September 14, 2024

Why NASA is Sticking with Boeing (Source: The Verge)
NASA won’t throw Boeing under the bus. Its position is clear: the SpaceX Dragon is not enough. The agency wants two commercially operated transport options to carry astronauts to the space station.

“The main goal of the agency’s commercial crew program is two, unique human spaceflight systems,” Steven Siceloff, NASA spokesperson said in comments emailed to The Verge. “Should any one system encounter an issue, NASA still has the capability to launch and return crew to ensure safety and a continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station.” (9/12)

$3.5M Grant to Georgia State Will Fuel Space Research Across the Globe (Source: GSU)
A new three-year, $3.5 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation will foster new research at Georgia State’s Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array by astronomers from around the world. The grant will fund open-access time at the CHARA Array through the NSF National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NSF NOIRLab). (9/12)

Eminent Officials Say NASA Facilities Some of the “Worst” They’ve Ever Seen (Source: Ars Technica)
"NASA’s problem is it always seems to have $3 billion more program than it has of funds," said Norm Augustine, chair of the National Academies panel chartered to examine the critical facilities, workforce, and technology needed to achieve NASA's long-term strategic goals and objectives. Augustine said a similar statement could sum up two previous high-level reviews of NASA's space programs that he chaired in 1990 and 2009. But the report released Tuesday put NASA's predicament in stark terms.

Around 83 percent of NASA's facilities are beyond their design lifetimes, and the agency has a $3.3 billion backlog in maintenance. When you consider NASA's $250 million estimate for normal year-to-year maintenance, it would take a $600 million uptick in NASA's annual budget for infrastructure repairs to catch up on the backlog within the next 10 years. (9/12)

A Sustainable Development Goal for Space (Source; The Interpreter)
The deadline for “full implementation” of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is fast approaching. Consisting of 169 targets across 17 goals, the SDGs call for action across social, environmental, and governance areas by 2030. Yet human activity in space is a missing aspect of the SDG ambition, viewed as an enabler (e.g., via the use of satellite imagery) but not adequately incorporated into the existing SDGs, and not having a goal of its own.

This should change. Whether the SDG timeline is extended beyond 2030, or a new set of global development goals are developed and introduced, similar to how the SDGs continued the work of the Millennium Development Goals, space should be seen as a shared resource requiring sustainable management. (9/12)

United Airlines Bumps GEO Operators Off Fleet for Starlink Wi-Fi (Source: Space News)
United Airlines is replacing multiple geostationary operators with Starlink in SpaceX’s largest aviation Wi-Fi deal, shaking up the last satellite broadband market where the low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation had yet to gain significant traction. The U.S. carrier announced plans Sep. 13 to start equipping the more than 1,000 planes in its international fleet with Starlink connectivity next year, following tests slated for early 2025. (9/13)

Starlink Team Builds 1M Standard Kits in 10 Months at Texas Plant (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX is not just ramping Starlink’s satellite launches; it is also ramping the production of internet kits at its Bastrop, Texas facility. As per Starlink’s official social media account on X, the Bastrop factory has produced 1 million standard kits in the last ten months. This was a substantial milestone for Starlink, especially since the Bastrop facility started operations less than a year ago. The ramp of the satellite internet kit’s production also hints at the demand for Starlink, which has become invaluable for numerous users worldwide. (9/11)

Texas Startup Keeps Launching These Obnoxiously Large Satellites—and the Worst Is Yet to Come (Source: Gizmodo)
Bad news for sky watchers: Earth’s orbit has been littered by five more gigantic satellites which are poised to become the brightest objects in the night sky. The five communication satellites, called BlueBirds, launched on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Thursday. Each satellite is equipped with the largest ever commercial communications array to be deployed in low Earth orbit, stretching across 693 square feet when unfurled, according to AST SpaceMobile.

AST SpaceMobile is seeking to create the first space-based cellular broadband network directly accessible by cell phones. BlueWalker 3 appeared as bright as two of the ten brightest stars in the night sky through the lenses of different telescopes. Before unfurling its array, the satellite had a brightness magnitude of around +3.5, making it visible to the naked eye. However, after deploying its antenna array, its brightness increased by about two magnitudes. The newly launched satellites are just as large as the prototype, but future models could be even larger. (9/13)

Scientists Puzzled by Hundreds of Little Red Dots in James Webb Images of Distant Universe (Source: Futurism)
Earlier this year, astronomers revealed one of the James Webb Space Telescope's most spectacular and intriguing discoveries yet — and that's saying something. Lying in one of the most ancient regions of the observable universe, they found, were hundreds of galaxies that have come to be known as the "Little Red Dots."

These aren't ordinary galaxies. As Smithsonian Institution astrophysicist Fabio Pacucci explains, these compact red structures, which are only about two percent the size of the Milky Way, puzzle astronomers. The issue is that they can't determine what they are, because observing them through different mediums each points to them being a different kind of object.

Deepening the mystery, the Little Red Dots were only visible for a period of around one billion years, about 600 to 800 million years after the Big Bang. Now, they're nowhere to be found, and determining exactly what they are will be crucial to figuring out where they fit into the evolution of our universe. (9/12)

Boeing Workers Strike (Source: ABC)
Beleaguered aerospace company Boeing faced a new source of woe on Friday when more than 30,000 workers in the Pacific Northwest commenced a major strike. The labor action began days after Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth. The company's difficulties helped set the stage for the strike, deepening frustration among workers while bolstering their leverage, experts told ABC News. (9/13)

China Unveils Asteroid Defense Plan Following Recent Space Event (Source: Space Daily)
On Sep. 5, Asteroid 2024 RW1 entered Earth's atmosphere, burning up about 25 kilometers above the Philippines. This event, coinciding with China's announcement of a new asteroid defense initiative, highlighted both the necessity and feasibility of such a plan. China's approach to asteroid defense is expected to involve a strategy called "escort plus impact plus escort," which combines the methods used by NASA and ESA. This strategy involves both impacting an asteroid and monitoring it closely.

