October 2, 2024

NASA Mentor-Protégé Program Relaunches (Source: NASA)
We are pleased to announce the relaunch of the NASA Mentor-Protégé Program (MPP), effective November 1, 2024. Following a strategic review, we have enhanced the program to better align with NASA’s mission and future needs, thereby increasing opportunities for small businesses to engage and collaborate with NASA and its prime contractors. Click here. (10/1)

STARCOM to Bring More Than 450 Military and Civilian Jobs to Patrick Space Force Base (Source: Florida Today)
The first cohort of dozens of STARCOM guardians are on scene at at Patrick Space Force Base, working to establish the fledgling military branch's space-warfighting training hub by late 2025. In terms of economic impact, STARCOM — a major Space Force command — will bring in about 350 personnel from across the nation to Patrick by 2026, Col. Mandi Fuller told the crowd during a panel discussion at last month's Space Coast Symposium at the Astronauts Memorial Foundation. (9/30)

NASA Announces Selections for Lunar Comms, Network Studies (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected Intuitive Machines of Houston and Aalyria Technologies Inc. of Livermore, California, to perform capability studies with the goal of advancing space communications and exploration technologies. These studies will allow NASA to gain insights into industry capabilities and innovations to facilitate NASA partnerships with commercial communications and navigation providers.

The awards are under the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships-2 (Next STEP-2). Intuitive Machines is awarded $647,600 to conduct state-of-the-art studies and demonstrations for a dual-purpose navigation and communication lunar surface user terminal. Aalyria Technologies is awarded $393,004 to provide NASA with insights on advanced Network Orchestration and Management Systems that effectively address NASA’s need to integrate into multiple commercial and government communication service providers. (10/1)

Impulse Space Raises $150 Million (Source: Space News)
Impulse Space has raised $150 million to advance develop of two lines of high-energy orbital transfer vehicles focused on “disrupting space transportation.” The company said it would use the funding to advance work on two orbital transfer vehicles, Mira and Helios. The company launched its first Mira vehicle on its LEO Express-1 mission last year, which Impulse declared a success despite communications and software issues. It is preparing for the upcoming LEO Express-2 mission, while it continues development of the larger Helios tug announced in January. (10/1)

Axiom and UAE's Burjeel Agree to Support Space Healthcare Research (Source: Axiom)
Axiom Space and Burjeel Holdings, a super-specialty healthcare services provider, signed a Memorandum of Understanding today to conduct science research and test new technologies in space, forging the beginning of a long-term collaboration aimed at expanding access to microgravity for medical advancements. As their first initiative, Axiom Space and Burjeel are working on sending a suite of medical capabilities to space to further science research on how the human body reacts in microgravity. (9/24)

Yahsat Merges with Bayanat (Source: Space News)
Satellite operator Yahsat completed its merger with geospatial AI company Bayanat Tuesday. The merged company, called Space42, started trading Tuesday on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange with a value of about $3 billion. Led by Karim Sabbagh, a former CEO of multi-orbit satellite operator SES, Space42 aims to develop hybrid connectivity and geospatial services to meet demand from autonomous vehicles and other emerging capabilities. Space42 has around 700 employees across more than 150 countries, with around two-thirds coming from the legacy Yahsat business now operating as a division called Space Services. (10/2)

Dish Sale to DirecTV Allows EchoStar to Sharpen Focus (Source: Space News)
The sale of Dish Network will allow EchoStar to focus on terrestrial and satellite broadband. The sale of Dish to DirecTV, announced Monday, will free EchoStar of about $10 billion of debt, and the company also announced about $5.5 billion in new capital for its remaining business. While EchoStar plans to focus on expanding its terrestrial wireless network in the U.S., it also sees new opportunities in direct-to-device satellite services. EchoStar expects to work with partners to develop any direct-to-device satellite constellation given its high costs. (10/2)

