Tag: competition

NATO to issue new space strategy to address growth in commercial sector

9:07 am

Capitalism in space? NATO officials at a meeting this week proposed issuing a new space strategy next year, designed to deal with the changing relationship in space between government and private enterprise.

During the Commercial Space Forum at NATO, participants discussed the threats they face, from cyber-attacks against ground systems, to jamming or spoofing of GPS and other satellite communications signals. They also addressed the importance of further investment in areas such as cybersecurity and sharing information about threats.

NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment, Ms Tarja Jaakkola, highlighted the need for a new relationship between the military and the commercial sector, “where both sides can learn from another, and where we can support and harness the entrepreneurial spirit and technological innovation essential to keep our defences strong and effective.”

More information here. It appears that NATO officials have realized that they can no longer do things as they have for the past half century, whereby they design, build, and own the space assets they launch. They must instead do what NASA and the Pentagon has been doing, become the customer that buys such products from the private enterprise.

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Mitsuibishi’s H3 rocket wins launch contract from UAE

8:55 am

Capitalism in space: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) yesterday announced that it has awarded the launch contract for its first unmanned probe to the asteroid belt to the Japanese company Mitsuibishi and its new H3 rocket.

The UAE Space Agency (UAESA) announced Oct. 10 it selected Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to launch its Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA) on an H3 rocket in the first quarter of 2028. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

The spacecraft, also known as MBR Explorer after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, will fly by six main belt asteroids between 2030 and 2033 before rendezvousing on a seventh, Justitia, in 2034, later deploying a lander.

This mission is the third that the UAE has selected MHI to launch. An H-2A rocket launched the Emirates Mars Mission, a Mars orbiter, in 2020, while KhalifaSat, a remote sensing satellite, launched as a secondary payload on another H-2A in 2018.

What makes this launch contract different from the previous two is that the winner is Mitsubishi. Previous awards went through Japan’s space agency JAXA, which appeared to manage the H2A entirely. Now, Mitsubishi is in control, and is working directly with its customer.

This change proves that Japan’s government effort to promote private enterprise in space is real, that though it has been slow to wrest bureaucratic control from JAXA, that wresting is happening nonetheless.

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EPA to NASA: We intend to regulate how you dispose ISS, and that’s only the start

12:47 pm

The FAA to SpaceX
The EPA and its supporters to the American space industry:
“Nice industry you got here. Sure would be a shame if
something happened to it.”

It appears the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a number of activist groups are now lobbying for the right to regulate whether anything in orbit can be de-orbited into the oceans, beginning with how NASA plans to dispose of the International Space Station (ISS) when the station is de-orbited into the ocean sometime before 2030.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is evaluating how the disposal of the International Space Station into the ocean will need to be regulated but has not shared the details of any specific concerns or aspects of regulation. “EPA’s Office of Water is coordinating with the Office of General Counsel on this complex issue. The agency does not have a timeline for this evaluation,” EPA spokeswoman Dominique Joseph told SpaceNews.

“Sixty-six years of space activities has resulted in tens of thousands of tons of space debris crashing into the oceans,” said Ewan Wright, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of British Columbia and a junior fellow of the Outer Space Institute, an interdisciplinary group of experts working on emerging space sustainability issues.

While Wright is later quoted as saying that disposal in the ocean is “the least worst option,” the article at the link includes quotes from several other academics, all claiming that such an option must be stopped at all costs, because it threatens to “cause great damage” to the ocean. These “experts” make this claim by comparing ISS’s de-orbit with the dumping of old ammunition from World War I as well as plastic forks now.
» Read more

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China launches what it claims is “high-orbit internet services satellite”

12:17 pm

China today successfully launched what its state-run press claimed was “high-orbit internet services satellite,” its Long March 3B rocket lifting off from its Xichang spaceport in southwest China.

No word on where the rocket’s lower stages and strap-on boosters crashed inside China. All use toxic hypergolic fuels.

As for the payload, this tweet from a independent reporter on China’s space program questions the claim that it is a communications satellite. Since China has told us nothing, we really know nothing. However, if it was really what its state-run press says it is, China would normally release a bit more information.

The leaders in the 2024 launch race:

96 SpaceX
45 China
11 Russia
11 Rocket Lab

American private enterprise still leads the rest of the world combined in successful launches 113 to 68, while SpaceX by itself now leads the entire world, including American companies, 96 to 85.

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Vast unveils its first preliminary design for the interior of its Haven-1 space station

12:08 pm

Artist's rendering of Haven-1 interior
Artist’s rendering of Haven-1 interior.
Click for original.

Vast today revealed its first preliminary design for the interior of its Haven-1 space station that it hopes to launch in the second half of 2026 and immediately occupy with four astronauts for a 30-day mission.

