Here is the latest episode of NASA’s weekly Space to Ground report on activities related to the International Space Station:
** Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir reflect on the first All Woman Spacewalk [Short version]
NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir reflect on the historic spacewalk they performed on Oct. 18 – the first ever to be conducted by two women. They spent a total of 7 hours and 17 minutes in the vacuum of space. It was Koch’s fourth spacewalk and Meir’s first.
**Expedition 61 Crew News Conference with Jessica Meir and Christina Koch – October 21, 2019 [Complete version]
** Expedition 61 In Flight Event with the SMPTE Conference – October 24,2 019
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 61 Flight Engineers Christina Koch, Jessica Meir and Drew Morgan of NASA discussed the value of capturing imagery of human spaceflight from orbit and the future use of video and digital still cameras for deep space exploration during a question and answer session Oct. 24 with participants at a broadcast industry conference in Los Angeles. The three NASA astronauts are in various stages of long duration missions on the orbital laboratory.
A sampling of links to recent space policy, politics, and government (US and international) related space news and resource items that I found of interest (find previous space policy roundups here):
** Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic move agonizingly slowly towards operational flights. After successful tests early this year (SpaceShipTwo in February and New Shepard in May ), there seemed to be high momentum in both programs towards more frequent flights, including New Shepard flights with people finally on board. However, neither program has flown since those tests.
Virgin Galactic has focused instead on outfitting the interior of the SpaceShipTwo with seats and other features needed for the spaceflight participants. VG has also been moving its base of operations from Mojave, California to Spaceport America in New Mexico (see entry below about the spaceport). Blue has been upgrading the New Shepard for operational spaceflights. Both companies claim they will do a few more test flights and then start flying customers in 2020.
“The New Shepard booster lands during Mission NS-11 on May 2, 2019.” Credits: Blue Origin
Here are some misc. items about the state of the two programs:
In a suborbital space tourism panel, Clare Pelly of Virgin Galactic says the VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo will be flown from Mojave to Spaceport America in New Mexico around the end of this year for final flight tests before beginning commercial service in 2020. #IAC2019
.@blueorigin’s Greg “Ray J” Johnson says there’ll be one more #NewShepard suborbital test flight before year’s end; acknowledges they’re “tapping the brakes” before flying people.
Greg Johnson, senior VP of New Shepard at Blue Origin, mentioned in passing that the company will have a program to fly poets and artists on its suborbital vehicle, but no details. Says there’s room in space tourism market for both Blue and Virgin. #IAC2019
** In July, Virgin Galactic announced plans to go public via a merger with Social Capital Hedosophia (SCH), a publicly traded company created solely to acquire a revenue producing company. The company claims a value of $1.5 billion. By 2023 they project flying SpaceShipTwo vehicles 270 times per year and carrying over 600 people. Annual profits are predicted to reach $275M.
Virgin Galactic (“VG”), a vertically integrated aerospace company, and Social Capital Hedosophia (“SCH”), a public investment vehicle, today announced the completion of their previously announced business combination. The resulting company is named Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (“VGH”) and its common stock, units and warrants are expected to commence trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol “SPCE”, ”SPCE.U” and “SPCE WS”, respectively, on October 28, 2019. The Company manufactures its space vehicles in Mojave, California, through its aerospace development subsidiary The Spaceship Company, with commercial operations centered at Spaceport America in New Mexico.
VG already has customer reservations from more than 600 people in 60 countries representing approximately $80 million in total collected deposits, and over $120 million of potential revenue. The completion of this merger and trading as a public company are the next milestones on the path towards building a thriving commercial service business and investing appropriately for the future.
[SCH] said it expects the merged company to start trading Oct. 28 under the Virgin Galactic name and the ticker symbol SPCE. Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson, speaking at a conference in Israel Oct. 23, said he planned to be at the exchange Oct. 28 to ring the opening bell, according to Israeli media reports.
