April 19, 2024

Boeing Layoffs Possible on Space Launch System Program (Source: Ars Technica)
Boeing is considering laying off some workers involved in NASA's Space Launch System program. A company spokesperson said it is evaluating potential reductions in the workforce for SLS because of "external factors unrelated to our program performance." Those factors could include delays in the next two Artemis missions, which slipped because of issues with the Orion spacecraft and development of the Starship lunar lander. (4/19)

ISS NICER Instrument Fix to Require Spacewalk (Source: NASA)
Astronauts will repair an astronomical instrument on the ISS later this year. NASA said this week that astronauts will perform a spacewalk to fix the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer, or NICER, instrument that has been on the ISS since 2017. Astronomers discovered a problem with NICER last year where sunlight would leak into the instrument, dazzling its X-ray sensors. On the spacewalk, astronauts will apply patches to the spacecraft's sunshield and areas where damage has been spotted in a bid to block the light leaks. NASA has not set a specific date for the spacewalk, and the repair materials will be launched to the station on the next Cygnus cargo spacecraft. (4/19)

L3Harris Sues Moog for Smallsat Bus Delays (Source: Space News)
Supply chain problems in the small satellite industry have resulted in a lawsuit. L3Harris Technologies filed suit in late March against Moog, which was supplying satellite buses for a contract L3Harris had with the Space Development Agency. L3Harris alleges Moog repeatedly missed delivery deadlines, with satellite buses arriving 11 to 13 months late, putting its SDA contract at risk.

The lawsuit underscores the challenges facing the space supply chain as it tries to ramp up production to meet soaring demand from the military and the intelligence community. Experts say companies in the defense industry, long accustomed to building a few large, complex satellites, are adapting to the new reality of producing larger quantities of smaller, cheaper spacecraft, exposing weaknesses in segments of the space industrial base. (4/19)

Astra Considered Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 Bankruptcy (Source: Space News)
Astra flirted with filing for bankruptcy several times in recent months as the company struggled to stay afloat. In recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the spacecraft propulsion and launch vehicle company said that it had considered "and even begun preparations" to file for either Chapter 11 reorganization or Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy in the second half of 2023 and earlier this year. In some cases the company came within days of furloughing staff and filing for bankruptcy.

Astra announced last month that it accepted a proposal by the company's founders to take the company private at $0.50 a share, a deal still scheduled to close in the second quarter. Astra reported Thursday a net loss of $178.4 million in 2023 on $3.9 million in revenue. (4/19)

MDA Space Wins Canadian Contract for ISS Robotic Arm Support (Source: Space News)
MDA Space won a contract from the Canadian Space Agency to provide continued support for the International Space Station's robotic arm. The $182 million contract extension, announced Thursday, covers robotics flight controller duties, in addition to the operational readiness support, through 2030, the scheduled retirement of the station. MDA Space announced last week a new product line of modular robotic technologies and services called Skymaker, which the company hopes will help it secure emerging commercial opportunities following decades of government work. (4/19)

China Plans Commercial Launches for Proposed Megaconstellations (Source: Space News)
China plans to rely on commercial launch companies to help deploy its proposed megaconstellations. China has outlined plans for two separate low Earth orbit communications megaconstellations, called Guowang and G60 Starlink, with Guowang alone featuring 13,000 satellites. A recent report notes that new launch capacity being developed by commercial actors in the country will play a pivotal role in getting the planned satellites into orbit. The move will help traditional state-owned players focus on civil and military programs, including human spaceflight, military and lunar plans, while also boosting China's overall launch and space capabilities and meeting national strategic goals. (4/19)

Virgin Galactic Considers Reverse Stock Split (Source: Space News)
Virgin Galactic will ask shareholders to approve proposals for a reverse stock split. The company released a proxy statement Thursday for its annual general meeting of shareholders, scheduled for June. That statement includes a proposal to allow the board to implement a reverse split of between 1-for-2 and 1-for-20 shares. The reverse split would boost the share price, which the company said would have various benefits, including compliance with requirements to remain listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares in the company closed Thursday at $0.97. (4/19)

Ghaffarian Sets His Sights on the Stars with a Range of Space Companies (Source: CNBC)
Jeff Bezos wants to build permanent outposts on the moon and colonize space. Richard Branson wants to make spaceflight as commonplace as air travel. Elon Musk wants to settle on Mars to make humanity multi-planetary. IBX’s Kam Ghaffarian wants to go even further: the stars. “The vision for IBX is protecting our home, our planet, and then finding new homes and stars and everything involved to do that. So, on the space side, if we say that the ultimate destiny for humanity is interstellar travel, and going to the stars, then we need to take a lot of intermediary steps to do that.”

It might sound farfetched if it wasn’t for his track record. Ghaffarian has been instrumental in ushering in the new space economy, having co-founded and invested in a cadre of commercial space ventures. Publicly traded Intuitive Machines, where Ghaffarian is co-founder and executive chairman, recently made history when its Odysseus spacecraft successfully landed on the moon. Ghaffarian is also the co-founder and chairman of Axiom Space, which now regularly sends private astronauts on commercial missions to the ISS as it works to build its own space station.

With Quantum Space, where he’s also the executive chairman, the focus is on deep space commerce and communication through a superhighway of satellites stretching from Earth’s orbit to the moon and beyond; X-Energy, which he founded, has developed operating nuclear reactors that, according to the company, are “designed to be intrinsically safe,” as well as nuclear propulsion capabilities. His family office, IBX, which stands for “Imagine, Believe, Execute,” sits at the center of this space exploration constellation. Click here. (4/18)

SwRI Begins Work on 'Spacecraft Bus' (Source: KSAT)
outhwest Research Institute has won a position on Denver-based Astroscale U.S.’s contract with the U.S. Space Force to build and test a small demonstration spacecraft as part of a $25.5 million Space Mobility and Logistics prototyping project. The spacecraft, called the Astroscale Prototype Servicer for Refueling, will refuel other compatible vehicles while in geostationary orbit. “It’s a servicing mission; It’s a demonstration mission. It’s intended to provide a service that the Space Command really wants to have in orbit,” said Michael Epperly, senior program manager within the SwRI Space Systems Directorate. (4/17)

Plasma Physicist Warns That Elon Musk's Disposable Satellites May Be Damaging the Earth's Magnetic Field (Source: Futurism)
Dead satellites and other debris are constantly burning up as they fall out of Earth's orbit. Conventional wisdom is destroying all that space junk is good, because it keeps orbit less cluttered. But it may have harmful effects on our planet's magnetic field, as plasma physicist and former Air Force research scientist Sierra Solter contends.  "After studying the problem for over a year, I have no doubt that the sheer vastness of this pollution is going to disrupt our delicate plasma environment in one way or another," Solter wrote, arguing that big money in "commercial space ventures" could stop us from "discussing this potential crisis." (4/17)

Pluto Gained a ‘Heart’ After Colliding with a Planetary Body (Source: CNN)
A huge heart-shaped feature on the surface of Pluto has intrigued astronomers since NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft captured it in a 2015 image. Now, researchers think they have solved the mystery of how the distinctive heart came to be — and it could reveal new clues about the dwarf planet’s origins. The heart is not all one element, scientists say. For decades, details on Tombaugh Regio’s elevation, geological composition and distinct shape, as well as its highly reflective surface that is a brighter white than the rest of Pluto, have defied explanation.

After an analysis involving numerical simulations, researchers concluded a planetary body about 435 miles in diameter, or roughly twice the size of Switzerland from east to west, likely collided with Pluto early in the dwarf planet’s history. (4/18)

Enceladus Can Support Life − My Research Team is Working Out How to Detect Extraterrestrial Cells There (Source: The Conversation)
Saturn has 146 confirmed moons – more than any other planet in the solar system – but one called Enceladus stands out. It appears to have the ingredients for life. From 2004 to 2017, Cassini – a joint mission between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency – investigated Saturn, its rings and moons. Cassini delivered spectacular findings. Enceladus, only 313 miles in diameter, harbors a liquid water ocean beneath its icy crust that spans the entire moon. Click here. (4/17)

The Strange Theory That There Is Only One Electron In The Universe (Source: IFL Science)
According to a theory proposed by theoretical physicist John Wheeler, who outlined his thoughts in a conversation with fellow physicist Richard Feynman, there is only one electron – it just looks like there are a lot more because it is moving forward and backward in time. As odd as this sounds, it is itself a response to the incredible weirdness of electrons. Electrons, like other elementary particles, are indistinguishable from each other. They have the same negative charge, the same mass, and the same spin. Swap one electron for another, and you won't be able to tell.

Its antiparticle – the positron – are also indistinguishable from each other, identical in their charge, mass, and spin. Strangely, they are identical to electrons, aside from their positive charge. It was these factors that led Wheeler to suggest that electrons and positrons were actually just one particle, negatively charged as it goes forward in time, and positively charged as it goes backward in time. (4/18)

Physicists Suggest Universe is Full of Material Moving Faster Than Light (Source: Futurism)
New research suggests that the universe is filled with particles capable of traveling faster than light, LiveScience reports — and that this scenario holds up as a potentially "viable alternative" to our current cosmological model. The idea is a little far-fetched, sure, but it's worth hearing out. These hypothetical particles, known as tachyons, aren't likely to be real — but they're not some hokey bit of sci-fi, either. The potential for their existence is something physicists have been giving serious thought for decades, raising fundamental questions about the nature of causality. (4/18)

Northrop Grumman Working with SpaceX on U.S. Spy Satellite System (Source: Reuters)
Aerospace and defense company Northrop Grumman is working with SpaceX, the space venture of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, on a classified spy satellite project already capturing high-resolution imagery of the Earth, according to people familiar with the program. The program, details of which were first reported by Reuters last month, is meant to enhance the U.S. government's ability to track military and intelligence targets from low-Earth orbits, providing high-resolution imagery of a kind that had traditionally been captured mostly by drones and reconnaissance aircraft.

