October 11, 2024

Japan’s H3 to Launch Emirati Asteroid Mission (Source: Space News)
The UAE has selected Japan's H3 rocket to launch an asteroid mission. The UAE Space Agency announced Thursday it signed a contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the launch of the MBE Explorer spacecraft in the first quarter of 2028. That spacecraft will fly by six asteroids in the main belt from 2030 to 2033 before arriving at a seventh asteroid in 2034 and deploying a lander there. UAE previously selected MHI for the launch of its Emirates Mars Mission orbiter spacecraft on an H-2A in 2020. (10/11)

China Launches Third High Orbit Internet Satellite (Source: Space News)
China launched a new communications satellite towards geostationary orbit Thursday. A Long March 3B lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 9:50 a.m. Eastern and placed into orbit the High orbit internet satellite-03 (Weixing Hulianwan Gaogui-03) spacecraft. The first two such satellites were launched in February and August, but Chinese officials have provided few details about their capabilities and applications. The lack of publicly available information raises speculation about their potential uses, which could include military applications. (10/11)

Falcon 9 Launches ESA’s Hera Asteroid Mission at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Space News)
A Falcon 9 successfully launched a European asteroid mission Oct. 7 in a partial return to flight for the rocket. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:52 a.m. Eastern. The rocket deployed the Hera spacecraft for the European Space Agency about 76 minutes later, after two burns of the upper stage to place the spacecraft on an interplanetary trajectory. (10/11)

Chinese Orbital Free-Flyer Returns to Earth with Experiments (Source: Space News)
A Chinese capsule landed late Thursday after two weeks of on-orbit experiments. The Shijian-19 satellite touched down at 10:39 p.m. Eastern at the Dongfeng landing site near Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. The spacecraft launched Sep. 27 carrying space science and biology payloads as well as experiments for technology verification. The mission also verified the performance of the spacecraft itself, which Chinese officials said was a next-generation "high-performance reusable returning space test platform." (10/11)

Space Force Used Commercial Satellite Imagery to Support Hurricane Recovery (Source: Space News)
The Space Force used a commercial satellite imagery program to support disaster relief after Hurricane Helene. The Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Tracking (TacSRT) program supplied U.S. Northern Command with detailed analyses of road closures, conditions and bridge statuses along key routes between Knoxville, Tennessee, and Asheville, North Carolina, the service said Thursday, as well as supported the rescue of four injured civilians in North Carolina. TacSRT operates as a marketplace where government organizations can request specific data, including both imagery and analysis, on disaster-affected regions from commercial satellite providers. (10/11)

ViaSat-3 Now Serving Marine Corps (Source: Space News)
The first ViaSat-3 satellite is now providing services for the U.S. Marine Corps. The ViaSat-3 F1 satellite, which covers the Americas, is supporting the Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38 and the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, utilizing existing military multi-mission terminals for access. The Marine Corps is the first U.S. government user of the new spacecraft, which experienced antenna deployment issues after its launch last year. (10/11)

Volta's LightGrid to Power Lunar Operations (Source: Space News)
A startup has unveiled plans to provide power services at the moon. Volta Space Technologies said it is developing a network of spacecraft called LightGrid that will collect solar power while orbiting the moon and transmit it to landers and rovers on the surface using lasers. That could allow those spacecraft on the surface to operate through the lunar night and travel into permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles. Volta plans to demonstrate its technology in Earth orbit in 2026 and start deploying spacecraft around the moon in 2028. (10/11)

Europa Clipper Could Launch Sunday After Minor Hurricane Damage at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: NASA)
NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft could launch as soon as Sunday as the Kennedy Space Center cleans up from Hurricane Milton. The agency said late Thursday that KSC remains closed as post-storm assessments were underway, but initial checks showed only minor damage so far. NASA said it is protecting a launch opportunity as soon as Sunday for Europa Clipper, launching on Falcon Heavy from KSC's Launch Complex 39A, with additional opportunities daily through Nov. 6. (10/11)

