July 3, 2024

NASA Picks SpaceX to Launch COSI Astronomy Satellite (Source: Space News)
NASA has selected SpaceX to launch an astronomy satellite on a Falcon 9. NASA announced Tuesday it awarded SpaceX a $69 million contract to launch the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) spacecraft, a small Explorer-class satellite with a gamma-ray telescope. The launch is scheduled for August 2027. NASA picked COSI for development in 2021 with plans to launch it in 2025, but delayed its development because of a budget crunch. (7/3)

Artemis-3 Lunar Landing: 2026 or 2028 (Source: Space News)
NASA is pressing ahead with the Artemis 3 lunar landing mission in September 2026 even as the agency's assessment suggests it is likely the lander will not be ready in time. During a confirmation review, NASA set a 70% joint confidence level schedule baseline of February 2028 for the SpaceX Starship lunar lander, meaning there is a 70% chance that the lander will be ready by then. That baseline was set last December but not widely publicized by the agency until it was included in a GAO report last month. NASA confirmed that date was accurate but stated it was "a conservative approach that assumes broad risk realization" as it keeps the September 2026 date for the mission. (7/3)

Bulgaria's EnduroSat to Build Botswanan Satellite (Source: Space News)
EnduroSat has signed a deal to build Botswana's first satellite. The Bulgarian company said it will build a 3U cubesat for the country, working with engineers from Botswana International University of Science and Technology. Botsat-1 will have a hyperspectral sensor to gather ground composition data to support mining and agriculture businesses in the country. It is slated to launch on the Transporter-13 rideshare mission next February. (7/3)

Companies Aim to Launch Shielded AI-Enabled Nvidia Chip (Source: Space News)
Two companies are working to deploy the most advanced AI-enabled chip in space. Cosmic Shielding Corp. is supporting the upcoming launch of a radiation-hardened edge computer from San Francisco startup Aethero on Transporter-11 later this month. The mission will feature an off-the-shelf Nvidia chip surrounded by shielding to allow it to work in the harsh radiation environment of space. If successful, the demonstration could allow companies to use commercial components for advanced applications rather than more expensive radiation-hardened chips. (7/3)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Satellites Wednesday Morning (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell payloads Wednesday morning. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 4:55 a.m. Eastern and put 20 Starlink satellites into orbit, 13 with direct-to-cell payloads. SpaceX has now launched more than 100 Starlink satellites with payloads that allow direct communication with unmodified smartphones. The launch also used a booster that suffered a rare abort at engine ignition during a launch attempt last month, requiring SpaceX to make unspecified repairs to it. (7/3)

Firefly Delays California Launch Again, No Date Set (Source: Noozhawk)
Firefly further postponed an Alpha launch after a scrub early Tuesday. The company initially said Tuesday it would make another attempt last night to launch the rocket on the "Noise of Summer" mission after correcting a ground equipment issue that halted the original launch attempt. However, the company said later in the day that it would delay the launch to "evaluate data and test systems" from the original launch attempt. Firefly has not set a new date for the launch, which is carrying nine NASA-sponsored cubesats. (7/3)

Russia Plans Launch of First New Space Station Elements in 2027 (Source: TASS)
Russian officials say they will launch the first elements of a new space station in 2027. Yuri Borisov, head of Roscosmos, signed a new schedule for the Russian Orbital Station on Tuesday that called for the launch of the first module in late 2027 on an Angara 5 rocket, followed by additional components through the early 2030s. The first crew would launch to the station in late 2028 on a new crewed vehicle Roscosmos says it is also developing. The cost of the station is projected to be about $7 billion, but with little evidence of both the hardware and funding needed to develop the schedule on that stated schedule. (7/3)

Cygnus NG-21 to Deliver ISS Cargo From Florida in August (Source: CollectSpace)
Northrop Grumman announced the Cygnus flying the NG-21 mission to the ISS next month will be called the S.S. Francis R. "Dick" Scobee, after the late NASA astronaut who commanded the shuttle on that tragic January 1986 launch. Scobee had flown two other shuttle missions before Challenger. The naming continues a company tradition of naming spacecraft after deceased astronauts. The flight is targeted to launch in early August. It will be the second Cygnus to fly on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as Northrop Grumman transitions its Antares rocket from using Russian-built engines to U.S.-based hardware developed with Firefly Aerospace. (7/3)

Why Space Nukes are Freaking Everyone Out (Source: Politico)
The fact that there’s nuclear material in orbit isn’t what’s concerning people — it’s pretty normal for things in space to run on nuclear power. The alert level in Washington quickly changes, however, when it’s a weapon. Even a small weapon detonated in orbit could have a global effect very different from the use of a weapon on the ground. The U.S. has been ramping up its space capabilities, for military use and communication services, among other critical functions: Such a weapon could affect financial and consumer transactions, the commercial space industry and military assets in orbit.