The inclusion of Northrop Grumman, which has not been previously reported, reflects a desire among government officials to avoid putting too much control of a highly-sensitive intelligence program in the hands of one contractor, four people familiar with the project told Reuters. "It is in the government's interest to not be totally invested in one company run by one person," one of the people said. (4/18)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Satellites on Company's 40th Mission of 2024 (Source: Space.com)
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 of the company's Starlink internet satellites lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida on April 18. The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth about 8.5 minutes after launch as planned, making a vertical landing on the SpaceX droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. (4/18)

Lack of Standards Slows Allied Tech-Sharing, Space Force Official Says (Source: Defense News)
As the U.S. military deepens its technology development and sharing partnerships with international allies, a dearth of government standards for components and interfaces threatens to impede cooperation, according to the Space Force. Chief Master Sergeant Ron Lerch, who serves as the senior enlisted leader for Space Systems Command’s Intelligence Directorate, said that while the issue is often raised by industry, it’s a growing concern from foreign allies as well. (4/17)

FAA to Require Reentry Vehicles Licensed Before Launch (Source: Space News)
The FAA is revising its licensing regulations to prevent a repeat of a situation last year where a spacecraft launched without approvals to return. In a notice published in the Federal Register April 17, the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation announced it will no longer approve the launch of spacecraft designed to reenter unless they already have a reentry license. The office said that it will, going forward, check that a spacecraft designed to return to Earth has a reentry license as part of the standard payload review process. (4/18)

Orbex Secures £16.7m Investment to Accelerate Rocket Development (Source: Orbex)
The UK spaceflight company Orbex has received £16.7m from a group of six significant investors in an update to its Series C funding round. The funding takes the total funds raised by the business to £102 million. With pre-launch testing underway, the funding will help Orbex ramp up the development of Prime, its 19-meter long, two-stage rocket designed to transport small satellites into Low Earth Orbit. The aim is to ensure full readiness and scalability for its launch period.

Orbex now has 2 active patents in a number of European countries and the United States covering various parts of its rocket technology. It is powered by a renewable biofuel, which allows the rocket to reduce carbon emissions significantly compared to other similarly sized rockets being developed elsewhere around the world. (4/18)

NASA Has Greenlit Plans to Send a Giant Drone to Saturn’s Largest Moon (Source: The Verge)
NASA has been given the go-ahead to send a flying drone-like lander to explore Titan, the largest of Saturn’s 146 moons. Targeting a July 2028 launch, the agency announced on Tuesday that it can now complete the final design for Dragonfly — a Mars rover-sized rotorcraft that will be used to detect “prebiotic chemical processes common on both Titan and the early Earth before life developed.” If all goes according to plan, the eight-rotor drone is scheduled to arrive at Titan in 2034. (4/17)

Mutated Strains of Unknown Drug-Resistant Bacteria Found Lurking on ISS (Source: Gizmodo)
The ISS is home to crews of astronauts conducting research in low Earth orbit, but it also hosts a group of mutated bacteria that are thriving under the harsh conditions of space. A group of researchers took a closer look at bacterial strains on board the ISS and found that they had mutated to a different form that’s genetically and functionally distinct from their Earthly counterparts. In a new study published on PubMed, scientists suggest that bacteria in space becomes more resistant to treatment or drugs, and are able to openly persist in the microgravity environment in abundance.

Although astronauts tend to travel light, they do unintentionally bring their microbes with them to space. As a result, a unique microbial population has grown on the space station. In 2019, researchers conducted the first extensive survey of bacteria and fungi on board the ISS, and found a whole bunch of microorganisms living among the astronauts. The bacteria that live on the ISS are influenced by factors like microgravity, radiation, elevated CO2, ventilation, humidity, air pressure, as well as the number of astronauts on ISS. As a result, the microorganisms have to adapt in order to survive.

The study found that under stress, E. bugandensis mutated to become more resistant to antimicrobial treatment. Also, the bacterial species was found to coexist with multiple other microorganisms, and in some cases may have helped those other organisms survive. E. bugandensis is associated with the human gastrointestinal tract, and the species is known to be highly adaptable and can take advantage of unusual conditions to infect a host. (4/18)

Unidentified Submerged Objects Are What We Should Really Worry About (Source: Jalopnik)
Officially, the U.S. government has no proof that sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena are the result of alien activity. Apparently, though, they have been observed operating unidentified submerged objects in our oceans. They fly, too, but when they want, they just disappear beneath the waves without a trace. Retired Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet is sounding the alarm on UFOs that can disappear into the water without a splash and without leaving any wreckage behind. (4/18)

This Advanced Quake Detector Will Land on the Moon With Artemis Astronauts (Source: Gizmodo)
NASA is building a compact seismometer for its upcoming Artemis 3 mission to the Moon, hoping to learn more about the internal structure of the dusty satellite from its lunar tremors. The Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) was selected as one of the first three potential payloads for Artemis 3, which is scheduled for launch in 2026. LEMS is an autonomous, self-sustaining station that’s designed to withstand the cold lunar night and operate during the day, continuously monitoring ground motion from moonquakes. (4/17)

After Success of Chandrayaan-3 Mission, ISRO Chief Somanath Makes Big Claim on India's Lunar Mission (Source: DNA)
The chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), S Somanath, said India's commitment to continue lunar missions until an Indian astronaut sets foot on the Moon. Speaking at an event organised by the Astronautical Society of India in Ahmedabad, Somanath emphasised ISRO's dedication to the Chandrayaan series of missions and probes until this significant milestone is achieved.

India's Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole in August 2023, making it the first country to land on the uncharted surface. Chandrayaan 3 module seperated from the rocket 16 minutes after launch and orbited the Earth six times, reaching a maximum distance of 36500 km before the first orbit-raising move on July 15, taking it to a distance of 41,672 km.

Meanwhile, Somanath also revealed plans for an uncrewed Gaganyaan mission, a test vehicle flight mission, and an airdrop test scheduled for 2024. The airdrop test, slated for April 24, is a significant step towards realising India's human spaceflight capability. Somanath outlined a roadmap comprising additional uncrewed missions in the following year, leading up to the manned mission by the end of next year, contingent on successful progress. (4/18)

Engineering India's Lunar Ambitions with AI (Source: DaijiWorld)
Artificial intelligence has been a pivotal technology in ensuring the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. It has significantly enhanced planning, navigation, data analysis, and overall operational efficiency. The integration of artificial intelligence has played a crucial role in the accomplishments of Chandrayaan-3. Let's explore how artificial intelligence has contributed to the mission's triumph. Click here. (4/17)

Air National Guard Transfer Proposal Would Put America Behind in Space (Source: C4ISRnet)
On March 19, the secretary of the U.S. Air Force sent a legislative proposal to Congress that calls for the transfer of Air National Guard space missions, equipment, and personnel to the U.S. Space Force. The proposal, known as LP 480, also includes language that overrides the section of the law that requires governors to consent to changes to their National Guard units.

As an adjutant general, LP 480 presents a multitude of concerns. It would set a precedent for moving state forces to a federal chain of command without the governor’s consent and would reduce a state’s capability to respond to state emergencies without any input from the state. It would also create unnecessary costs for American taxpayers. And LP 480 would degrade America’s space capabilities.

Last year, Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, the chief of Space Operations, told Congress that the Air National Guard’s roughly 1,000 space professionals make more than 30% of American space capability and a whopping 60% of the nation’s electromagnetic warfare capability. LP 480 would move about 1,000 positions (known in the military as billets) from the Air National Guard to the Space Force. However, because the service members that occupy those positions signed contracts with the National Guard, they cannot be forced to transfer to the Space Force and must do so voluntarily. (4/17)

Inversion’s State-of-the-Art Ray Reentry Demonstrator Capsule to Launch This Fall (Source: Inversion)
Inversion, founded in 2021 to build re-entry vehicles to deliver cargo anywhere on Earth in under one hour, announced today that Ray, the company’s technology test platform, will be launching on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 as part of the Transporter-12 Rideshare mission, no earlier than October 2024. The purpose of Ray’s mission for Inversion is to test key technologies for the yet-to-be-announced next generation vehicle that Inversion is developing. (4/17)

SpaceX's Latest $14M South Texas Expansion Adds Rec Center, Sushi (Source: My San Antonio)
SpaceX's South Texas headquarters, located along the coast, is continuing to build its island of resources for its community of space innovators. The astronautics company has now added multi-million dollar projects to its slate of upcoming restaurants and centers. The company plans to build an over $13 million recreation center and a nearly half-million-dollar sushi restaurant. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations filings show that the projects will take full form in over a year of construction. (4/17)

Axiom, LambdaVision, and the Great Commercial Takeover of Low Earth Orbit (Source: MIT Technology Review)
A lot of people are betting that there are fortunes to be made in LEO, and because of that, the US taxpayer is not paying for Axiom Station. Though NASA intends to eventually rent space on Hab One, and has already awarded tens of millions of dollars to kick off early development, the commercial station is being built by hundreds of millions of private dollars. The cultivation of commercial research and manufacturing is ongoing, which was NASA’s aim going all the way back to Dan Goldin’s tenure as administrator.

Axiom built the mock-up to solve an almost comically fundamental challenge that any project such as this faces: turning the pressure shell and the myriad subsystems and components into a human-safe spacefaring vehicle. You can’t just drill holes in the pressure shell, any more than you can punch a hole in a balloon and expect it to keep its shape. Axiom must build the module inside and around it. “It is a spaceship-in-the-bottle problem,” Baine said. “You basically have to feed all your systems through a 50-inch hatch and integrate them into the element.”

As part of its push to encourage companies to develop their own space stations, NASA has committed to leasing space on those that meet the agency’s stringent human-spaceflight requirements. Just as with a major shopping center, an “anchor tenant” can offer financial stability and attract more tenants. To help this along, a US national laboratory based in Melbourne, Florida, is specifically funding and supporting non-aerospace companies that might benefit from microgravity research. Click here. (4/17)

ESA Selects Four New Earth Explorer Mission Ideas (Source: ESA)
From the 17 submissions, which were all thoroughly evaluated, ESA’s Advisory Committee for Earth Observation (ACEO) recommended that four of the ideas should go forward to the assessment study phase. Today, ESA’s Programme Board for Earth Observation formally accepted this recommendation, which means that the proposed CryoRad, ECO, Hydroterra+ and Keystone mission ideas will now be fully assessed and, in effect, take the first competitive steps towards becoming ESA’s twelfth Earth Explorer.