The merger will make Virgin Galactic the first publicly traded company whose primary line of business is human spaceflight. Large aerospace companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have long been traded on stock exchanges, but space is only a small part of their overall business.
Virgin Galactic today revealed the first look at the interior fit-out of its Gateway to Space building at Spaceport America in New Mexico. The work completed showcased two floors of the building primarily focused on spaceflight operations, which also incorporates communal spaces designed for use in the future by Virgin Galactic customers, along with their friends and families. Completion of this interior work means the spaceport facility is now operationally functional and able to support Virgin Galactic’s flight requirements.
After travels to the North and South Poles and skydiving over Mount Everest, Namira Salim wants to go to the next level of adventure:
The Earthly accomplishments were fine, sure, but for Salim, whose dreams have turned skyward since birth, they just filled the gap while she waited to obtain the “first” she’s been after all along.
“I’ve been inspired to do more,” she told the Orlando Sentinel while on a trip to Cocoa Beach for the Apollo 11 moon landing 50th anniversary. “So first of all, I think I should go as far as possible on Earth before I break the orbit.”
That’s right — the “first” that Salim is seeking won’t take place on our planet at all, not really. She wants to become the first Pakistani to fly to space. And with her $200,000 ticket on Virgin Galactic’s suborbital flights, she’s well on her way.
As timing for the first Earth-bound launches of space tourists grows near, the public, governments and the innovation sector continue to hold their collective breath.
Many predict that once the first space tourism mission starts flying, it will spur a lot of activity.
To Lopez-Urdiales, the world is currently in the second of three phases of space activity — the first began with government-sponsored programs like the Apollo program and continued to the present day, with space projects backed by billionaires. It’s only in the third phase — when a broader base of entrepreneurs with cool ideas are funded and can compete for market share — will space tourism be sustainable, he says.
“When that happens and the financial sector invests in not only the Musks of the world but also in folks like us, space tourism will truly take off,” he concludes.
“A perspective view of Nirgal Vallis. Notice the rounded, circular ends of the tributaries, called amphitheatre-headed valleys.” Universe Today via Carnival of Space #634. Image Credit: Copyright ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Today, Blue Origin is proud to announce a national team to offer a Human Landing System for NASA’s Artemis program to return Americans to the lunar surface by 2024.
Blue Origin has signed teaming agreements with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper. These partners have decades of experience supporting NASA with human space flight systems, launch vehicles, orbital logistics, deep-space missions, interplanetary navigation and planetary landings.
Our combined experience is uniquely positioned to meet NASA’s needs for the Artemis program. Each partner will bring their industry leading solutions to the following roles:
Blue Origin, as prime contractor, leads program management, systems engineering, safety and mission assurance, and mission engineering while providing the Descent Element that is based on the multi-year development of the Blue Moon lunar lander and its BE-7 engine.
Lockheed Martin develops the reusable Ascent Element vehicle and leads crewed flight operations and training.
Northrop Grumman provides the Transfer Element vehicle that brings the landing system down towards the Moon.
Draper leads descent guidance and provides flight avionics.
The Photon is an advanced version of Rocket Lab’s Kick Stage, which can carry a payload to an orbit beyond the maximum altitude achievable with the two-stage Electron rocket alone. These propulsion modules essentially serve as expendable space tugs that can transport a payload, within given mass and volume limits, to a particular orbit or trajectory. From the announcement:
Less than two years after opening access to low Earth orbit (LEO) for small satellites with the Electron launch vehicle, Rocket Lab is now bringing medium, geostationary, and lunar orbits within reach for small satellites. Rocket Lab will combine its Electron launch vehicle, Photon small spacecraft platform, and a dedicated bulk maneuver stage to accomplish extended-range missions and deliver small spacecraft to lunar flyby, Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO), L1/L2 points, or Lunar orbit. These capabilities can then be expanded to deliver even larger payloads throughout cis-lunar space, including as high as geostationary orbit (GEO).
