Space policy roundup – Mar.15.2021

March 15, 2021 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 (find previous space policy roundups here):

Schedule:
- What’s Happening in Space Policy March 14-20, 2021 – SpacePolicyOnline.com
- NASA and the Rise of Commercial Space: A Symposium to Examine the Meaning(s) and Context(s) of Commercial Space | NASA – Wednesday – March 17, 2021 – Friday, March 19, 2021, Free online event. “The event is free and open to the public. No registration required to attend sessions…”
Biden space:
- Opinion | Does Joe Biden take space seriously? – POLITICO
- China and Russia Are Winning the New Space Race | RealClearPolitics
NASA lunar programs:
SLS/Orion:
- [ Update: The case for scrapping the Space Launch System – The Space Review]
NASA programs:
- The World’s Most Powerful Space Telescope Is Moving – The Atlantic
NASA human spaceflight:
ISS:
Commercial space:
Planetary defense:
- An asteroid the size of the Golden Gate Bridge to make “very close encounter” with Earth on first full day of spring – CBS News
- Record number of asteroids seen whizzing past Earth in 2020 – Nature
Regulation – spectrum, export control, launch, etc:
- Momentus founders to divest shares after Defense Department concerns – SpaceNews
Space traffic & environment issues:
US states space:
[ Update: Spaceports and launch range:
- Spaceport traffic management – The Space Review]
Position, Navigation, & Timing (PNT) services:
- Steady As She Goes: Still Protecting, Toughening and Augmenting PNT – Inside GNSS [Global Navigation Satellite Systems]
US Defense space:
- Launch:
- Technology:

International space

Webcasts:

** Episode 31 PRC Russian Federation Lunar Outpost Announcement – Space Thoughts (YouTube) – Space Law & Policy Solutions/Michael Listner

** Guowang constellation official, future CN launch site, LM7A success – China Space News Roundup Ep 24 – Dongfang Hour – YouTube

1) A new dedicated spaceport for commercial launch companies? …
2) What role will commercial companies play in China’s future satellite internet? …
3) China successfully launches Long March 7A Y2 one year after the rocket’s maiden launch (and failure) …
4) Galactic Energy Appears at Jianyang Investment Conference …

** STIG Workshop – New Space in Asia: Implications of the Rise of the Chinese Commercial Space Sector – STIG Program – The University of Tokyo

[STIG International Workshop] New Space in Asia: Implications of the Rise of the Chinese Commercial Space Sector in Asia and Beyond Date & Time: Tuesday 9 March 2021, 17:30–19:00 (JST: Japan Standard Time) Host: Science, Technology and Innovation Governance (STIG) Program, GraSPP, The University of Tokyo Co-host: European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) Organized at the occasion of the publication of ESPI Report “New Space in Asia – Experts views on space policy and business trends in Asian countries”, available at https://espi.or.at/publications/espi-…

** China plans to build research station on moon’s south pole: chief designer –New China TV – See also: China’s Moon Exploration Chief Details Lunar Research Station – Leonard David

China has completed feasibility studies of the fourth phase of its lunar exploration program and is expected to build an international lunar research station on the moon’s south pole in the future, said Wu Weiren, the chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program.

** E54 – Constructive Visioning for the Space Enterprise – Aerospace Corp Space Policy (Vimeo) – Center for Space Policy & Strategy (CSPS)

** The Space Show – Friday, March.13.2021 – Amir Notea reported “on commercial space, innovation, startups and the like in Israel. We also talked about Israel’s commercial effort to land on the Moon, possible future collaboration with UAE, The Artemis Accords and more.”

** Space Café WebTalk REGIONAL BRAZIL – Prof. Dr. Olavo de O. Bittencourt Neto – 10. February 2021 – spacewatch. global – News Room – YouTube

In this week’s Space Café Brazil, Prof. Dr. Olavo de O. Bittencourt Neto, of the Catholic University of Santos, Brazil, talked about the space race’s history and the beginning of the golden era of the United Nations treaties on outer space. He also talked about the role of international space and policy law, national space law, and the recent developments in the space sector, like the current Mars and Moon Missions. He also expressed his thoughts about the space law area in Brazilian academia and his plans to improve this area in Brazil.

** NLRA 2021-3: Technology Advancement and Applied Research on the ISS National Lab Webinar – ISS National Lab

On Feb. 11, 2021, the ISS National Lab held a webinar to provide further background on NLRA 2021-3 and to answer any questions from researchers.

