October 30, 2024

How Digital Twins Went From NASA to Manufacturing Plants (Source: Forbes)
Digital twins' roots go back to engineers simulating spacecraft systems in NASA's Apollo program, but have since found a home on factory floors worldwide, improving efficiency, reducing energy usage and streamlining operations along the way. Raghunandan Gurumurthy explores this journey, including the role of digital twins in optimizing maintenance and repairs. Click here. (10/23)

Plans to Trash the Space Station Preview a Bigger Problem (Source: Scientific American)
At the beginning of the operation, the USDV will dock to the ISS while the final crew is still there, so they can verify its working order. After that, NASA will let the station’s orbit naturally decay, and the crew will depart when the station drops 70 kilometers lower than it is now. The spacecraft, as a ghost ship, will continue to downdraft for six months, naturally lowering to 220 kilometers above Earth. When the ISS is at the right point in its orbit, around two dozen of the special Dragon’s thrusters will fire at once, sending it careening toward Point Nemo.

That fiery push may sound simple, but it’s not, McDowell says. As the station dips lower into the atmosphere, the air gets thicker. “The winds are too much,” he says, which “will make it hard to keep the station oriented.” If the rocket scientists don’t keep the station pointed in the right direction, they can’t effectively use the thrusters to control its motion. “So you have to make the final engine burn from a high enough height that you’ve still got control over it,” McDowell says.

And you have to boost its speed high enough and quick enough that it actually does deorbit and come down in the right place. It will be essential to achieve that oomph on the first try—likely why the USDV will have more engines than it necessarily needs. (10/28)

Saturn's Moon Titan May Have Thick Insulating Methane Ice Crust Up To Six Miles (Source: Space Daily)
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, stands out as the only celestial body besides Earth with a dense atmosphere and surface liquids, such as rivers, lakes, and seas. Due to its frigid environment, these liquids comprise hydrocarbons like methane and ethane, while Titan's surface primarily consists of solid water ice. Recent findings led by planetary scientists at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa suggest that methane gas could also be embedded within Titan's ice crust, creating an insulating layer up to six miles thick that warms the ice shell beneath and possibly accounts for the moon's methane-rich atmosphere. (10/28)

Students Aid NASA's Plant Growth Research in Space (Source: Space Daily)
Since 2015, students from across the United States have been collaborating with NASA scientists to push forward essential research into growing plants in space as part of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden's Growing Beyond Earth project. This unique initiative, now in its ninth year, is designed to support NASA's long-term goal of cultivating crops that can sustain astronauts on deep-space missions, such as those planned for Mars. Growing Beyond Earth leverages the enthusiasm and energy of 6th-12th grade students, turning their classrooms into science labs where they engage in real-world plant growth experiments that simulate the challenges and conditions of space agriculture. (10/29)

NASA to Restart Mentor-Protege Program to Help Improve Contractor Diversity (Source: Space Daily)
NASA said on Tuesday that it will restart its Mentor-Protégé Program for contractors on Friday to expand commercial markets with eligible small businesses. The program seeks to expand inclusivity including AbilityOne, historically Black colleges and universities, and minority serving institutions to foster a more-diverse environment to collaborate with NASA. NASA said the program was originally started to grow new commercial markets that support future space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research. (10/29)

Astronomers Identify New Organic Molecule in Interstellar Space (Source: Space Daily)
The element carbon, foundational to life on Earth and potentially elsewhere, is known to exist in vast quantities across space. However, locating substantial amounts of carbon in interstellar regions has proven unexpectedly challenging. A recent discovery, involving the detection of a complex molecule known as 1-cyanopyrene, offers new insight into how carbon-rich compounds form and persist in space. This finding redefines expectations of where and how these molecular building blocks of carbon can exist and evolve. (10/28)

How Does Elon Musk Still Have a Security Clearance? (Source: The Atlantic)
Once you have a clearance, you’ll be subjected to refresher courses on how to keep it, and you’ll have to submit to regular reinvestigations. You must also sit through “insider threat” training, during which you are taught how to recognize who among your co-workers might be a security risk—and how to report them. Red flags include not only signs of money issues, emotional problems, or substance abuse but also extreme political views or foreign loyalties.

