In Today’s Deep Space Extra… NASA administrator speaks about Artemis in recent interview. ExoMars 2022 mission reaches its final testing and is prepared for launch. Space Symposium kicks off in Colorado Springs.
Human Spaceflight
Nelson: Blue Origin lawsuit adds further delays to Artemis
SpaceNews.com (8/23): In an interview with SpaceNews.com, NASA Administrator Senator Bill Nelson says the Blue Origin lawsuit filed to the Court of Federal Claims represents further delay to landing humans on the Moon under the Artemis program. Nelson explained that the claim “goes to a court equivalent to a federal district court where the judge could require, in essence, very laborious discovery. A lot of this will be dependent upon what the judge decides.” Nelson also talked about the upcoming uncrewed Artemis I mission, saying that if it does not launch by the end of the year, it will by January 2022. Nelson said he will be meeting with other space agencies at Space Symposium this week to go over matters such as extending the International Space Station (ISS) to 2030.
Space Science
ExoMars 2022 mission in final testing, ESA & Roscosmos prepare for approaching launch
NASAspaceflight.com (8/21): September 2022 is the target launch period for the delayed ExoMars mission. The spacecraft includes Russia’s Kazachok lander and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosalind Franklin rover. Plans to launch the mission during a favorable alignment between the Earth and Mars in the summer of 2020 were delayed by the unsatisfactory results of parachute drop tests. Better results emerged during June 2021 tests. The lander and rover plan to look for evidence of past life on Mars.
Other News
Millenium Space in an experiment de-orbited a satellite in eight months
Coalition Member in the News – Boeing
SpaceNews.com (8/23): Millennium Space Systems, a Boeing subsidiary, announced it successfully demonstrated the use of a deployable tether to de-orbit a satellite after it completes its mission. The company in November launched an experiment called Dragracer which deployed two identical cubesats. One had a 70-meter long drag tape made by Tethers Unlimited and the other did not. The satellite with the drag tape burned upon reentry to Earth’s atmosphere after eight months. The tape creates additional surface area that interacts with the Earth’s atmosphere to create drag, which draws satellites back to Earth faster. The tape is deployed when a satellite is ready to de-orbit.
Virgin Orbit to go public in SPAC merger
Coalition Member in the News – Boeing
SpaceNews.com (8/23): Virgin Orbit will go public through a merger with NextGen Acquisition Corp. II, a SPAC, in a deal that includes an investment by Boeing. The deal would give Virgin Orbit up to $483 million in capital, depending on how many shares in NextGen are redeemed by shareholders. The funds will go toward scaling up manufacturing of Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket and to fund growth of its “space solutions business” and new product development initiatives, the company said. The merger would turn Virgin Orbit into a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq with an initial valuation of $3.2 billion.
Space Force to establish new command in Colorado focused on training and education
SpaceNews.com (8/20): The U.S. Space Force plans to establish a third and final command, the Space Training and Readiness Command, at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Monday. The new Starcom will lead doctrine, training and professional education for the command’s military and civilian personnel and coordinate basic training and recruiting. The Space Operations Command at Peterson was activated in 2020 and the Space Systems Command was established earlier this month at the Los Angeles Air Force Base, California.
All 34 OneWeb satellites launched using Russian Soyuz rocket now in orbit
Sputnik International (8/22): Thirty-four British OneWeb satellites were placed in orbit with the launch Sunday of a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch total for the OneWeb small satellite communications constellation now numbers 288 of a planned 650.
Major Space Related Activities for the Week
Major space related activities for the week of August 22 to September 4
Spacepolicyonline.com (8/22): Major space policy events this week include the Space Symposium that gets underway Monday from Colorado Springs, Colorado, in person and virtually. The speakers list for Tuesday includes Gen. Jay Raymond, U.S. Space Force chief of operations; NASA Administrator Bill Nelson; U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran; U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall; Chris Scolese, director of the National Research Organization; Gen. James Dickinson, commander of the U.S. Space Command; Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, commander of the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command. Wednesday’s lineup includes Chirag Parikh, the newly appointed chair of the National Space Council, and a panel of top officials from NASA, the European, Canadian, French, U.K., German, Italian, and Ukrainian space agencies. Elsewhere, NASA and JAXA astronauts are set to venture outside the International Space Station (ISS) early Tuesday to prepare the port side solar power truss for the installation of a third solar panel upgrade.