Category Archives: Activism

Space policy roundup – May.11.2021

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):

International space

Webcasts:

** Long March 5B Rocket Reenters the Atmosphere, JZYJ Tests Their Latest Methalox Engine – Ep 32Dongfang Hour – YouTube

1) China’s Long March 5B first stage re-enters Earth’s atmosphere and (seemingly) lands in the Indian Ocean …
2) JZYJ Completes Hot Test of Whole Engine …
3) CASSPACE announces B+ Funding Round …
4) OneSpace “close to” raising a new round of funding for its Linglong solid and liquid fueled rockets, plans to IPO in 2022 …

See also Dongfang Hour China Aerospace News Roundup 3 May – 9 May 2021 – SpaceWatch.Global

** Episode 36: Thoughts on Long March 5B ReentrySpace Thoughts (YouTube) – Space Law & Policy Solutions/Michael Listner

** Space Café WebTalk – Law Breakfast with Steven Freeland #2 – 25. March 2021spacewatch. global – News Room – YouTube

In the latest Space Café “Law Breakfast with Steven Freeland”, Steven Freeland and Torsten Kriening welcomed Prof Tanja Masson-Zwaan and Prof PJ Blount to the historic Café Barerra in Leiden.

Over croissant and coffee, the panelists, along with a lively audience engaged in a revealing and insightful discussion dealing with many legal issues arising from everyday space activities, including the following:

the proposed Dubai Space Court
the unique features of commercial space contracts
how to resolve space disputes
what to do when international events overlap with the delivery of space satellites (in this case from Japan to Myanmar)
making movies in space
space tourism (gone mad?)
the problems and benefits of large constellations of small satellites
our ‘rights’ to a dark sky
the overall balance needed to determine what might be ‘appropriate’ space activities in the future
The panelists also gave their ‘one word’ to describe the wonders of space law – a tradition for all guests at the Space Café Law Breakfasts. Space law certainly means many things to many people and is such an interesting and relevant concept, even to the non-lawyers in the audience.

** The Dark Arts in Space: Developments in Counterspace Weapons (Video) | Secure World

Secure World Foundation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies hosted a virtual event on April 8, 2021, to discuss our new reports on global counterspace capabilities. Analysts from SWF and CSIS provided summaries of changes over the past year along with the overall trends and implications for space security.

Moderator Kaitlyn Johnson is joined by Brian Weeden, Victoria Samson, and Joe Moye as they discuss their latest reports and answer audience questions.

** 101 – Zero Trust, Global Data Interoperability and Breaking SilosConstellations Podcast

Listen to Nicolas Chaillan, U.S. Air Force Chief Software Officer, describe the importance of the U.S. DoD to bring relevant software features to the war-fighter in a timely manner. Space and Cyber are big domains that were often overlooked in the past; however, the next battles are definitely going to involve them. The warfighter will need access across all domains to share not only data, but the ability to reuse code and software. Mr. Chaillan talked about zero trust being foundational to enable connectivity across systems while ensuring people only have access to what is appropriate to their needs. He described how Cloud One and Platform One will bring about this interoperability; Cloud One providing access to the cloud and Platform One bringing DevSecOps – continuous integration, continuous delivery of software. He also provided information on the Iron Bank, a centralized repository of hardened containers for the industry to use as they pursue development alongside the DoD. He discussed having containers from the Iron Bank and the entire stack instantiating automatically across classification levels as being game changers. Mr. Chaillan talked about increasing the cyber posture of the department by having more eyes on code and more people to bring back value. Timeliness is essential, so there is always the most updated version effectively instantiating a DevSecOps environment at the edge – whether on a jet, on a bomber, anywhere required in the space system.

** E58: Andy Weir- Sci-Fi Author & The Thrill of SpaceAerospace Corp Space Policy (Vimeo) – Center for Space Policy & Strategy (CSPS)

** T+188: Starship SN15, and the HLS Protests – Main Engine Cut Off

** The Space Show – Sunday, May.9.2021Dr. Casey Handmer discussed “SLS analysis, SpaceX, Starship & the SpaceX lunar lander, market and cost analysis, Blue Origin, space stations, Casey’s blog, nuclear propulsion, Starlink and much more“.

3686-BWB-2021-05-09.mp3

** The Space Show – Friday, May.7.2021Tom McCarthy of Motiv Space Systems discussed “space robotics, Mars, and more”.

** Hotel Mars – John Batchelor Show/The Space Show – Wednesday, May.3.2021Rod Pyle spoke with John Batchelor and Dr. David Livingston about space settlement, which the National Space Society (NSS)’s quarterly publication Ad Astra devoted a special edition, “Living In Space“.

** The Space Show – Tuesday, May.4.2021Col. (USAF Ret) Karlton Johnson, Chairman of the National Space Society Board of Governors, discussed “the NSS, leadership, the space value proposition, space and our future, national security space, the meaning of the “high ground, space settlement, Ad Astra and much more”.

