28 July 2023
NASA commercialising space, Amazon readies Kuiper and preparations made for Moon landing - Space News Roundup
Mockup of Starship (Image: SpaceX)
Amidst the ongoing commercialisation of space, NASA this week announced a number of agreements with with private companies, in its Collaboration for Commercial Capabilities-2 (CCSC-2) initiative. The selected entities won’t necessarily receive funding, but rather gain access to NASA support in order to develop their technology. This may also be an indication of how New Space is changing, where agencies begin to purchase services from the commercial sector, and rely less of providing generous government financial investment.
Among the companies selected is Blue Origin, who are apparently working on a crewed spacecraft. SpaceX will look to use their Starship space vehicle as an orbiting space station, and Sierra Space have proposed developing a crewed version of is Dreamchaser spaceplane, as well as a demonstration model of their LIFE inflatable space station modules.
There are also developments in the launch market, as SpaceX continue to build towards the next demonstration launch of their interplanetary space vehicle, Starship. The company carried fuel loading tests on Booster 9 and 10, but it remains unclear when the next launch will occur, especially as SpaceX still face legal challenges regarding the environmental impact of the first Starship launch. The eventual arrival of Starship is expected to be a game-changer for the space industry.
Also looking to change the industry is Lockheed Martin, who this week were selected by NASA to develop a nuclear propulsion system for spacecraft, with a demonstration expected towards the end of the decade. At the moment, nuclear propulsion may well be our best option for carrying long-duration missions, such as taking astronauts to Mars.
Amazon preps for mega-constellation, more diverse uses of Earth orbit
SpaceX continued to increase their footprint in the industry this week as Malaysia became the 60th country to sign up to use Starlink to expand their national broadband connectivity. They aim to use the Starlink system to achieve total internet connectivity. Yet SpaceX will soon begin to face some competition in this area, with Amazon building towards establishing its own “Kuiper” mega-constellation, and this week announced a $120 million plan to build a satellite processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The exponential growth of satellite constellations also comes with additional requirements, adding to the development of this new orbital infrastructure. Satellite servicing, refuelling and orbital transfer technologies are also being developed to support the growth of these constellations, and this week in-space logistics company, Atomos, announced that they will carry out a demonstration of their orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) in the first quarter of 2024. The necessity of such tech is likely to drastically increase, as vast amounts of objects are due to be launched into orbit in the coming years.
Earth orbit is also being explored for more divers applications, and in recent weeks we have discussed the development of Varda’s in-space manufacturing demonstration, carrying out the production of pharmaceutical drugs in-orbit. The next stage of their demo is to return the produce to Earth, flown on its re-entry vehicle. It was this week revealed that they are ready and waiting on an FAA license to be able to do so. Interestingly, Varda will be the first to seek such a license, and so will also be groundbreaking in perhaps setting new precedents in this regulatory area.
Another highly promising area of orbital development is space-based solar power (SBSP), being explored by a number of private companies and national agencies. This week the European Space Agency (ESA) selected Thales Alenia space, in order to explore the feasibility of SBSP under their SOLARIS program. The ESA initiative was established in order to come to an informed decision regarding SBSP by 2025, and will hopefully be part of their overall aim to make Europe carbon-neutral by 2050.
ESA plan to de-orbit satellite while industry face sustainable challenges
Sustainable aims don’t end with SBSP, and there are other goals that will need to be achieved many years before sourcing solar power from space will be possible. Orbital debris is currently perhaps the most pressing issue, and this week an article from Euro News discussed ESA’s coming efforts to perform a reentry of one its satellites.
Their Aeolus satellite was launched in 2018, and now with all its fuel almost gone, it would usually be left to to accumulate with the other 1000s of spent spacecraft in orbit. Using the remaining fuel, ESA will perform a series of manoeuvres to bring the satellite down, where around 80% of its mass will burn up in the atmosphere, with the remaining 20% landing in the Atlantic.
ESA’s debris removal effort is one of several demonstrations which are planned in the near future. Furthermore, it seems likely that a large part of the job is being handed to the private sector, with companies such as Astroscale and Clearspace preparing to debut their technology in 2024 and 2026, respectively.
