November 6, 2024

Oxford Space Lab Sends First Human Tissue Samples to ISS for Ageing Study (Source: Space Daily)
The first human tissue samples from Oxford's Space Innovation Lab (SIL) are now en route to the International Space Station (ISS) to support a study examining how space microgravity influences human ageing. "Our project seeks to uncover how ageing progresses under microgravity conditions, and to test if these conditions could speed up the study of ageing processes that take much longer to observe on Earth." (11/5)

Trump Win Gives Musk Greater Influence (Source: Washington Post)
Donald Trump will return to the White House, potentially giving SpaceX CEO Elon Musk greater influence. Most media outlets declared Trump the winner early Wednesday after he won enough swing states to secure a majority in the Electoral College. Musk threw his support behind Trump in July and both contributed and campaigned extensively for the Republican nominee. Trump said little about space during the campaign but did, on several occasions, appear to endorse a SpaceX-led accelerated human Mars program.

Trump mentioned Musk during a victory speech in the early morning hours, describing watching the recent Starship Super Heavy landing and claiming he asked Musk to offer free Starlink services in areas of North Carolina hit by Hurricane Helene. Republicans also secured a majority in the Senate, but control of the House remains up for grabs. (11/6)

Japan and Poland to Join DoD's WGS Network (Source: Space News)
Japan and Poland will join a U.S. military communications satellite system. The two countries are set to join the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellite network used by the U.S. military and those of several allies. WGS provides high-capacity communication services for military operations. With 10 satellites in geostationary Earth orbit, WGS has been the backbone of U.S. military communications. WGS allows participating nations to share the costs of satellite development and upkeep, alleviating the financial burden for the United States. (11/6)

Anuvo Plans HEO Satellite Constellation (Source: Space News)
Anuvu is proposing to develop a constellation of satellites in highly elliptical orbit (HEO) to offer broadband services to aircraft. Anuvu announced a partnership with D-Orbit USA, a newly founded subsidiary of Italian space logistics company D-Orbit, to study the design of a HEO network using 16 satellites. Anuvu has been working on a system of eight GEO satellites, but the first two, scheduled to launch last year, have been delayed by manufacturer Astranis. Anuvu said that using satellites in HEO will provide higher data rates because the spacecraft will be at lower altitudes when in service and can also handle polar routes out of the reach of GEO satellites. (11/6)

China Plans Lunar Crew Rocket (Long March 10A) Debut in 2026 (Source: Space News)
China is planning a first launch in 2026 of a rocket it plans to use in its human lunar exploration program. A model of the Long March 10A, a single-core rocket for launching crew, is set to be unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow in southern China later this month. The rocket is set to have its debut launch in 2026, according to a report Tuesday in Science and Technology Daily, an official Chinese ministry newspaper.

Long March 10A will be used to launch a new generation crew spacecraft to the Tiangong space station in low Earth orbit, while a three-core version of the rocket will be used to launch a crewed lunar spacecraft and, separately, a lunar lander. Also on display at the Zhuhai Airshow will be a new model of the Long March 9 heavy-lift rocket that now more closely resembles SpaceX's Starship with reusable upper and lower stages. (11/6)

Franch Launcher Latitude Hires New CEO (Source: Space News)
French launch vehicle startup Latitude has hired a new CEO. The company announced Tuesday that it hired Aurélie Bressollette as CEO, succeeding co-founder Stanislas Maximin, who now takes the role of executive chairman. Bressollette previously worked at Rivada Space Networks, Redwire, OHB and Airbus. Maximin said he will focus on strategic issues at the company, including fundraising, while Bressollette handles day-to-day operations. Latitude is working on a small launch vehicle called Zephyr, with a first launch projected towards the end of next year. (11/6)

SSTL to Develop Imaging Satellite for UK Military (Source: SSTL)
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) has won a contract to build an imaging satellite for the U.K. military. The Juno satellite will provide imagery for British forces, building upon the capabilities demonstrated on the Tyche satellite launched in August. Juno, with an estimated cost of £40 million ($51 million), is scheduled to launch in 2027. (11/6)

South Korea to Develop Lunar Rovers (Source: Yonhap)
The South Korean government plans to support the development of lunar rovers. The country's industry ministry announced Wednesday partnerships with 13 companies and institutions, including automaker Hyundai, to develop key components for future lunar rovers. The ministry said it is spending about $16.5 million on the effort. (11/6)

MAGA Goes to Mars (Source: The Atlantic)
If NASA’s current schedule sticks, the next American president will oversee the first moon landing since the Apollo era and preside over the agency’s plans for sending astronauts deeper into the solar system. Elon Musk, the CEO of the world’s most successful private-spaceflight company, has made clear who he thinks that president should be. This fall, he declared that Kamala Harris would doom humankind to an earthbound existence, whereas Donald Trump would fulfill SpaceX’s founding dream of putting people on Mars. Trump seems equally enthusiastic about Musk’s space plans. “Elon, get those rocket ships going, because we want to reach Mars before the end of my term,” he said on the campaign trail. (11/5)

Russian Rocket Takes Iranian Satellites Into Orbit as Ties Grow Closer (Source: Al Jazeera)
A Russian rocket carrying a payload of satellites into orbit – including two from Iran – blasted off successfully, Russia’s Roscosmos space agency said, in a move seen as reflecting the growing cooperation between Moscow and Tehran. The two Iranian satellites were identified as the Kowsar, a high-resolution imaging satellite, and Hodhod, a small communications satellite. A Russian-Chinese student satellite, Druzhba ATURK, was also placed into orbit. (11/5)

When Was Mars Habitable? Much More Recently than We Thought (Source: Earth.com)
Researchers are particularly interested in understanding whether Mars was habitable, and if so, during what period. A research team at Harvard’s Paleomagnetics Lab has been at the forefront of exploring this timeline. Their strongest evidence yet is that Mars‘ life-protecting magnetic field, or “dynamo,” could have lasted until about 3.9 billion years ago. This contrasts with older estimates that placed its demise around 4.1 billion years ago, suggesting the dynamo persisted for hundreds of millions of years longer than previously thought. (11/4)

China Reveals a New Heavy Lift Rocket That is a Clone of SpaceX’s Starship (Source: Ars Technica)
When Chinese space officials unveiled the design for the country's first super heavy lift rocket nearly a decade ago, it looked like a fairly conventional booster. The rocket was fully expendable, with three stages and solid motors strapped onto its sides. Since then, the Asian country has been revising the design of this rocket, named Long March 9, in response to the development of reusable rockets by SpaceX. As of two years ago, China had recalibrated the design to have a reusable first stage.

Now, based on information released at a major airshow in Zhuhai, China, the design has morphed again. And this time, the plan for the Long March 9 rocket looks almost exactly like a clone of SpaceX's Starship rocket. Based on its latest specifications, the Long March 9 rocket will have a fully reusable first stage powered by 30 YF-215 engines, which are full-flow staged combustion engines fueled by methane and liquid oxygen, each with a thrust of approximately 200 tons. By way of comparison, Starship's first stage is powered by 33 Raptor engines, also fueled with methane and liquid oxygen, each with a thrust of about 280 tons. (11/4)