September 16, 2024

Switzerland's Acutronic Opens US Headquarters in Texas (Source: Austin Business Journal)
Acutronic moved into a 20,000-square-foot building in late August that will serve as headquarters for Acutronic USA Inc. It also has acquired a 14-acre site in Bastrop that will be home to a manufacturing facility totaling at least 20,000 square feet, and it's launching the Acutronic Apprenticeship Alliance with the Bastrop Independent School District to help build its talent pipeline. Dignitaries spoke to the crowd in front of the U.S., Swiss and Texas flags. Others, including leaders of local economic development groups and city officials from Bastrop. (9/11)

Satellogic Chosen for NASA's SmallSat Data Acquisition Program (Source: Space Daily)
Satellogic has been selected as one of eight companies awarded a contract in NASA's Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program. The On-Ramp1 Multiple Award contract, which holds a cumulative maximum value of $476 million, was announced on September 6, 2024. This selection reflects Satellogic's dedication to providing high-quality Earth observation data to advance scientific research and improve life on Earth.

Through this program, Satellogic will deliver high-resolution multispectral imagery to NASA under a multiple-award contract that extends until November 15, 2028. The CSDA program aims to provide NASA, U.S. government agencies, and international partners with a cost-effective solution to supplement and enhance the Earth observation data already being collected. The data is expected to play a key role in efforts to address climate change, monitor environmental conditions, and improve applications that benefit humanity. (9/15)

Scientists Spot Ancient 'Smiley Face' on Mars — and it Could Contain Signs of Life (Source: Live Science)
Astronomers recently spotted a surprising "smiley face" beaming up from the surface of Mars as they surveyed the alien landscape as part of a new study. The emoticon-like structure, which is only visible under certain conditions, is the remnant of an ancient lake that dried up billions of years ago — and could be harboring signs of former life on the Red Planet.

The European Space Agency (ESA) shared an image of the smiley face, a ring of ancient chloride salt deposits with a pair of meteor-crater eyes,  snapped by ESA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. These deposits are particularly important because they "can provide optimal conditions for biological activity and preservation," which makes them "a prime target for astrobiological exploration," researchers wrote in the paper. (9/11)

Odds of Asteroid 99942 Apophis Striking Earth Slightly Higher Than Thought (Source: Phys.org)
Paul Wiegert took a new look at the possibility of a smaller asteroid striking Apophis and changing its trajectory to a collision course with Earth. To find that answer, he began by noting that differently sized objects moving at different speeds would lead to different changes in course. He found that an object as small as 0.6 meters across could be big enough to knock the asteroid into a collision course sometime past 2029. He also found that an object just 3.4 meters across could strike with enough force to push Apophis into a collision course with Earth by 2029. (9/12)

A Long-Lost Moon Could Explain Mars' Weird Shape and Extreme Terrain (Source: Space.com)
A long-lost moon could explain why Mars is so different from the other rocky planets in the solar system. Today, Mars has two tiny moons. But early in its history, the Red Planet may have had a much larger moon, which might be responsible for Mars' weird shape and extreme terrain, astronomer Michael Efroimsky proposes. As long as Nerio stayed around long enough to deform Mars as it cooled, it could have set the stage for that planet's dramatic landscape, Efroimsky said. Further geologic processes could have continued the work, uplifting the highlands and leading to Mars' odd shape. (9/10)

NASA Finally Figures Out What’s Up with Those “Mars Spiders” (Source: ZME Science)
For years, satellites around Mars have been finding mysterious, spider-like geological structures. Mars spiders, scientifically known as araneiform terrain, are unique geological formations predominantly found in the southern hemisphere of Mars. They appear as branching, spider-like channels etched into the Martian surface, sometimes spanning over a kilometer in length. Now, NASA researchers have managed to recreate these structures in a lab for the first time, demonstrating how they form in the process.

