September 26, 2024

Reinventing the Clock: NASA's New Tech for Space Timekeeping (Source: Space Daily)
Here on Earth, it might not matter if your wristwatch runs a few seconds slow. But crucial spacecraft functions need accuracy down to one billionth of a second or less. Navigating with GPS, for example, relies on precise timing signals from satellites to pinpoint locations. Three teams at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, are at work to push timekeeping for space exploration to new levels of precision.

One team develops highly precise quantum clock synchronization techniques to aid essential spacecraft communication and navigation. Another Goddard team is working to employ the technique of clock synchronization in space-based platforms to enable telescopes to function as one enormous observatory. The third team is developing an atomic clock for spacecraft based on strontium, a metallic chemical element, to enable scientific observations not possible with current technology. (9/19)

Europe Launches its First Space Commissioner Straight Into a Budget Scrap (Source: Politico)
It's not just fending off Russia on Earth that's going to keep Andrius Kubilius busy as defense commissioner; his job also includes space and the struggle to line up investment. “European funding in this area remains very modest,” said Hermann Ludwig Moeller, the director the European Space Policy Institute in Vienna. “There is an outstanding need to have a clear direction towards top-level priorities."

But that's not very likely to happen. Kubilius' mission letter from Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen does not mention any potential big new space program. Instead, it calls for "cost efficiency" in cooperation with the European Space Agency, the Paris-based outfit that acts as the procurement arm on major EU space programs, but includes non-EU countries like the United Kingdom and Switzerland as members. (9/24)

UAE’s Defense Conglomeration EDGE Looks to Space with New FADA Entity (Source: Breaking Defense)
In its first large stride in the space domain, the United Arab Emirate’s defense giant EDGE Group launched today a new company dubbed FADA to spur the country’s defense-related space sector, the company announced today in a statement.

“EDGE is fully committed to advancing the UAE’s strategic interests in defense and advanced technology, and FADA’s mission is to develop sovereign space capabilities and homegrown technologies in the UAE,” according to the statement. Named FADA, the Arabic word for space, the new entity is expected to help build a national space sector to support the country’s requirements and will expand international partnerships to benefit from Transfer of Technology (ToT) and transfer of Knowledge (ToK). (9/23)

Satellite-Maker Aerospacelab Leases Space In Torrance For Manufacturing Facility, U.S. Headquarters (Source: Bisnow)
Satellite-maker Aerospacelab has planted a flag in the South Bay, signing a nearly 35K SF lease in Torrance for space that will serve as both a manufacturing facility and the company's U.S. headquarters. The new HQ is at 20000 S. Vermont Ave. in Torrance. The building, owned by an LLC called Park and Lauren, also includes just over 6,500 SF of office space, according to a release from JLL. (9/23)

China Advances Space Medicine to Support Future Space Exploration (Source: Space Daily)
China's space station has achieved early successes in space medicine that are expected to play a key role in upcoming manned lunar landings and other deep space missions, as highlighted at the Second Frontier Forum of Space Medicine held this weekend in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. The two-day forum brought together leading experts and scholars to exchange insights on new theories and explore advancements in space medicine. Key discussions focused on ensuring astronaut health and survival during long-term deep space missions. (9/22)

Revil, Enabling the Next Generation of Reentry Vehicle Research (Source: Space Daily)
The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, hosted a groundbreaking ceremony July 29, 2024, to mark the commencement of construction for the Re-Entry Vehicle Integration Laboratory, or REVIL, that will serve AFRL's Nuclear Mission branch and provide a state-of-the-art lab space for integrating test units for next-generation re-entry vehicle research and technology here.

Military personnel, civic leaders and industry partners attended the ceremony, including Col. Jeremy Raley, director of AFRL's Space Vehicles Directorate, who emphasized the strategic importance of REVIL in maintaining the United States' nuclear deterrence capabilities. (9/20)

BlackSky Secures HEO Contract for Space Domain Awareness and Non-Earth Imaging (Source: Space Daily)
BlackSky Technology has been awarded a seven-figure contract by HEO to advance its automated low-latency capabilities for non-Earth imaging (NEI) services, catering to defense, intelligence, and commercial sectors. The agreement will integrate BlackSky's satellite constellation into HEO's NEI sensor network. After successfully completing an initial proof of concept, the partnership is entering a second phase that aims to automate the entire tasking-to-delivery process.