** May 7, 2021 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast

** May 5, 2021 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast

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The Space Show this week – May.11.2021

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

1. Hotel Mars, Tuesday, May. 11, 2021; 1:30 pm PDT (3:30 pm CDT, 4:30 pm EDT): Jonathan McDowell will talk with John Batchelor and Dr. David Livingston about the Chinese Long March 5B uncontrolled return to Earth.

No regular Tuesday evening Space Show this week.

2. Thursday, May. 13 2021; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT): We welcome back Frank White author of the latest edition of The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution [Amazon commission link] with new astronaut interviews and more.

3. Friday, May.14, 2021; 9:30-11 am PDT (11:30 am-1 pm CDT, 12:30-2 pm EDT): We welcome back John Jossy for trending, interesting, sometimes off the beaten track commercial space and science news. Check out his blog, www.spacesettlementprogress.com.

4. Sunday, May.16, 2021; 12-1:30 pm PDT (3-4:30 pm EDT, 2-3:30 pm CDT): Welcome to OPEN LINES. We want to hear from you so call us at 1-866-687-7223.

Some recent shows:

** Sunday, May.9.2021Dr. Casey Handmer discussed “SLS analysis, SpaceX, Starship & the SpaceX lunar lander, market and cost analysis, Blue Origin, space stations, Casey’s blog, nuclear propulsion, Starlink and much more“.

3686-BWB-2021-05-09.mp3

** Friday, May.7.2021Tom McCarthy of Motiv Space Systems discussed “space robotics, Mars, and more“.

** Wednesday, May.3.2021 – Hotel Mars – John Batchelor Show/The Space ShowRod Pyle spoke with John Batchelor and Dr. David Livingston about space settlement, which the National Space Society (NSS)’s quarterly publication Ad Astra devoted a special edition, “Living In Space“.

** Tuesday, May.4.2021Col. (USAF Ret) Karlton Johnson, Chairman of the National Space Society Board of Governors, discussed “the NSS, leadership, the space value proposition, space and our future, national security space, the meaning of the “high ground, space settlement, Ad Astra and much more“.

** See also:
* The Space Show Archives
* The Space Show Newsletter
* The Space Show Shop

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

The Space Show - David Livingston
The Space Show – Dr. David Livingston

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Space policy roundup – May.3.2021

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):

International space

Webcasts:

** China Space Station Tianhe Module Launched, Megaconstellation Operator China SatNet Created – Ep 31Dongfang Hour – YouTube

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Dongfang Hour China Aero/Space News Roundup! Without further ado, the news update from the week of 26 April – 2 May.

1) Chinese Space Station: launch of the core Module Tianhe on-board Launch March 5B …
2) Creation of a New Space SoE China SatNet …
3) Long March 6 launches a Batch of 9 Smallsats into Orbit, many payloads of interest …

See also #SpaceWatchGL Column: Dongfang Hour China Aerospace News Roundup 26 April – 2 May 2021 – SpaceWatch.Global

#SpaceWatchGL Column: Dongfang Hour China Aerospace News Roundup 26 April – 2 May 2021 – SpaceWatch.Global

** China plans four crewed missions to space – SciNews

According to Yang Liwei, China’s first astronaut, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) plans for crewed missions to space. A total of 12 astronauts will be launched in 2021 and 2022 to the China Space Station. The Tianhe Core Module, the first component of the China Space Station, is scheduled to be launch this spring. Credit: China Central Television

** New journey begins: China launches space station core module Tianhe – New China TV – China’s Space Station: Assembly Plans Detailed – Leonard David

** China’s ISS Competitor Begins Construction In Orbit – Scott Manley

** Episode 35 FCC NEPA Ruling on Space X Starlink ConstellationSpace Thoughts (YouTube) – Space Law & Policy Solutions/Michael Listner

** Sunday, May.2.2021Dr. David Livingston led an open lines program discussion “with multiple callers, lot of subject and topic variety, email questions and more“.

**Thursday, Apr.29.2021Rod Pyle and Aggie Kobrin discussed

the NSS Ad Astra Special Issue devoted to space settlement which they referred to as living in space. The second part of our program focused on the all virtual and completely free ISDC 2021 toward the end of June this year.

** Hotel Mars – John Batchelor Show/The Space Show – Wednesday, Apr.28.2021Anatoly Zak of RussianSpaceWeb.com spoke with John Batchelor and Dr. David Livingston about

the Russian plans to build a new space station after the ISS agreement expires in 2024. We talked about their new station plans, the use of existing modules though never flown on the ISS, their plans for the existing modules connected to the ISS, their plans to handle the ISS in its final period plus build out the new station, both at the same time. Also discussed was the planned orbit of the new Russian station and what this might mean for ISS activities with the Russians, especially regarding costs. The development of the Chinese space station came up and Anatoly discussed the TRL for China and their space station work.