Rocket Lab Founder and Chief Executive, Peter Beck, says there is increasing international interest in lunar and beyond LEO exploration from government and private sectors.
“Small satellites will play a crucial role in science and exploration, as well as providing communications and navigation infrastructure to support returning humans to the Moon – they play a vital role as pathfinders to retire risk and lay down infrastructure for future missions,” he says. “Just like LEO small spacecraft, many potential exploration instruments and full satellites are on shelves waiting for launch to deeper space. In the same way we opened access to LEO for smallsats, Rocket Lab is poised to become the dedicated ride to the Moon and beyond for small satellites.”
After an Electron rocket reached LEO (the nozzle belongs to the 2nd stage) for the ‘As The Crow Flies’ mission on Oct.17,2019, it released the Kick Stage (disk shaped module) with an Astro Digital CubeSat (the rectangular box on the disk) at an altitude of about 500 km. The Kick Stage then fired its own propulsion system to deliver the satellite to an orbit of 1000 km. Credits: Rocket Lab
** Firefly working with Aerojet on propulsion systems for rockets and space tug:
The first flight of Firefly’s small-satellite rocket, Alpha, is scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2020 from Vandenberg AFB. At a dedicated mission price of $15 million, Alpha is currently capable of delivering one metric ton to LEO and 630 kg to sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). Aerojet Rocketdyne is contributing to the first flight of Alpha by providing additive manufacturing expertise for key Reaver first stage engine components. They will have increased influence on Alpha block two upgrades, on both the first and second stage engines, which will work toward an increase Alpha SSO payload performance to greater than 800 kg. These contributions will include expanded implementation of additively manufactured elements to reduce cost and increase reliability, as well as technical input to increase engine performance.
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Aerojet Rocketdyne’s unique additive manufacturing, chemical and electric in-space propulsion technologies also have direct applicability to Firefly’s Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV), which transfers small payloads between orbits. The OTV provides mission flexibility by deploying payloads into unique orbits and reaching altitudes and inclinations that are out of reach for many small launch vehicles.
Dr. Markusic added, “Firefly is committed to flying Beta, our medium class launch vehicle. Aerojet Rocketdyne’s AR1 engine, which incorporates the latest advances in propulsion technology, materials science and manufacturing techniques, is incredibly well suited to power Beta given its cost-effective, high performance capabilities. By cooperating on this development, we are accelerating our time to market and providing our customers with high confidence in Beta’s schedule, performance and reliability.”
The Space News article quotes Mark Watt of Firefly as saying that the Beta rocket will feature “a reusable first stage”.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is preparing for two major flight tests before the end of the year, which will pave the way for the spacecraft’s first crewed flight in 2020. The capsule is being developed under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to provide transportation services to and from the International Space Station.
NASA provided an official update on Boeing’s flight test dates last Friday. Starliner’s pad abort test is currently scheduled for no earlier than November 2nd, with the Orbital Flight Test (OFT) occurring no earlier than December 17th.
The pad abort test will see a Starliner capsule perform the abort sequence that would be necessary if there were to be a problem with the launch vehicle on the pad.
November’s abort test will occur from a test stand at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
The Oxfordshire-based company, which is developing a new class of hybrid engine known as Sabre combining traditional jet and rocket technologies, said it had proven the viability of its precooling system in conditions equivalent to a speed of Mach 5.
At this speed, the air entering a jet engine would hit 1,000 degrees centigrade, enough to severely damage components. Reaction’s precooler takes the air down to minus 150 degrees centigrade in less than a 20th of a second.
Reaction Engines has successfully tested its innovative precooler at airflow temperature conditions representing Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, marking a significant milestone in the development of its SABRE™ engine and paving the way for a revolution in hypersonic flight and space access.
The precooler heat exchanger is a vital component of Reaction Engines’ revolutionary SABRE air-breathing rocket engine and is an enabling technology for other precooled propulsion systems and a range of commercial applications.