Which brings me to Elon Musk, who runs SpaceX, America’s private space contractor and an organization presumably full of people with clearances. Trump is surrounded by people who shouldn’t be given a clearance to open a checking account, much less set foot in a highly classified environment. But Musk has held a clearance for years, despite his reported use or abuse of marijuana, ketamine, LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. But fine, maybe all this means is that Musk is a patriotic, if somewhat reckless, pharmaceutical cowboy. It’s not like he’s canoodling with the Russians or anything, is it?

Bad news: Musk (according to another bombshell story from The Wall Street Journal) has reportedly been in touch multiple times with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The discussions, confirmed by several current and former U.S., European and Russian officials, touch on personal topics, business and geopolitical tensions. Now, it’s not inherently a problem to have friends in Russia, but if you’re the guy at the desk next to me with access to highly classified technical information, and you’re chewing the fat now and then with the president of Russia, I’m pretty certain I’m required to at least raise an alert about a possible insider threat. (10/28)

Satellites Making Up China's 'Thousand Sails' Found to be Exceeding Brightness Limits (Source: Phys.org)
A team of space researchers with the IAU Center for the Protection of Dark and Quiet Skies from Satellite Constellation Interference, working with a colleague from Belgian Working Group Satellites, has found that the satellites making up China's "Thousand Sails" project exceed brightness limits that have been proposed by astronomical groups wanting to prevent satellites from blocking the view to space. Future plans call for deploying some satellites at lower altitudes, which could dramatically increase their brightness. They assert that measures could be taken by Chinese engineers to mitigate reflection, but thus far, it appears such efforts are not being made. (10/29)

Space Force’s Effort to Bring in New Launch Providers Hasn’t Worked Yet. Officials Aren’t Surprised (Source: Defense One)
The Space Force gave the first contract in a program intended to bring new companies into the launch industry to SpaceX—the world’s dominant space launch provider. But officials say that’s what they expected. Last year, in an effort to diversify the list of companies launching military satellites into space, the service launched a competition called National Space Security Launch Phase 3.

The program splits launches into two groups: “Lane 1,” for less risky missions, and “Lane 2,” for more challenging missions. The idea was that new entrants to the space launch market could get a foot in the door with a Lane 1 mission. But nothing bars established giants like SpaceX from competing in Lane 1, and on Oct. 18, the Space Force announced that SpaceX won $733.5 million for the first set of launches in that category.

The service didn’t want to wait for other companies to be ready before it launched the new acquisition approach, Panzenhagen told reporters last week during Space Systems Command’s annual Space Industry Days conference. “We never expected that it was going to be immediate in the first year because this is rocket science, right? Developing rockets, designing them, producing them, buying them is hard. (10/28)

How the US Can Counter Russian and Chinese Nuclear Threats in Space (Source: Atlantic Council)
The reliability of the US nuclear arsenal is based on the “never-always rule.” This means that the nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) system must never permit nuclear weapons use unless authorized by the president, while always enabling their use in the specific ways the president authorizes. There must never be doubt about the United States’ ability to command and control its nuclear forces under any circumstances.

Space systems provide three essential NC3 capabilities: missile warning, assured communications, and nuclear detonation detection. Infrared sensors on space-based missile warning can detect missile launches worldwide and indicate an attack first. Today, the Advanced Extremely High-Frequency system provides communication links for nuclear command and control; this system is to be augmented and then replaced by the Evolved Strategic Satellite system during the 2030s. The US Nuclear Detonation Detection System supports adaptive planning in the event of a nuclear conflict using sensors across several satellites to locate nuclear detonations in the atmosphere and space.

But much more needs to be done, as Chinese and Russian counterspace capabilities increasingly challenge the ability of space-based NC3 to deliver nuclear surety. For instance, if Russia wanted to disable satellites currently supporting Ukraine, it would only need to detonate one nuclear weapon in low-Earth orbit (LEO). With Russia apparently on the verge of violating its Outer Space Treaty obligations by orbiting a nuclear weapon, this scenario is no longer hypothetical. Meanwhile, China’s new Aerospace Force now fields a range of significant and comprehensive counterspace capabilities, including satellites with rendezvous-and-proximity and robotic arm capabilities in geostationary Earth orbit (GEO). (10/28)

Kodiak Island's Spaceport Part of New Global Collaboration with U.K., Stargate Peru and Others (Source: KMXT)
Kodiak’s spaceport, the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska, is one of eight spaceports across the world that signed an agreement this month on Oct. 13 to commit to international collaboration. According to a press release from the Virginia Spaceport Authority, one of the signatories, the agreement calls for representatives of the spaceports to begin meeting to create international spaceport recommendations.

