Space policy roundup – June.17.2019

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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:

Schedule:
- What’s Happening in Space Policy June 16-22, 2019 – SpacePolicyOnline.com
NASA’s lunar programs:
Moon program budgets past and present:
GPS:
- Study finds that a GPS outage would cost $1 billion per day | Ars Technica
Spectrum:
- FCC dismisses studies of potential 5G interference with satellite weather observations – SpaceNews.com
US military space:
International Space:
Chinese space:
- Are the U.S. and China on a war footing in space? – POLITICO
- Are China and US racing towards inevitable military confrontation in outer space? | South China Morning Post
Euro Space:
- ESA Looks To Boost Commercial Space Launch Services At Space 19+ – SpaceWatch.Global
- Arianespace and ESA announce Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer launch contract – ESA
Indian space:
Russian space:
- Russia’s Glonass navigation satellites to switch to domestic components by 2023 – TASS
- Russian scientist sees need to include women in space crews – TASS

Webcasts:

** The Space Show – Fri, 06/14/2019 – James A. M. Muncy talked about “draft regulations for commercial space transportation and launches, rules, regulations, and much more”.

** IAF begins process to select astronauts for Gaganyaan

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has started the process for selecting 10 astronauts for the country’s maiden manned space mission, of which three, including a woman, will go to space.

** The Case for Space: Interview with author Dr. Robert Zubrin:

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The Case for Space:
How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up
a Future of Limitless Possibility

Activism, Space Policy, SpaceCasts

The Space Show this week – June.17.2019

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The guests and topics of discussion on The Space Show this week:

1. Monday, June 17, 2019; 2-3:30 pm PDT (4-5:30 PM CDT, 5-6:30 PM EDT): No show for today. Monday is for special and timely programs only.

2. Tuesday, June 18, 2019; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT): We welcome back Robert (Rob) Godwin regarding his award winning Apollo book, Manned Lunar Landing and Return.

3. Wednesday, June 19 2019: Hotel Mars. See Upcoming Show Menu and the website newsletter for details. Hotel Mars is pre-recorded by John Batchelor. It is archived on The Space Show site after John posts it on his website.

4. Friday, June 21, 2019; 9:30-11 am PDT (11:30 am -1 pm CDT, 12:30-2 pm EDT): We welcome back Dr. Bruce Cordell for future space trend analysis.

5. Sunday, June 23, 2019; SPECIAL TIME – 6-7:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm EDT, 8-9:30 pm CDT): We welcome Loren Grush, science writer and space journalist.

Some recent shows:

** Fri, 06/14/2019 – James A. M. Muncy talked about “draft regulations for commercial space transportation and launches, rules, regulations, and much more”.

** Tue, 06/11/2019 – David Chudwin talked about his book, I Was a Teenage Space Reporter: From Apollo 11 to Our Future in Space, and “the Moon through the eyes of a teenager, Woodstock, peer interest in space, the new space program, returning to the Moon and going to Mars plus more”.

See also:
* The Space Show on Vimeo – webinar videos
* The Space Show’s Blog – summaries of interviews.
* The Space Show Classroom Blog – tutorial programs

The Space Show is a project of the One Giant Leap Foundation.

The Space Show - David Livingston — The Space Show – David Livingston

Amateur/Student Satellite, Space Systems

Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup – June.16.2019

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A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat / SmallSat projects and programs:

** Students in the Melbourne Space Program built ACRUZ-1 smallsat to launch on next Rocket Lab Electron rocket: ACRUX-1 headed to space on Rocket Lab’s next Electron rocket launch | Melbourne Space Program

ACRUX-1 was designed and built by engineering students, with the support of regulatory and business teams as well as professional development and marketing teams.

The Melbourne Space Program is a not-for-profit education organisation run entirely by volunteers – students from universities across Melbourne with a vision to launch the next generation of technology pioneers.

** Students at the University of North Texas College of Engineering design CubeSat solar panels with shape memory metal to maximize energy efficiency: Shape memory alloy technology leads to energy-efficient CubeSat – Univ. of Northern Texas

A team of University of North Texas College of Engineering seniors have created an energy efficient system for controlling solar panels on CubeSats using a nickel-titanium shape memory alloy.

