ICEYE, South Korea’s APSI Sign Strategic Alliance

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During his state visit to Finland, the President of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Moon Jae-in met with ICEYE

HELSINKI, June 13 (ICEYE PR) – ICEYE, the leader in small synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite technology, and Asia Pacific Satellite Inc. (APSI), announced today the signing of their strategic alliance agreement and further SAR data purchases in South Korea.

This strategic alliance and SAR reseller agreement, signed on May 27, follows the recent announcement of the two organizations signing a memorandum of understanding to support the South Korean New Space Market.

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Video: Atlas V Starliner Emergency Detection System

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Video Caption: Go Atlas! Go Starliner! Watch the latest episode when we learn about the Emergency Detection System – unique technology developed for the Atlas V Starliner designed to protect the crew and monitor the health of the rocket.

Mission Control Secures $250k from Canadian Space Agency to Develop Commercial Lunar Mission Software

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OTTAWA, Ont. (Mission Control PR) — Mission Control is excited to announce the support of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) for their ongoing development of Mission Control Software for the next generation of commercial space exploration missions. Through the Space Technology Development Program, the CSA will contribute $250k [USD $187,441] to the development of this technology which will help position Mission Control to participate in near term robotic missions to the Moon.

“With ongoing programs such as NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Service, a new wave of commercial space exploration is about to break,” said Dr. Michele Faragalli, Chief Technology Officer of Mission Control. “Rovers and other robotic systems will play an essential role in commercial exploration of the Moon.” Current rover technology is expensive and requires continuous management by operators back on Earth. Rover based exploration will be more cost-effective if more tasks can be performed autonomously onboard, and with more flexible options available for the mission operators on earth.

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Scotland’s Western Isles Seeks Spaceport

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Artist’s impression of Spaceport 1 north view. (Credit: Western Isles Council)

SCOLPAIG, Scotland (Western Isles Council PR) — North Uist is set to enter the space age as a project to create the UK’s first ever vertical launch commercial space port is unveiled today.

The consortium behind the Spaceport 1 project, which includes major players in the UK and international space sector and is led by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council), is proposing to build a new Spaceport at Scolpaig on the north-west coast of North Uist.

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RUAG Space’s Unique Tilting Satellite Dispenser System Takes Flight with RADARSAT Mission

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Credit: RUAG Space

BERN, Switzerland (RUAG Space PR) — Using its rich heritage of designing and building satellite dispensers, RUAG Space developed a unique satellite Dispenser that enables three large radar Earth observation satellites to simultaneously launch on a single launcher.

The Dispenser system connected the spacecraft to the launcher and ensured safe separation in orbit using a first-of-its-kind tilting mechanism. RUAG Space delivered the tilting Dispenser System to MDA, a Maxar company, to support the Canadian Space Agency’s RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM), which launched Wednesday, June 12 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA.

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NASA’s Psyche Mission Has a Metal World in Its Sights

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This artist’s concept depicts the spacecraft of NASA’s Psyche mission near the mission’s target, the metal asteroid Psyche. (Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State Univ./Space Systems Loral/Peter Rubin)

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA/JPL-Caltech PR) — Designed to explore a metal asteroid that could be the heart of a planet, the Psyche mission is readying for a 2022 launch. After extensive review, NASA Headquarters in Washington has approved the mission to begin the final design and fabrication phase, otherwise known as Phase C. This is when the Psyche team finalizes the system design, develops detailed plans and procedures for the spacecraft and science mission, and completes both assembly and testing of the spacecraft and its subsystems.

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House Votes to Establish Space Corps Within Air Force

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SpaceNews reports the House Armed Services Committee has voted in a favor of establishing a United States Space Corps within the Air Force.

The proposal is similar to what the committee proposed in the 2018 NDAA, including the name of the new space service, U.S. Space Corps, rather than the Trump administration’s preferred name, U.S. Space Force.

Like the Marine Corps, the Space Corps would be led by a four-star Commandant who would be a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The HASC amendment will have to be reconciled with the language in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the 2020 NDAA, which authorizes a U.S. Space Force led by a four-star Commander.

The Space Corps will have personnel and assets transferred by the Air Force but may not include the personnel or assets of the National Reconnaissance Office or the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

The House and Senate measures fall short of the Trump Administration’s goal of establishing a Space Force as a sixth branch of the U.S. Armed Services.

Experiments Selected to Fly Aboard Chinese Space Station

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Artist’s conception of China’s Tianhe-1 space station. (Credit: China Manned Space Engineering)

VIENNA,  12 June (UN Information Service) – The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced the winners of their joint opportunity to conduct experiments on board the China Space Station (CSS) during a side event of the 62nd session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).

Six winning projects were selected, and three were conditionally selected. The winning institutions come from a variety of countries, including Belgium, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, the Netherlands, Norway, Mexico, Poland, Peru, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Switzerland.

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Nine Experiments to be Executed Aboard the China Space Station

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VIENNA (United Nations Information Service) — The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), in cooperation with the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) and with the support of the Government of China, published on 28 May 2018 the 1st “Announcement of Opportunity (AO)” under the United Nations/China Cooperation on the Utilization of the China Space Station (CSS) initiative, inviting all Member States of United Nations to submit applications for conducting their scientific experiments on board the CSS.