** NLRA 2021-4: Leveraging the ISS National Lab to Enable Digital Engagement and Higher Education – ISS National Lab

On March 9, 2021, the ISS National Lab held a webinar to provide further background on NLRA [National Lab Research Announcement] 2021-4 and to answer any questions.

** Economics of Nature: Mapping Liberia’s Ecosystems to Understand Their Value – NASA

NASA is working alongside Conservation International and the Liberian Government through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to pilot an innovative and replicable approach to more accurately map ecosystems to support effective planning and sustainable decision-making. NASA’s satellite data and expert analysis will provide a country-wide picture of Liberia’s hardwood forests, mangroves, and other ecosystems; Conservation International and the Liberian Government through the EPA will augment that data with their expertise in ecosystem accounting, field studies, and local knowledge to quantify the value of the country’s natural resources and related ecosystem services. Read more: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/…

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History, Space books

Folio edition of “A Man on the Moon” by Andrew Chaikin

March 12, 2021 TopSpacer

Andrew Chaikin sent me this announcement of a new fully-illustrated Folio edition of his classic A Man on the Moon, a vivd history of the Apollo missions. Andrew says he “did all the photo selection and image prep work for the edition, which I think has turned out beautifully“.

A Man on the Moon
The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts
Andrew Chaikin

With a new preface by the author
Foreword by Tom Hanks
‘I’ve been there. Chaikin took me back.’ Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 Commander

Almost a decade in the writing, A Man on the Moon is the definitive story of the Apollo programme. Andrew Chaikin’s authoritative account is based on hundreds of hours of interviews with the astronauts, as well as the scientists, engineers and flight controllers who shared every heartbeat of their voyages. This spectacular two-volume Folio edition features an exclusive selection of photography, along with a new preface by the author and a foreword by Tom Hanks.

Packed with a photography selection curated by the author from his personal archive that features previously unpublished images and sharp new scans of frames from NASA films, this is the ultimate edition of Chaikin’s awe-inspiring history. As well as nearly 200 colour and black-and-white photographs integrated within the text, it has additional full-colour sections – including an eight-page fold-out in each volume – that show off the superb images to their best advantage. The author has expertly matched each image to the text, giving us a complete and unrivalled visual and oral history of the Apollo missions.

A Man on the Moon spans the whole of the Apollo programme. With its exhilarating minute-by-minute accounts of the missions, Chaikin vividly captures what Tom Hanks calls in his 1998 preface the ‘romantic, epic, historic adventure of it all’. It is the complete story of humankind’s greatest feat of exploration, from the deadly Apollo 1 capsule fire, the pioneering flight of Apollo 8 and Neil Armstrong’s ‘giant leap for mankind’ to near-catastrophe aboard Apollo 13. It is also includes the often-overlooked later missions, which saw scientists and astronauts test the limits of lunar exploration and deliver geological insights that revolutionised our understanding of both the moon and our own planet.

Product information

Three-quarter bound in blocked cloth with printed paper front boards.
Set in Apollo with Futura as display.
800 pages across 2 volumes.
56 pages of plates plus an 8-page fold-out per volume.
9¼˝ x 8¼˝.
Pictorial slipcase.
UK £150.00 US $225.00 Can $285.00 Aus $350.00

For over 70 years, The Folio Society has been publishing beautiful illustrated editions of the world’s greatest books. It believes that the literary content of a book should be matched by its physical form. With specially researched images or newly commissioned illustrations, many of its editions are further enhanced with introductions written by leading figures in their fields: novelists, journalists, academics, scientists and artists. Exceptional in content and craftsmanship, and maintaining the very highest standards of fine book production, Folio Society editions last for generations.

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Videos: “Space to Ground” + Other ISS reports – Mar.12.2021

March 12, 2021 TopSpacer

Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:

** This Year The Space Station Is Getting Its First Major Expansion in a Decade – Scott Manley

The last major addition to the International Space Station was in 2011, after that the forced retirment of the Space Shuttle meant that new hardware was necessarily small, but this year we’re seeing a number of new pieces of hardware which will be attached to the station which will expand it and change the way it looks.

** WE ARE RESILIENT: A Message from NASA Astronauts – NASA

It has been one year since the United States began its battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. This year has been tough and has changed the way all of us live. And yet despite extraordinary circumstances, NASA still accomplished extraordinary things. Aboard the International Space Station, NASA Astronauts Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover have a message for all of us: Take care of each other and we’ll get through this together.