Since joining the International Asteroid Warning Network in 2018, China has been actively participating in global efforts to monitor and respond to potential asteroid threats. While the odds of an asteroid causing significant damage are relatively low - most disintegrate upon entering the atmosphere - the potential impact of a landfall could be catastrophic. (9/12)

Simulation Test Stand for China's Lunar Mission Passes Key Milestone (Source: Space Daily)
A newly-built high-altitude simulation test stand in Northwest China's Shaanxi province has successfully completed its test run, according to a report from China Space News on Wednesday. The test stand, designed to simulate the operating conditions for the main deceleration engine of China's manned lunar landing spacecraft, is seen as a significant achievement in the country's ongoing lunar exploration efforts. (9/12)

PLD Space Opens SPARK Program to Schools for Free Satellite Launches (Source: Space Daily)
Primary, secondary, and vocational schools now have the chance to launch their projects into space through PLD Space's new SPARK Program. This initiative offers students, teachers, and researchers the opportunity to send experiments into space on the first two flights of the MIURA 5 rocket, planned for late 2025 and early 2026 - at no cost to participating institutions. The SPARK Program is supported by the Spanish Space Agency and other agencies. (9/12)

Keeping Mold Out of Future Space Stations (Source: Space Daily)
Mold can survive the harshest of environments, so to stop harmful spores from growing on future space stations, a new study suggests a novel way to prevent its spread. Researchers created a predictive approach for modeling unintended microbial growth in critical spaces and applied it to life on the International Space Station. An analysis of dust samples obtained from the space station found that repeated elevated humidity exposures for even a short time can lead to rapid microbial growth and composition changes in dust that make it easier for microbes, such as fungi, to thrive. (9/12)

Lunar Trailblazer Completes Environmental Testing (Source: Space Daily)
NASA's Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft has successfully finished the rigorous series of environmental tests designed to ensure it can withstand the challenges of launch and space. With these tests complete, the spacecraft team at Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, is now conducting software tests simulating key phases of the mission, including launch, orbital maneuvers, and its science objectives while orbiting the Moon. Simultaneously, the operations team, led by IPAC at Caltech, is testing the spacecraft's command systems, communications with NASA's Deep Space Network, and navigation processes. (9/12)

MDA Space Secures Contract with SWISSto12 for Antenna Systems on HummingSat GEO Satellites (Source: Space Daily)
MDA Space has been awarded a contract by SWISSto12 to supply antenna systems for three HummingSat geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites. These satellites are part of the Inmarsat-8 program, which will deliver vital safety services and enhance emergency tracking capabilities. Under this contract, MDA Space will design and build L-Band navigation antennas, utilizing its advanced products already in use for multiple global navigation and Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) missions. (9/12)

Firefly Preparing New Launch Pads in Virginia, Sweden, While Retaining Lease to Florida Pad (Source: NSF)
Firefly Aerospace, the decade-old spaceflight company based in Cedar Park, Texas, is now working on an additional launch site for its operational Alpha small satellite launcher and upcoming Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV) in Virginia. In addition, the company is planning to build an Alpha launch site overseas in Sweden for the European market.

“Firefly is prioritizing Wallops Pad 0A as our first Alpha East Coast launch site while maintaining our lease at [Florida's] LC-20 and evaluating timing to expand to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at a later date” said Firefly to NSF. LC-20 was used by Titan I, Titan IIIA, and Strategic Defense Initiative Organization rockets before Space Florida worked to revitalize the facility with the help of the US Space Force and its Space Launch Delta 45. The site was leased to Firefly in 2019 as an East Coast launch site for its rockets. (9/13)

NASA's Takes Lead on Lunar Timing (Source: UPI)
NASA said Thursday its Space Communication and Navigation program is taking the lead on an effort to establish a Coordinated Lunar Time standard as humans prepare to return to the moon. The program, also known as SCaN, will coordinate with various stakeholders on a timekeeping effort to "enable a future lunar ecosystem" that could also be extended to Mars and other locations in solar system, NASA officials said in a blog post. (9/12)

Starship Won't Be Licensed to fly Again Until Late November, FAA Says (Source: Space.com)
Starship — the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built — flew for the fourth time in June, and SpaceX has been gearing up for flight number five ever since. But that test mission is probably still at least 2.5 months away, according to the FAA. "SpaceX must meet all safety, environmental and other licensing requirements prior to FAA launch authorization," agency officials said on Wednesday (Sep. 11). "A final license determination for Starship Flight 5 is not expected before late November 2024." (9/12)

Growing Pains in U.S. Military’s Satellite Revolution (Source: Space News)
In the high-stakes arena of military space technology, the U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency is attempting to rewrite the rulebook with a mesh network of interconnected satellites in low-Earth orbit capable of swiftly relaying critical data, including the detection of hypersonic missile threats. But as the project enters its fourth year, SDA’s ambition is colliding with earthbound realities, exposing the challenges of rapid innovation in the aerospace sector.

Supply chain hiccups have emerged as a stumbling block for SDA’s constellation known as the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). Manufacturers under contract to deliver satellites in two-year cycles have been hampered by shortages of propulsion systems, encryption payloads and, more recently, production issues with optical communications terminals.

The PWSA represents a bold departure from traditional defense acquisitions. With its emphasis on commercial off-the-shelf technology and fixed-price contracts, the initiative seeks to sidestep the cost overruns and delays that have plagued past space programs. At the same time, parts of the industrial base appear to be buckling under the strain of SDA’s aggressive timelines. (9/13)