Intelligence Will Let Humanity Talk to Alien Civilizations (Source: Scientific American)
Large language models may enable real-time communication with extraterrestrial civilizations despite the vast distances between stars. We need to start thinking about what to tell them about us.

As alien-curious scientists, we propose advancing METI by transmitting not just music, math or brief descriptions of ourselves but something more meaningful: a well-curated large language model that encapsulates the diverse essence of humanity and the world we live in. This would enable extraterrestrial civilizations to indirectly converse with us and learn about us without being hindered by the vast distances of space and its corresponding human lifetime delays in communication. Aliens could learn one of our languages, ask the LLM questions about us and receive replies that are representative of humanity. (7/20)

Astroscale UK Secures Contract for Final Phase of ELSA-M In-Orbit Demonstration (Source: Astroscale)
Astroscale has secured EUR 13.95 million (approximately $15 million) from the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency to support the final phase of the End-of-Life by Astroscale-Multiple (ELSA-M) in-orbit demonstration. The funding was released following the securing of the contract with Eutelsat OneWeb in the context of the Sunrise Partnership Project, a public-private partnership between ESA and the Eutelsat Group. (7/22)

Mercury Has an 11-Mile Thick Diamond Layer Between its Core and Mantle (Source: TechSpot)
Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system and has always been a mystery due to its dark surface and high core density. However, astronomers have long known that its surface contains significant amounts of graphite, a form of carbon. A new reveals that a thick diamond layer lies beneath that graphite crust at its core-mantle boundary. (7/21)

China Comes Up with Attack Plan for Starlink-Like Satellites (Source: Times of India)
China's People Liberation Army has deployed its submarine with a laser weapon to counter military threats to Beijing, including Starlink satellites. Using missiles to attack such satellites is highly inefficient. Submarine-based laser weapons can solve these issues. (7/22)

How the CIA 'Kidnapped' a Soviet Moon Probe During the Space Race (Source: Space.com)
To gain insight on how the Soviet Union built moon-bound gear, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) carried out a covert spy job on a Soviet exhibit in 1959. A CIA action team dismantled a "Lunik 2" exhibit to document what techniques and technologies were used by the Soviet Union.

Years later, that secretive act was detailed by the CIA and ballyhooed as a stealthy spy operation that was done unbeknownst to the Soviet Union. The unusual overnight caper by the CIA involved Soviet upper stage space hardware that was being toted around as part of an exhibition to promote Soviet industrial and economic achievements. (7/21)

Futuramic Expands on Space Coast (Source: North Brevard Business Review)
Futuramic, a Michigan-based company that provides advanced engineering, fabrication, and machining services to the aviation and aerospace industry, announced plans to build a 6,000 sq. ft. addition to its existing 12,000 sq. ft. assembly and manufacturing building in Titusville. The company, which services both commercial aerospace companies and government missions for NASA and the Space Force, purchased the site in 2022, with plans to create a business campus on adjoining property. The company anticipates a project cost of more than $1.2 million. (3/24)

NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for NOAA’s JPSS-4 Mission (Source: NASA)
NASA, on behalf of NOAA, has selected SpaceX to provide launch services for NOAA’s JPSS-4 mission. The spacecraft is part of the multi-satellite cooperative Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) program, a partnership between NASA and NOAA. This is a firm fixed price contract with a value of approximately $112.7 million, which includes launch services and other mission related costs. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the satellite from California. (7/22)