** The Space Show – Tuesday, Apr.28.2021Eric Berger of Ars Technica discussed “is new book about the beginning phase of SpaceX, Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX [Amazon commission link]. Eric responded to multiple questions about Artemis, the recent NASA Human Lander Award and what might come next plus general Elon Musk and SpaceX questions.”

***How Starlink, Project Kuiper and other satellite broadband providers could change society – GeekWire

*** NLRA 2021-7: Technology Advancement and Applied Research on the ISS National Lab (Cycle 2)ISS National Lab

** Space Café WebTalk REGIONAL NETHERLANDS – Dr. Hilde Stenuit – 19. March 2021spacewatch. global – News Room – YouTube

Dr. Hilde Stenuit is a seasoned researcher and team leader for Space Applications Services working to provide fast and direct access to space for research and technology users through the ICE Cubes, or International Commercial Experiment Cubes program. This program offers cube-sized experiments in microgravity allowing or people on Earth to interact directly with their experiments up in space. This past week, space-interested students Bano Barzingi and Chiara Moenter, sit down with Hilde to discuss her work as well as the factors of space sustainability trends and a need for awareness outside of the space sector.

With over 20 years of experience working within the space industry and an immense passion, Hilde’s experience and knowledge are incredibly valuable. Onboard the International Space Station, Hilde, and her team are using the ICE Cubes to conduct research in microgravity. The first ICE Cube was installed by Alexander Gest in July 2018. Ever since, multiple experiments were conducted in life science, biology, fluid dynamics, agriculture, and many other fields.

So what happens if you take gravity out of the equation?

** April 30, 2021 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast

** April 28, 2021 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast

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The Space Show this week – May.3.2021

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

1. Monday, May. 3, 2021; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT: A Hotel Mars program with John Batchelor and Dr. David Livingston talking with Rod Pyle of the National Space Society (NSS) about the NSS Ad Astra magazine‘s latest issue, which is focused on space settlement.

2. Tuesday, May. 4, 2021; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT): We welcome  Col. (USAF Ret) Karlton Johnson, the new National Space Society (NSS) Chairman of the Board. We have multiple topics to discuss with our guest.

3. Wednesday, May. 5, 2021: No program scheduled.

4. Thursday, May. 6, 2021; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT): No program scheduled.

5. Friday, May.7 2021; 9:30-11 am PDT (11:30 am-1 pm CDT, 12:30-2 pm EDT): We welcome Tom McCarthy of Motiv Space Systems on their technology and hardware for Mars and more.

6. Sunday, May.9, 2021; 12-1:30 pm PDT (3-4:30 pm EDT, 2-3:30 pm CDT): We welcome Dr. Casey Handmer of NASA JPL to discuss his recent blog articles on SLS, SpaceX and more.

Some recent shows:

** Sunday, May.2.2021Dr. David Livingston led an open lines program discussion “with multiple callers, lot of subject and topic variety, email questions and more“.

** Friday, Apr.30.2021Greg Meholic of The Aerospace Corporation talked “about fusion, nuclear propulsion, Dr. Woodward and the Mach Effect, EMdrive and other forms of advanced propulsion“.

**Thursday, Apr.29.2021Rod Pyle and Aggie Kobrin discussed

the NSS Ad Astra Special Issue devoted to space settlement which they referred to as living in space. The second part of our program focused on the all virtual and completely free ISDC 2021 toward the end of June this year.

** Hotel Mars – John Batchelor Show/The Space Show – Wednesday, Apr.28.2021Anatoly Zak of RussianSpaceWeb.com spoke with John Batchelor and Dr. David Livingston about

the Russian plans to build a new space station after the ISS agreement expires in 2024. We talked about their new station plans, the use of existing modules though never flown on the ISS, their plans for the existing modules connected to the ISS, their plans to handle the ISS in its final period plus build out the new station, both at the same time. Also discussed was the planned orbit of the new Russian station and what this might mean for ISS activities with the Russians, especially regarding costs. The development of the Chinese space station came up and Anatoly discussed the TRL for China and their space station work.

** Tuesday, Apr.27.2021Eric Berger of Ars Technica discussed

his new book about the beginning phase of SpaceX, Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX [Amazon commission link]. Eric responded to multiple questions about Artemis, the recent NASA Human Lander Award and what might come next plus general Elon Musk and SpaceX questions.

** See also:
* The Space Show Archives
* The Space Show Newsletter
* The Space Show Shop

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

The Space Show - David Livingston
The Space Show – Dr. David Livingston

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Space policy roundup – Apr.26.2021

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):

International space

Webcasts:

** Episode 34 – What’s Hot 1st Quarter 2021Space Thoughts (YouTube) – Space Law & Policy Solutions/Michael Listner

** China’s Mars rover named Zhurong, China Space Day, Satellite Laser Comms, Tianbing Rockets – Ep 30Dongfang Hour – YouTube

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Dongfang Hour China Aero/Space News Roundup! Without further ado, the news update from the week of 19 – 25 April.