Vega C Return Planned for December (Source: Arianespace)
The return to flight for Europe's Vega C rocket is now scheduled for early December. Arianespace said Thursday it is planning for a Dec. 3 launch of the rocket from French Guiana carrying the Sentinel-1C radar imaging satellite. The launch will be the first for the Vega C since launch failure in late December 2022 that was blamed on the nozzle in the second-stage Zefiro-40 motor of the solid-fuel rocket. The Zefiro-40 motor has been redesigned and passed two static-fire tests, including one last week. (10/11)

Group Sues SpaceX for Wastewater Discharge at Texas Starbase (Source: Bloomberg)
An environmental group is suing SpaceX regarding wastewater discharges from its Starbase launch site. The group SaveRGV filed suit in federal district court this week, asking the court to prevent SpaceX from using a launch pad deluge system until the company receives a federal permit for it, and to assess fines for previous unpermitted use of the system. SpaceX counters that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality concluded the deluge system does not pose an environmental risk and has allowed the company to use the deluge system while it gets an EPA permit. (10/11)

NASA Extends CAPSTONE Lunar Mission (Source: Advanced Space)
NASA is extending the mission of the CAPSTONE cubesat orbiting the moon. Advanced Space, the company that runs the mission, said this week that NASA granted an extension to continue mission operations and perform additional tests of its Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System, as well as analyze the feasibility of "high-priority experiments in support of NASA’s technology needs." CAPSTONE has been in a near-rectilinear halo orbit around the moon, the same orbit to be later used by the lunar Gateway, since November 2022. (10/11)

Hyperspectral Instrument Measures CO2 From Planet Satellite (Source: Carbon Mapper)
A hyperspectral instrument on a Planet satellite has made its first measurements of emissions. The instrument on the Tanager-1 satellite, launched in August, has provided measurements of carbon dioxide and methane emissions for Carbon Mapper, a nonprofit organization. The instrument is able to pinpoint "super-emitters" of those greenhouse gases, such as from power plants and oil fields. The effort is part of a partnership that also includes NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other organizations. (10/11)

NASA's Hubble, New Horizons Team Up for a Simultaneous Look at Uranus (Source: NASA)
Uranus has been described as mysterious, strange, and fairly unknown to those of us here on Earth. However, in astronomy, these terms are pretty relative. Compared to the remote, dark stretches of the early universe or oddball exoplanets dozens of light-years from our solar system, researchers actually know a lot about Uranus. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is among the observatories that can view the planet in high resolution, showing up-close details of the planet's atmospheric features.

Astronomers have now taken advantage of this viewpoint in a new way. They viewed Uranus in high resolution with Hubble, and at the same time, with the New Horizons spacecraft from 6.5 billion miles away, where the planet appears as just a splotch. This combined perspective can help teach them more about what to expect while imaging planets around other stars. (10/9)

Zaitra Raises €1.7M as AI-Enhanced Hyperspectral Smallsat Prepares for November Rideshare Launch (Source: Space News)
An AI-enhanced hyperspectral small satellite is set to launch on SpaceX’s Transporter-12 rideshare mission this November. The TROLL 6U satellite, developed by TRL Space, integrates Zaitra’s SKAIDOCK hardware with SKAISEN software, marking a key milestone for the Czech startup. This achievement has helped Zaitra raise €1.7 million ($1.9 million) in pre-seed funding, fueling its expansion into the U.S. space market.

SKAIDOCK is a hardware accelerator built around an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array)—a type of reprogrammable chip that can be customized for specific tasks, like processing data directly onboard a satellite. On the TROLL mission, SKAIDOCK will run SKAISEN, Zaitra's AI software for data filtering and cloud detection, reducing the amount of unnecessary data sent back to Earth. This capability is crucial for Earth observation missions, where hyperspectral imaging often faces bandwidth constraints. (10/10)

Stratolaunch Tests Recoverable Test Vehicle at Mojave Spaceport (Source: Stratolaunch)
Talon-A2 is Stratolaunch’s first recoverable autonomous hypersonic testbed designed to repeatedly air launch, fly a hypersonic trajectory, and land on a standard runway. It represents a new era of low-risk, affordable, and routine access to the hypersonic environment. Click here. (10/10)