Industry will need to be seen making the effort in debris removal and building sustainable space, or risk losing the support of the public. In an Inmarsat survey of 20,00 people, carried out last year, the top three concerns about the space industry were space debris, polluting space and damaging Earth’s atmosphere. Furthermore, it was revealed this week that a Falcon-9 launch on July 19th may have “punched a hole in the atmosphere”, an increasing phenomena caused by growing numbers of space launches. According to an article from The Guardian, studies show that “…rockets and their exhaust flames can alter the process by which charged particles form in this layer around Earth.”
The innovation of the commercial sector may be driving a new industrial revolution in space, but building a sustainable future will also be critical, or risk losing support, creating a hazardous environment in space, and damaging the planet.
Path of Artemis around the Moon (Image: ESA)
NASA and China building on plans for Moon landing
Last June, NASA launched its trailblazing CAPSTONE mission, a cubesat that will test the stability of Lauder orbit ahead of the planned Lunar Gateway, an orbiting lunar relay station part of the US Artemis Project. It has been reported this week that the orbiter is still performing well, completing its 6-month primary mission, and now carrying out an enhanced mission, collecting more data. Its secondary mission is slated to last for another year.
NASA are also well underway with plans for their second Artemis launch, after their hugely successful Artemis-1 mission last. Artemis-II is planned to take astronauts on the same journey around the Moon, taking the crew further than any have travelled before, and splash down again on Earth after a 21-day journey. On July 20th NASA conducted its first simulation for the mission. According to NASA, “…simulations focus on two major parts: propellant loading and terminal countdown.” The actual launch is slated for November, 2024, but these dates can easily slip.
The US will also be celebrating the ongoing success of their Artemis Accords, an international regulatory framework for future space exploration, as Argentina became the 28th member this week.
US are not alone in journey to the Moon, in the dawn of commercialisation
Focus is very much on the Moon at the moment, with India launching their Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander mission this month, while Russia are due to launch their Luna-25 mission in August. However, the Moon no longer belongs to national agencies. Private comanies Astronautic and Intuitive Machines are set to head to the lunar surface this year, and although Japan-based iSpace failed in their commercial lunar landing attempt in April, we saw the curtain raise on the commercial lunar age.
Furthermore, on July 25, NASA announced the companies it has selected to advance lunar power program. These include Astrobotic, who are developing LunaGrid, a project aimed at developing solar power on the lunar surface, which can then be delivered via a small cube rover. As well, Zeno Power were awarded $15 million to develop their radioisotope power system, which would enable power throughout the long, two-week lunar nights. Power solutions on the Moon are vital in order to enable an ongoing lunar presence, and it seems that much of that innovation will also come from the private sector.
But China are also hot on the heels of NASA in their quest to land taikonauts on the Moon. This week the Chinese Global Times announced a successful test of the Long March-10 engines, the vehicle designed to launch crewed moon landing missions. China also recently announced that they intend to land taikonauts on the Moon before 2030, while NASA’s crewed landing mission (Artemis-3) is slated for 2025. We may not be in for another race to the Moon, but we are seeing China rapidly catch up to the US.
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*News articles posted here are not property of ANASDA GmbH and belong to their respected owners. Postings here are external links only.
Our future in space
(Image: Adobe)
28 July 2023
NASA commercialising space, Amazon readies Kuiper and preparations made for Moon landing - Space News Roundup
Amidst the ongoing commercialisation of space, NASA this week announced a number of agreements with with private companies, in its Collaboration for Commercial Capabilities-2 (CCSC-2) initiative. The selected entities won’t necessarily receive funding, but rather gain access to NASA support in order to develop their technology. This may also be an indication of how New Space is changing, where agencies begin to purchase services from the commercial sector, and rely less of providing generous government financial investment.
Among the companies selected is Blue Origin, who are apparently working on a crewed spacecraft. SpaceX will look to use their Starship space vehicle as an orbiting space station, and Sierra Space have proposed developing a crewed version of is Dreamchaser spaceplane, as well as a demonstration model of their LIFE inflatable space station modules.
There are also developments in the launch market, as SpaceX continue to build towards the next demonstration launch of their interplanetary space vehicle, Starship. The company carried fuel loading tests on Booster 9 and 10, but it remains unclear when the next launch will occur, especially as SpaceX still face legal challenges regarding the environmental impact of the first Starship launch. The eventual arrival of Starship is expected to be a game-changer for the space industry.
Also looking to change the industry is Lockheed Martin, who this week were selected by NASA to develop a nuclear propulsion system for spacecraft, with a demonstration expected towards the end of the decade. At the moment, nuclear propulsion may well be our best option for carrying long-duration missions, such as taking astronauts to Mars.