After docking with a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, Haven-1 crew members open the Haven-1 exterior hatch and are greeted by a sleek, functional layout upon entry. A real-time display shows the station status with temperature and lighting controls, and optimized cargo compartments ensure essential supplies are stored efficiently. Notably, Haven-1’s interior surfaces are soft and padded to provide an added safety component for crew and visitors as they float throughout.

Above and below the corridor, the station’s four private crew quarters offer astronauts a space to rest and recharge. Slightly larger than the crew quarters aboard the ISS, these expanded personal rooms are uniquely designed to allow for changing, entertainment, online communication with loved ones back on Earth (enabled by SpaceX Starlink connectivity), and, most importantly, a good night’s rest. Experience has shown that sleeping in space can be a restless endeavor. Maximizing sleep efficiency and comfort remains critical to the overall experience aboard the Vast station. Historically, zero gravity sleep has been uncomfortable for astronauts due to a lack of standardized and consistent restraint systems during weightless sleep and a deficit in the distributed gravity forces humans are accustomed to on Earth. Vast’s patent-pending signature sleep system is roughly the size of a queen bed, provides a customized amount of equal pressure throughout the night, and accommodates side and back sleepers alike.

Additionally, each room features a built-in storage compartment, vanity, and a custom amenities kit

Beyond the corridor with the crew quarters is a common area which also includes a laboratory rack system on one wall, where experiments can be installed, monitored, and performed.

Overall the interior of this single module station in many ways harks back to the early Soviet Salyut stations, as the amount of interior space is somewhat comparable. One feature of Vast’s design however that is truly original is the use of “genuine safety-tested, fire-resistant maple wood veneer slats” on the interior’s walls.

Though definitely designed with that 30-day mission in mind, this first release clearly looks preliminary, with the graphics appearing far simpler than things will look in reality.

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SpaceX says it is targeting October 13, 2024 for 5th Starship/Superheavy launch

9:13 am

Superheavy being captured by the tower chopsticks at landing
Artist rendering of Superheavy being captured by
the tower chopsticks at landing. Click for video.

The hint last week that SpaceX might attempt its fifth test orbital launch of Starship/Superheavy launch by mid-October was confirmed yesterday by the company. It announced on its Starship/Superheavy webpage that it is now targeting October 13, 2024 for 5th Starship/Superheavy launch, “pending regulatory approval.”

SpaceX’s announcement noted that the flight’s primary goals will be an attempted chopstick landing of Superheavy at the launch tower in Boca Chica and a test of Starship’s ability to return and land using its newly redesigned heat shield.

The returning booster will slow down from supersonic speeds, resulting in audible sonic booms in the area around the landing zone. Generally, the only impact to those in the surrounding area of a sonic boom is the brief thunder-like noise with variables like weather and distance from the return site determining the magnitude experienced by observers.

Starship will fly a similar trajectory as the previous flight test with splashdown targeted in the Indian Ocean. » Read more

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Dominican Republic signs the Artemis Accords

8:52 am

The Dominican Republic yesterday became the 44th nation to sign the Artemis Accords, original conceived by the Trump administration as bi-laterial agreements between the U.S. and other nations and focused on building a strong coalition for getting the Outer Space Treaty’s limitations on free enterprise and private property cancelled or overturned.

Sadly, under the Biden administration that focus has been pushed aside, replaced with watered-down “principles [that] support the safe and sustainable exploration of space” that are also “grounded in the Outer Space Treaty.”

In other words, nations signing the accords now are simply signing on in the hope of getting American cash by joining the American Artemis program. The full list of nations is as follows: Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, the Ukraine, the United States and Uruguay.

Whether this alliance can eventually be used as a tool to overturn the Outer Space Treaty’s restrictions on private property in space remains unknown. A new Trump administration would almost certainly shift things back in the right direction, especially if that administration reshaped the entire Artemis program away from its failed reliance on SLS, Orion, and Lunar Gateway and instead allowed private companies to redesign the program entirely, based on what makes the most economic and engineering sense rather than funding big government projects that accomplish litte except create make-work jobs.

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Spanish rocket startup PLD unveils a proposed family of rockets plus crew capsule

8:48 am

The Spanish rocket startup PLD this week unveiled a proposed family of rockets to follow its Miura-5 rocket, set to launch for the first time in 2025.

The three rockets introduced were the Miura Next, Miura Next Heavy, and Miura Next Super Heavy, all based on a system or modular building blocks. Miura Next will be the base of the modular system will be a single-stick two-stage rocket. Miura Next Heavy will feature two boosters and Miura Next Super Heavy will feature four boosters. The boosters will have a shared architecture with the rocket’s core stage. The first stages and boosters will all feature a propulsive recovery capability.