As of 30 September 2018, which was the application deadline, a total of 42 applications from institutions in 27 countries were received, and then carefully evaluated by around 60 experts from UNOOSA, CMSA and international space community, in line with the eligibility and selection criteria outlined in the first AO. Eighteen (18) projects out of the 42 received were shortlisted, and their Principal Investigators were invited to prepare their Implementation Scheme Proposals (ISPs) for further review towards a final selection. By the submission deadline of 20 April 2019, 15 ISPs from the 18 shortlisted were received and an in-depth review in terms of technical scheme, implementation feasibility, onboard resource requirements, safety analysis, risk analysis, and financial support for their own development was executed.

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China Introduces Regulations for Private Sector Space Development.

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The South China Morning Post reports that the Chinese government has introduced new regulations to govern the development of commercial space companies.

They require companies to obtain official permission before carrying out rocket research and development as well as production, according to a notice published on the web site of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense on Monday.

The new rules also require a confidentiality system to be established among commercial rocket companies and asks them to follow state export control regulations when in doubt about whether they can provide overseas services and products.

The detailed regulations come as the number of private companies engaged in the commercialisation of China’s space industry increased to almost 100 in 2018 from 30 a year earlier, and as Beijing puts more emphasis on private sector involvement to boost its space ambitions.

“The specifics give clear direction for China’s commercial space industry, clarifying the qualifications, operational boundaries and national guarantees, which will be conducive to the sector’s healthy and orderly development,” Shu Chang, CEO of Beijing-based commercial rocket pioneer OneSpace Technology, was quoted as saying to state media Global Times on Tuesday.

Starshade Would Take Formation Flying to Extremes

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This artist’s concept shows the geometry of a space telescope aligned with a starshade, a technology used to block starlight in order to reveal the presence of planets orbiting that star. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA-JPL-Caltech PR) — Anyone who’s ever seen aircraft engaged in formation flying can appreciate the feat of staying highly synchronized while airborne. In work sponsored by NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program (ExEP), engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, are taking formation flying to a new extreme.

Their work marks an important milestone within a larger program to test the feasibility of a technology called a starshade. Although starshades have never flown in space, they hold the potential to enable groundbreaking observations of planets beyond our solar system, including pictures of planets as small as Earth.

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ESA Wants to Hear Your Space Dream

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PARIS, 12 June 2019 (ESA PR) — What is your vision for the future of space? As ESA prepares its programmes for upcoming years, we want to hear what your space dreams are. What exciting things should we be working on – and what activities will make the most difference to life on Earth? A new competition called My Space Dream gives you the chance to tell us what to do next, and win some great prizes.

Perhaps like Alexander Gerst you dream of a future on the Moon and Mars, or perhaps like Tim Peake you focus on how the world can work together on space ventures. Tell us what inspires you most!

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to record a 30-second video of yourself explaining your space dream. Prizes will be awarded by an ESA jury, and you can also choose your favourite in a public vote – and ask your friends to do the same. The top prize winner will be treated to a day at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, where they can see for themselves how astronauts work, train and eat. You can read all of the prizes, detailed instructions on how to take part and conditions for entry on the My Space Dream competition website.

The My Space Dream competition takes place against the backdrop of Space19+, ESA’s Council at Ministerial level. It’s a vital time for Member States to share their ideas and ambitions for their space agency and commit to the exciting projects and missions needed for the years ahead. Great space activities like the International Space Station, the Ariane launcher family, and landing on a comet with Rosetta started as dreams and aspirations – what new dreams will become reality in the next generation?

Space Tango Announces ISS Flow Chemistry Collaboration with Boston University Beeler Research Group

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Joint Development of Automated, Modular Flow Chemistry Platform for Use On-Orbit

LEXINGTON, Ky., June 12, 2019 (Space Tango PR) — Space Tango announced today a collaboration with the Beeler Research Group from the Boston University Department of Chemistry to develop a fully-automated system to support chemical reactions on-orbit. The Beeler Research Group was selected by the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory to develop reactor systems for flow chemistry in space earlier this year. This work expands on existing liquid-liquid separation capabilities demonstrated last year by Mass Challenge Winner Zaiput Flow Technologies and Space Tango, on the International Space Station.

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Canada’s Next-generation RADARSAT Satellite Constellation Successfully Launches to Space

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Radarsat constellation (Credit: CSA)

Longueuil, Quebec, June 12, 2019 (CSA PR) – Canada’s RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) was launched successfully into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 10:17 a.m. Eastern time from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

The constellation of three satellites will provide daily images of Canada’s vast territory and maritime approaches, as well as images of the Arctic, up to four times a day. It will have daily access to 90 per cent of the world’s surface. The RCM is also equipped with an Automatic Identification System (AIS), allowing improved detection and tracking of ships, including those conducting illegal fishing.
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Falcon 9 Launches Canada’s RADARSAT Constellation Mission

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Falcon 9 first stage descends toward a landing as the second stage orbits Canada’s RADARSAT Constellation Mission. (Credit: SpaceX webcast)

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched Canada’s RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) on Wednesday, orbiting three satellites that will improve the nation’s ability to conduct maritime surveillance, monitor its ecosystem and climate change, and undertake disaster relief efforts.

The booster lifted off on time at 7:17 a.m. PDT, piercing a thick layer of fog at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Deployment of the three RADARSAT spacecraft was completed just over one hour after liftoff.

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