Their design beat out teams from nine other universities to take first place at the CASMART 3rd Student Design Challenge in Germany. The international engineering competition for undergrad and graduate students asked teams to create innovative technologies using shape memory alloy.

…

The system designed by Ayers, and fellow Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering students Brittany Thurstin, Kelsa Adams, Jordan Barnes, Robert Boone and David Evers opens, closes and moves a CubeSat’s solar panels in space using just 20 watts of battery power.

“For this project, we developed three separate shape memory alloy mechanisms for our CubeSat, named Penny, a retention mechanism that holds the solar panels in place during launch, a deployment mechanism that extends the solar panels into space and an actuator that moves the panels to follow the sun,” said Thurstin. “Applying a minimal amount of electricity provides all the mechanical energy needed to get the satellite up and running. We actually built a CubeSat to show just how the shape memory alloy system would work.”

** Israeli 17 year old wins entrepreneurial creativity contest award with his CubeSat designs:

Geffen Avraham, 17, of Hod Hasharon, Israel,

is making a next-generation CubeSat, a small satellite that can fit in the palm of your hand. His satellite parts will cost 10-100x less than usual, using smartphone technologies. By substantially lowering prices to affordable levels for schools and individuals, Geffen plans to democratize space.

Noteworthy: Geffen designed a CubeSat mission to one of Saturn’s moons, leading him to become the only high-schooler invited to an academic space conference in China. Last year, at 16, he left school to pursue his passion for building satellites at a local laboratory. He’s also currently working on a program to tell where (on Earth) a satellite picture was taken.

** AMSAT news on student and amateur CubeSat/smallsat projects: ANS-167 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin

AMSAT Field Day on the Satellites
Dollar-for-Dollar Match on your ARISS Donation Ends Monday!
AMSAT Operations Updates AO-85 Status / AO-92 Field Day Plans
AMSAT Engineering Slides From Ham-Com
BIRDS-3 Satellites Deploy From ISS on June 17th
IARU Region 1 Notes WRC-23 Proposals That Impact 144-146 MHz and 1260-1270 MHz Amateur Satellite Service Bands
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for June 13, 2019
How to Support AMSAT
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Satellite Shorts from All Over

General CubeSat/SmallSat info:

Projects:

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The Case for Space:
How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up
a Future of Limitless Possibility

In Space Infrastructure, Living in Space, SpaceCasts

Videos: “Space to Ground” ISS report – June.15.2019

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Here is this week’s episode of NASA’s Space to Ground reports on activities related to the International Space Station:

** NASA honors the women featured in the Hidden Figures book and film:

Thanks to new signage, visitors to NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. will be reminded of the contributions of the “hidden figures” essential to the success of early spaceflight. The renaming honors Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, who were featured in Margot Lee Shetterly’s book – and the movie – Hidden Figures, as well as all women who honorably serve their country, advancing equality, and contributing to the United States space program. News release: https://go.nasa.gov/HiddenFiguresWay On June 12, Administrator Jim Bridenstine joined U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and author Margot Lee Shetterly for the renaming of the street in front of NASA Headquarters in Washington – E Street SW – to “Hidden Figures Way.” Learn about NASA’s hidden and modern figures: https://www.nasa.gov/modernfigures

** The latest episode of NASA Johnson’s Spacecast Weekly program

SpaceCast Weekly is a NASA Television broadcast from the Johnson Space Center in Houston featuring stories about NASA’s work in human spaceflight, including the International Space Station and its crews and scientific research activities, and the development of Orion and the Space Launch System, the next generation American spacecraft being built to take humans farther into space than they’ve ever gone before.

** Canadian media speaks with astronaut David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA):

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Outpost in Orbit:
A Pictorial & Verbal History of the Space Station

Space Policy

Space policy roundup – June.14.2019

June 14, 2019 TopSpacer

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:

Webcasts:

** Hearing: Discovery on the Frontiers of Space: Exploring NASA’s Science Mission – House Committee on Science, Space and Technology

** Procurement Council Meeting: U.S. Chamber of Commerce event on ISS and Gateway Commercialization

** The Space Show – Tue, 06/11/2019 – David Chudwin talked about his book, I Was a Teenage Space Reporter: From Apollo 11 to Our Future in Space, and “the Moon through the eyes of a teenager, Woodstock, peer interest in space, the new space program, returning to the Moon and going to Mars plus more”.