1) The 6th China Space Day took place in Nanjing on Saturday April 24 …
2) ChinaSat Made Some Big Statements about China’s Constellation Plans …
3) Spacety and Intane Optics complete China’s first private satellite-ground laser comms experiment …
4) Tianbing Aerospace Announces an Intelligent Rocket Manufacturing Base in Suzhou …

** Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstrations and Research Project (SSPIDR) – AFResearchLab

SSPIDR is a series of Integrated Demonstrations and Technology Maturation efforts at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate to address space-based power collection and transmission capabilities. Space solar power beaming is not a new concept; yet until recently, the technology did not have a clear path forward. In conjunction with primary industry partner Northrop Grumman, AFRL established the SSPIDR project to mature technology critical to building an operational solar power transmission system for providing reliable and logistically agile power to expeditionary forces. Learn more: https://afresearchlab.com/technology/…

** Friday, Apr.23.2021 – The Space ShowJames A. M. Muncy discussed “space policy and the new administration, Sen. Nelson, SLS, SpaceX and lots more“.

** Hotel Mars – John Batchelor Show/The Space Show – Wednesday, Apr.21.2021Rand Simberg spoke with John Batchelor and Dr. David Livingston about “the nomination of retired Senator Bill Nelson to the position of the new NASA Administrator. Rand talked about Sen. Nelson being considered the father of SLS, what might happen when the new SpaceX big rockets start flying which will likely impact SLS, plus Rand talked about risk taking and Sen. Nelson being risk averse.”

*** Space Café WebTalk – BLACK OPS by Ralph Thiele – Edition 3 – 11. March 2021spacewatch. global – News Room – YouTube

In this Space Cafè “Black Ops by Ralph Thiele #3”, Colonel (Ret`d) Ralph Thiele, Chairman of the Berlin based Political-Military Society, President of Euro Défense-Germany, and Managing Director of StratByrd Consulting, Germany talked with his guest about the Implication for Security & Defence coming with:

Outpace, Outthink, Outmaneuver – New Technologies and Competition in Space

Geostrategic competition is global in scope and includes outer space. The boundaries between civil and military competition have become fluid and are marked by multiple hybrid threat situations, attacks on businesses and critical infrastructure, and the threat of prolonged, low-intensity or shorter, high-intensity conflict. Across the threat spectrum, space holds a critical role. In particular, Russia and China are using new, disruptive dual-use technologies as the key to advancing their own capabilities and geopolitical ambitions. Both countries have weaponized space and have repeatedly demonstrated their capabilities for precise maneuvers in space. Space is becoming increasingly contested in multiple domains-physical, cyber and electromagnetic.

A discussion about threats, new technologies such as AI and warfare in space with : Robie I. Samanta Roy, Ph.D., Vice President, Technology, Intelligence, Cyber and Technology, Lockheed Martin Government Affairs

** Space Café WebTalk – José Achache – 16. March 2021spacewatch. global – News Room – YouTube

José Achache is the founder and CEO of ALTYN, a Geneva-based Swiss company that develops space-related projects such as space security. This week, he and SpaceWatch.Global publisher, Torsten Kriening, discuss trends in space, as well as space warfare and how the industry’s increasing value is increasing the margin for threats that could affect our everyday lives.

With over 40 years of experience spanning multiple countries, José’s experience is paralleled by few. In addition to his role as CEO of ALTYN, he is the Managing Director of AP Swiss, which administers the European Space Agency’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Programme (ARTES), and is the chair of several space company boards, including Media Lario S.r.l and Dotphoton. His previous roles include the Deputy General for France’s space agency, CNES, and Director of Earth Observation for the European Space Agency, to name a few.

** JADO, 5G and the Speed of Mission NeedConstellations Podcast

Listen to Stacy Kubicek, Vice President and General Manager for Mission Solutions at Lockheed Martin talk about mission critical solutions that benefit the warfighter and support national defense. She will discuss getting data to the warfighter much faster with transformational technology that includes 5G. Ms. Kubicek discusses interoperability and battle space connectivity being critical to staying ahead of our adversaries, as well as an explanation of the types of assets that would support this kind of capability. Learn about the adoption of agile software development methods that accelerate delivery of software to address threats – hint, it is not the waterfall model. Finally, hear about the need to take a team approach to provide the best solutions for the military and the warfighter, which is essentially what matters at the end of the day.

** 20 years of ESA on the ISS – ESA

** Dodging debris to keep satellites safe – ESA

** April 23, 2021 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast

** April 21, 2021 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast

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