John Oberst is the head of the Alaska Aerospace Corporation, which oversees the spaceport on Kodiak Island. He told KMXT prior to signing this agreement that these facilities are trying to standardize their equipment and procedures; kind of like airports. This group, with member spaceports located in the U.S., U.K., Peru and other countries, will share information, expertise and likely technology as part of this new agreement. Click here. (10/28)

India's Gaganyaan Mission Will Not Launch in 2025 (Source: India Today)
India's ambitious Gaganyaan mission, the country's first crewed spaceflight program, will not launch in 2025 as previously planned. Indian Space Research Organization Chairman S. Somanath announced a revised timeline, pushing the launch to 2026. This delay reflects ISRO's commitment to ensuring the safety and success of the mission, with the space agency taking a cautious approach to human spaceflight. (10/28)

India-Russia Space Cooperation: Deepening Ties for a Peaceful Outer Space (Source: Financial Express)
India and Russia are expanding their longstanding partnership in space, with Russia emerging as a pivotal supporter of India’s ambitious Gaganyaan mission. As one of India’s key allies in space exploration, Russia has been instrumental in astronaut training, assisting in developing a manned spacecraft, and providing essential life-support and crew-escape systems. Russian expertise also extends to flight suits, couches, rate sensors, and space-capable materials, enhancing India’s capacity in human spaceflight. (10/29)

Space Force Scrambling to Get GPS Ground System Upgrades Done by 2025 (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Space Force is pushing hard to wrap up its long lagging programs to upgrade the ground systems and receivers for Global Position System (GPS) satellites — including ditching the Air Force B-2 bomber as a first test platform for airborne receivers capable of using the jam-resistant M-Code signal in order to speed them to cross-service aircraft operators, according to a senior service acquisition official. (10/28)

US SAR Satellite Imagery Firms Say Draft ITAR Changes Still Too Restrictive (Source: Breaking Defense)
As the State Department awaits industry comment on proposed space export rules, they’re likely going to get a bit of an earful from at least two major American synthetic aperture radar (SAR) firms — who each told Breaking Defense the new regulations would not go nearly far enough to even the playing field with foreign competitors. “[W]e won’t be able to sell the premium technology, which means we’ll be out-competed by [Finnish firm] ICEYE and other competitors in the global market,” said Jason Mallare, vice president and general manager at Umbra Space’s Mission Solutions group. (10/28)

NASA’s Oldest Active Astronaut is Also One of the Most Curious Humans (Source: Ars Technica)
For his most recent trip to the International Space Station, in lieu of bringing coffee or some other beverage in his "personal drink bag" allotment for the stay, NASA astronaut Don Pettit asked instead for a couple of bags of unflavored gelatin. This was not for cooking purposes but rather to perform scientific experiments. How many of us would give up coffee for science? Well, Donald Roy Pettit is not like most of us.

At the age of 69, Pettit is NASA's oldest active astronaut and began his third long-duration stay on the space station last month. A lifelong tinkerer and gifted science communicator, he already is performing wonders up there, and we'll get to his current activities in a moment. But just so you understand who we're dealing with, the thing to know about Pettit is that he is insatiably curious and wants to share the wonder of science and the natural world with others. (10/28)

SpaceX Has Caught a Massive Rocket. So What’s Next? (Source: Ars Technica)
To date, the Starship upper stage of the Super Heavy rocket has yet to fly an orbital trajectory. Instead, the second stage was lost during the first three flights before making a controlled reentry into the Indian Ocean on the fourth and fifth test flights of the vehicle. To make a controlled reentry, SpaceX must demonstrate the ability to relight the rocket’s Raptor engines in space for a precise deorbit burn.