Using AI and VR to Revolutionize Space Exploration (Source: Global Innovation Forum)
SpaceVerse stands out by utilizing AI in two forms: predictive systems and large language models (LLMs). These tools understand aerospace dynamics and human parameters such as body movements and facial expressions. “Our LLM allows users to interact with the system through voice commands, adding another layer of seamless engagement,” Moscatelli highlights. She emphasizes that the company’s use of Unity software integrates AI with virtual reality to offer high-quality simulations at reduced costs. Click here. (10/7)

VISIMO LLC to Test Autonomous AI Data System on ABOVE Mission (Source: Above Space)
VISIMO, a technology company in Pittsburgh, PA, will test its AI software system for decision support on an upcoming payload mission being flown by ABOVE Space Development Corporation. Deep-space missions will require spacecraft to overcome unknown problems and unexpected system failures in outer space without the support of Earth-based communication or resources.

Reliable decision support systems are necessary to assist crew with managing and executing missions, and responding to unanticipated failures and anomalies, thereby reducing cognitive burden of the ground crew and time spent on troubleshooting. VISIMO's NASA Phase II contract, Graceful Architecture for Mitigation of System failures (GRAMS), is engineered for managing spacecraft operations, primarily addressing autonomous systems management for long-duration space missions. (10/10)

X-37B Begins Novel Space Maneuver (Source: AFNS) 
The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-7) will begin executing a series of novel maneuvers, called aerobraking, to change its orbit around Earth and safely dispose of its service module components in accordance with recognized standards for space debris mitigation. Since December 28, 2023, the United States Space Force, supported by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, has conducted radiation effect experiments and has been testing Space Domain Awareness technologies in a Highly Elliptical Orbit.

The use of the aerobraking maneuver- a series of passes using the drag of Earth's atmosphere- enables the spacecraft to change orbits while expending minimal fuel. Once the aerobrake maneuver is complete, the X-37B will resume its test and experimentation objectives until they are accomplished, at which time the vehicle will de-orbit and execute a safe return as it has during its six previous missions. (10/10)

Overview: New Blue (Source: Michael Sheetz)
The age-old writer’s wisdom of “show, don’t tell” also applies to the space industry. Many folks in PR have heard me over the years request videos and imagery of real people and their real space hardware. Not renderings, not graphics, not animations. Real. Last weekend we published my feature on Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp — unpacking why he took the job, what he’s focused on in the first nine months, and his goals for the company this year. One thing we didn’t really get into during that piece was the shift in how often both Limp and the company have been sharing updates about Blue’s programs.

Before Limp, I’d often go months without seeing significant updates on Blue Origin’s work until a New Shepard launch, where I’d look for short snippets on development of New Glenn, its rocket engines and more. But since Limp started, he’s taken to regularly posting updates on social media, with photos and videos of Blue Origin teams inside factories and at testing facilities, showing the hardware they’re building.

But I’d like to see even more, publicly. Take for example Monday’s New Shepard launch attempt. It was scrubbed due to “a vehicle issue” that needed troubleshooting. Not necessarily serious — the company had said during its webcast there was a telemetry issue it was diagnosing — but, in the three days since, the company hasn’t posted an update on whether the telemetry problem was the vehicle issue that caused the scrub or if it was something else. (10/10)

SpaceX Alums are Working to Raise a Hefty $550M First Deep Tech Fund (Source: Tech Crunch)
Interlagos, the venture capital firm started by former senior SpaceX leaders, is looking to raise $550 million for its first venture fund, according to regulatory filings and a confidential deck sent to prospective LPs. Almost nothing has been publicly disclosed about its prospective investment thesis — until now. El Segundo-based Interlagos is broadly targeting startups across “deep tech” sectors, someone familiar with the firm’s plans said. The firm will provide capital from inception through Series B, with the targeted $550 million to be deployed across 26-32 investments, the deck says. (10/10)