ULA Names Chris Ellerhorst Vice President, Kuiper Program

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Chris Ellerhorst (Credit: ULA)

ULA Establishes New Program Office to Support Amazon Commercial Launches

CENTENNIAL, Colo., May 16, 2022 (ULA PR) – United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced today it is establishing a new customer program office to support Amazon’s Kuiper Program and named Chris Ellerhorst vice president.

“Following the contract announcement that ULA will be launching the majority of Amazon’s Kuiper constellation on nine Atlas and 38 Vulcan launch vehicles, we are standing up a new program office to support this customer,” said Tory Bruno, ULA’s president and CEO. “Chris’ extensive knowledge of customer requirements, his commitment to ensuring mission success as well as his unwavering dedication to serving the customer’s needs make him the perfect person to lead this new program office.”

“I am truly honored to lead ULA’s new program office for Project Kuiper,” said Ellerhorst. “Amazon is an important customer with an exciting and meaningful mission, and I look forward to bringing ULA’s unmatched launch service capabilities, industry-leading mission operations and assurance to this program – delivered by the most experienced workforce in the industry.”

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ESA Spurs Investment in Space Entrepreneurs

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BERLIN, Germany (ESA PR) — Dozens of people who have set up start-up companies and fledgling businesses are pitching their ideas to investors today, as part of an ESA Investor Forum held in Berlin.

The forum is part of ESA’s efforts to encourage private investment in space – bringing Europe closer to the levels seen in the US – and to promote innovation by fast-moving private companies.

Many of the entrepreneurs have nurtured their businesses in ESA’s various business incubation centres in Austria, Germany and Poland. Others have received business advice and financial support from ESA.

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Launcher Announces Customers for Orbiter’s Inaugural Flight

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Orbiter payload plate containing customer spacecraft. (Credit: Launcher)

HAWTHORNE, CA, May 16, 2022 (Launcher PR) – Launcher, the space logistics company focused on providing access to anywhere in space at the lowest cost, today announced the customers on the first flight of its satellite transfer vehicle and hosted payload platform Orbiter. Orbiter’s first mission, SN1, is scheduled to reach orbit in October 2022 on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Transporter-6 rideshare launch. Launcher’s customers, spanning academia, startups and established industry leaders, demonstrate the growing demand for orbit transfer and hosted payload services.

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NASA Funds 3 Small Business Projects Focused on In-situ Use of Lunar Resources

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Astronaut working on the moon (Credit: NASA)

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

NASA has selected three companies to continue development of technologies that will allow Artemis astronauts to extract oxygen from and 3D print parts using lunar regolith under the space agency’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

The Phase II awards to Blueshift, L’Garde and Air Squared are worth up to $750,000 apiece over 24 months. Each company previously received Phase I awards to begin developing the technologies.

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Redwire Reports First Quarter Net Loss of $17.3 Million

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by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Redwire reported a first quarter net loss of $17.3 million on revenues of $32.9 million. The adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) loss was $4.7 million for the quarter.

“Delays in contract awards, macroeconomic challenges, including inflation and supply chain delays in contractor start dates had a negative impact on performance,” the company said in a statement.

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This Week on The Space Show

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This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston:

Tuesday, May 17 — 7 PM PDT (9 PM CDT; 10 PM EDT): We welcome back JAMES BURK of the Mars Society.

Wednesday, May 18 — Hotel Mars pre-recorded. See the Upcoming Show Menu at www.thespaceshow.com for details.

Friday, May 20 — 9:30-11 AM PDT; 11:30 AM- 1 PM CDT; 12:30-2 PM EDT: We talk with Jenna and Jordan from Embedded Ventures (www.embedded.ventures)

Sunday, May 22 — 12-1:30 PM PDT, (3-4:30 PM EDT, 2-3:30 PM CDT): We welcome BioHarvest to the program with a discussion with their CEO Ilan Sobel. This is a plant cell growth company. They recently announced space experiments growing cannabis in space.

Peraton Wins $339M NASA Balloon Operations Contract

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  • Peraton will provide operational balloon flight support as well as engineering services
  • Peraton has assisted NASA with over 60 launches

HERNDON, Va. (Peraton PR) — Peraton has been selected by NASA to continue operating the agency’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) in Palestine, Texas. The NASA Balloon Operations Contract (NBOC) II awarded to Peraton is worth up to $339.1 million over seven years.

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House Intelligence Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee to Hold Open Hearing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, May 17, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. EDT, the House Intelligence Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee, chaired by Congressman André Carson (D-Ind.), will hold an open hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena. Following the open portion of the hearing, the subcommittee will hold a closed, classified briefing.