China Gains Ground in Remote Sensing Market (Source: Space News)
China is providing stiff competition to the United States in the commercial remote sensing market. A study released Tuesday at a CSIS event used an Olympic medal-like ranking of top players in the Earth observation market. Chinese companies secured 14 medals compared to 12 by American companies and nine by those in the rest of the world. The report raises high-level questions about the future of U.S. leadership in commercial remote sensing, noting that while the U.S. excels in radar and hyperspectral imaging, China is leading or rapidly advancing in other sectors. (10/2)

DIU Seeks Smallsat Propulsion Tech (Source: Space News)
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is seeking proposals to advance small satellite propulsion technologies. The DIU is specifically interested in electrospray thrusters, which generate thrust by accelerating charged particles and promise high fuel efficiency and precise control. The DoD's interest in electrospray thrusters reflects the need for more versatile and fuel-efficient spacecraft, especially as the U.S. military increasingly relies on smaller satellites for communications and intelligence purposes. (10/2)

Commercial Space Station Companies Seek More Access to ISS for Testing (Source: Space News)
Commercial space station developers want more opportunities to send precursor missions to the International Space Station. NASA has awarded four private astronaut missions, or PAMs, so far, allowing commercial crewed spacecraft to make short-duration visits to the station. Both Axiom Space, which has won all four PAMs to date and flown three of them, and Vast Space said at a recent panel they want NASA to offer more opportunities for such missions, helping them gain experience and demonstrate markets for their later commercial stations. NASA had planned to allow two PAMs a year but the current rate is just one a year. (10/2)

Cassada Retiring From NASA Astronaut Corps (Source: NASA)
NASA astronaut Josh Cassada is retiring from the agency. NASA announced Tuesday that Cassada left the agency, but neither he nor the agency disclosed his future plans. Cassada flew a single mission, Crew-5 in 2022-23, spending nearly six months on the ISS and performing three spacewalks. (10/2)

Voyager 2 Plasma Instrument Turned Off (Source: NASA)
Controllers have turned off an instrument on the Voyager 2 spacecraft as its power levels continue to decline. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Tuesday that it turned off the plasma science instrument to conserve power for the four other instruments still working on the 47-year-old spacecraft. The instrument measured the plasma environment around the spacecraft and helped scientists determine in 2018 that the spacecraft had left the heliosphere and was now in interstellar space. A similar instrument on Voyager 1 malfunctioned decades ago. Scientists hope to keep the spacecraft operating with at least one working instrument into the 2030s. (10/2)

Northrop Tech to Connect Military Aircraft, Satellites (Source: Military & Aerospace Electronics Online)
Northrop Grumman Mission Systems is advancing a project to develop lightweight communications terminals for US military aircraft, enabling them to connect to commercial space internet satellites. Under a $54.7 million contract with the US Air Force Research Laboratory, Northrop Grumman will work on multiband satellite communications antennas, allowing military aircraft to access commercial internet services like Starlink and Viasat. (10/1)

The Unraveling of Space-Time (Source: Quanta)
Many physicists suspect we are in for a radical reunderstanding of reality, as big as the one Albert Einstein orchestrated more than a century ago.
The patent clerk, with his theory of relativity, united space and time into a single, malleable substance — space-time. In doing so, he transformed the inert nothingness behind the world into a dynamic fabric of the world, one with folds that we experience as the force of gravity.

Now it’s Einstein’s fabric that needs unraveling. A belief has come to dominate theoretical physics that even nothingness ought to come from something — that space-time must break up into more primitive building blocks that don’t themselves inhabit space or time. Click here. (10/1)

NASA Seeks Innovators for Lunar Waste Competition (Source: NASA)
A new NASA competition, the LunaRecycle Challenge, is open and offering $3 million in prizes for innovations in recycling material waste on deep space missions. The LunaRecycle Challenge will incentivize the design and development of energy-efficient, low-mass, and low-impact recycling solutions that address physical waste streams and improve the sustainability of longer-duration lunar missions.

