October 28, 2024

Winning Hearts and Minds to Further the Global Space Economy (Source: Space News)
A major component of securing governmental and public support for ambitious projects is a strong public relations campaign that can clearly and compellingly tell a story that can lead to financial and regulatory support while shaping public perception. To be sure, there are challenges to this. In this field, technology alone is not enough. One of the biggest challenges communicators in the space industry face is how to stand out when everyone is operating at incredibly high technological levels. Often, the key, somewhat counter-intuitively, is not to lead with the tech, but rather with the human impact. Understandably space industry players want to lead with the tech, but reporters — and their readers — often want something more. Click here. (10/23)

Europe's Bold 'Explore 2040' Campaign Aims to Get Astronauts to the Moon and Mars (Source: Space.com)
The European Space Agency (ESA) is charting a bold course for the future, aiming to solidify Europe's position in space exploration through the "Explore 2040" initiative. Josef Aschbacher, director-general of ESA, emphasized the need for Europe to increase its space activities during an Oct. 16 talk at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2024 in Milan. The agency is now building a strategy to define its future. One key pillar of this is exploration.

"We have a process with our Member States called Explore 2040, which is a perspective at the horizon of 2040 and where Europe can go," Daniel Neuenschwander, director of human and robotic exploration at ESA, said in Milan. "What we want, above all, is to increase the pace and how we conduct programs," Neuenschwander said. That includes speeding up innovation and developing transportation and infrastructure for exploration, he added. (10/28)

New Space Force Effort Focused on ‘Closing C2 Kill Chains’ (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Space Force’s primary acquisition command has established a new effort to build integrated command and control (C2) networks — that is, machine-to-machine capabilities to seamlessly feed data from multiple sensors through battle management systems that process data to “shooters” — focused on four high priority, classified weapon systems, according to senior officials.

Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, head of Space Systems Command, said today that his primary focus over the next five years “is on the C2 and closure of the kill chains to actually use the effectors,” based on priorities set by the head of US Space Command Gen. Stephen Whiting. The new initiative is aimed to overcome current stovepipes and ensure that in a crisis or conflict, “we can actually employ these effectors and have a kill chain that that closes and actually employ the kit that we’re building.” (10/23)

Space Force Sees Surge in Foreign Military Sales Demand (Source: Defense News)
The U.S. Space Force saw a sixfold increase in demand for foreign military sales over the last year – growth that the service attributes to the increasingly important role space systems play in economic and national security worldwide. Space Systems Command’s FMS division saw a 500% increase in requests between 2023 and 2024. The service last week finalized its largest FMS agreement to date — a $126 million deal with the Canadian Armed Forces that will give the country access to the U.S. Space Force’s Mobile User Objective System, a satellite fleet capable of providing ultra-high frequency satellite communications.

With that demand in mind, the service is working closely with the Air Force’s international affairs office to improve the FMS process. Earlier this year, the Air Force unveiled a Space Technology and Resources baseline, which provides a list of capabilities within each mission area that are approved for export. The list includes everything from satellites and ground radars to sensors to component technologies like cameras or mirrors. (10/28)

Commercial Industry Gears Up for ISS Replacement Around 2030 Amid Concerns (Source: NSF)
NASA and the commercial space industry are planning for the eventual replacement of the International Space Station (ISS), which is currently set for 2030. Companies like Axiom and VAST have already started construction on the first modules of their planned commercial stations, while others are also planning to offer commercial station capability in the future. However, questions have arisen about the viability of the market for low-Earth orbit human space stations.

