by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner uncrewed spacecraft reached orbit after launch from Florida on Thursday on its way to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) despite problems with two of its 12 thrusters, officials said. The flight test is a crucial step to certifying Starliner to carry crew to the station.

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., (United Launch Alliance PR) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V carrying Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, lifted off on May 19 at 6:54 p.m. EDT, from Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. To date ULA has launched 150 times with 100 percent mission success. This marks the 93^rd successful launch of an Atlas V rocket, and the 104^th launch from SLC-41. 

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Virgin Orbit reported a first quarter net loss of $62.6 million on revenues of only $2.1 million on a single launch as the company focuses on increasing its flight rate and expand its space services offerings.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — On behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA has selected two firms for the Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) Atmospheric Composition (ACX) instrument Phase A Study. These firms will provide services to help meet the objectives of NOAA’s GeoXO program.

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colorado, and Raytheon Intelligence & Space of El Segundo, California will both receive twenty-month firm-fixed-price contracts for approximately $5 million. The work will be performed at the contractors’ facilities.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — Continuing the collaboration that produced the COVID-19 Earth Observing Dashboard in 2020, NASA and its international partners in Europe and Japan have combined the collective scientific power of their Earth-observing satellite data in expanding the online resource to document a broad array of planet-wide changes in the environment and human society.

DAEGU (SI Imaging Services PR) — SI Imaging Services (SIIS), a firm providing high-resolution satellite imagery, will operate a joint booth with GHGSat, a methane tracking satellite firm in Canada, at the World Gas Congress 2022 (WGC) held at EXCO in Daegu, South Korea, from the 23rd May for five days.

The Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office (AITO) of the US Department of Energy will partner with Frontier Development Lab to apply synergies between physics, simulation, and machine learning to clean energy, Earth science and climate resilience challenges.

Mountain View, CA (SETI PR) – The US Department of Energy (DOE) is joining the Frontier Development Lab (FDL) program to advance basic research at the agency. FDL is a public-private partnership between the SETI Institute, NASA, USGS, Google Cloud, Intel, Lockheed Martin, Nvidia, Trillium Technologies and other US and international partners.

FDL is an applied artificial intelligence research program that tackles fundamental knowledge gaps in space, Earth science and energy by pairing machine learning experts with subject domain experts. Research teams are supported by massive compute resources, relevant datasets and technology advisory from private sector partners for an intensive eight-week, paid research sprint over the summer. Teams address research challenges such as astronaut health, lunar exploration, heliophysics and climate change. FDL is excited to join forces with DOE and add challenge topics addressing critical DOE priorities, such as energy futures, climate adaptation and disaster response.

COLUMBIA, Md. and HOUSTON, May 16, 2022 (Universities Space Research Association PR) — A team of scientists, including Dr. Germán Martínez from the Universities Space Research Association, just published a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This study indicates there are seasonal energy imbalances in the amount of solar energy absorbed and released by Mars which is a likely cause of dust storms and could play an important role in understanding the climate and atmosphere of the red planet. 

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

NASA has decided to continue funding two research and development projects aimed at recycling the enormous amount of waste humanity has deposited in Earth orbit, including spent rocket upper stages, defunct satellites and random pieces of floating debris.

NASA is providing grants worth up to $750,000 each to CisLunar Industries USA, Inc., of Denver, Colo., and Yolo Robotics of Sacramento, Calif. to continue development work on recycling technologies. The grants are being provided under the space agency’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

Exotrail Press Release

TOULOUSE, France — Exotrail signed a contract with the Defence Innovation Agency (AID), an organisation which is part of the French Ministry of Defence. The contract is to provide the French Space Command (CDE) with a customised and enhanced version of ExoOPS™ – Mission Design, Exotrail’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product dedicated to simulation and mission analysis.

The customised product will be known as ExoOPS™ – Défense and will provide the capability to easily simulate and characterise complex satellite manoeuvres. It will combine the state-of-the-art software solution ExoOPS™ – Mission Design, with additional functionality and insight from Exotrail’s expertise in propulsion. This will allow CDE operators to have a more comprehensive understanding of the space environment which they operate in.

WASHINGTON (National Academis PR) – NASA should continue to bolster its efforts to increase diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in leadership of competed space science missions, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The report outlines both near- and long-term actions that NASA should take to meet its stated diversity and inclusion goals, such as expanding mentorship and mission-related training opportunities; improving data collection, monitoring, and reporting; and investing in STEM pathways, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and other minority-serving institutions (MSIs).

NASA identifies critical scientific needs for a mission by releasing a public announcement of opportunity. Members of the scientific community can apply to these competitively selected opportunities, with teams led by a principal investigator (PI). The mission PI role requires a wide array of experience in the scientific research field, including mission design and operation knowledge and team leadership and management skills.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — As NASA moves forward with plans to send astronauts to the Moon under Artemis missions to prepare for human exploration of Mars, the agency is calling on U.S. industry, academia, international communities, and other stakeholders to provide input on its deep space exploration objectives.