** Expedition 64 Nanoracks – March 10, 2021 – NASA Video

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 64 Flight Engineers Victor Glover and Shannon Walker of NASA discussed the new Nanoracks Bishop Airlock on the orbital outpost during an in-flight question and answer session with Nanoracks officials March 10. The airlock was delivered to the station on a SpaceX cargo Dragon vehicle in December and was attached to the Tranquility module by the Canadian-built Canadarm2 robotic arm.

** Spacewalks above, pandemic below – how one ISS crew member experienced 2020 | Aeon Videos

In September 2019, the Swedish-American biologist and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir realised her lifelong dream of travelling to space when she launched from Kazakhstan to the International Space Station (ISS), where she would serve as flight engineer for the next seven months. Featuring remarkable footage – including Meir’s euphoric first steps into the ISS and her participation, with fellow astronaut Christina Koch, in the first-ever all-female spacewalk – this short documentary captures scenes from Meir’s roundtrip journey with intimacy and grandeur. Occurring over the course of many tumultuous months on Earth, including the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the film also ponders what it’s like to experience the trials of humanity from 254 miles above.

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Activism, Roundup

Space policy roundup – Mar.8.2021

March 8, 2021 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 (find previous space policy roundups here):

International space

Webcasts:

** Jielong-3 rocket to launch in 2022, QS-T raises 100M¥ of funding – China Space News Roundup Ep 23 – Dongfang Hour – YouTube

1) Qiansheng Exploration (QS-T) Announces RMB 100M+ Series A Round …
2) Jielong-3 to make its maiden launch in 2022 …
3) An interesting piece by the Beijing Daily on Beijing’s commercial space ecosystem …

** Space Café WebTalk – Dr. Marco Ferrazzani – 2. February 2021 – spacewatch. global – News Room – YouTube

In this week’s Space Cafè WebTalk, Dr. Marco Ferrazzani, Chief of Legal services at the European Space Agency, Paris, France talked about legal considerations on Europe in space.

We discussed the following topics of current interest in European space:

the current state of legal competences in the European landscape ,
ESA for the EU space programme – institutional cooperation and coordination, with an outlook on the FFPA negotiations,
an ever more competitive European space industry – how law and regulations sustain innovation and foster competition,
European exploration: how ESA and NASA team up on the way “Forward to the Moon”, sustained by law and international commitments.
Dr. Marco Ferrazzani also answered relevant questions from the audience.

** The Space Show – Friday , Mar.5.2021 – Dr. Clive Neal discussed “the Moon, lunar water and resources, policy, China, lunar exploration, settlement, Mars and lots more“.

** The Space Show – Thursday, Mar.4.2021 – James Burk discussed the Mars Society project MarsVR.

** The Space Show – Tuesday, Mar.2.2021 – Dr. Christopher Morrison provided “news and updates about nuclear power in space. We focused nuclear power for surface usage plus propulsion.”

** March 3, 2021 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast

https://audioboom.com/posts/7814976

https://audioboom.com/posts/7814978

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Activism, Space Policy, SpaceCasts

The Space Show this week – Mar.8.2021

March 8, 2021 TopSpacer

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

1. Monday, Mar. 8, 2021; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT: No program today.

2. Tuesday, Mar. 9, 2021; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT): We welcome Dr. Jeffery Greenblatt, Chief Scientist and Chief Visionary Officer for Orbital Assembly Corp.

3. Wednesday, Mar. 10, 2021: Hotel Mars TBA pre-recorded. See upcoming show menu on the home page for program details.

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

5. Friday, Mar.12, 2021; 9:30-11 am PDT (11:30 am-1 pm CDT, 12:30-2 pm EDT): We welcome Amir Notea to discuss commercial space in Israel.

6. Sunday, Mar.14, 2021; 12-1:30 pm PDT (3-4:30 pm EDT, 2-3:30 pm CDT): No program today.

Some recent shows:

** Sunday, March 7, 2021 – Dr. Mark J. Sundahl and Tanja (T.L.) Masson-Zwaan “joined us to discuss legal challenges for lunar and Martian plans. The challenges talked about were both US domestic and international space law challenges.”

** Friday , Mar.5.2021 – Dr. Clive Neal discussed “the Moon, lunar water and resources, policy, China, lunar exploration, settlement, Mars and lots more“.

** Thursday, Mar.4.2021 – James Burk discussed the Mars Society‘s project: MarsVR – Virtual Reality for Mars Exploration. [See also: Mars Society Launches New Indiegogo Crowdfunding for MarsVR Project to Support Humans-to-Mars – The Mars Society.]

** Tuesday, Mar.2.2021 – Dr. Christopher Morrison provided “news and updates about nuclear power in space. We focused nuclear power for surface usage plus propulsion.”