CryoRad would provide direct measurement of low-frequency passive-microwave brightness temperatures using a novel broadband radiometer. ECO would measure the difference between incoming solar radiation and outgoing radiation, which defines Earth’s energy ‘imbalance’, and which fundamentally controls Earth’s climate system. Hydroterra+ would deliver data twice a day over Europe, the Mediterranean and northern Africa to understand rapid processes tied to the water cycle and tectonic events in these regions. And Keystone would provide the first direct observations of atomic oxygen in the altitude range of 50–150 km using a unique combination of limb-sounding techniques. (4/17)

Lunar i-hab Mockup Completes Acceptance Review at Thales Alenia Space (Source: Space Daily)
The European Space Agency's Lunar I-Hab initiative has achieved a significant milestone at the Thales Alenia Space facility in Turin with the completion of the Acceptance Review of the mockup, delivered by Liquifer Space Systems. This event underscores the advancement toward a sustained human presence in lunar orbit. The mockup, a full-scale version of the intended flight module, includes a structural representation of the living space and a cabin equipped with volumetric models of actual flight hardware. (4/16)

NASA Seeks Community Input to Refine Space Technology Priorities (Source: Space Daily)
NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) is revising its approach to technology development as it aims to enhance its missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The agency has identified nearly 190 national space technology needs and is soliciting input from the American aerospace community to prioritize these for future endeavors.

Dr. Kurt Vogel, associate administrator for Space Technology at NASA Headquarters, emphasized the shift towards a more collaborative process to tackle the challenges posed by future missions. "STMD is developing many key technologies, but this open approach helps us better prioritize and align with stakeholder needs, ensuring efficient investment," he explained. (4/17)

April 18, 2024

Astronomers Spot a Massive ‘Sleeping Giant’ Black Hole Less Than 2,000 Light-Years From Earth (Source: CNN)
Astronomers have spotted the most massive known stellar black hole in the Milky Way galaxy after detecting an unusual wobble in space. The so-called “sleeping giant,” named Gaia BH3, has a mass that is nearly 33 times that of our sun, and it’s located 1,926 light-years away in the Aquila constellation, making it the second-closest known black hole to Earth. The closest black hole is Gaia BH1, which is located about 1,500 light-years away and has a mass that is nearly 10 times that of our sun. (4/17)

Debt Ceiling to Blame for Shortfalls in NASA's FY35 Budget (Source: Space News)
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson defended proposed cuts to programs in NASA's fiscal year 2025 budget request, putting much of the blame on Congress. At a House appropriations hearing Wednesday, Nelson said the debt-ceiling deal last year that placed spending caps on non-defense discretionary programs, like NASA, forced "very tough choices" on the agency, including the cancellation of the OSAM-1 satellite servicing mission and cuts in the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. He added that he was "quite sanguine" about the future of the Mars Sample Return program given plans announced this week to seek alternative architectures amid concerns that proposed budgets could lead to further layoffs at JPL. (4/18)

CSIS Study Finds Evidence of Counterspace Activities (Source: Space News)
A new report found growing evidence of counterspace activities against satellites. The report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released Wednesday highlights the expanding anti-satellite capabilities of foreign adversaries, notably China and Russia, alongside the world's growing reliance on space-based systems for critical services. While the report noted there have been no destructive ASAT weapons tests since one by Russia in 2021, there is growing non-destructive counterspace activities like jamming and GPS spoofing as well as "unfriendly behaviors" of Chinese and Russian spacecraft. (4/18)

Taking the Next Steps for Satellite-to-Smartphone Services (Source: Space News)
Regulators are offering mixed messages about the use of satellites for direct-to-device connectivity. The FCC approved last month a new regulatory framework called Supplemental Coverage from Space to permit satellites to use radio waves from terrestrial partners to keep their mobile subscribers connected outside cell tower coverage. While that framework was hailed by the industry as a major step forward, the FCC later last month rejected a request from SpaceX to use some mobile satellite service bands to expand the capacity it is getting from U.S. terrestrial partner T-Mobile. The FCC concluded that the potential for interference warranted a new rule-making process that is subject to a lengthy public comment period. (4/18)

Astrobotic Focuses on Defense Business (Source: Space News)
Astrobotic is seeking defense business for a reusable suborbital rocket. Astrobotic is developing Xogdor, obtained when Astrobotic acquired the former Masten Space Systems, with a first flight planned in 2025. Astrobotic plans to offer Xogdor to the U.S. Air Force, the Missile Defense Agency and other defense organizations for use as a testing and research platform, and potentially for "rocket cargo" initiatives. Xogdor will be capable of flying at supersonic speeds and suborbital altitudes, with a range of several hundred kilometers. (4/18)

Space ISAC LEO Group Focuses on Information Sharing (Source: Space News)
A group of low Earth orbit satellite operators are working together to discuss potential threats to their satellites. Space ISAC announced last week the creation of the LEO Owner Operators Affinity Group, allowing companies to share information on topics ranging from space weather to threats from adversaries. Frank Backes, CEO of Capella Space and co-chair of the group, said the creation of the group was prompted by the desire to bring together companies that are facing similar challenges to operations specific to LEO. (4/18)

HASC Chairman Supports Transfer of Space-Focused Guard Units to Active Duty (Source: Breaking Defense)
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee says he supports a proposal to transfer space-related National Guard units into the active-duty Space Force. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) said after a hearing on the Department of the Air Force's budget request that he is "fully supportive" of the legislative proposal from the Defense Department that would allow it to move nearly 600 Guardsman in several states to the Space Force. He rejected criticism from the National Guard Association that the move, while involving only a small number of guardsmen, was an "existential threat" to the National Guard. (4/18)

Canada Creates National Space Council (Source: CBC)
Canada is creating its own National Space Council. The Canadian government announced plans this week to establish a National Space Council as part of the rollout of its 2024-2025 budget. The council will provide "a new whole-of-government approach to space exploration, technology development, and research," the government stated. Space Canada, an industry group, welcomed the announcement. (4/18)

TESS Returns to Operations (Source: NASA)
NASA's TESS spacecraft has returned to operations. NASA said Wednesday that the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has restarted normal scientific operations after going into a safe mode last week. The agency said engineers are still studying what triggered the safe mode on the six-year-old spacecraft, which maps the sky looking for exoplanets. (4/18)

NASA Bids Farewell to Mars Helicopter (Source: Space.com)
NASA has given its sendoff to the Ingenuity Mars helicopter. Controllers this week transmitted a final command to the helicopter, turning it into a stationary testbed. Ingenuity will continue to collect telemetry about its systems and take images even after its loses its radio link to the Perseverance rover. Ingenuity's memory could hold up to 20 years of data that might be retrieved by some future mission. Ingenuity ended its flight operations in January after a hard landing damaged its rotor blades. (4/18)

L3Harris Plans to 'Streamline' Operations with Staffing Cuts After Recent Acquisitions (Source: Florida Today)
Melbourne-based L3Harris Technologies is laying off workers in a cost-cutting move designed "to streamline our operations," the defense and aerospace company said in a statement. The layoffs follow two major acquisitions by L3Harris last year that were valued at a total of $6.66 billion, plus more recent announcements by the company of moves to get rid of non-core businesses. L3Harris in January reported that its 2023 profits were $1.20 billion, up 12.9% from the previous year.

L3Harris is a defense and technology company formed by the 2019 merger of L3 Technologies and Harris Corp. It is headquartered in Melbourne. L3Harris is among the largest U.S. defense contractors, currently in the No. 6 position, behind Lockheed Martin, RTX (formerly Raytheon), Northrop Grumman, Boeing and General Dynamics. L3Harris employs about 50,000 people worldwide. It is one of the largest employers in Brevard County, with more the 7,200 employees on the Space Coast.

L3Harris in July completed its $4.7 billion acquisition of rocket-engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne, which serves both the space and missile markets. L3Harris in January 2023 completed a $1.96 billion acquisition of Viasat Inc.’s Tactical Data Links product line. (4/12)

How to Keep Earth From Being Cooked by the Ever-Hotter Sun (Source: Ars Technica)
The warming Sun will increase the Earth’s surface temperature. With higher temperatures, the oceans will evaporate. Since water vapor is an excellent greenhouse gas, more of it in the atmosphere will lead to even greater surface temperatures. Higher temperatures will force the oceans to evaporate even more, setting off a runaway cycle that will quickly see all of the Earth’s abundant surface water floating in our atmosphere.

In raw human-scale numbers, the amount of mass the Sun loses through the solar wind is incredible, roughly 1–2 million metric tons per second. All that fury adds up to one single Earth-mass every 150 million years. We’re gonna need to bump that up a bit.

One way to do this is to simply heat up the Sun's surface, through lasers, particle beams, strong magnetic fields, or whatever mechanism our descendants choose. Heating up the surface would increase the amount of solar wind production, which would increase the rate of solar mass loss. But high-energy particles whizzing out of the Sun is generally counterproductive when it comes to keeping the Earth habitable, so the next challenge is to funnel those particles somewhere safe. Click here. (4/16)

Russian Space Chief Says New Rocket Will Put Falcon 9 Reuse to Shame (Source: Ars Technica)
Russia's once-vaunted launch industry has been much in decline due to a combination of factors, including an aging fleet of rockets, a reduction in government investment, and the country's war in Ukraine driving away Western customers. However, it is has been difficult for the country's leaders to explain these difficult facts to the Russian people. Russians are justifiably proud of their country's heritage of space firsts and dominant position in spaceflight. So typically, officials bluster.

