October 12, 2024

Satellite Communication Companies Allocated Spectrum in India (Source: New Indian Express)
India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Friday said it has provisionally allocated spectrum to eligible satellite communication players for a period of six months. The DoT, in a notification, said the spectrum will be given to firms that have secured licenses from DoT as well as In-Space authorization certificates. Currently, there are two companies -- OneWeb and Jio-SES -- that have received licenses for satellite communication in the country. Elon Musk-led Starlink and Amazon have applied but yet to get approval from the government. (10/11)

FAA Approves Falcon 9 Return to Flight (Source: Space Policy Online)
The FAA approved the return to flight of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket late this afternoon. Space X suspended all Falcon 9 launches after a second stage anomaly on September 28 following the otherwise successful launch of Crew-9 to the International Space Station. The FAA allowed SpaceX to launch ESA’s Hera mission on Monday, but other flights have had to wait until now. (10/11)

Lichens on Mars (Source: EurekAlert)
Once you know where to look for them, lichens are everywhere! These composite organisms – fungal and photosynthetic partners joined into a greater whole, can survive on a vast array of surfaces, from rocks and trees to bare ground and buildings. They are known from every continent, and almost certainly every land mass on planet Earth; some species have even survived exposure to the exterior of the International Space Station.

This hardy nature has long interested researchers studying what life could survive on Mars, and the astrobiologists studying life on Earth as an analog of our planetary neighbor. In the deserts surrounding two Mars analog stations in North America, lichens comprise such an important part of the local ecosystems that they inspired a biodiversity assessment with a unique twist: this collections-based inventory took place during a simulated mission to Mars! (10/11)

Telescopes Can Help Bring Renewable Energy to Isolated Chilean Communities (Source: UU.NL)
Integrating renewable energy sources into the design of the AtLAST telescope would introduce the astronomical community on the Chajnantor plateau and the nearby residential areas to more sustainable energy systems. This integration would reduce local reliance on fossil fuels and provide renewable energy. The research shows that replicating similar energy systems at nearby telescopes could reduce fossil fuel-based energy generation by 30GWh annually, cutting emissions by 18-24 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent while contributing to access to affordable renewable energy for surrounding communities. (10/11)

Boeing’s Defense/Space Unit Logs Massive $2 Billion in Losses for Third Quarter (Source: Breaking Defense)
Boeing Defense Space and Security (BDS) will take $2 billion in losses on fixed-price contracts when it reports its third quarter results later this month, the company disclosed today, bringing total defense-related charges for the company up to $3.2 billion this year. The wider company also announced plans to slash 10 percent of its total workforce.

The charges to its defense arm come as the US planemaker hemorrhages money amid an ongoing strike by its Seattle-area machinists union and as it announced the conclusion of its 767 freighter production — both factors the company states contributed to losses on the T-7A trainer, MQ-25 tanker drone, KC-46 tanker and NASA’s Starliner in the most recent financial quarter. (10/11)

Momentus Chosen by NASA for Upcoming Launch Missions (Source: Space Daily)
Momentus has been selected by NASA to provide launch services for future missions through the VADR (Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) contract. This contract allows Momentus to support NASA's efforts to increase space access by launching satellites such as Class D, CubeSats, and other higher-risk payloads to various orbits. (10/11)

The Largest Storm in Our Solar System is Moving Unexpectedly, Scientists Say (Source: CNN)
New observations of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot captured by the Hubble Space Telescope show that the 190-year-old storm wiggles like gelatin and shape-shifts like a squeezed stress ball. The unexpected observations, which Hubble took over 90 days from December to March, show that the Great Red Spot isn’t as stable as it appears, according to astronomers. (10/11)

Space Force Finalizes $148M Professional Services Award (Source: Washington Technology)
Tecolote Research has secured a five-year, $148.1 million contract for acquisition, financial consulting support and other professional services to Space Force. The branch’s Space Systems Command sought help from industry to help manage its Assured Access to Space organization, which acquires launch services and other on-orbit activities for government agencies. SSC finalized the award on Wednesday as Tecolote was the lone company to submit a bid, according to the Pentagon’s contracts digest. (10/10)

What Trump’s Re-Election Would Mean for US Space Policy (Source: Space & Defense)
US space policy will likely get a jolt if voters re-elect Donald Trump next month. The former president won respect for his interest and work in space. In contrast, the current outgoing president is widely viewed as asleep at the wheel regarding space. During his first term, Trump initiated several substantive space policy reforms, including starting the Artemis program, reinstating the National Space Council, and creating the United States Space Force. In a speech in August, Trump said establishing the Space Force was “one of my proudest achievements in my first term.”