As part of the collaboration, BlackSky will provide high-resolution imagery from its mid-inclination orbit satellites to HEO. These capabilities will enhance NEI data collection, particularly over the middle latitudes of Earth. BlackSky's NEI function will allow the company to capitalize on previously unused satellite capacity, such as satellites passing over oceans or the dark side of the Earth. (9/20)

Xi Calls for Accelerating China's Progress in Space Endeavors (Source: Global Times)
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday encouraged personnel in China's space industry to continue to work hard and accelerate progress in space endeavors while meeting with the representatives of space scientists and engineers who participated in the research and development in the Chang'e-6 lunar mission at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (9/23)

When NASA Nearly Gave Boeing All the Crew Funding (Source: Ars Technica)
In the early 2010s, NASA's Commercial Crew competition boiled down to three players: Boeing, SpaceX, and a Colorado-based company building a spaceplane, Sierra Nevada Corporation. Each had its own advantages. Boeing was the blue blood, with decades of spaceflight experience. SpaceX had already built a capsule, Dragon. And some NASA insiders nostalgically loved Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser space plane, which mimicked the shuttle's winged design.

This competition neared a climax in 2014 as NASA prepared to winnow the field to one company, or at most two, to move from the design phase into actual development. In May of that year Musk revealed his Crew Dragon spacecraft to the world with a characteristically showy event at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne. As lights flashed and a smoke machine vented, Musk quite literally raised a curtain on a black-and-white capsule. He was most proud to reveal how Dragon would land. Never before had a spacecraft come back from orbit under anything but parachutes or gliding on wings.

A few weeks later I had an interview with John Elbon, a long-time engineer at Boeing who managed the company’s commercial program. As we talked, he tut-tutted SpaceX’s performance to date, noting its handful of Falcon 9 launches a year and inability to fly at a higher cadence. As for Musk’s little Dragon event, Elbon was dismissive. (9/24)

Walking on the Moon in Cologne: Europe's Lunar Life Simulator (Source: Phys.org)
A large, ordinary-looking warehouse in the German city of Cologne is the closest you can get to walking on the moon—without leaving Earth. The facility known as LUNA, which was officially inaugurated on Wednesday, is the world's most faithful recreation of the lunar surface, according to ESA. European astronauts will train inside the unique simulator and test equipment that will one day travel to the moon—including potentially on NASA's upcoming Artemis program, which plans to send humans there on a mission in a few years.

From the outside, it looks like a huge white hangar in a corner of the German Aerospace Center on the outskirts of Cologne. But inside the nine-meter (30 feet) high facility, below the ink-black ceiling and walls, is a replica of the soil that covers the lunar surface. Craters and lumps ripple in and out of darkness under the stark light of a sole lamp at one end of the 700-square-meter area—the equivalent of more than three tennis courts. The terrain is strewn with rocks and smothered in a strange pale-gray dust. (9/25)

Russia Mocks US as Soyuz Rescues American from ISS: Boeing Starliner Fiasco (Source: Hindustan Times)
A Russian spacecraft brought back three astronauts from the international space station, two Russians and an American. Russian media lauded the return of the crew, which included American astronaut Tracy Dyson. Russian news outlet Sputnik said, "As Boeing fails, Russia's Soyuz spacecraft gets the job done." Click here. (9/26)

Air France Plans to Connect Entire Fleet to Starlink Wi-Fi (Source: Space News)
Air France announced plans Sept. 26 to begin rolling out free Starlink broadband services across its entire fleet in the summer, becoming the latest major airline to partner with SpaceX’s low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation. (9/26)

Space Force Kicks Off $1 Billion Cloud-Based Satellite Operations Program (Source: Space News)
The Space Rapid Capabilities Office (Space RCO), a specialized division within the U.S. Space Force, has launched the first phase of a project aimed at developing a cloud-based satellite operations infrastructure. This initiative is part of the Rapid Resilient Command and Control (R2C2) program, which seeks to modernize ground systems for more agile and responsive satellite management. (9/26)

'We Are Close:' SETI Astrobiologist on the Search for Life (Source: Space.com)
A leading astrobiologist melds her passion with the weighty nature of trying to grasp for answers to two key questions: Are we alone in the universe? How did life on Earth begin in the first place? Nathalie Cabrol's book, "The Secret Life of the Universe: An Astrobiologist's Search for the Origins and Frontiers of Life" (Scribner/Simon & Schuster), released last month, offers an insightful and reflective view of the search for life — a mind-stretching quest not only looking "out there" but also right here on Earth. (9/24)

Musk Calls on FAA Chief to Resign (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX continues to engage the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in a heated and very public debate over launch licensing and alleged violations. Earlier this month, the FAA announced that it planned to fine SpaceX a total of $630,000 for violations stemming from two launches in 2023. SpaceX fired back with a letter to the U.S. Congress contesting the fines, arguing that the two alleged infractions were frivolous and should not be viewed as violations at all. (9/25)

Leidos In, Lockheed Out on Lunar Outpost Team (Source: Space News)
One of the companies that won NASA contracts to begin design work on Artemis lunar rovers has replaced a key team member. Lunar Outpost announced this week that Leidos had joined its Lunar Dawn team working on a rover design that could be used by future Artemis astronauts. Leidos will provide its experience in human factors, systems engineering and other capabilities to the project. Lunar Outpost later confirmed that Lockheed Martin, which had been the "principal partner" on the rover, is no longer involved after the companies could not reach an agreement on the statement of work for the project.