This is what Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov did recently during a lecture at the Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics. Located south of Moscow, this is the world's first museum devoted solely to spaceflight. Borisov heads the country's main space corporation, and thus is the leader of the country's space activities. (4/16)

SpaceX Starlink Mission Sails Wednesday at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Florida Today)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket delivered another 23 Starlink broadband satellites into low-Earth orbit, adding to the company's ever-expanding global constellation. Wednesday's Starlink 6-51 mission bolted into orbit from pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The mission marked the 12th flight for the Falcon 9 first-stage booster, SpaceX reported. The booster landed atop the drone ship Just Read the Instructions out on the Atlantic Ocean. (4/17)

Space Startups are Licking Their Lips After NASA Converts $11B Mars Mission Into a Free-For-All (Source: Tech Crunch)
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has pronounced the agency’s $11 billion, 15-year mission to collect and return samples from Mars insufficient. But the strategy shift could be a huge boon to space startups, to which much of that planned funding will almost certainly be redirected. “The bottom line is, an $11 billion budget is too expensive, and a 2040 return date is too far away,” Nelson said at a press conference. “We need to look outside the box to find a way ahead that is both affordable and returns samples in a reasonable timeframe.”

In other words, clear the decks and start over — with commercial providers on board from the get-go. The Mars Sample Return mission was still in the planning stages, but an independent review of the project last year found that, given budget, technology and other constraints, the mission was unlikely to complete before 2040, and at a cost of $8 billion to $11 billion. Even if NASA wants to assign only half or even a quarter of the original budget to an endeavor led by a commercial space company, private industry has already shown that it can do more with less when compared to legacy outfits.

It’s also catnip for launch companies, since the time horizon is far enough out that heavy launch vehicles like Blue Origin’s New Glenn, Rocket Lab’s Neutron and, of course, SpaceX’s Starship may be cleared to fly when the mission is ready to progress. That was undoubtedly also the plan with the 2040 timeline, but the notional new one is a lot closer to the present. (4/16)

India Makes Big Breakthrough in Boosting Rocket’s Capacity (Source: India Today)
The Indian Space Research Organization has developed a lightweight Carbon-Carbon (C-C) nozzle for rocket engines, which it described as a breakthrough in rocket engine technology. "This innovation accomplished by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) promises to enhance the vital parameters of rocket engines, including thrust levels, specific impulse, and thrust-to-weight ratios, thereby boosting the payload capacity of launch vehicles," it said in a statement. The VSSC has used advanced materials like Carbon-Carbon (C-C) Composites to create a nozzle divergent that offers exceptional properties, ISRO said. (4/17)

Spaceport Status OK’d for South Florida's Homestead Air Reserve Base (Source: Miami Today)
After both houses of the state legislature unanimously passed a bill in March expanding Florida’s spaceport territory to include Homestead Air Reserve Base, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law this month. It takes effect July 1. The law also covers a new spaceport at Tyndale Air Force Base in Bay County on the Gulf of Mexico in the Florida Panhandle, 12 miles east of Panama City.

Both fledgling spaceports will be under the jurisdiction of Space Florida, the state’s aerospace finance and development authority. A spaceport coming to Miami-Dade County breaks the state’s northeast monopoly on such facilities. Currently there are three spaceports in the state: Cape Canaveral and the adjacent Space Florida Launch Complex, and the Kennedy Space Center near Orlando. (4/16)

California Coastal Commission Hesitant to Support Increase on SpaceX Launches (Source: Santa Barbara Independent)
On April 10, the California Coastal Commission postponed a decision on SpaceX’s proposal to increase launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) from six to 36, and landings to 12 annually. Concerns were raised about distinguishing federal and private activities, as well as impacts on residents and the environment.

After a series of public complaints about impacts to wildlife, noise disturbances, marine debris, and public notifications, the commission requested more time to understand the complexities of the situation. The most pressing question in the room was whether all commercial space launches at VSFB can be considered federal activity. (4/16)

What’s the Cheapest Way to the Edge of Space? Ride a Balloon (Source: CNN)
Last week in London, HALO Space CEO Carlos Mira unveiled the interior design for its Aurora space capsule, which his team hopes will transport 10,000 passengers to near-space by 2030. The pressurized capsule – designed by the legendary Frank Stephenson, the automobile designer for Ferrari, Alpha Romeo and more – measures 5 meters wide and 3.5 meters tall and will be suspended from a huge helium balloon.

Eight passengers will be seated inside for journeys lasting up to six hours. The drier and less windy the better, as strong winds and cloudy skies are a big no-no when it comes to offering passengers their once-in-a-lifetime experience. Flights will launch pre-dawn, so that guests can experience a “white” sunrise at the edge of the stratosphere with the deep black of space beyond. Is it worth the multithousand-dollar price tag? That’s up for debate. But it’ll definitely be a morning like no other. (4/16)

NASA Mars Helicopter Sends Last Message to Earth (Source: Space Daily)
NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter has transmitted its final message to Earth and will now serve as an immobile data-gathering unit on the red planet's surface, the space agency said on Tuesday. The tissue box-sized aircraft made history by achieving the first powered flight on another planet after hitching a ride under the belly of the Perseverance rover, which first lifted off the surface on April 19, 2021. (4/17)

ARKA Invests $85 million in Connecticut Facility Expansion (Source: Space Daily)
ARKA Group, L.P. has completed an important expansion of its 550,000 square-foot facility located in Danbury, Connecticut, which also serves as its headquarters. This expansion is focused on enhancing the production capacity for small satellite systems, payloads, and optical coating capabilities. The expansion, encompassing 14,000 additional square feet, includes state-of-the-art cleanrooms designed for the rapid alignment, integration, and testing of sub-meter aperture EO/IR telescopes and payloads.

The new layout maximizes the use of advanced digital engineering and manufacturing tools, boosting ARKA's ability to handle multi-shift payload production efficiently. The facility now includes a specially designed section for applying space-qualified, thin film coatings on optical components, essential for all mission types. (4/17)

AI-Driven Hyperspectral Imaging Breakthrough by Intuition-1 Satellite (Source: Space Daily)
KP Labs has achieved a critical milestone with the successful acquisition and AI processing of hyperspectral images on its Intuition-1 satellite. This new capability offers unprecedented detail in Earth observation, particularly across the equatorial regions, significantly enhancing the potential for scientific and commercial data analysis.

The Intuition-1 satellite, launched via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in November 2023, embodies a significant leap in space technology with its integration of advanced hyperspectral imaging and onboard AI. This fusion facilitates immediate data processing in orbit, setting a new benchmark for efficiency and functionality in satellite operations. (4/17)

Astronaut Fitness Regimes Critical in Tiangong Space Station (Source: Space Daily)
With China's ambitious plans to expand its space missions, the health of astronauts during prolonged spaceflights has become a vital concern. The state-of-the-art equipment aboard the Tiangong Space Station plays a crucial role in ensuring astronaut safety and health in the absence of gravity.
The China Manned Space Agency recently shared new footage showcasing crew members participating in intense exercise routines aimed at reducing the adverse effects of long-term microgravity exposure.

Astronauts are required to spend one to two hours daily on physical activities to mitigate issues such as muscle atrophy, irregular heart rhythms, and immune system complications. The station's three modules include areas equipped with rowing machines, treadmills, and resistance devices to support these exercises. Innovative wearable uniforms fitted with elastic resistance bands help maintain muscle tension and offset the negative impact of microgravity on the body. (4/17)

Aegis Aerospace Completes Acquisition of ProXopS Assets (Source: Space Daily)
Aegis Aerospace has reported its acquisition of significant assets from ProXopS LLC, a Houston-based engineering services company. Included in the acquisition are subcontracts with Jacobs associated with NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida under the Consolidated Operations, Management, Engineering and Test (COMET) contract, and at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas under the JSC Engineering, Technology, and Science (JETS) II contract. (4/16)

April 17, 2024

Pentagon Looks to Standardize its Relationship with Space Companies (Source: FNN)
A new strategy from the Defense Department outlines how the agency plans to sync up its interests with the commercial space companies, with which it works. The first of its kind 2024 Commercial Space Integration Strategy, looks to integrate commercial solutions into DoD’s national security space architecture. To learn more about it, Federal News Network’s Eric White spoke with one of the authors of the strategy, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb. Click here. (4/12)

Sidus Space Partners with Orbital Transports to Expand Market Reach (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space has joined the Orbital Transports Partner Program, a community of companies, suppliers, and subcontractors working together to solve space mission challenges for Customer and Partner companies. The Orbital Transports SmallSat Catalog is an Internet web portal that provides partner companies with a new distribution channel and access to new markets by aggregating space products and services into a comprehensive marketplace. Sidus Space is offering payload hosting services on its 100kg LizzieSat satellite bus platform on its confirmed launches. (4/17)

Iceye Raises $93 Million for SAR (Source: Space News)
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite company Iceye has raised $93 million. Iceye announced the round Wednesday, led by Finnish sovereign wealth fund Solidium Oy and with participation from Move Capital Fund I, Blackwells Capital, Christo Georgiev and existing investors. The Finnish company has raised $438 million to date and has launched 34 SAR satellites, with plans to launch up to 15 more this year. Iceye said it will use the funds to expand its business and develop new products and services. (4/17)

Air Force Sponsors "Quick Start" Space Projects (Source: Space News)
The Department of the Air Force has selected its first "quick start" programs intended to accelerate work on key capabilities. Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall announced the selection of the first two programs for the initiative during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday. One is a program to develop space and airborne sensors to track moving targets, while the other is for "GPS light" navigation satellites using smaller, less expensive commercial spacecraft. The Air Force did not specify how much funding will be allocated to get these projects kick-started, but said that funding will need to be taken out of other projects for those early-stage activities. (4/17)

ABS Hires Rigolle as CEO (Source: Space News)
Satellite operator ABS has hired industry veteran Mark Rigolle as its new CEO. Rigolle, most recently chief operating officer for the proposed Rivada Space Networks constellation, will join ABS as CEO April 29. He succeeds Amit Somani, who left abruptly in January after less than two years at the company. ABS, originally known as Asia Broadcast Satellite but which changed its name to Agility Beyond Space last year after moving its headquarters from Hong Kong to Dubai, currently operates five GEO communications satellites. (4/17)