Recent announcements by VAST regarding its initial space station — which is scheduled to be launched next year — as well as its follow-on space station are the latest developments in the commercial space station space. Meanwhile, Axiom reworked its space station design, which is also being built. Other companies like Blue Origin and Voyager Space are also working on station concepts, though it is unclear how many of these projects will make it to low-Earth orbit. Click here. (10/23)

JWST Spots Extremely Bright Objects. They Shouldn't Be There (Source: Mashable)
Using the Webb telescope to peer back into the earliest periods of the universe, researchers spotted a handful of some of the brightest objects in the cosmos — quasars — adrift in the empty voids of space, isolated from other galaxies. This is strange. Quasars are black holes at galactic centers, millions to billions times more massive than the sun, that shoot potent bursts of energy into space (from material falling toward or rapidly spinning around black holes). The prevailing, and logical, theory was that such massive, hungry objects could only form in regions of dense matter. (10/22)

China Wants to Make its Tiangong Space Station Bigger and Better (Source: Space.com)
China has been operating its completed Tiangong orbital outpost for almost two years now — and is looking to expand its capabilities with new modules and spacecraft. The three-module, T-shaped Tiangong space station was fully assembled in November 2022, with the arrival of the Mengtian science module. The station seems set to grow again, however.

The upgrades to Tiangong will come in a number of steps, according to Li. The first would be to update the Chinese space station's Tianhe core module to be able to accept further modules. "With this purpose, we try to upgrade the space station from the T shape. Presently it is the T shape, to the future cross shape, or you may also call it the Double-T shape," Li said. He added that this would allow China to send more space science experiment racks and large extravehicular experiments, and overall extend the scale of operations aboard Tiangong.

"Another upgrade is developing the renewable spaceship," said Li. The versatile spacecraft, named Mengzhou, will come in two variants: one for sending crew to the moon and another for Tiangong. (10/28)

Boeing Space Exit Would Be a Win-Win-Win Situation (Source: Bloomberg)
A true win-win-win situation doesn’t come along often. One could be brewing with a Boeing Co. decision to look at a potential sale — or perhaps more realistically a spinoff — of its space business. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Boeing is considering a sale of the business, though a deal is not guaranteed. Bloomberg News reported that the company is weighing options for its Starliner space capsule program.

Boeing should exit the entire business. The company would win because it would cleave off an operation that has become a drag during a critical time when the planemaker must concentrate on healing its commercial aircraft business; it can’t afford more headwinds or distractions. NASA would be a winner after it has lost some confidence in Boeing after several stumbles with the Starliner. Investors would win if Boeing were to raise cash by selling the unit or from ownership in the spinoff of an established space operation in an era when the commercial space market is in its infancy. (10/28)

Spaceports and Their Role in Industry (Source: FAA)
Collaboration is key to ensuring the safety and success of Spaceports, a vital component of the Commercial Space Industry. Click here. (10/17)

AST SpaceMobile Unfurls Huge Antennas in Orbit (Source: Space News)
AST SpaceMobile says its first five production satellites have unfolded their large antennas in orbit a month after launch. Each unfolded Block 1 BlueBird spans about 64 square meters, featuring the largest array commercially deployed to LEO. The company is continuing to conduct in-orbit health checks for the spacecraft to prepare them for operations in the United States, although it needs regulatory approval to test services using wireless frequencies from partners AT&T and Verizon. (10/28)

SpaceX Super Heavy Booster Catch Came Close to Abort (Source: Space News)
The Super Heavy booster on the latest Starship test flight came within a second of aborting its "catch" landing back at the launch site. Company officials, in audio apparently inadvertently posted on X by Elon Musk Friday, said a misconfigured parameter affected the rate at which engines were started up in the booster for the landing, coming within a second of triggering an abort "and telling the rocket to abort and try to crash into the ground next to the tower."

In the audio, those officials also discussed a cover that came off a vertical structure called a chine on the side of the booster, exposing critical valves needed for the landing burn. The company is balancing those fixes and other risk-reduction work with getting the next Starship vehicle ready for launch as soon as possible under the same FAA license used for the previous flight. (10/28)

Space Industry Growth and Japan's Role in Satellite Development (Source: Space Daily)
The space industry has seen unprecedented growth with a surge in rocket launches and satellite demands, bringing it into the global spotlight. Professor Shinichi Nakasuka from the University of Tokyo's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics explains the university's historical contributions to Japan's space development, trends in satellite technology, and future expectations for the space sector. Click here. (10/25)

Radiation Belt Exploration Boosted by Smallsat Constellation Mission CORBES (Source: Space Daily)
In line with the COSPAR Scientific Roadmap on Small Satellites for Space Science, the CORBES mission, proposed by the Small Geostationary Radiation Belt (SGRB) division of TGCSS, is advancing Earth's radiation belt research through a constellation of multi-CubeSats. This constellation has been under development for two years and aims to conduct a fast-paced survey of Earth's radiation belts.