Lockheed's departure resulted in changes in the rover's design to remove Lockheed's intellectual property. Lunar Outpost said work on the rover continues to go well despite the change in companies involved. NASA awarded contracts in April to Lunar Outpost, as well as Astrolab and Intuitive Machines, to advance the maturity of their rover designs and will later select one of them for development. (9/26)

Outside Analytics Wins $25 Million From Space Force for Missile Warning Data Integration (Source: Space News)
Outside Analytics, a software and data processing specialist, won a $25 million Space Force contract to integrate data from missile-warning satellites and other sensors. The $25 million award is the first task order under a larger five-year, $215 million indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract that Outside Analytics secured in June under the Small Business Innovation Research program.

The company will use a software platform to provide 2D and 3D visualization of information from large structured and unstructured data sets. This technology is expected to improve the analysis of data from infrared sensor missile-warning satellites. (9/26)

Space Force to Use Commercial Antennas for Satellite Control Network (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is moving ahead with plans to use commercial antennas to augment its Satellite Control Network (SCN). The SCN, a global network of ground stations, communications links and control centers, has been in operation since 1959 and is increasingly strained as the number of satellites in orbit continues to grow.

A Space Force official said a recent request for information seeks industry ideas on implementing a marketplace approach for antenna contacts. While pursuing commercial partnerships, the Space Force is also investing in its own infrastructure with a $1.4 billion contract awarded to BlueHalo for electronic phased array antennas. (9/26)

New 5G Standards Could Enable Iridium Connectivity to Smartphones (Source: Space News)
Updated chipset standards due for release late next year could enable mass-market smartphones to connect with Iridium's satellites. The company said the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the consortium that sets global communications standards for 5G, approved its request to advance space-based Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) connectivity in an upcoming version of those standards.

The approval paves the way for trials and demonstrations showing how devices using industry-standard chips could use Iridium satellites for messaging and SOS services outside cellular coverage. Iridium is working with 3GPP after an earlier effort to develop proprietary services with Qualcomm failed to secure interest from smartphone manufacturers. (9/26)

Blue Origin Test-Fires Upper Stage at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Space News)
Blue Origin test-fired the upper stage of its first New Glenn rocket this week. The 15-second firing of the stage's two BE-3U engines, on the pad at Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 36, confirmed the integrated performance of the stage. The test was scheduled for earlier this month, and the delay appears to validate a NASA decision not to attempt a mid-October launch of the rocket carrying the ESCAPADE Mars mission. Blue Origin is instead pursuing a first launch of New Glenn in November carrying its own payload while ESCAPADE's launch has been pushed back to no earlier than next spring. (9/26)

Japan Launches Radar Satellite on H-2A Rocket (Source: Space News)
Japan launched a reconnaissance satellite on the penultimate flight of the H-2A. The rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center after weather delayed a launch attempt last week. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries confirmed separation of the IGS-Radar 8 reconnaissance satellite from the launch vehicle in sun-synchronous orbit around two hours after launch. The launch was the 49th of the H-2A, with one more launch of that rocket planned for late this year carrying an Earth science satellite. The H-2A is being replaced by the H3 rocket, which made two successful launches earlier this year. (9/26)

CR Funds Government Through December (Source: Washington Post)
Congress passed a stopgap spending bill Wednesday to keep the federal government funded into December. The continuing resolution (CR), passed by the House Wednesday afternoon and Senate later in the day, will keep the government funded at 2024 levels when fiscal year 2025 begins Oct. 1, and runs to Dec. 20. The House had earlier rejected a proposed CR that would run through next March and included policy provisions opposed by Democrats. (9/26)

Russian Shahed Drone with Starlink Terminal Shot Down Over Ukraine (Source: Militarnyi)
The Ukrainian military shot down a Russian Geran-2 (Shahed) drone, in which the invaders installed a Starlink terminal. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that on September 25, 2024, Ukrainian air defense shot down 28 attack drones. Another four Russian drones crashed in several regions of Ukraine. The terminal could be used to provide a stable satellite communication channel for transmitting photos, videos (if a camera is available), and telemetry information. (9/25)

SpaceX May Make Vietnam Investment of $1.5 Billion to Access Starlink Market (Source: Reuters)
The government of Vietnam claims that SpaceX will invest $1.5 billion in the country to gain Starlink access there. The statement by the government came after Vietnam's president met with SpaceX executives in New York. The government provided no details about what that investment would involve, and SpaceX did not comment on the statement. SpaceX had been seeking access to the Vietnamese market for Starlink but previous discussions with the government bogged down regarding foreign ownership of the company SpaceX would have to set up in Vietnam to provide Starlink services there. (9/26)