Maxar Seeks to Expand Analytics Offerings (Source: Space News)
Maxar Intelligence is looking for ways to strengthen its position in the competitive geospatial intelligence market. The company's CEO, Dan Smoot, said in a recent interview that the company will look to diversify its offerings beyond its traditional high-resolution imagery to provide more sophisticated analytics and novel data products like 3D mapping. Maxar also is forging partnerships with other remote sensing operators to create a "virtual constellation" for geospatial intelligence. The company's near-term priority is the deployment of its WorldView Legion constellation, with the first two satellites scheduled to launch as soon as this month. (4/17)

NASA May Restructure Mars Sample Return to Reduce Sample Mass (Source: Space News)
NASA is willing to consider options for restructuring its Mars Sample Return program that would sharply reduce the number of samples returned. NASA released a call for proposals Tuesday for MSR architecture studies as part of efforts to lower the cost and shorten the schedule of the program. NASA said it would consider proposals for architectures that would return as few as 10 samples collected by the Perseverance rover, a third of the number current plans call for bringing back. That has raised concerns among scientists that this approach would harm the scientific value of the mission. NASA expects to make multiple awards this summer for architecture studies that would be due to the agency by October. (4/17)

CST-100 Starliner Stacked at Florida Launch Pad (Source: Space News)
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle has arrived at the launch pad for its crewed test flight. The spacecraft rolled out early Tuesday from a processing facility at the Kennedy Space Center to Space Launch Complex 41, where it was attached to the Atlas 5 rocket that will launch it next month. The Crew Flight Test mission will carry two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station on a test flight lasting a little more than a week. NASA has scheduled a flight test readiness review for the mission for next Thursday. (4/17)

DoD Picks 5N Plus to Develop Solar Cell Tech (Source: Space News)
The Defense Department has awarded a contract or the production of space-qualified materials for solar cells. The award announced Tuesday to semiconductor manufacturer 5N Plus is part of a Defense Production Act investment program to sustain and expand the capability to produce germanium substrates used in solar cells for defense, civil and commercial satellites. By supporting companies that produce essential materials, the DoD aims to reduce reliance on foreign sources and bolster the domestic industrial base. (4/17)

Sweden Joins Artemis Accords (Source: Space News)
Another day means another signatory for the Artemis Accords. Sweden formally joined the Artemis Accords Tuesday, signing the accords at an event in Stockholm. The signing comes a day after Switzerland joined the accords in a ceremony at NASA Headquarters. Sweden is the 38th country to sign the Artemis Accords, which outline best practices for space exploration. (4/17)

SpaceX Moving to Address Starlink Black Market (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Starlink is taking steps to close a growing black market for its broadband satellite services. SpaceX notified customers using Starlink in South Africa, Sudan and Zimbabwe that access to the service will be cut off by the end of the month. Starlink is not authorized to operate in those countries but users, going through unauthorized resellers, have found ways to use Starlink in those and other places. SpaceX has come under scrutiny for allowing use of Starlink by the Russian military in occupied regions of Ukraine as well as by militia groups in Sudan. (4/17)

Former SpaceXers Open Venture Capital Fund (Source: Tech Crunch)
A former SpaceX executive is reportedly starting a venture capital fund. Incorporation and trademark filings revealed the existence of Interlagos Capital, a new company with plans to pursue venture capital services. Among its founders is Tom Ochinero, a SpaceX senior vice president who left the company earlier this year, along with another former SpaceX employee, Achal Upadhyaya, who most recently had been at investment firm Cantos. (4/17)

Unforgiving Failures: the Challenges of Upper Stages (Source: Space News)
About 12 hours after its December 2023 failed launch, Firefly confirmed that the second stage malfunctioned. “Alpha’s scheduled stage 2 engine relight did not deliver the payload to its precise target orbit,” the company said. It did not elaborate on the malfunction but said it would work with Lockheed and the government to investigate the problem.

That failure capped a rough year for upper stages. Among Western launch vehicles alone there were five partial or complete failures on orbital launches in 2023 (six when counting the second, suborbital test flight of SpaceX’s Starship in November.) While there is no common technical cause for the failures, they illustrate the often-overlooked complexity and challenges of upper stages that can, in some respects, be greater than those of lower stages. Click here. (4/16)

Rolls-Royce Develops Nuclear Tech for Space Applications (Source: Aviation Week)
Rolls-Royce has received a $1.49 million award from the UK Space Agency to collaborate with the US on developing nuclear technologies for space power applications, as part of Phase 2 of the International Bilateral Fund. This funding aims to advance a fission nuclear system tailored for space exploration. (4/8)

Vertical Future Selected by the UK Space Agency to Install its Systems to Grow Crops in Low Earth Orbit (Source: Vertical Future)
Vertical Future, a UK-based vertical farming technology and manufacturing specialist, has been awarded a new grant of £1.5 million to deliver the second phase of the “Autonomous Agriculture for Space Exploration” project. The initiative will adapt  VF controlled-environment-agriculture (CEA) systems to prototype Low Earth Orbit growing systems for use in the first commercial space station being constructed by Axiom Space, due in orbit in 2026. (4/8)

Could Kennedy Space Center Host 300 Launches a Year? (Source: Florida Politics)
Tom Engler, KSC’s director of Center Planning and Development spoke last week in Winter Park at the Florida TaxWatch spring meeting. He discussed how the federal government and a host of private companies with interstellar ambitions are shooting beyond the horizon. “We have created an environment together, between us and the Space Force, that has enabled commercial space business to come to Florida,” Engler said.

KSC is focused on expansion in the future. The Center developed a Spaceport Growth Boundaries effort looking at ways to expand the physical space, on earth, to accommodate the port. There’s only around 7,500 acres of space available for future development available at the center right now. But Engler said KSC is working on options with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. Visitors to the center know much of the land around KSC remains a natural preserve.

KSC has worked with Space Florida to facilitate growth and welcomes more partnerships with the state. Officials at the center worked with Florida Department of Transportation for a redesign of the aging Union Bridge with the transport of rocket payloads in mind and are nearly at budget for a rebuild. Engler hopes to see 120 launches this year, and perhaps as many as 300 annually within a few years. Partnerships, including with the state, are a big reason the potential for growth exists, Engler said. “The State of Florida played a huge part in making this a reality,” he said. Click here. (4/14)

Aerospacelab Satellites Operational After Transporter Launch (Source: Aerospacelab)
Aerospacelab successfully commissioned its recently launched satellites and is processing data from its’ deployed Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite. The Aerospacelab VHR satellite is designed to capture imagery of the Earth's surface at the submeter-to-pixel scale and combines data from the visible spectrum. (4/8)

US Astronomers Slam Cuts to the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (Source: Physics World)
X-ray astronomers in the US have begun a campaign to save the Chandra X-ray Observatory from budget cuts that would effectively end the mission. They assert that the craft, which was launched in 1999, has plenty of life left in it. Canceling support could, they say, damage scientific efforts to understand the universe and the careers of an emerging generation of X-ray astronomers.

Mark Clampin, NASA’s director of astrophysics, says that it is currently a “challenging budget environment”, which means making “difficult decisions”. But he insists the budget request is “not a cancellation of Chandra” and that NASA will hold a “mini-senior review” to seek community guidance options. (4/13)

Asteroid (Very) Close Encounter Due in 2029 (Source: Cosmos)
In 2029 the asteroid once considered the most probable to strike the Earth will fly uncomfortably close to the planet’s surface. Spanning 335-375m, asteroid 99942 – dubbed ‘Apophis’ after the Egyptian god of chaos – was discovered in 2004 by astronomers from the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Arizona. Initially, it was assessed as being a 2.7% chance of impacting Earth in 2029, 2036 or 2068.

In the years since, though, observations of Apophis’ orbit around the Sun have led astronomers to reassess those changes: no impact is expected to occur within the next 100 years. Still, Near Earth Asteroids like Apophis pass, by definition, close to our planet. None (at least on record) have passed as close as Apophis will in April 2029. How close? With the tug of Earth’s gravity working on it, Apophis will duck inside the orbits of certain geostationary satellites at about 32,000km. (4/15)

Elon Musk, SpaceX and Benevolent Megalomania (Source: The Hill)
SpaceX, the instrument Musk has built to save humanity, has become a profitable company, a space line built around the Falcon rockets and a telecommunications enterprise consisting of the Starlink satellites. The test campaign for the Starship is the next phase of Musk’s vision. As for Mars, Musk envisions thousands of Starships taking a million people and millions of tons of stuff needed to survive on the Red Planet.

The colonial fleet will not return, but will be dismantled for materials on Mars. The first Martian colonists will be pledged to live or die to create Musk’s envisioned new home for humankind. Musk thinks he can send the first uncrewed Starship to Mars in five years. At Ars Technica, Eric Berger said that “many people will dismiss Musk’s Mars comments as those of a megalomaniac,” but added that “at least in regard to spaceflight, however, that would be wrong.”

“Musk’s multiplanetary ambitions today are more credible because SpaceX has taken steps toward doing what he said the company would do,” Berger continued. History has given megalomania a bad name. Too many who were seemingly afflicted with it — Alexander The Great, Caesar, Napoleon, not to mention the tyrants of the 20th century — have filled mass graves with millions in pursuit of world conquest. If Elon Musk is a megalomaniac, it has driven him to pursue a far more beautiful dream than the subjugation of nations. (4/14)

How to Destroy a Black Hole (Source: New Scientist)
Black holes are expected to evaporate on their own thanks to Hawking radiation, a process by which they emit a slow leak of particles, but this would take much longer than the age of the universe to happen naturally. Just waiting isn’t really an option, so our hosts are joined by black hole astronomer Allison Kirkpatrick at the University of Kansas in an attempt to find a faster way.

Throwing anything at the black hole won’t really help either, whether it is a planet made of TNT or clumps of antimatter – the black hole will just swallow it up and get even more massive. That doesn’t mean it is impossible to dream up something that would destroy a black hole by falling in. The escape velocity of a black hole – the speed at which one would have to fly away from its centre to escape its gravitational influence – is faster than the speed of light, so a ship that could travel beyond that physical limitation might be able to escape, or a bomb that could explode faster than the speed of light might be able to make a dent.