Last month, a top DOD official warned that the detonation of a Russian nuke in low Earth orbit — where the majority of satellites are, as well as the International Space Station — could make the area unusable for a year due to radiation and potential debris flying at high speeds. Sure, it would also knock out Russia’s and its friends’ capabilities too. But Moscow might see the move as a way to level the playing field on Earth. (7/1)

Mom Who Smashed Through Patrick Space Force Base Gate is Indicted; Faces Federal Time if Convicted (Source: Florida Today)
A 29-year-old Cocoa woman who authorities said rammed a gate at Patrick Space Force Base, then carjacked a vehicle with her 4-year-old child in tow and led deputies on a two-county, high-speed chase, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury. Krishna Jade Janosky was indicted on charges of unauthorized entry onto a military installation, grand theft auto, fleeing and eluding law enforcement and damaging government property. (7/2)

Boeing’s Starliner Can Stay in Space Beyond 45-Day Limit, NASA Says (Source: Space.com)
Boeing's Starliner capsule is performing well enough on its first-ever astronaut mission that it will likely be able to stay in orbit beyond the initially envisioned 45-day limit, NASA says. Both NASA and Boeing are trying to understand why some of Starliner's reaction control system (RCS) thrusters experienced issues in the leadup to docking with the ISS on June 6, and why several helium leaks have sprung up in the capsule.

As such, Starliner will stay in space until at least later in the summer as testing and analyses continue. Testing on June 15 in orbit was unable to find the root cause of the issues, although agency officials stressed on Friday (June 28) that progress has been made: the helium leaks have stabilized, and all but one of the errant thrusters is rated for use to come back to Earth. (Starliner has 28 thrusters altogether in its RCS; five were misbehaving, and of those five, only one will be taken offline during undocking.) (7/2)

Commercial Space Stations Go International (Source: Space News)
The Western ISS partners will continue working together on elements of Artemis, like the lunar Gateway, but without a formal agreement about cooperation in low Earth orbit. (Russian officials say they will develop their own space station, although the country’s space program is showing signs of decay.)

As NASA supports the development of commercial space stations that will replace the ISS, American companies and international partners alike are trying to figure out how to work together under a new paradigm. Barter agreements among agencies will give way to agreements, contracts and joint ventures involving countries and companies. The companies developing those stations are taking different approaches to attracting ISS partners and other nations to their facilities. Click here. (7/3)

NASA Administrator Weighs in on China’s Historic Lunar Far-Side Samples — and Potential US Access (Source: CNN)
The government of China now possesses something that no other humans have ever encountered — rocks and soil from the far side of the moon. The successful return of the Chang’e-6 lunar mission with the historic cache on June 25 was a scientific coup that further solidified China’s place as one of the world’s top space powers, rivaled only by the United States.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told CNN he’s “pleased to hear CNSA intends to share” the materials collected by the Chang’e-6 lunar probe last month. The samples, gathered using a drill and a mechanical arm, include up to 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of lunar dust and rocks from an ancient crater on the moon’s far side, which is never visible to Earth.

“Make it available to the international community just as we will when we start bringing additional samples back, and as we did a half a century ago with the samples brought back from the six Apollo moon landings,” Nelson said. (7/1)

China’s Commercial Space Hub Opening Clashes with Exploding Rocket Mishap (Source: South China Morning Post)
On the same day that a “structural failure” sent the country’s most powerful rocket crashing into the outskirts of a city in Henan province, China’s first international commercial aerospace launch centre was declared operational in Hainan. Yang Tianliang, chairman of Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Co Ltd (HICAL) said the site is scheduled to conduct its first rocket launches this year, marking the start of commercial operations.

Xinhua reported on Sunday that HICAL is working with rocket developers to carry out experiments related to vertical landings and the recovery of rockets from the sea. Although it was a relatively isolated case, industry insiders believe the incident will prompt private rocket companies to be more cautious, while regulators will also step up oversight of launch approvals.

A veteran observer of the space sector, who asked not to be named, said that failures are common, but many accidents occur in remote areas and do not cause a stir. Sunday’s incident however, was relatively close to a densely populated area and “fortunately it did not cause any casualties”. However, the accident was concerning and it is likely to lead the authorities to insist that commercial rocket companies are “subject to a safety review” in the short term, along with tighter regulation of launches in future, he said. (7/2)

Save Freedom: We Must Stop the Destruction of the International Space Station (Source: Space News)
The International Space Station must be preserved for future generations. It is without doubt nor question one of humanity’s greatest achievements, on par with and in many ways exceeding the value to our global society of the Pyramids, the Parthenon, Angor Wat, or any other World Heritage sites. Like them, it must be saved from the short-sighted silliness of bureaucratic bullies and their version of a space bulldozer. Click here. (7/2)

SpaceX Will Attempt the First Commercial Spacewalk (Source: Popular Science)
This month, the burgeoning era of private spaceflight takes a big step forward. SpaceX is set to launch Polaris Dawn, its second all-civilian mission (after Inspiration4 in 2021) and the first in their Polaris program.

