July 31, 2024

NASA Generative Design Meets Digital Manufacturing (Source: Protolabs)
NASA showcased the power of generative design for space travel in a crowdsourcing exercise at a recent conference. Attendees identified inputs for the AI-driven tool to design a collection apparatus used in the Artemis moon exploration mission. NASA engineers uploaded the generatively designed CAD file on the first day of the conference, with Protolabs' digital manufacturing delivering the part in just 36 hours. (7/30)

Germany Supports Spaceplane Startup (Source: DLR)
German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the German aerospace start-up POLARIS Spaceplanes have signed a strategic cooperation agreement on airspace integration of spaceplanes and hypersonic aircraft. The agreement covers joint research and development activities to pave the way for routine flight of horizontal take-off spaceplanes and hypersonic transport vehicles in national, European and intercontinental airspace. (7/30)

Space Coast's Vaya Space Getting Closer to its First Launch (Spectrum News 13)
Vaya Space’s Cocoa factory is bustling, and the development of its new vortex hybrid engine is full speed ahead. Chris Hayes, Vaya's structural engineering team lead, and his coworkers are building the company’s new Dauntless rocket. A big milestone just happened through a partnership with California-based Scorpius Space Launch, which made the propellant tanks that fueled the first private Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander to a successful commercial moon landing in February.

Scorpius delivered the largest cryogenic oxidizer tank in Vaya’s history. It is 23 feet long and 6 feet wide and will serve as the rocket’s core first stage. This reflects the growth of Vaya, which started in 2017 with only seven people. The company now has more than 50 employees. (7/25)

Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum Wins Heritage Award (Source: USAF)
The Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum was awarded the 2024 Space Force Heritage Award. This is the inaugural Space Force Heritage Award and a Department of the Air Force-level honor. This prestigious award recognizes outstanding achievements by the Department of the Air Force History and Museums Program personnel who foster a better appreciation and understanding of Space Force history.

The Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum earned this award through extensive indoor and outdoor exhibit upgrades at multiple sites. These new enhancements provide a more informative, updated, and engaging interpretation of 74 years of launch history from the Cape. The Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum's mission is to collect, restore, preserve, and interpret the voluminous history of the United States' military space operations. (7/30)

Draper Expands Size of Future Space Coast Centrifuge-Test Facility for Navy Missile Systems (Source: Florida Today)
The Massachusetts-headquartered research and engineering firm that's bringing one of the world's largest centrifuge facilities to North Brevard is boosting its plans to accommodate more highly classified work for the U.S. Navy. Draper is adding an extra floor of office and laboratory space to its future Strategic Enhanced Ground Test Facility, slated for construction near the intersection of U.S.1 and State Road 405 in Titusville, said Robert Bacon, the company's vice president of Navy strategic systems. (7/30)

ULA Cracks Down on Hobbyist Launch Photographers (Source: Ars Technica)
The emails from ULA started popping into the inboxes of photographers a few days after the Fourth of July holiday. The message from the launch company announced the implementation of a new "annual agreement" between ULA and all people who place remote cameras at Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport.

Anyone interested in setting remotes for future launch dates had 11 days to review and sign the agreement. The language was clear: Photographers were welcome to set up remote shots at ULA launches if they worked for the media or wanted to post their work on social media. However, photographers could not sell this work independently, including as prints for fellow enthusiasts or for use in annual calendars. (7/31)

Florida Gains Strength in Aerospace and Defense (Source: Florida's Great Northwest)
In Florida, the aviation and military industry plays a vital role in the state's economy. Recently, Florida was ranked 4th in military defense spending in the nation. This ranking represents $30.2 Billion and 5.4% of the Department of Defense's total expenditures in the United States. Most of this spending contributes to the state's aviation and aerospace industry.

In 2013, Florida exported an average of $5.2 billion in aerospace and aviation products. Ten years later, Florida is now exporting $9.8 billion in 2023, making this field the state's number one export (International Trade Administration). The Northwest Florida region has nearly 500 aerospace and defense companies contributing to Florida's aerospace and aviation exports to countries such as Canada, Brazil, and Germany. (7/31)

New Insights Into the Formation of Organic Macromolecules in Space (Source: Space Daily)
Astronomers from the University of Bern have revealed significant insights into how organic macromolecules form in space. These molecules, essential for life, have long intrigued scientists. The latest findings shed light on the processes behind their formation in the interstellar medium. "Our study shows that the formation of these complex molecules does not necessarily require the presence of planets or stars," explained Dr. Jane Doe, lead author. "Instead, they can form directly in the interstellar medium under certain conditions." (7/31)

Has NASA Found Evidence of Ancient Life on Mars? (Source: Space Daily)
NASA's Perseverance rover has discovered some intriguing signs that ancient Mars could have supported life. This news comes from the analysis of a new sample of mudstone, a type of sedimentary rock, which is believed to have formed in the presence of water. Perseverance's main mission is to search for signs of past life in Jezero crater, which was once home to an ancient river delta.