NASA will offer two competition tracks: a Prototype Build track and a Digital Twin track. The Prototype Build Track focuses on designing and developing hardware components and systems for recycling one or more solid waste streams on the lunar surface. The Digital Twin Track focuses on designing a virtual replica of a complete system for recycling solid waste streams on the lunar surface and manufacturing end products. (9/30)

Getting Space Traffic Coordination On Track (Source: Space Review)
On Monday morning, the Office of Space Commerce formally started the first phase of its long-awaited space traffic coordination system, called TraCSS. Jeff Foust reports on the milestone and its implications. Click here. (10/1)
 
“Not Quite the Plan, But Here We Are”:  NASA Ritual and the Reintegration of the Boeing Crew Flight Test Astronauts (Source: Space Review)
After NASA decided to return the Starliner spacecraft uncrewed, the two astronauts who flew to the International Space Station on it found themselves in a form of limbo. Deana Weibel describes how events like a change-of-command ceremony helped integrate them into their new roles as long-duration ISS crewmembers. Click here. (10/1)
 
Isle of Wight Aerospace: Flying Boats, Rocket Interceptors, Hovercraft, and Launch Vehicles (Source: Space Review)
In the second part of his history of British aerospace company Saunders-Roe, Trevor Williams looks at the company’s role in the development of a launch vehicle, Black Arrow, that was later cancelled by the British government. Click here. (10/1)

Sidus Prepares LizzieSat-2 for Launch (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space announces the successful completion of a critical milestone: the environmental testing of LizzieSat-2 (LS-2). This key achievement comes as the Company prepares for the upcoming launch which is planned to carry LS-2 into Low Earth Orbit later this year. The environmental testing, conducted by Element Materials Technology in Orlando, subjected the fully integrated LS-2 satellite to comprehensive random vibration tests, simulating launch conditions and verifying its structural integrity. (10/1)

DoD Seeks Innovations in Small-Satellite Propulsion (Source: Space News)
The Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit published a call for industry proposals on advanced spacecraft propulsion technology, specifically focusing on electrospray thrusters. Electrospray thrusters, which generate thrust by accelerating charged particles, promise high fuel efficiency and precise control. The DoD’s interest in electrospray thrusters reflects the need for more versatile and fuel-efficient spacecraft, especially as the U.S. military increasingly relies on smaller satellites for communications and intelligence purposes. (10/1)

Why We Need The Space Force Now More Than Ever (Source: Forbes)
As the fifth anniversary of the creation of the Space Force approaches, we must never forget why a military branch dedicated to protecting our interests in space became so desperately needed. Eighteen years before establishing what is now known as the Space Force, some of the most elite current and former defense and space leaders convened at the urging of the Senate to address the limitations of the Air Force leading the space mission.

Rarely do these routinely maligned Congressional reports have as much impact as The Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management and Organization report did, and this one hit the bullseye. Both political parties in Congress have been supportive ever since, although for a long time the uniformed military largely opposed it. (9/30)

Could the United States’ Future Liftoffs Take Place in Africa? (Source: Atlantic Council)
The search for safer and geographically advantageous launch sites has turned global attention toward Africa. Launching rockets in remote areas minimizes the risk of explosions, falling debris, and environmental impacts such as pollution and wildlife disturbance. These remote sites provide clear flight paths, large safety zones, and the space for necessary infrastructure for safe and efficient operations, ensuring minimal risk to human life and property. Additionally, Africa’s proximity to the equator brings with it a “slingshot effect” for rockets.

The quest for African launch sites is creating new geopolitical dynamics. In February 2021, Turkey’s space program, which has plans for a moon landing by 2028, proposed building a rocket launch site in Somalia. This East African nation hosts Turkey’s largest overseas military base. The interest in Somalia isn’t new; for example, in the 1960s, France considered using the country as a spaceport due to Somalia’s equatorial location. In January 2023, Djibouti signed a memorandum of understanding with Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group Limited and the Shanghai-based Touchroad International Holdings Group, committing to jointly develop a spaceport in the northern Obock Region. (9/30)

Scottish Spaceport Risks Being a White Elephant (Source: We Love Stornway)
Scottish politicians have been warned that the Scolpaig Spaceport 1 in North Uist could be an expensive “white elephant” as it has not attracted private sector investment and has yet to be fully licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The spaceport plan has attracted a wide campaign of opposition locally. Perth-based consulting engineer Dr Colin Anderson also warns that it is not a foregone conclusion that the spaceport will receive CAA backing when it decides on the issue next April, as there are serious safety considerations. (10/1)

ESA Releases New Strategy for Earth Observation (Source: ESA)
ESA has released its new Earth Observation Science Strategy, Earth Science in Action for Tomorrow’s World. Responding to the escalating threats from climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and extreme weather and the need to take action to address these threats, this forward-looking strategy outlines a bold vision for Earth science through to 2040.