SpaceX may attempt to vertically land Starship elsewhere first. There have been rumors about a partnership with Australia, and one source told Ars that SpaceX was scouting the Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean earlier this year. Such locations would allow for a safer return of Starship to land. However, such an approach would also necessitate landing legs. The question is whether SpaceX will undertake this leg-development project now to enable landing tests or push it back and navigate the regulatory thicket to enable Starship catches in South Texas.

Publicly, the space agency is holding to a September 2026 date to land its first Artemis crew on the lunar surface. To reach that date, NASA officials have previously told Ars that SpaceX needs to fly a propellant-transfer test during the first quarter of 2025. We don’t expect that to happen, as a lot of preparatory work needs to be completed before this test can occur. For the propellant transfer demonstration, SpaceX will launch a Starship “target” into low-Earth orbit to be followed closely by a Starship “chaser.” The vehicles will then rendezvous in space, dock, and in an unprecedented space ballet, the chaser vehicle will transfer a significant amount of cryogenic propellant into the target vehicle. (10/28)

New Metal 3D Printing Technology for Ultra-Strong Materials Used in Space! (Source: Korea Institute of Materials Science)
The 3D printing technology for designing structural materials having outstanding cryogenic performance developed by the research team for space exploration applications. It boasts superior combination of strength-ductility in cryogenic temperature, and can be tailored by controlling microstructure and process parameters for desired application. The team has successfully developed a new high-performance metal 3D-printed alloy tailored for space environments. (10/29)

Artemis 2 Astronauts Train for Emergencies with Orion Spacecraft Ahead of 2025 Moon Launch (Source: Space.com)
The four Artemis 2 astronauts recently practiced a key contingency operation as they continue to prepare for their moon mission: opening the side hatch of their Orion spacecraft. NASA and the CSA announced the four astronauts in April 2023 for what was then supposed to be a December 2024 liftoff. The mission was delayed in January 2024 due to several critical engineering issues, particularly longstanding examinations of irregularities in the heat shield.

But the mission is a developmental one, the crew continues to emphasize, meaning that getting the hardware and crew safely ready must override any expectation of a firm schedule. The side hatch mockup — which crew members trained on with Orion spacecraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado — normally swings open using manual gearboxes. But in an emergency, the release mechanism has pyrotechnic (explosive) devices that "release the latch pins on the hatch instantaneously. (10/28)

China Fully Advances Manned Lunar Landing Program (Source: Xinhua)
China is pressing ahead with its mission to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030, moving quickly with development and construction to turn this goal into reality, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced at a press conference on Tuesday. The production and ground tests of prototypes of the Long March-10 carrier rocket, the manned spacecraft Mengzhou, the lunar lander Lanyue, the space suit and the manned lunar rover are underway as planned, said Lin Xiqiang, spokesperson for the CMSA. (10/29)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Satellites at California Spaceport (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
SpaceX launched a set of Starlink satellites this morning. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 8:07 a.m. Eastern after a one-day delay carrying 20 Starlink satellites. Deployment of the satellites was scheduled for about an hour after liftoff. (10/30)

Italy's Avio Looking for US Site for Solid Rocket Motor Production (Source: Space News)
Avio plans to start producing solid rocket motors in the United States. The Italian company, which makes the Vega rocket and solid motors for missiles, said Tuesday it has contracted with real estate development firm ACMI Properties to pick a location for the factory in the first half of 2025. That factory, slated to open in 2028, would focus primarily on missiles for U.S. government tactical needs, but could also provide motors for commercial rockets. (10/30)

South Korea's Lumir Goes Public (Source: Space News)
A South Korean developer of synthetic aperture radar satellites went public last week. Shares in Lumir rose when the company started trading on the KOSDAQ exchange Oct. 21, but have since fallen 24% from its IPO price. Lumir started in 2009 as a supplier of satellite components but is now building its first SAR satellite, LumirX-1, scheduled for launch in early 2026. That satellite will provide imagery with a resolution of 0.3 meters, and Lumir plans to operate up to 18 satellites by 2030. Analysts said the decline in Lumir's stock price reflected broader concerns about the country's space sector more than it did specific issues with the company. (10/30)