The CORBES mission is designed to use a multi-satellite configuration to explore variations in the radiation belts by maintaining a near-equatorial orbit, with an apogee at approximately seven Earth radii, akin to Geostationary Transfer Orbits (GTO). By placing multiple satellites in this orbit, CORBES will discern spatial from temporal radiation belt changes, significantly enhancing our understanding of these dynamic regions. Each satellite is expected to operate for a minimum of one year, ensuring cost-effectiveness and mission continuity. (10/27)

ESA Selects Four Companies to Develop Reusable Rocket Technology (Source: European Spaceflight)
The European Space Agency has selected Rocket Factory Augsburg, The Exploration Company, ArianeGroup, and Isar Aerospace to develop reusable rocket technology. On 9 October, ESA held its Future Space Transportation Award Ceremony in Paris. During the event, the agency announced the four awardees under two initiatives focused on the development of reusable rocket technology: the Technologies for High-thrust Reusable Space Transportation (THRUST!) project and the Boosters for European Space Transportation (BEST!) project.

Rocket Factory Augsburg and The Exploration were selected to develop projects under the THRUST! initiative. ArianeGroup and Isar Aerospace were selected to develop projects under the BEST! initiative. (10/28)

Satellite Servicing Industry Faces Uncertain Military Demand (Source: Space News)
The burgeoning in-space satellite servicing industry is positioning itself to transform orbital operations, from refueling to potential in-space repairs. Companies are eager to demonstrate their capabilities to a crucial customer: the U.S. military. But convincing the Pentagon to trust commercial providers with delicate, high-value national security satellites remains a significant challenge.

The ability to refuel satellites in orbit is particularly appealing to the U.S. military, which operates some of the most expensive spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit. Keeping these critical assets functional for as long as possible is a top priority. However, beyond basic refueling, the military remains uncertain about adopting other ISAM (in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing) services. (10/28)

Thales and Airbus Space Deal Would Create European Monopoly, Warns Rival (Source: Financial Times)
An alliance combining the space activities of Thales and Airbus would be anti-competitive and threaten to create a monopoly in Europe that would be detrimental to customers and industry, the head of the continent’s third-biggest satellite manufacturer has warned. Marco Fuchs, head of the family-controlled and Bremen-based OHB, said he planned to raise concerns with EU competition authorities about a potential tie-up between Europe’s two biggest satellite manufacturers, should talks between them result in concrete proposals.

He said: “That would be a very strong, market-dominating player. We are concerned. I think competition will be diminished.” The companies, along with Italy’s Leonardo, are in exploratory discussions about an alliance to create a European space company spanning satellite manufacturing, space systems and services. “The discussion aims to see how Europe can be more competitive and have more critical mass,” said a person involved in the exploratory discussions.

Combining the two companies’ space activities would “certainly shake up Europe’s space landscape”, reducing the number of prime contractors capable of handling large space programs to the new alliance and OHB, said Caleb Henry, analyst at Quilty Space. “This would make intra-continental competition harder for Europe.” (10/27)

European Agency Offers Support for Struggling Space Sector (Source: Reuters)
The European Space Agency unveiled plans on Thursday to speed up payments to the space industry in the face of mounting job cuts, while imposing more scrutiny following cost overruns and delays. Director General Josef Aschbacher announced the measure after a council meeting of the 22-nation agency, a week after Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab announced 2,500 job cuts mainly in its loss-making satellites business.

"Profitability has been raised as a major issue," Aschbacher said, citing recent announcements at Airbus Defence and Space and Franco-Italian rival Thales Alenia Space. The proposed support will include increasing the level of downpayments on new contracts and releasing progress payments more quickly without waiting for all development milestones to be completed, "which of course takes much longer," he added. (10/24)