That is only the beginning of the outlandish ways to potentially wreck a black hole. Theoretical objects called white holes might work, but that could mean sending the black holes back in time, which wouldn’t be great for the past or the future. A black hole could perhaps be stretched out, but whether that works depends on the question of how quantum mechanics and general relativity mesh together, which may be the biggest unsolved question in physics. Our hosts find that giant magnets could help, with potentially horrifying results. (4/16)

China Moving at 'Breathtaking Speed' in Final Frontier, Space Force Says (Source: Space.com)
China is ratcheting up its space capabilities at an impressive clip, with an eye toward challenging the United States' long-held supremacy in the final frontier, U.S. officials say. That supremacy was established in dramatic fashion in 1969, when NASA's Apollo 11 touched down on the moon and ended the Cold War space race with the Soviet Union.

This lunar achievement has had real and lasting consequences: The United States' unparalleled space assets have given the nation's military a powerful edge over the decades, providing information-gathering and communications capabilities that other countries couldn't match. The rest of the world isn't necessarily content with this situation, however. In particular, China seems intent on rising up the space-power ladder.

"Frankly, China is moving at a breathtaking speed. Since 2018, China has more than tripled their on-orbit intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites," said Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command. "And with these systems, they've built a kill web over the Pacific Ocean to find, fix, track and, yes, target United States and allied military capabilities," he added. (4/10)

SpaceX Could Finally Face Competition. It May Be Too Late (Source: Washington Post)
Several space ventures, including Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, Rocket Lab and the United Launch Alliance — the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing — are poised to debut new heavy-lift rockets this year to compete with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 workhorse. The Pentagon is looking for another provider for the lucrative business of launching national security payloads. Boeing is set to finally launch a crew of astronauts for NASA to the ISS, giving NASA, which has relied on SpaceX for the past four years, another way for its astronauts to orbit.

And while SpaceX has dominated the internet satellite industry by launching some 6,000 Starlink satellites, Amazon, backed by a $10 billion investment, is gearing up to fly its own constellation as well. Those developments, however, may be too late to pose a serious challenge, analysts say, as SpaceX continues to press ahead with reserves of money, momentum and a wartime-like urgency that Musk has infused into the company.

Its deep ties to NASA and the Pentagon, which have awarded it billions of dollars in contracts and elevated it to prime contractor status, have also given it a lead that will be difficult to erode. And SpaceX continues to operate at a blistering pace, expanding the frontiers of what is possible. Morgan Stanley estimated that SpaceX’s revenue for fiscal year 2024 should reach $13 billion, a 54 percent increase over last year. By 2035, as SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellite constellation grows, revenue could reach $100 billion, the firm reported. (4/15)

SpaceX Adds 500,000 New Starlink Users in 4 Months (Source: PC Magazine)
User growth for SpaceX's satellite internet system, Starlink, is climbing quickly, with the service attracting 500,000 new users over the past four months. In a new video posted on Saturday, Elon Musk reported that Starlink's global user base has reached 2.7 million users—up from 2.2 million in December. (4/8)

Through Astronaut Eyes, Virtual Reality Propels Gateway Forward (Source: Phys.org)
NASA astronauts are using virtual reality to explore Gateway. When they slip on their headsets, they're not just seeing the station—they're in it, meticulously surveying every detail and offering crucial insights on design and functionality. Astronauts living aboard the Gateway lunar space station will be the first humans to make their home in deep space. To fine-tune the design of the next-generation science lab, solar-powered spaceship, and home-away-from home for international teams of astronauts, NASA calls on the likes of Raja Chari and Nicole Mann, experienced astronauts who know a thing or two about living and working on a space station. Click here. (4/10)

1st Female ISS Program Manager Looks Ahead to New Spaceships, Space Stations (Source: Space.com)
Dana Weigel, the first woman to helm the International Space Station program manager, says she's excited to oversee so much commercial space activity on the orbiting complex. Weigel officially took helm of the International Space Station (ISS) program manager position on Sunday, succeeding Joel Montalbano. She was previously deputy ISS program manager and has 20 years of experience in numerous high-profile NASA roles. Click here. (4/14)

Japan to Build NASA a Pressurized Moon Campervan for 30-Day Trips (Source: New Atlas)
When NASA returns to the Moon, its astronauts will enjoy tooling around in a pressurized camper van courtesy of JAXA and Toyota. The two-person vehicle is part of a US/Japan agreement that includes putting the first Japanese astronauts on the Moon.

The new camper van, for want of a better term, measures 6.0 x 5.2 x 3.8 m and will be powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, supplemented by solar panels that may recycle waste water by converting it back into hydrogen and oxygen for power. It's estimated to have a range of 10,000 km and will be used to explore the south polar region. (4/15)

The Space Force Is About to Play Space Wars in Earth Orbit (Source: Gizmodo)
As part of its Victus Haze mission, the Space Force awarded a $32 million contract to Rocket Lab and another worth $30 million to True Anomaly to “exercise a realistic threat response scenario in an on-orbit space domain awareness,” according to a statement issued Thursday. Rocket Lab will build and launch its own spacecraft using the company’s Electron rocket, while True Anomaly will build a rendezvous and proximity operation-capable spacecraft, as well as provide a command and control center.

The mission is scheduled for launch in 2025, and each company will be given its own launch and mission profiles at the time. Once in orbit, the Space Force will use the two spacecraft to run through scenarios that could be perceived as threatening in space, whether that be a satellite aiming to destroy a U.S. spacecraft or spying on a U.S. military satellite in an attempt to gather intel. “VICTUS HAZE will demonstrate, under operationally realistic conditions, our ability to respond to irresponsible behavior in orbit.” (4/12)

April 16, 2024

Where Is Planet Nine? Its Hiding Places Are Running Out (Source: Scientific American)
Over time, more indirect evidence for P9’s existence came to light, notably a slight tilt of the sun’s spin axis, none of which was conclusive, but all curious enough to keep astronomers searching for a culprit. Still, all the indirect evidence in the world (or worlds) doesn’t add up to a single direct observation of the planet. So the game was afoot.

Unfortunately no planet unveiled itself in the data. Taken together with the DES and ZTF surveys (and accounting for overlaps in coverage), the astronomers have now eliminated 78 percent of P9’s hiding places. This does lengthen the odds that the purported planet exists. But while down, it’s not out. The 22 percent of the sky where it still could hide includes a big chunk that looks out into the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, where stars are far more crowded together, making the search more difficult. (4/15)

China's 130-Ton Reusable Rocket Engine Breaks Records During Tests (Source: Interesting Engineering)
China’s main space contractor, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), completed key engine tests on its reusable rocket engine. The 130-ton reusable liquid oxygen kerosene engine, developed by CASC’s Sixth Academy, will power CASC’s reusable rockets, such as the Long March 10. CASC’s engineers completed the two ground ignition tests on Saturday, April 13, according to reports from Chinese state media.

CASC has reportedly completed 15 repeated tests and 30 ignition starts on its new engine, with the total test duration exceeding 3,900 seconds. According to a press release, the 15 repeated tests broke the previous record for liquid rocket main engine testing in China. (4/15)

EarthCARE Satellite to Launch with Advanced Climate Instruments (Source: Space Daily)
Scheduled for a May launch, the EarthCARE satellite is equipped with four advanced instruments aimed at studying Earth's clouds and their impact on climate. This joint effort by Airbus, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) seeks to deepen our understanding of climate dynamics and temperature regulation via cloud behavior.

Maximilian Sauer, EarthCARE's project leader at Airbus Defence and Space, emphasized the necessity of this mission for improving climate models. "To grasp the complexity of cloud systems, mere imaging is insufficient. Our approach involves multiple analytical methods through sophisticated instruments," Sauer noted. (4/12)

Precision in Space: L3Harris Boosts Avionics for Next-Gen Launch Vehicles (Source: Space Daily)
Rising mission demands necessitate high-performance, cost-effective, and technologically sophisticated solutions with a track record of reliability. L3Harris's comprehensive avionics suite includes communication systems, range safety receivers, power distribution, data acquisition, flight computers, and navigation capabilities. Click here. (4/12)

Aerojet Rocketdyne Advances Space Maneuver with New Propulsion Tech (Source: Space Daily)
"Dynamic Space Operations, or DSO, are fundamentally about enabling on-orbit maneuverability," said Tom Wehr, director of business development for launch and space exploration at Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company. Wehr emphasized that the ability to change orbits on demand disrupts adversarial targeting and complicates their military planning. For instance, satellites in fixed, predictable orbits allow adversaries to anticipate surveillance times and alter their activities to evade detection. (4/12)

NASA Looking for Fresh Ideas to Reduce Cost, Shorten Schedule for Mars Sample Return (Source: Space News)
NASA announced Monday that it will seek proposals for studies on ways to bring back samples collected by the Perseverance rover faster and less expensively than the agency's current approach. That came after an internal study confirmed the current MSR architecture would cost between $8 billion and $11 billion and, to fit it within projected budgets without cutting other programs, would delay the return of the samples to 2040.