Solstar Plans Spaceflight Testing (Source: Space News)
Solstar Space plans to conduct the first spaceflight testing next year of its narrowband satellite data-relay transceiver. The company plans to fly its Deke Space Communicator to demonstrate how it can provide a continuous internet link when integrated with a satellite's telemetry, tracking and commanding system. Solstar developed the Deke Space Communicator with private funding and SBIR contracts, including $1.25 million from AFWERX in 2023. (10/30)

UK Startup Astron Systems Developing Reusable Launcher (Source: Space News)
A startup in the United Kingdom says it is working on a small reusable launch vehicle. Astron Systems is working on a vehicle whose two stages would both be reusable and would be able to place up to 360 kilograms into low Earth orbit. The company is aiming for a first launch as soon as late 2027, but its work so far has focused on development of key components. The company is one of 12 startups in the Fall 2024 class of the TechStars Space Accelerator and previously had backing from the European Space Agency Business Incubator Centre United Kingdom. (10/30)

Thailand to Sign Artemis Accords (Source: The Nation)
Thailand is planning to sign the Artemis Accords. The Thai government cabinet on Tuesday approved plans for the country's space agency, GISTDA, to sign the Accords at an unspecified date. Government ministers said signing the Accords would allow the company to improve its space industry and cooperate with other nations in space exploration. Thailand had previously joined the China-led International Lunar Research station (ILRS) effort and would become the first country to be a part of both ILRS and the Artemis Accords. (10/30)

Pentagon Increases by 10X Funding for Commercial Satellite Internet (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon has increased the value of a commercial satellite internet services contract by more than ten-fold. The military's Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (PLEO) Satellite-Based Services program, launched just last year with a $900 million ceiling over five years, has been expanded to $13 billion by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and the Space Systems Command.

The contract is used to buy broadband services from systems like SpaceX's Starlink. Before this increase, the PLEO contract had already spent about $660 million of its original $900 million ceiling. Most of the orders have been for Starshield, the militarized version of the Starlink service. The dramatic jump in funding underscores how vital high-speed satellite internet has become for military operations. (10/30)

China Launches New Crew to TSS (Source: Space News)
A new Chinese crew has arrived at the Tiangong space station. A Long March 2F rocket lifted off at 4:27 p.m. Eastern Tuesday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and placed the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft into orbit. Shenzhou-19 docked with Tiangong about six and a half hours later. The launch kicked off a six-month mission for Shenzhou-19 commander Cai Xuzhe and crewmates Song Lingdong, an air force pilot, and Wang Haoze, the country's first woman space engineer. They will relieve the Shenzhou-18 crew of Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, who are scheduled to return to Earth on Sunday. (10/30)

China Picks Two Proposals for TSS Resupply Missions (Source: Space News)
China's human spaceflight agency has selected two proposals to develop spacecraft for low-cost space station resupply missions. The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) announced Tuesday it selected the Qingzhou cargo spacecraft from the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAMCAS) and the Haolong cargo space shuttle proposal from the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute under the Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) for development. The program, analogous to NASA's commercial cargo program, will support development of vehicles intended to resupply the Tiangong space station at a lower cost that existing spacecraft. (10/30)

DoD Seeks Space Supply Chain Resilience (Source: Space News)
The Defense Department is looking for ways to improve the defense industrial supply chain, including for space. Officials said Tuesday they want to address critical vulnerabilities in that supply chain, like key components available from only a single supplier. The unclassified version of the plan highlights measures to strengthen domestic manufacturing for defense purposes and increase supply chain resilience against adversarial threats, but specific vulnerabilities were included only in the classified version.

Those broader supply chain concerns extend to the space industry, where the military has become increasingly dependent on a small number of specialized suppliers even as demand for those capabilities has increased with the development of satellite constellations. (10/30)

NRO Explores OTVs and Multimanifesting (Source: Space News)
The NRO is continuing to explore the use of orbital transfer vehicles and improved satellite multimanifesting to carry out its missions. The director of the NRO's Office of Space Launch said such capabilities, which would allow satellites to change orbits or enable more flexible launch manifesting of satellites, remain topics of interest. Both were included in a broad area announcement (BAA) the NRO issued in March, and the agency plans to continue the use of BAAs on space launch technologies. The NRO is embarking on a dramatic increase in the number of satellites through a proliferated constellation that the NRO says will provide data "in seconds" to warfighters. (10/30)