The smallest of the three rockets will be capable of delivering up to 13,580 kilograms to low Earth orbit, while the most powerful will have the capacity to deliver 53,000 kilograms.

This design concept essentially follows the approach that SpaceX used to develop the Falcon Heavy from the Falcon 9, and saves a great deal of money by using what the company has already developed as part of the larger rocket.

The crew capsule, dubbed Lince, is conceived at this company’s version of Dragon, capable of launching either cargo or 4 to 5 astronauts to any one of the proposed commercial space stations under construction. Capsule drop tests will begin in 2025, with the first launch abort tests in 2028 aiming for the first orbital flight by 2030.

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SpaceX launches Europe’s Hera asteroid mission

8:41 am

SpaceX today successfully launched the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Hera asteroid mission to the binary asteroid Didymos and Dimorphos, its Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral.

The first stage completed its 23rd rocket, but was not recovered in order to maximum the fuel used to send Hera on its proper route. The fairings completed their 13th and 19th flights respectively.

Hera will do a follow-up rendezvous with the binary asteroids to get a close-up look at the consequences of the Dart impact back in 2022 of Dimorphos.

The leaders in the 2024 launch race:

96 SpaceX
44 China
11 Russia
11 Rocket Lab

American private enterprise now leads the rest of the world combined in successful launches 113 to 67, while SpaceX by itself now leads the entire world, including American companies, 96 to 84.

For SpaceX, this launch ties the record the company set last year for the number of launches of a private company in a single year, and it did so in just more than three-quarters of the year. The company’s goal of 144 launches in 2024 remains possible, assuming the federal government stopped blocking its operations. For example, the FAA granted the company permission for this one launch, but maintained its grounding of further launches because an upper stage did not land safely in the ocean in the exact right spot.

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Sierra Space wins Air Force contract to develop orbital cargo delivery system

9:49 am

The Air Force has now awarded Sierra Space a contract to develop its proposed “Space Ghost” satellite spacecraft, designed to be launched into a stand-by orbit carrying needed cargo, where it can upon command deliver that cargo within 90 minutes anywhere on Earth.

Sierra Space won a contract of undisclosed value as part of the AFRL’s Rocket Experimentation for Global Agile Logistics (REGAL) program. The Air Force is exploring the potential of space vehicles to rapidly transport critical supplies from orbital warehouses back to Earth. This could include reusable reentry vehicles capable of delivering payloads from prepositioned stocks in orbit.

Sierra Space, based in Louisville, Colorado, said its defense technology team designed the Ghost system to be capable of remaining in orbit for up to five years, storing and delivering essential supplies on-demand. Once fully developed, the spacecraft could be used for missions such as delivering rescue kits for downed pilots, medical supplies for disaster relief or logistical support for military operations.

The company began doing drop tests of a Space Ghost prototype heat shield in March, and apparently the data satisfied the Air Force enough to issue this development contract. Whether such a system however makes sense remains unknown. To be able to deliver cargo anywhere on Earth will require putting up a large constellation of Space Ghost satellites, in many different orbits. Moreover, it is unclear how much cargo each satellite would carry.

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Avio completes testing of new redesigned nozzle for its Vega-C second stage

9:31 am

The Italian rocket company Avio yesterday successfully completed the second of two static fire engine tests of the newly redesigned nozzle for the second stage of its Vega-C rocket, paving the way for the company to resume launches after the nozzle design failed both during a launch in 2022 and then again during a static fire test in 2023 after its first redesign.

A launch date has tentatively been scheduled for November, but this date is not yet confirmed. For this and the next several launches in 2025, the rocket will still be managed by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) commercial arm, Arianespace. Beginning late next year however Avio will regain complete control of its rocket and will be able to market it internationally, no longer required to deal with this unneeded government middleman. The launch price will then certainly go down, making Vega-C more competitive.

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FAA: No Starship/Superheavy launch before late November

9:01 am

In response to speculation that the fifth Starship/Superheavy test launch could happen in mid-October — based on a recent notice to mariners from the Coast Guard, the FAA on Wednesday made it clear that its stonewalling of SpaceX will continue.

“We are not issuing launch authorization for a launch to occur in the next two weeks — it’s not happening,” an FAA spokesman said Wednesday afternoon. “Late November is still our target date.”

The report comes from the San-Antonio Express-News, and as is typical of the reporting in the propaganda press, the article only gives the FAA’s side of this story, making absolutely no mention of SpaceX’s detailed and very public objections. As far as this news outlet is concerned, the FAA is god, whatever it says must be true. So much for a skeptical free press whose goal is supposed to be to hold government accountable.

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