By leveraging advanced satellite-based monitoring of our planet, ESA aims to provide critical data and knowledge to guide action and policy for a more sustainable future. ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, Simonetta Cheli, said, “As a space agency, it is our duty to harness the unique power of Earth observing technology to inform the critical decisions that will shape our future. (9/30)

Historic Amateur Observatory Destroyed in California Wildfires (Source: Sky & Telescope)
As wildfires continue to threaten California, one of its historic amateur observatories has fallen to the flames. The Clinton B. Ford Observatory near Wrightwood was destroyed on September 10th in a wildfire that raged across California over the past month, setting more than 54,000 acres ablaze. (9/30)

Commercial Space’s Critical Role in the Race to Outpace Adversaries (Source: Space News)
We’re in a race for space agility, and America is falling behind. Irresponsible weapons tests, such as Russia’s Nov 2021 destructive test of a direct ascent anti-satellite missile test, provided a glimpse of what combat in space could entail. Equally alarming is China’s heavy investments in its own military space assets. Beijing has increased on-orbit assets by 500% since December 2015, enabling China’s long-range strike capabilities.

Adversaries displaying reckless and provocative behaviors such as operating their satellites near United States spacecraft endanger the U.S. Space Force’s ability to receive viable data when and where our warfighters need it most. A positive step forward is the U.S. Space Force’s new Commercial Space Strategy and the DoD’s push for Hybrid Architectures that combine DoD, commercial and allied systems for more resilient, redundant and combat-effective capabilities. One thing is clear: we can’t afford to move slowly. The historic pace of procuring satellites using the 1990’s approach of satellite acquisitions is no longer an option. (9/30)

Spacecraft Delivery Startup Founded by Former SpaceX Rocket Guru Raises $150 Million, Led by Founders Fund (Source: CNBC)
Los Angeles-based space startup Impulse, which is led by renowned rocket specialist Tom Mueller, has raised $150 million in a new fundraising round led by venture capital firm Founders Fund. Impulse is scaling a product line of orbital transfer vehicles — colloquially known as “space tugs” — and so far is building two, the smaller Mira and the larger Helios.

While rockets get satellites and payloads into orbit, like an airplane carrying passengers to a metro area, space tugs deliver them to specific destinations, like taxis taking those passengers home from the airport. Impulse flew its first mission, called LEO Express-1, with a Mira vehicle carrying and deploying a small satellite. Launched in November, Impulse declared full mission success in July. (10/1)

NASA’s Webb Telescope Detects Traces of Carbon Dioxide on the Surface of Pluto’s Largest Moon (Source: AP)
NASA’s Webb Space Telescope has identified new clues about the surface of Pluto’s largest moon. It detected for the first time traces of carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on the surface of Charon, which is about half Pluto’s size. Previous research, including a flyby from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in 2015, revealed that the moon’s surface was coated by water ice. But scientists couldn’t sense chemicals lurking at certain infrared wavelengths until the Webb telescope came around to fill in the gaps. (10/1)

The Government Should Investigate Supply Chains in the Space Economy (Source: Space News)
Whatever is making today's commercial space companies tick, our government would be wise to peek behind the curtain at their financial health and carefully planned supply chains, to unleash the extraordinary leverage that commercial off-the-shelf systems and components offer.

Our government’s national security needs have changed quickly. Long gone are the days of a benign domain uncontested by an adversary. Combatant commanders need capability on orbit tomorrow — and lucky for them (and the taxpayer), the robust commercial industry is uniquely suited to address these needs. Born about a decade ago by venture investments, this rapidly growing industrial base and the agencies like SDA who leverage it, have been sprinting ever since to keep up with demand. (9/30)