Amazon preps for mega-constellation, more diverse uses of Earth orbit
SpaceX continued to increase their footprint in the industry this week as Malaysia became the 60th country to sign up to use Starlink to expand their national broadband connectivity. They aim to use the Starlink system to achieve total internet connectivity. Yet SpaceX will soon begin to face some competition in this area, with Amazon building towards establishing its own “Kuiper” mega-constellation, and this week announced a $120 million plan to build a satellite processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The exponential growth of satellite constellations also comes with additional requirements, adding to the development of this new orbital infrastructure. Satellite servicing, refuelling and orbital transfer technologies are also being developed to support the growth of these constellations, and this week in-space logistics company, Atomos, announced that they will carry out a demonstration of their orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) in the first quarter of 2024. The necessity of such tech is likely to drastically increase, as vast amounts of objects are due to be launched into orbit in the coming years.
Earth orbit is also being explored for more divers applications, and in recent weeks we have discussed the development of Varda’s in-space manufacturing demonstration, carrying out the production of pharmaceutical drugs in-orbit. The next stage of their demo is to return the produce to Earth, flown on its re-entry vehicle. It was this week revealed that they are ready and waiting on an FAA license to be able to do so. Interestingly, Varda will be the first to seek such a license, and so will also be groundbreaking in perhaps setting new precedents in this regulatory area.
Another highly promising area of orbital development is space-based solar power (SBSP), being explored by a number of private companies and national agencies. This week the European Space Agency (ESA) selected Thales Alenia space, in order to explore the feasibility of SBSP under their SOLARIS program. The ESA initiative was established in order to come to an informed decision regarding SBSP by 2025, and will hopefully be part of their overall aim to make Europe carbon-neutral by 2050.
ESA plan to de-orbit satellite while industry face sustainable challenges
Sustainable aims don’t end with SBSP, and there are other goals that will need to be achieved many years before sourcing solar power from space will be possible. Orbital debris is currently perhaps the most pressing issue, and this week an article from Euro News discussed ESA’s coming efforts to perform a reentry of one its satellites.
Their Aeolus satellite was launched in 2018, and now with all its fuel almost gone, it would usually be left to to accumulate with the other 1000s of spent spacecraft in orbit. Using the remaining fuel, ESA will perform a series of manoeuvres to bring the satellite down, where around 80% of its mass will burn up in the atmosphere, with the remaining 20% landing in the Atlantic.
ESA’s debris removal effort is one of several demonstrations which are planned in the near future. Furthermore, it seems likely that a large part of the job is being handed to the private sector, with companies such as Astroscale and Clearspace preparing to debut their technology in 2024 and 2026, respectively.
Industry will need to be seen making the effort in debris removal and building sustainable space, or risk losing the support of the public. In an Inmarsat survey of 20,00 people, carried out last year, the top three concerns about the space industry were space debris, polluting space and damaging Earth’s atmosphere. Furthermore, it was revealed this week that a Falcon-9 launch on July 19th may have “punched a hole in the atmosphere”, an increasing phenomena caused by growing numbers of space launches. According to an article from The Guardian, studies show that “…rockets and their exhaust flames can alter the process by which charged particles form in this layer around Earth.”
The innovation of the commercial sector may be driving a new industrial revolution in space, but building a sustainable future will also be critical, or risk losing support, creating a hazardous environment in space, and damaging the planet.
New ParagraphPath of Artemis around the Moon (Image: ESA)
NASA and China building on plans for Moon landing
Last June, NASA launched its trailblazing CAPSTONE mission, a cubesat that will test the stability of Lauder orbit ahead of the planned Lunar Gateway, an orbiting lunar relay station part of the US Artemis Project. It has been reported this week that the orbiter is still performing well, completing its 6-month primary mission, and now carrying out an enhanced mission, collecting more data. Its secondary mission is slated to last for another year.
NASA are also well underway with plans for their second Artemis launch, after their hugely successful Artemis-1 mission last. Artemis-II is planned to take astronauts on the same journey around the Moon, taking the crew further than any have travelled before, and splash down again on Earth after a 21-day journey. On July 20th NASA conducted its first simulation for the mission. According to NASA, “…simulations focus on two major parts: propellant loading and terminal countdown.” The actual launch is slated for November, 2024, but these dates can easily slip.
The US will also be celebrating the ongoing success of their Artemis Accords, an international regulatory framework for future space exploration, as Argentina became the 28th member this week.