NASA plans to have studies on alternative approaches done by this fall to allow it to determine the best way forward on MSR. NASA will spend $310 million on MSR in the current fiscal year, near the low end of the range included in a 2024 appropriations bill, and will request $200 million in 2025. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said he has briefed key members of Congress about those plans and they were "quite understanding" of the situation, but in a statement late Monday California's two senators said the proposed funding levels for MSR "are woefully short" and called on NASA to work with Congress to balance the cuts to the program. (4/16)

Budgetary Pressure Stressing Several NASA Programs (Source: Space News)
Budgetary pressures are forcing NASA to make hard decisions on how to change or even cancel some missions. That includes restructuring a series of Earth science missions and canceling the Geospace Dynamics Constellation heliophysics missions, as well as proposed cuts to the Chandra and Hubble telescopes. Observers note that with budget caps in place for fiscal year 2025, NASA has little room to maneuver, and even after the caps expire in 2026 the agency faces a "slow bleed" of resources for science missions given projected slow growth in spending. (4/16)

Lockheed Wins US Missile Defense Contract Worth $17 Billion (Source: Reuters)
Lockheed Martin has won a $17 billion contract to develop the next generation of interceptors to defend the US against an intercontinental ballistic missile attack, the Missile Defense Agency said. The win represents a shot in the arm for Lockheed after the United States said it wanted to reduce F-35 orders, and the Army in February abandoned development of a Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, a next-generation helicopter for which Lockheed had submitted a design. (4/15)

Aerospacelab Acquiring a Belgium's AMOS (Source: Space News)
Smallsat manufacturer Aerospacelab is acquiring a Belgian company that produces optical systems for satellites. Aerospacelab said Monday it is buying AMOS, or Advanced Mechanical and Optical Systems, for an undisclosed sum. Space projects AMOS has worked on include polishing mirrors for ESA's dark matter hunting space observatory Euclid and providing multispectral instruments for the agency's Sentinel Earth observation satellite program. Aerospacelab says the acquisition will give the company critical capabilities across space and ground systems. (4/16)

NASA Confirms ISS Debris Hit Florida Home (Source: NASA)
NASA confirmed Monday than an object that hit a Florida home was debris from the International Space Station. NASA said it analyzed the object that fell through the roof of a home in Naples, Florida, in March and concluded it was part of a battery cargo pallet that was discarded from the station in 2021. That pallet reentered in March, and the path and timing of the debris corresponded with the debris that hit the Florida home. The debris was made of the metal alloy Inconel and weighted about three-quarters of a kilogram. (4/16)

Biggest Stellar-Class Black Hole Discovered (Source: The Guardian)
Astronomers have discovered the biggest stellar-class black hole in our galaxy. The black hole, designated BH3 and in a star systems 2,000 light-years away, has a mass 33 times that of the sun. Astronomers detected the black hole by noticing a wobble in the motions of another star, which it turns out is orbiting the black hole. The mass of the black hole suggests to astronomers it may have formed by the same processes that, in other galaxies, created gravitational wave events. (4/16)

Do Black Holes Hide the Secrets of Their Ancestors? (Source: Space.com)
Some are created by the death and collapse of a massive star — yet no single star can birth the most tremendously large black holes. Those are the supermassive black holes that lurk at the hearts of galaxies with masses equivalent to millions, or even billions, of suns. Giant black holes such as these are believed to have been created when two smaller black holes collided and merged once upon a time. And now, scientists wonder whether we can learn about the family tree of a black hole by working backward through the generations. (4/15)

I Flew Boeing's Starliner Spacecraft in 4 Different Simulators. Here's What I Learned (Source: Space.
The commander of my spacecraft prepared for a steep spin next to the space station. "This is an alarming rotation rate. If we saw this in real life, there would be problems," Ray Bigonesse, lead rendezvous officer for Boeing's new Starliner astronaut taxi, told my crew as he twisted the joystick. Luckily for us, we were not in space but in a simulator at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC). Click here. (4/15)

Geometers Engineer New Tools to Wrangle Spacecraft Orbits (Source: Quanta)
In October, a Falcon Heavy rocket is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying NASA’s Europa Clipper mission. Because Europa is constantly bombarded by intense radiation created by Jupiter’s magnetic field, the Clipper spacecraft can’t orbit the moon itself. Instead, it will slide into an eccentric orbit around Jupiter and gather data by repeatedly swinging by Europa — 53 times in total — before retreating from the worst of the radiation.

To plan convoluted tours like this one, trajectory planners use computer models that meticulously calculate the trajectory one step at a time. The planning takes hundreds of mission requirements into account, and it’s bolstered by decades of mathematical research into orbits and how to join them into complicated tours. Mathematicians are now developing tools which they hope can be used to create a more systematic understanding of how orbits relate to one another. Click here. (4/15)

Incredibly Rare Cosmic Object Detected in Gravitational Waves For The First Time (Source: Science Alert)
A gravitational wave detected in May of last year has given us a type of cosmic collision we've never seen before. One of the masses involved was a neutron star. So far, so normal. But we don't know what the other object was. That's because it sits firmly in a niche known as the lower mass gap – the seemingly rare bodies with masses somewhere between the chonkiest neutron stars and the titchiest black holes.

It's the first time we've seen a gravitational wave event involving a neutron star and a mass gap object, and although we aren't much closer to knowing what the latter actually is, the discovery excitingly suggests that these elusive mystery blobs could be common in the galaxy. (4/12)

Neutron Stars Could Be Heating Up From Dark Matter Annihilation (Source: Phys.org)
One of the big mysteries about dark matter particles is whether they interact with each other. We still don't know the exact nature of what dark matter is. Some models argue that dark matter only interacts gravitationally, but many more posit that dark matter particles can collide with each other, clump together, and even decay into particles we can see. If that's the case, then objects with particularly strong gravitational fields such as black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs might capture and concentrate dark matter. This could in turn affect how these objects appear.

For this study, the team looked at how much dark matter a neutron star could capture, and how the decay of interacting dark matter particles would affect its temperature. The details depend on which specific dark matter model you use. The team focused on how dark matter and baryons (protons and neutrons) might interact, and whether that would cause dark matter to be trapped. Sure enough, for the range of possible baryon-dark matter interactions, neutron stars can capture dark matter. (4/15)

Switzerland Signs Artemis Space Agreement (Source: SwissInfo)
Swiss Economics Minister Guy Parmelin signed the Artemis Accords at NASA's headquarters in the US capital of Washington D.C. on Monday. As a result, Switzerland has agreed to promote the peaceful exploration of outer space with the US and 35 other signatories. (4/16)

UAE Announces Crew Member to Take Part in Next Phase of Mars Simulation Mission (Source: The National)
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) has revealed the identity of the Emirati who will take part in the next phase of a Nasa simulation to replicate the conditions of a mission to Mars. Shareef Al Romaithi will participate in the next phase of the project, which is due to start on May 10, the MBRSC announced on Monday evening. The project involves analogue astronauts – crew members who take part in simulated missions on Earth – to test the effects of space flight on the human mind and body.

Mr. Al Romaithi will spend 45 days living with other crew members in a specially designed facility in Houston, Texas, as part of the Human Exploration Research Analogue (HERA) project. (4/15)

India Achieves Breakthrough with Lightweight Carbon-Carbon Rocket Engine Nozzle (Source: Times of India)
ISRO Tuesday said it has successfully developed a lightweight Carbon-Carbon nozzle for rocket engines, marking a breakthrough in rocket engine technology. The innovation promises to enhance the vital parameters of rocket engines, including thrust levels, specific impulse, and thrust-to-weight ratios, thereby boosting the payload capacity of launch vehicles. (4/16)

Lockheed Martin Pitching Nuclear Propulsion Portfolio for Defense Space Mobility, Logistics (Source: Defense Scoop)
The U.S. government has begun funding the development of different nuclear-powered spacecraft for civil and commercial use cases, and Lockheed Martin believes that the technology could play a key role in military space operations once it has matured. The company is on contract for three key nuclear-powered spacecraft programs with various government agencies as the U.S. looks to return to the moon and eventually begin exploration of Mars. Each effort tackles a different type of space-based nuclear power for different mission areas.

And while the government is focused on how space nuclear propulsion can support civil and commercial applications, there is also some appetite to use the technology in the defense sector — particularly for space servicing, mobility and logistics (SAML) missions, according to Jeff Schrader, vice president of global situation awareness at Lockheed Martin. (4/15)

Space Florida: Bolstering the New Space Economy in the State (Source: Journal of Space Commerce)
Tom Patton talks with Rob Long, president and CEO of Space Florida. He was named to the position last year following the retirement of Frank DiBello. Rob has over 25 years of leadership experience in the aerospace industry. His expertise spans launch operations, logistics, and spaceport management. His strategic vision aims to position Florida as a global hub for aerospace commerce. Click here. (4/11)

Since Peregrine, Astrobotic Has Been Busy Building a Future in Space (Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
In the months since its first spacecraft burned up over the Pacific Ocean following a dramatic 10-day mission intended for the moon, Astrobotic Technology has been busy planning its return. The startup has added talent from NASA and international partners who will help pilot its miniature rover on the next lunar mission, Griffin, planned for later this year. An outside review of the failed Peregrine mission is still underway and could impact NASA’s plans for the pending trip.

Last week, Astrobotic announced that its modular, shoebox-sized CubeRover will traverse the moon’s south pole on the upcoming mission with a software assist from a Canadian startup called Mission Control. Last month, the startup announced that four space industry veterans, all with experience at NASA, are joining the team to help with Griffin and other missions either as staff or advisers. (4/15)

Mercury: The Solar System's Smallest Planet May Once Have Been as Large as Earth (Source: BBC)
The ratio of chemicals on Mercury's surface is highly unusual. By using a technique known as "spectrometry" to analyse the chemical composition of the planet at a distance, scientists know that Mercury has a much high concentration of thorium than its nearest neighbours. Thorium should have evaporated in the extreme heat of the early Solar System. Instead, its thorium content is closer to that of Mars – three planets away – which would have formed at cooler temperatures due to its distance from the Sun.

Such anomalies have led some planetary scientists to hypothesise that Mercury originally formed at a more distant point from the Sun, near to Mars – and that it started out with a much bigger mass, around the size of the Earth, that would befit its large core. At some point in its history, however, it is hypothesised that Mercury collided with another planetary body that sent it spinning towards the Sun. Such a collision could have blown away its crust and much of its mantle but left behind the huge liquid core. (4/14)

Can Information Escape a Black Hole? (Source: Quanta)
Nothing escapes a black hole … or does it? In the 1970s, the physicist Stephen Hawking described a subtle process by which black holes can “evaporate,” with some particles evading gravitational oblivion. That phenomenon, now dubbed Hawking radiation, seems at odds with general relativity, and it raises an even weirder question: If particles can escape, do they preserve any information about the matter that was obliterated?

Leonard Susskind, a physicist at Stanford University, found himself at odds with Hawking over the answer. In this episode, co-host Janna Levin speaks with Susskind about the “black hole war” that ensued and the powerful scientific lessons to be drawn from one of the most famous paradoxes in physics. Click here. (4/15)

Space Junk Hunters Close in on Spent Rocket Stage From 2009 Mission (Source: Gizmodo)
Astroscale’s ADRAS-J mission successfully rendezvoused with a second-stage H-2A rocket, coming to within several hundred kilometers of the wayward object, the Tokyo-based company announced last week. The spacecraft is gearing up to get a closer look at the old rocket, circling its target and snapping photos of it.