From the get-go, scientists had a strong suspicion that these “spiders” are linked to carbon ice. Mars may be a frozen, barren world, but its surface is far from static. When temperatures drop during the Martian winter, a significant portion of the planet’s carbon dioxide atmosphere freezes, coating the surface with frost. As spring arrives, this ice sublimates (turns from solid to gas), giving rise to a variety of unusual and mysterious features that have no equivalents on Earth. (9/13)

Telesat Finalizes Canadian Govt. Investment in Lightspeed Constellation (Source: Space News)
Telesat announced Friday it has finalized government funding for its Lightspeed constellation. The combined 2.54 billion Canadian dollars ($1.9 billion) of funding from the governments of Canada and Quebec comprise a mixture of loans and warrants that can be exchanged for stakes in Lightspeed, a constellation of 198 satellites slated to begin launches in mid-2026. That government funding accounts for more than half of the $3.5 billion cost of Lightspeed, with the rest coming from an unidentified vendor and Telesat itself. Separately, MDA announced Friday it is expanding a production facility in Quebec where it will manufacture the Lightspeed satellites, based on its software-defined Aurora platform. (9/16)

NGA Picks 10 Companies to Compete for Imagery Contracts (Source: Space News)
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) selected 10 companies to compete for contracts for commercial satellite imagery and data analytics services. The companies will be part of the Luno A program, making them eligible to compete for up to $290 million in awards over the next five years. The Luno A initiative aims to harness commercial data analytics and satellite imagery services to gather insights on global economic and environmental activities, as well as foreign military capabilities. (9/16)

NGSO Constellation Revenues to Overtake GEO Revenues (Source: Space News)
Revenue from Starlink and other non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) constellations will overtake GEO satellites in four years, a new study predicts. The analysis by Novaspace, published Sunday, found that while the GEO market represented around 85% of the $12 billion in total satellite capacity revenue in 2023, NGSO systems will see their revenue grow by 27% annually to around $18 billion by 2033. NGSO revenue will exceed that of GEO systems in 2028. The flood of capacity that NGSO systems provide will also cause the average revenue per user to drop significantly. (9/16)

Starliner Astronauts Adjusting to Long-Term Stay at ISS (Source: Space News)
The two astronauts left behind on the International Space Station after their Starliner spacecraft returned home uncrewed say they have adjusted to a long-term stay on the station. Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore said at a press conference Friday they made a nearly "instantaneous" shift in mindset to being long-term occupants of the station when NASA decided it was not safe for them to return on Starliner. They said they accepted the decision but suggested that, if NASA had more time, it might have been able to conclude it was acceptable for them to return on the spacecraft. Starliner made a safe landing in the New Mexico desert earlier this month. (9/16)

China's Sustain Space Raises Funding for Satellite Servicing (Source: Space News)
A Chinese satellite servicing startup has secured an initial round of funding. Sustain Space raised a "pre-A+" funding round of $1.4 million, the company announced last week. Sustain Space is engaged in the development of on-orbit servicing operation technologies, including satellite and active debris removal, satellite refueling and life extension, and on-orbit satellite repair and manufacturing. The company is a subsidiary of Emposat, which specializes in satellite management, focusing on commercial satellite operations and control. (9/16)

Anduril Enters Space Market (Source: Space News)
Defense technology company Anduril is moving into space systems. The company announced plans Friday to design, build and launch its own fully integrated space systems by the end of 2025. The company intends to develop spacecraft for applications like space domain awareness, on-orbit sensor data processing and satellite defense. Anduril's expansion into space builds on the company's broader strategy of developing autonomous systems that require minimal human intervention. (9/16)

Apex Announces Larger Satellite Bus (Source: Space News)
Apex unveiled a larger, more powerful satellite bus. The company announced Monday the Nova bus, which will accommodate payloads of up to 300 kilograms in its baseline version and 500 kilograms in a larger version. The company, which currently sells the smaller Aries bus, said it is seeing strong interest for Nova from U.S. and allied government customers. The first Nova spacecraft will be delivered to customers the company did not disclose in the third quarter of 2025. (9/16)

ESA Turns to Portuguese Startup for Space Traffic Management (Source: Space News)
ESA plans to test space traffic management services offered by Portuguese startup Neuraspace. ESA's Space Debris Office will integrate Neuraspace services with its existing tools to assess conjunctions at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Germany under a contract announced Monday. For Neuraspace, collaboration with ESOC will provide an opportunity for it to refine its services and benefit from the agency's expertise. (9/16)