US are not alone in journey to the Moon, in the dawn of commercialisation
Focus is very much on the Moon at the moment, with India launching their Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander mission this month, while Russia are due to launch their Luna-25 mission in August. However, the Moon no longer belongs to national agencies. Private comanies Astronautic and Intuitive Machines are set to head to the lunar surface this year, and although Japan-based iSpace failed in their commercial lunar landing attempt in April, we saw the curtain raise on the commercial lunar age.
Furthermore, on July 25, NASA announced the companies it has selected to advance lunar power program. These include Astrobotic, who are developing LunaGrid, a project aimed at developing solar power on the lunar surface, which can then be delivered via a small cube rover. As well, Zeno Power were awarded $15 million to develop their radioisotope power system, which would enable power throughout the long, two-week lunar nights. Power solutions on the Moon are vital in order to enable an ongoing lunar presence, and it seems that much of that innovation will also come from the private sector.
But China are also hot on the heels of NASA in their quest to land taikonauts on the Moon. This week the Chinese Global Times announced a successful test of the Long March-10 engines, the vehicle designed to launch crewed moon landing missions. China also recently announced that they intend to land taikonauts on the Moon before 2030, while NASA’s crewed landing mission (Artemis-3) is slated for 2025. We may not be in for another race to the Moon, but we are seeing China rapidly catch up to the US.
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*News articles posted here are not property of ANASDA GmbH and belong to their respected owners. Postings here are external links only.
28 July 2023
NASA commercialising space, Amazon readies Kuiper and preparations made for Moon landing - Space News Roundup
(Image: SpaceX)
Amidst the ongoing commercialisation of space, NASA this week announced a number of agreements with with private companies, in its Collaboration for Commercial Capabilities-2 (CCSC-2) initiative. The selected entities won’t necessarily receive funding, but rather gain access to NASA support in order to develop their technology. This may also be an indication of how New Space is changing, where agencies begin to purchase services from the commercial sector, and rely less of providing generous government financial investment.
Among the companies selected is Blue Origin, who are apparently working on a crewed spacecraft. SpaceX will look to use their Starship space vehicle as an orbiting space station, and Sierra Space have proposed developing a crewed version of is Dreamchaser spaceplane, as well as a demonstration model of their LIFE inflatable space station modules.
There are also developments in the launch market, as SpaceX continue to build towards the next demonstration launch of their interplanetary space vehicle, Starship. The company carried fuel loading tests on Booster 9 and 10, but it remains unclear when the next launch will occur, especially as SpaceX still face legal challenges regarding the environmental impact of the first Starship launch. The eventual arrival of Starship is expected to be a game-changer for the space industry.
Also looking to change the industry is Lockheed Martin, who this week were selected by NASA to develop a nuclear propulsion system for spacecraft, with a demonstration expected towards the end of the decade. At the moment, nuclear propulsion may well be our best option for carrying long-duration missions, such as taking astronauts to Mars.
Amazon preps for mega-constellation, more diverse uses of Earth orbit
SpaceX continued to increase their footprint in the industry this week as Malaysia became the 60th country to sign up to use Starlink to expand their national broadband connectivity. They aim to use the Starlink system to achieve total internet connectivity. Yet SpaceX will soon begin to face some competition in this area, with Amazon building towards establishing its own “Kuiper” mega-constellation, and this week announced a $120 million plan to build a satellite processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The exponential growth of satellite constellations also comes with additional requirements, adding to the development of this new orbital infrastructure. Satellite servicing, refuelling and orbital transfer technologies are also being developed to support the growth of these constellations, and this week in-space logistics company, Atomos, announced that they will carry out a demonstration of their orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) in the first quarter of 2024. The necessity of such tech is likely to drastically increase, as vast amounts of objects are due to be launched into orbit in the coming years.
Earth orbit is also being explored for more divers applications, and in recent weeks we have discussed the development of Varda’s in-space manufacturing demonstration, carrying out the production of pharmaceutical drugs in-orbit. The next stage of their demo is to return the produce to Earth, flown on its re-entry vehicle. It was this week revealed that they are ready and waiting on an FAA license to be able to do so. Interestingly, Varda will be the first to seek such a license, and so will also be groundbreaking in perhaps setting new precedents in this regulatory area.