Astroscale’s satellite is designed to creep up on the defunct spacecraft and, after inspecting it, match its tumble rate in order to align and dock with it. Once it’s docked, Astroscale will lower the spacecraft’s orbit using its thrusters before releasing it on a trajectory toward Earth’s atmosphere. The decommissioned spacecraft will then burn up in Earth’s atmosphere, putting an end to its stint in orbit. (4/15)

Radical NASA Study Says This Spacecraft Formation Could Reveal New Physics (Source: Science Alert)
A team of NASA researchers proposed how spacecraft could search for evidence of additional physics within our Solar System. This search, they argue, would be assisted by the spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation and using interferometers. Such a mission could help resolve a cosmological mystery that has eluded scientists for over half a century. Slava Turyshev's experience includes being a Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission science team member. In previous work, he investigated how a mission to the Sun's solar gravitational lens (SGL) could revolutionize astronomy.

The concept paper was awarded a Phase III grant in 2020 by NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. In a previous study, he and SETI astronomer Claudio Maccone also considered how advanced civilizations could use SGLs to transmit power from one solar system to the next. To summarize, gravitational lensing is a phenomenon where gravitational fields alter the curvature of spacetime in their vicinity. This effect was originally predicted by Einstein in 1916 and was used by Arthur Eddington in 1919 to confirm his General Relativity (GR). (4/15)

Polaris Dawn is Getting Closer and Closer to Being Launch Ready (Source: Space Explored)
Polaris Dawn, a private mission being paid for by Shift4 CEO Jared Issacman, who also paid for and flew on Inspiration4 in 2021. The goal of the mission is to fly higher than any human spaceflight since Apollo, perform the first private spacewalk, and conduct numerous science experiments in orbit. Like Inspiration4, Polaris is partnering with SpaceX to complete this. Currently, SpaceX is the only company capable of this sort of feat. To do so, the company has modified its Dragon spacecraft to support spacewalk operations and develop an upgraded spacesuit to be used in the vacuum of space.

That spacecraft was sent to vacuum chamber testing earlier this month. Teams will recreate expected conditions in space by lowering and raising the vehicle’s pressures to ensure Dragon performs as expected both during and after the first commercial spacewalk,” SpaceX stated on social media. This will be able to close out the vast majority of concerns with bringing a vacuum into the Dragon’s main cabin, although no test is as good as doing it in the real world. (4/14)

Top Astronomers Gather to Confront Possibility They Were Very Wrong About the Universe (Source: Futurism)
A number of high-profile astronomers are set to convene at London's Royal Society to question some of the most fundamental aspects of our understanding of the universe. The luminaries of cosmology will be re-examining some basic assumptions about the universe — right down to the over-a-century-old theory that it's expanding at a constant rate.

A number of researchers have found evidence that the universe may be expanding more quickly in some areas compared to others, raising the tantalizing possibility that megastructures could be influencing the universe's growth in significant ways. Sarkar and his colleagues, for instance, are suggesting that the universe is "lopsided" after studying over a million quasars, which are the active nuclei of galaxies where gas and dust are being gobbled up by a supermassive black hole. (4/14)

Lunar Rover Racing (Source: Space Review)
Astronauts on the first Artemis landing missions will be on foot, but later on could have their choice of vehicles to roam across the lunar terrain. Jeff Foust reports on the latest milestones in the development of lunar rovers with commercial and international partners. Click here. (4/15)
 
FARRAH, the Superstar Satellite (Source: Space Review)
Decades ago, FARRAH was not just the name of a famous actress but also of a classified satellite program. Dwayne Day examines what is known about FARRAH (the satellite) after a model of it appeared at a museum. Click here. (4/15)
 
Zero-Gravity Regulations (Source: Space Review)
A “learning period” that has restricted regulation of commercial human spaceflight in the US for nearly two decades could soon be ending. David Gillette and Emma Rohrbach argue that the learning period supported innovation in ways that could be extended to other fields. Click here. (4/15)
 
Nukes in Space: a Bad Idea in the 1960s and an Even Worse One Now (Source: Space Review)
In the early 1960s, the United States and Soviet Union tested nuclear weapons in space, with disastrous results for many satellites in orbit at the time. Michael Mulvihill discusses those tests and why they show the perils of a potential Russian nuclear ASAT weapon. Click here. (4/15)

Space Coast's Third Largest Employer, L3Harris, Announces 'Difficult Decision' for Layoffs (Source: Space Coast Daily)
Brevard County’s third-largest employer, L3Harris, announced that it is planning layoffs to “streamline” their operations. The company didn’t specify an exact number of layoffs that would be coming soon. The company is known as an aerospace and defense powerhouse with over 7,000 jobs in Brevard County. (4/15)

Google Reportedly Prepping for Satellite-Supported Pixel Phones (Source: Ars Technica)
Google has been doing a lot of work in Android to support satellite-based messaging, and it sure would be nice if someone actually shipped some hardware it could use. Despite the feature launching with the iPhone 14 in 2022, Android manufacturers haven't been super receptive to copying the idea of satellite messaging.

Qualcomm and satellite company Iridium built a working solution and incorporated it into Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips, only for zero Android manufacturers to support the feature, leading to the dissolution of the partnership. If Google wants an Android satellite SMS phone to play with, it seems like it will need to build the device itself. (4/15)

ESA Accelerates the Race Toward Clean Energy From Space (Source: ESA)
ESA is laying the groundwork for the development of satellite technology designed to harvest the Sun's energy in space before transmitting it wirelessly to receiving stations on Earth. The initiative, named SOLARIS, raises the tantalising prospect of clean, scalable energy beamed down continuously from orbit to back up weather-dependent renewables and eliminate reliance on fossil fuels.

Through SOLARIS, ESA is bringing together policymakers, energy suppliers and space companies to investigate the feasibility of developing and implementing space-based solar power. (4/15)

Rocket Lab to Launch NASA's New Solar Sail Technology No Earlier Than April 24 (Source: Space.com)
A NASA solar sail mission meant to test new space travel materials in Earth's orbit is scheduled to lift off no sooner than April 24, the space agency announced. Named the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, or ACS3, the mission's primary goal is to test the deployment of solar sails using new composite booms, which are tube-shaped materials meant to unfurl and hold four very thin triangular sheets tautly. These sheets, together, form a kite-like solar sail. (4/15)

Scammers Plan to Use SpaceX Starlink Satellites in Transnational Scam Network Targeting Thailand with Deception (Source: Thai Examiner)
Thai police, on Friday, revealed that they have disrupted a call scammer gang that planned to use Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network to link it with telecommunications networks across the world including the European Union, the United Kingdom and Asia.

Police are still studying the find of hardware and data destined for the Golden Triangle area in Laos via Chiang Rai. However, they believe it was Chinese-controlled and in transit from war-torn Myanmar. (4/14)

Starbase Rising: Rapid Expansion, Growing Pains at SpaceX's South Texas Rocket City (Source: San Antonio Express-News)
For decades, Boca Chica Beach was the destination at this end of Texas 4. Now, SpaceX’s so-called “Gateway to Mars” is the main attraction. SpaceX has converted this previously untouched stretch of land into a rocket factory, launch site and company town. And the pace of growth is quickening. The growth was foretold in March 2021, when SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he aimed to rename “an area much larger than Boca Chica” as “Starbase.”

In the unincorporated community of Boca Chica Village a few miles inland from the launch site, some residents weren’t thrilled with his proclamation. Rosemarie Workman, whose house is across the street from Musk’s own Starbase residence, wanted her billionaire neighbor to know: “This is not SpaceX property — this is my property. Not everything out here is owned by SpaceX.” Click here. (4/15)

SWOT Satellite Helps Gauge the Depth of Death Valley’s Temporary Laked (Source: NASA)
California’s Death Valley, the driest place in North America, has hosted an ephemeral lake since late 2023. A NASA-led analysis recently calculated water depths in the temporary lake over several weeks in February and March 2024, demonstrating the capabilities of the U.S.-French Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, which launched in December 2022.

The analysis found that water depths in the lake ranged from about 3 feet (1 meter) to less than 1.5 feet (0.5 meters) over the course of about 6 weeks. This period included a series of storms that swept across California, bringing record amounts of rainfall. (4/15)

We Live in a Cosmic Void So Empty That it Breaks the Laws of Cosmology (Source: New Scientist)
Astronomers call it the “local hole”, but that is quite the understatement. It is a vast, gigantic, enormously huge cosmic void, spanning 2 billion light years. Our galaxy happens to be near its center, but the trouble with this hole is not that it presents a proximate danger – more that it shouldn’t exist at all. One of our most firmly held beliefs about the cosmos is the assumption--known as the cosmological principle--that the universe’s matter should be evenly distributed on the largest scales.

It is the cornerstone on which much of modern cosmology is built. If the void is real, then that stone might be crumbling. For this reason, few dared to believe the void could be genuine. But evidence has mounted in recent years, and astronomers have moved from doubt to begrudging acceptance. They have also discovered other similarly vast structures. So now the question is being asked with increasing urgency: if we really are living in a void, do we need to drastically modify our models of the cosmos? (4/15)

So Long Polaris: The Earth Will Get A New North Star (Source: IFL Science)
If you look up into the clear night sky in the Northern Hemisphere, you will see the star Polaris, more commonly known as the North Star. Sitting around 1 degree away from the geographic North Pole, Polaris has been used in navigation (of the Northern hemisphere) for centuries. But it hasn't always been our North Star.

That title has previously been held by binary star system Thuban, which was closer to the geographic North Pole between 3942 and 1793 BCE. Thuban, named in Ancient Egypt and meaning “head of the serpent”, consists of a white giant star 2.8 times as massive as the Sun, with a secondary star thought to be an A-type main-sequence star around 2.6 solar masses. (4/11)