Originally announced in 2022, Polaris Dawn is designed to push the limits of SpaceX’s technology and help pave the way for a longer-term human presence in space. It’s the first of three missions funded by billionaire Jared Isaacman, who also bankrolled Inspiration4. Although its launch date has been pushed back a few times over the years, it is now set to launch no earlier than July 12, 2024 according to a recent interview with Isaacman. (7/2)

What's Next for the Event Horizon Telescope? Twelve Possible New Targets (Source: Phys.org)
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is an international collaboration that uses a global network of radio telescopes. Connecting multiple telescopes together in a technique known as interferometry enables them all to work together, forming one massive virtual telescope the size of the distance between them. The Center for Astrophysics at the Harvard & Smithsonian identified 12 promising supermassive black hole targets for the EHT. Click here. (7/1)

Sidus Space and NASA Stennis Complete In-Space Payload Mission (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space, in partnership with NASA Stennis Space Center, report that the primary objectives of the NASA Autonomous Satellite Technology for Resilient Applications (“ASTRA”) payload mission were successfully met on July 1.  Sidus Space conducted integration and communications testing of the flight unit, toward the development of autonomous systems for aerospace applications. (7/2)

New Florida Spaceport Territories Signed Into Law (Source: WFTV)
Governor Ron DeSantis signed off on a bill that, as of Monday, will add South Florida’s Homestead Air Reserve Base and the panhandle’s Tyndall Air Force Base to Florida’s growing spaceport territories. Space Florida’s president and CEO, Rob Long, told Channel 9 that the move will only strengthen the state’s standing as a global hub for aerospace commerce. (7/1)

EIF and NATO Innovation Fund Join Forces to Unlock Private Capital (Source: EIF)
The European Investment Fund (EIF) and the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate in supporting the long-term growth of the defence, security, and resilience sectors across Europe. The EIF is part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group and the NIF is a standalone venture-capital fund backed by 24 NATO countries.

The MoU aims to encourage more private-capital funds to become active investors in technology sectors associated with defence and security, enabling EU companies to raise equity funding from a broader range of sources. The partnership reflects the shared interest of the NIF and EIF in establishing a framework to support start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and midcaps, as well as in enhancing the whole ecosystem by involving all the main stakeholders. (7/1)

Ahead of Ariane 6 Launch, What are the Other Big Rockets? (Source: Space Daily)
Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket is due to blast off for the first time next week, but it will launch into a quickly changing market for heavy space launchers increasingly dominated by SpaceX. Here are some of the other big rockets competing for the lucrative job of hauling satellites and other missions into space. Click here. (7/2)

Indian State Releases Space Policy Aiming for Growth (Source: The Hindu)
The Tamil Nadu government released the draft Tamil Nadu Space Industrial Policy 2024, which aims to create direct and indirect employment prospects for nearly 10,000 persons in 10 years and also promised a slew of incentives to the players in the sector. The policy would be applicable for all enterprises engaged in the manufacturing and services pertaining to the space sector, the draft policy uploaded on the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd’s (TIDCO) website said. (7/2)

SERA to Fly Citizens From India, Nigeria, Island Nations to Space (Source: Flying)
The U.S.-based Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA), which describes itself as a “space agency for everyone,” will fly citizens from India, Nigeria, and the small island developing states (SIDS) to the edge of the atmosphere in partnership with Blue Origin, the space tourism venture of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Each nation is allotted one seat on an upcoming Blue Origin flight, and applicants can secure a slot for just $2.50.

“India has achieved remarkable milestones in its space journey the past few years, including becoming the first country to reach the moon’s southern pole,” said Joshua Skurla, co-founder of SERA, of the program’s newest partner nation. The U.S. and India last month strengthened their collaboration on human spaceflight and space security. NASA is also training an Indian astronaut for a trip to the International Space Station as early as this year.

SERA works with countries that have had few or no citizens reach the final frontier. In April, it purchased six seats on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket that will fly citizen astronauts to the Kármán line, which at 100 kilometers is considered the boundary between Earth and space. Formerly known as the Crypto Space Agency and funded by NFTs, the program played a role in Blue Origin’s fifth crewed spaceflight, NS-21, awarding a seat to Brazilian civil engineer Victor Hespanha, that country’s second astronaut, through a raffle. (7/1)