Another highly promising area of orbital development is space-based solar power (SBSP), being explored by a number of private companies and national agencies. This week the European Space Agency (ESA) selected Thales Alenia space, in order to explore the feasibility of SBSP under their SOLARIS program. The ESA initiative was established in order to come to an informed decision regarding SBSP by 2025, and will hopefully be part of their overall aim to make Europe carbon-neutral by 2050.
ESA plan to de-orbit satellite while industry face sustainable challenges
Sustainable aims don’t end with SBSP, and there are other goals that will need to be achieved many years before sourcing solar power from space will be possible. Orbital debris is currently perhaps the most pressing issue, and this week an article from Euro News discussed ESA’s coming efforts to perform a reentry of one its satellites.
Their Aeolus satellite was launched in 2018, and now with all its fuel almost gone, it would usually be left to to accumulate with the other 1000s of spent spacecraft in orbit. Using the remaining fuel, ESA will perform a series of manoeuvres to bring the satellite down, where around 80% of its mass will burn up in the atmosphere, with the remaining 20% landing in the Atlantic.
ESA’s debris removal effort is one of several demonstrations which are planned in the near future. Furthermore, it seems likely that a large part of the job is being handed to the private sector, with companies such as Astroscale and Clearspace preparing to debut their technology in 2024 and 2026, respectively.
Industry will need to be seen making the effort in debris removal and building sustainable space, or risk losing the support of the public. In an Inmarsat survey of 20,00 people, carried out last year, the top three concerns about the space industry were space debris, polluting space and damaging Earth’s atmosphere. Furthermore, it was revealed this week that a Falcon-9 launch on July 19th may have “punched a hole in the atmosphere”, an increasing phenomena caused by growing numbers of space launches. According to an article from The Guardian, studies show that “…rockets and their exhaust flames can alter the process by which charged particles form in this layer around Earth.”
The innovation of the commercial sector may be driving a new industrial revolution in space, but building a sustainable future will also be critical, or risk losing support, creating a hazardous environment in space, and damaging the planet.
Path of Artemis around the Moon (Image: ESA)
NASA and China building on plans for Moon landing
Last June, NASA launched its trailblazing CAPSTONE mission, a cubesat that will test the stability of Lauder orbit ahead of the planned Lunar Gateway, an orbiting lunar relay station part of the US Artemis Project. It has been reported this week that the orbiter is still performing well, completing its 6-month primary mission, and now carrying out an enhanced mission, collecting more data. Its secondary mission is slated to last for another year.
NASA are also well underway with plans for their second Artemis launch, after their hugely successful Artemis-1 mission last. Artemis-II is planned to take astronauts on the same journey around the Moon, taking the crew further than any have travelled before, and splash down again on Earth after a 21-day journey. On July 20th NASA conducted its first simulation for the mission. According to NASA, “…simulations focus on two major parts: propellant loading and terminal countdown.” The actual launch is slated for November, 2024, but these dates can easily slip.
The US will also be celebrating the ongoing success of their Artemis Accords, an international regulatory framework for future space exploration, as Argentina became the 28th member this week.
US are not alone in journey to the Moon, in the dawn of commercialisation
Focus is very much on the Moon at the moment, with India launching their Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander mission this month, while Russia are due to launch their Luna-25 mission in August. However, the Moon no longer belongs to national agencies. Private comanies Astronautic and Intuitive Machines are set to head to the lunar surface this year, and although Japan-based iSpace failed in their commercial lunar landing attempt in April, we saw the curtain raise on the commercial lunar age.
Furthermore, on July 25, NASA announced the companies it has selected to advance lunar power program. These include Astrobotic, who are developing LunaGrid, a project aimed at developing solar power on the lunar surface, which can then be delivered via a small cube rover. As well, Zeno Power were awarded $15 million to develop their radioisotope power system, which would enable power throughout the long, two-week lunar nights. Power solutions on the Moon are vital in order to enable an ongoing lunar presence, and it seems that much of that innovation will also come from the private sector.
But China are also hot on the heels of NASA in their quest to land taikonauts on the Moon. This week the Chinese Global Times announced a successful test of the Long March-10 engines, the vehicle designed to launch crewed moon landing missions. China also recently announced that they intend to land taikonauts on the Moon before 2030, while NASA’s crewed landing mission (Artemis-3) is slated for 2025. We may not be in for another race to the Moon, but we are seeing China rapidly catch up to the US.
Share this article
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This Week
*News articles posted here are not property of ANASDA GmbH and belong to their respected owners. Postings here are external links only.