Skynopy Adds AWS Ground Station to Its Service to Improve Satellite Data Receiving (Source: Skynopy)
Skynopy, a French space start-up specializing in satellite connectivity, is collaborating with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to expand Skynopy’s current global network of ground stations with 12 additional stations and improve satellite data acquisition. By making satellite communication effortless and intuitive, Skynopy seeks to revolutionize the way data is obtained. This collaboration will allow Skynopy to expand its network of ground stations and, more broadly, further streamline the complex communication processes between Earth and space. (9/16)

Software Fix Planned to Correct Ariane 6 Upper Stage Issue (Source: Space News)
The Ariane 6 task force, which includes the European Space Agency, French space agency CNES, ArianeGroup and Arianespace, said in a joint statement Sep. 16 that a review of the data collected during the July 9 inaugural launch found “no showstoppers” for a second mission, currently scheduled for the end of this year. (9/16)

Want to Challenge Starlink in the Satcom Market? (Source: Space News)
SpaceX’s Starlink constellation is dominating the global market for high-throughput satellite communications. There is room, though, for competitors to claim a significant market share in much the same way Android challenges Apple in the global smartphone market, Novaspace Managing Director Nathan de Ruiter said. To succeed, challengers will need access to a variety of launch vehicles, software-defined satellites and virtual ground segments. Starlink competitors should also pool resources, de Ruiter said. (9/16)

Space Force Awards $45 Million to Universities for Propulsion and Power Research (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force awarded nearly $45 million to the Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Michigan to spearhead advanced research in space power and propulsion. These universities will lead the third Space Strategic Technology Institute, part of the Space Force’s University Consortium initiative. (9/16)

Satellite Industry Cannot Ignore the Huge Potential of D2D Services (Source: Space News)
If you have been following the news on Direct to Device (D2D) services lately, you will have seen an increase in media buzz from D2D LEO-sat operators. Each claims to have the best proposition for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to expand their network beyond the limited coverage of their terrestrial network, highlighting the increasing interest in this sector. For the satellite industry to understand the true business opportunity and potential impact of D2D LEO-sat service, it is time to put things in the right perspective. Click here. (9/13)

‘Dyson Spheres’ Were Theorized as a Way to Detect Alien Life. Scientists Say They’ve Found Potential Evidence (Source: CNN)
The authors of the study set out to search for Dyson spheres, in the form of infrared heat near stars that couldn’t be explained in any other way. Using historical data from telescopes that pick up infrared signatures, the research team looked at stars located within less than 1,000 light-years from Earth: “We started with a sample of 5 million stars, and we applied filters to try to get rid of as much data contamination as possible,” said lead study author Matías Suazo. “So far, we have seven sources that we know are glowing in the infrared but we don’t know why, so they stand out.” (9/13)

China Uses SpaceX's Starlink Satellites to Detect Stealth Aircraft (Source: Interesting Engineering)
Chinese researchers have found an innovative way to use SpaceX Starlink satellite constellations to detect aircraft, like stealth fighters, passively. According to Chinese media, this was achieved by effectively detecting the “shadow” of an object between the detector and the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the satellites. The team behind the discovery reportedly used a DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone to simulate a stealth fighter and conduct their experiment to achieve this. This drone was chosen as it has roughly the same radar cross-section as something like an American F-22.

Editor's Note: In the 2000s a project called "Silent Sentry" was proposed as a solution for tracking launch vehicles on the Eastern Range. The approach passively measured how non-radar broadcast signals (practically omnipresent these days) are redirected by objects in flight, allowing those objects to be tracked. Or something like that. The project disappeared soon after being proposed, suggesting it 'went black' as a classified program before it could be implemented. (9/16)

Research via the ISS National Lab Could Lead to Earlier, More Accurate Cancer Detection (Source: CASIS)
University of Notre Dame researchers aim to demonstrate how bubbles formed in microgravity onboard the ISS can significantly enhance biosensing technology by concentrating microscopic substances more effectively than on Earth. Their most recent investigation introduced laser heating to refine bubble behavior and increase the concentration of particles collected—an essential step towards detecting early cancer biomarkers and other trace elements in blood, which could dramatically improve the sensitivity of biosensors. (9/16)