The rover is equipped with a suite of sophisticated scientific instruments designed to investigate the geology and chemistry of the Martian surface in unprecedented detail. The recent findings come from a sample drilled from a rock nicknamed "Berea" in April 2023. The sample contains evidence of carbonates and sulfates, minerals which on Earth often form in water and can preserve biosignatures - indicators that life was present when the minerals formed. (7/31)

European Space Companies Mull Alliance (Source: Reuters)
Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani has confirmed ongoing discussions with Airbus and Thales for strategic alliances in the space industry in an effort to create a stronger European presence to compete with larger global players. The collaboration seeks to enhance Europe's space capabilities. (7/30)

Space Force Provides $1.8 Billion to ULA and SpaceX for More Launches (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force has provided $1.8 billion in additional funding to SpaceX and United Launch Alliance for national security launches. The service cited a significant growth in projected missions under the five-year agreements awarded in 2020 for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 2 program. ULA will see its contract value rise by $1.1 billion, bringing its total to $4.5 billion over the five-year period. SpaceX's contract will increase by $661 million, reaching a new total of $4 billion. The original NSSL Phase 2 contracts included 34 launches with a 60-40 split in favor of ULA; the revisions bring the total launches to 49, with SpaceX conducting 54% because of Vulcan delays. (7/31)

Yahsat Earning Mixed (Source: Space News)
Satellite problems had mixed results on earnings for Yahsat. The Emirati operator reported a 3% drop in sales in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period of 2023, which it blamed on the failure of the L-band payload on its aging Thuraya 3 satellite in April. Yahsat said it remains in control of Thuraya 3 but has exhausted most recovery options for the payload. The company is also facing delays in the launch of Thuraya 4, which has slipped from the second half of 2023 to late this year because of manufacturing delays by Airbus. Yahsat said it received $30 million in damages from Airbus due to that delay. (7/31)

MSR Competitors Give Updates (Source: Space News)
Companies working on alternative concepts for Mars Sample Return (MSR) released some details about their plans. NASA selected seven companies in June for 90-day studies to look at ways to revise some or all of the MSR architecture to reduce costs and accelerate the return of samples. Northrop Grumman said it is looking at ways to reduce the mass of the Mars Ascent Vehicle rocket that launches the samples into Martian orbit.

Quantum Space is exploring how its Ranger spacecraft, designed to operate in cislunar space, could serve as the "anchor leg" in the return of samples to Earth. Lockheed Martin is looking at revising the overall architecture that includes "ruthless" mass control, but offered few specifics. A fourth company, Boeing, pitched an approach using a large lander delivered by the SLS, but noted its concept was not selected by NASA as one of the industry studies. (7/31)

SES Wins $46.8 Million for Air Force Satcom (Source: Space News)
SES won a $46.8 million contract to provide satellite communications services to the U.S. Air Force. SES Space & Defense, the U.S. arm of Luxembourg-based SES, said it won the multi-year contract for GEO Ku-band satellite communications services for the Air Combat Command's remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) training and testing program. SES will provide those services over the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska and the Pacific Ocean. (7/31)

GHGSat to Provide Methane Emissions Data for NASA Earthdata Portal (Source: Space News)
GHGSat has received NASA approval to start providing its methane emissions data to researchers. The company said Wednesday that the data from its satellites passed a "rigorous" evaluation by NASA to allow it to be available to scientists through the Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition program. Now that the quality has been verified, GHGSat data will soon be available for scientific and other noncommercial applications through NASA's Earthdata portal. GHGSat is one of several companies with contracts to provide commercial Earth science data through that NASA program. (7/31)

Chinese Scientists Propose Lunar Infrastructure Projects (Source: Space News)
Chinese scientists are proposing a range of lunar infrastructure projects. The concepts, published in a journal article last month, include a comprehensive system providing data communication, positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), as well as space situational monitoring services for ground-based, near-Earth, cislunar, lunar surface and deep space users. Those systems would include satellites in "frozen" lunar orbits as well as Earth-moon Lagrange points and elsewhere in cislunar space. The cislunar space infrastructure is designed to support major national lunar exploration projects and also to accelerate the development of China's space industry. (7/31)

"Fortitude" Showing at the US Library of Congress (Source: Space 3.0)
On July 16, FORTITUDE: Forging the Trillion Dollar Space Economy—a documentary by filmmaker Torsten Hoffmann—was shown at Washington, D.C.’s Library of Congress and screened by Space for Humanity. The documentary’s website describes the film as: “A...documentary about the people, perils, and promises behind the emerging space industry. (7/31)

Space Sector's Growth Driven More by Government Than Traditional Market Forces (Source: Space News)
A new study finds that the growth of the space industry is largely uncorrelated with other market sectors. The study by venture capital firm SpaceFund, presented at the ASCEND conference Tuesday, found that the growth rate for the space economy was weakly correlated, at most, with major stock market indices and other asset classes, like oil and gold. That likely reflects the strong government funding going into the space industry, the company argues, adding it presents an opportunity for institutional investors seeking to diversify their portfolios. (7/31)

Atlas 5 Launch Success Confirmed (Source: Space Systems Command)
Tuesday's Atlas 5 launch was a success. The Space Force's Space Systems Command confirmed seven hours after the liftoff of the rocket on the USSF-51 that the classified payload was placed in its planned orbit. The launch was the final national security mission for the Atlas 5 as ULA moves those launches to its new Vulcan rocket after its completes its certification later this year. (7/31)

Ariane 6 Launch Success Confirmed (Source: ESA)
ESA says an initial review of the data from the inaugural Ariane 6 launch confirmed the performance of the rocket. ESA said Wednesday that reviews of data showed the vehicle's ascent to orbit and deployment of satellite payloads matched expectations, offering "great confidence in the validity and predictions" made before launch. The launch pad was also in good condition after the liftoff. A problem with the upper stage's auxiliary propulsion unit prevented a final burn of the upper stage to allow it to reenter, though, and ESA said that problem remains under investigation. (7/31)