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The Truth is Out There, Just Maybe Not in Roswell

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Forlorn aliens who crashed their spaceship greet visitors to the International UFO Museum & Research Center in Roswell, NM. (Credit: Douglas Messier)

The key to every good mystery? Merchandising

Part I of II

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

ROSWELL, NM — History is filled with many unanswered questions. Did Atlantis ever exist? What about those mysterious creatures rumored to inhabit the American northwest and a cold lake in northern Scotland? Are they real or ancient myths that people continue to believe despite all evidence to the contrary?

As interesting as those mysteries are, there is an even bigger one. Is there intelligent life elsewhere in the Universe? Have we ever been visited by beings from other worlds?

Roswell answers both questions with a resounding yes.

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Atlas V to Launch Starliner OFT-2 Mission on Thursday

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The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is lifted at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on May 4, 2022, ahead of its second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. (Credits: NASA/Frank Michaux)

United Launch Alliance Mission Information

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket will launch Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner spacecraft on its Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) to the International Space Station. OFT-2 is the second uncrewed flight of the Starliner that will demonstrate the spacecraft’s human transportation capabilities. This test flight is the last major step before the Atlas V and Boeing’s Starliner capsule take American astronauts to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Launch Date and Time: Thursday, May 19, 2022 at 6:54 p.m. EDT (2254 UTC)
Webcast: Begins May 19 at 6 p.m. EDT (2200 UTC)

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Video: Elon Musk Explains Updates to Starship and Starbase

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Video Caption: Today we’re going inside Starbase with the ultimate tour guide, Elon Musk. He’s going to take us through the High Bay to see where Starships are assembled, we’ll also see the new MegaBay under construction and talk about SpaceX’s plans to get this rocket flying.

Recommended videos to help with some context [Playlist] – https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW…

Huge thanks to Ryan Chylinksi from Cosmic Perspective for helping shoot this video! – https://www.youtube.com/c/CosmicPersp... & http://patreon.com/cosmicperspective

SpaceX Launches 106 Starlink Satellites with Launches from California, Florida

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Falcon 9 launches 53 Starlink satellites on May 14, 2022. (Credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX launched 106 Starlink broadband satellites in a pair of launches conducted less than 24 hours apart from launch complexes in California and Florida.

On Friday, May 13, a Falcon 9 launched 53 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The first stage booster, which landed on an offshore drone ship, previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, and two Starlink missions.

On Saturday, Falcon 9 launched 53 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The flight involved the rare launch of a new Falcon 9 rocket. The first stage landed on an off-shore drone ship.

SpaceX has launched 2,600 Starlink satellites, which provide low-latency broadband service around the globe. Starlink is now available in 32 countries.

ISRO Successfully Tests Large Human-rated Solid Rocket Booster for the Gaganyaan Programme

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SRIHARIKOTA, India (ISRO PR) — ISRO successfully completed the static test of a human-rated solid rocket booster (HS200) for the Gaganyaan Programme at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh on May 13, 2022, at 7:20 AM local time. HS200 rocket booster is the human-rated version of the well-proven S200 rocket booster of GSLV Mk III satellite launch vehicle, popularly known as LVM3. The successful completion of this test marks a major milestone for the prestigious human space flight mission of ISRO, the Gaganyaan, as the first stage of the launch vehicle is tested for its performance for the full duration.

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China’s iSpace Suffers Third Consecutive Failure of Hyperbola-1 Rocket

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Friday the 13th was an unlucky day for Chinese launch provider iSpace, which saw its Hyperbola-1 rocket suffer its third straight launch failure.

The Xinhua news agency reported the Hyperbola-1 rocket suffered “abnormal performance” after lifting off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 3:09 p.m. Beijing time (3:09 a.m. EDT). The cause of the failure is under investigation, the agency said.

The  Jilin-1 Mofang-01A Earth observation satellite was lost in the failure. It was a replacement for a satellite lost when a Hyperbola 1 booster failed in August 2021. The rocket also failed to orbit unidentified payloads in February 2021.

The four-stage, solid-fuel booster is now one for four in launches since a successful maiden flight in July 2019 for which iSpace became the first private Chinese company to orbit a satellite.

U.S., UK Sign Declaration to Work Together on Space Activities

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UK lays the foundation for rockets, high-altitude balloons and spaceplanes to lift off from spaceports across the UK, creating thousands of jobs in the process.

  • lift-off moment for UK-US spaceflight as Transport Secretary makes landmark declaration in Washington
  • partnership to cut red tape, making commercial launches from both countries easier and more streamlined 
  • comes as UK prepares for first satellite launch from home soil this year, creating thousands of high-skilled jobs 

WASHINGTON (UK Government PR) — Future spaceflight will be made easier and cheaper, following a landmark partnership with the United States to help cut red tape and boost opportunities in the UK, signed by the Transport Secretary this week in Washington.

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