Trump’s second-term policy platform, released in July, says “the United States will create a robust manufacturing industry in near Earth orbit, send American astronauts back to the Moon, and onward to Mars, and enhance partnerships with the rapidly expanding commercial space sector to revolutionize our ability to access, live in, and develop assets in space.” If re-elected, Trump has said he intends to set up a 4,000-person-strong stand-alone Space National Guard, which would act as the primary US Space Force combat reserve. (10/11)

What Space Capabilities Do NATO Nations Have? The Alliance Wants to Know (Source: Air & Space Forces)
NATO is asking all 32 of its member nations to detail their space capabilities so it can better plan for future operations, the first U.S. Space Force general officer assigned to the alliance said Oct. 10. Additionally, NATO is also working on a commercial space strategy of its own after the Pentagon and Space Force released their versions earlier this year, and the alliance may even one day get space assets of its own, suggested Maj. Gen. Devin R. Pepper, deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and policy at NATO Allied Command Transformation, during a livestreamed discussion at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. (10/10)

California Officials Cite Elon Musk’s Politics in Rejecting SpaceX Launches (Source: Politico)
Elon Musk’s tweets about the presidential election and spreading falsehoods about Hurricane Helene are endangering his ability to launch rockets off California’s central coast. The California Coastal Commission on Thursday rejected the Air Force’s plan to give SpaceX permission to launch up to 50 rockets a year from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County.

“Elon Musk is hopping about the country, spewing and tweeting political falsehoods and attacking FEMA while claiming his desire to help the hurricane victims with free Starlink access to the internet,” Commissioner Gretchen Newsom said at the meeting in San Diego. The agency’s commissioners, appointed by the governor and legislative leaders, voted 6-4 to reject the Air Force’s plan over concerns that all SpaceX launches would be considered military activity, shielding the company from having to acquire its own permits, even if military payloads aren’t being carried.

The Coastal Commission, known for its sharp-elbowed defense of public access to the state’s 840-mile coastline, has been sparring with the Air Force’s Space Force branch since May 2023, when DOD asked to increase SpaceX’s satellite launches from Vandenberg from six to 36 per year. Things came to a head in August when commissioners unloaded on DOD for resisting their recommendations for reducing the impacts of the launches. (10/10)

Alaska's Kodiak Island Spaceport Relying on More Than Rocket Launches to Generate Revenue (Source: KMXT)
Many residents saw a failed rocket test at the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska on Kodiak Island this summer and pointed to the facility’s shortcomings. But the Kodiak spaceport will sign an agreement later this week to support other spaceports across the country and the world by sharing one of its systems known as RSTS.

When a rocket is launched from any spaceport, the typical standard practices involve tracking the flight and remotely monitoring it through what’s known as a Range Safety and Telemetry System, or RSTS. John Oberst, CEO of the Alaska Aerospace Corporation, said the Kodiak spaceport has set up its own version of the RSTS in shipping containers to be mobile and deployable all over the world. When the system is shipped overseas teams from the island go, too. Oberst said the spaceport has enough staff to support two missions or launches simultaneously, one in Kodiak and one abroad. (10/10)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson On The Agency’s Future (Source: Aviation Week)
All I know is there is only one [Moon-/Mars-class] rocket flying and that is the SLS. The others are not off the ground and haven’t orbited yet, so I’ve got to take it one step at a time... There are some things that are out of our control and in the private sector itself. For example, some of the [Human Landing System] delay is when Blue Origin loses the first round of competition and then sues. That delays everything for six months. There are delays with some of the environmental concerns and the fact that maybe the FAA doesn’t have enough people to process everything that’s on their plate. Click here. (10/10)

Anti-Dust Shield Progress in China's Lunar Exploration Quest (Source: Xinhua)
China has initiated the lunar landing phase of its manned lunar exploration program, with a plan to complete a manned lunar landing by 2030. Among all the challenges faced by scientists and engineers working on the program, lunar dust is very small in size, but potentially a big threat to lunar exploration missions. However, Chinese researchers have found a simple, fast and promising way to build an anti-dust shield by fabricating a lunar dust-repellent surface via nanosecond laser etching.

Wang's team opted for aluminum as their chosen material, as it is lightweight, high-strength and corrosion-resistant, and then used nanosecond laser etching to prepare multi-level and micro-structure surfaces with different structural parameters. During the process of using different parameters, the team found that the aluminum surface treated with a scanning spacing of 80 microns had the smallest contact area with dust particles, thus resulting in the best anti-dust effect. (10/9)

NATO Looks to Publish First Commercial Space Strategy in 2025 (Source: Defense Scoop)
As it looks to ensure access to critical capabilities during conflicts, NATO plans to release its own commercial space strategy next year that aims to expand the alliance’s ability to tap into advancements in the private sector. While the strategy’s development is still in nascent stages, it’s intended to provide guidance as to how member nations can take advantage of a range of commercial space technologies to increase resiliency in the domain, said Maj. Gen. Devin Pepper.

“There’s a lot of commercial capability out there that we can leverage to increase our own resiliency at NATO. We want to be able to capture that,” he said during a webinar hosted by the Mitchell Institute. “Right now we have contractors with several commercial companies today. We want to be able to expand that and make sure that we can rely upon that in a conflict if we need it.” (10/10)