This ground-based test achieved the highest temperature objective of the Company’s HTX testing programme and took place at its specially constructed unique facility at the Colorado Air and Space Port, United States.
During the latest series of tests, Reaction Engines’ unique precooler successfully quenched airflow temperatures in excess of 1,000°C (~1,800°F) in less than 1/20th of a second. The tests demonstrated the precooler’s ability to successfully cool airflow at speeds significantly in excess of the operational limit of any jet-engine powered aircraft in history. Mach 5 is more than twice as fast as the cruising speed of Concorde and over 50% faster than the SR-71 Blackbird aircraft – the world’s fastest jet-engine powered aircraft.
The pre-cooler test setup. Credits: Reaction Engines
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**i-Space of China debuts design of the Hyperbola-2 rocket with a reusable first stage:
In July 2019, i-Space launched the all-solid fuel motor four-stage Hyperbola-1 rocket and successfully placed two small satellites into orbit. It thus became the first private Chinese rocket startup company, not directly spun off from the military space program, to put a payload into orbit.
The Hyperbola-2 will be a much bigger rocket and use liquid fueled engines to power its two stages. It will put up to 1.9 tons into low earth orbit. The first stage will be flown back and reused. The goal is to start flights in 2021. Recovering the first stage will not happen on the initial flights.
i-Space Hyperbola-2 Rocket
** Exos Aerospace hover tests the SARGE rocket and is counting down to another launch at Spaceport America on Saturday, Oct. 26th.
Today we’re going to look at the history of aerospike engines, go over how nozzles work including things like overexpansion, underexpansion and even expansion ratios, we’ll look at the pros and cons of the aerospike, the physical limitations and problems, then we’ll compare the aerospike to some other traditional rocket engines. But that’s not all, I obtained never seen before photos and videos of some aerospikes, we’ll get opinions from some people who have actually worked with aerospike engines, look at some promising prospects and compelling concepts and by the end of the video we’ll hopefully know whether or not the holy grail of rocket engines is just waiting to be utilized or if aerospikes just simply aren’t worth it.
*** SpaceX Principal Mars Development Engineer Paul Wooster gave an update on the Starship and Super Heavy (BFR) at the Mars Society Convention 2019 over the weekend:
** A stormy Monday at Boca Chica Beach:
A storm and tornado impacted the Boca Chica region overnight but mostly avoided the SpaceX site, although it received a downpour. While power was knocked out due to a larger impact in South Padre Island, SpaceX, typically, had Tesla Power to allow the workers to get back to operations as planned in the morning.
Several views of the launch site and Hopper, filmed by Mary (@bocachicagal).
And watching the work on the Mk.1 Starship on Saturday:
For unknown reasons, SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 rocket launch has slipped from October to November, extending an already record-breaking lull in commercial US launch activity.
Depending on when SpaceX finally returns to flight, the company could have easily spent more than a quarter of 2019 between launches.
With regular departure dates and minimal rebooking fees, the competition for launch service is now reaching a fever pitch in the smallsat market. At $1 million per launch [of a CubeSat on a rideshare flight], SpaceX is today offering an 80% cost reduction in dollars per kilo compared to its nearest competitor. And it’s not an offer to ride on some notional future rocket, but instead on a rocket with plenty of flight heritage and at much lower insurance rates.
As ever, real competition like this rewards innovation and ultimately delivers better value to its customers, satellite and space data companies and their investors. Companies will soon be able to deliver space data at dramatically lower prices than today, ensuring even greater penetration of the space sector to add further value and efficiencies to the global economy.
Make no mistake, SpaceX returning to address the old Falcon 1 market is no accident. When Musk designed and launched his first Falcon on the way to Mars, he likely didn’t anticipate this growth—but he certainly sees it now. In response to this and other competitors, Rocket Lab has recently announced its pursuit of a reusable Electron rocket and we should expect the nearly 100 other new space launch companies to reimagine or retool their businesses to adjust to this new reality.
