This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston: Tuesday, March 15 Tuesday — 7 PM PDT (9 PM CDT; 10 PM EDT): We welcome back DR. JOHN HUNTER for his good news progress report for his Green Launch Co at Yuma Proving Grounds. Don’t miss his great news! Wednesday, March 16 — Hotel Mars pre-recorded. See the Upcoming Show Menu at www.thespaceshow.com for details. Friday, March 18 — […]

SILVER SPRING, Md. (NOAA PR) — On March 14, 2022, GOES-T executed its final engine burn, placing the satellite in geostationary orbit 22,236 miles above Earth. Upon reaching this milestone, GOES-T was renamed GOES-18. GOES satellites are designated with a letter prior to launch and a number once they achieve geostationary orbit.

Astra Space scrubbed the ninth launch of its Rocket 3.3 booster from the Pacific Spaceport Complex –Alaska on Monday due to bad weather. The company is now targeting Tuesday, March 15 at 9:22 AM PDT (12:22 p.m. EDT) for the Astra-1 mission for Spaceflight Inc. Live stream will begin at T-45 minutes at astra.com/livestream.

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (EUSPA PR) — To help you better appreciate and reap the full benefits of space technology, EUSPA experts compiled the “EUSPA EO and GNSS Market Report“.  The 216-page long release is the ultimate guide to anyone who seeks to make the EU Space technologies part of their business plan, develop new space downstream applications and see a tangible return on investment.

More than ever society relies on innovative solutions to deal with the big data paradigm, respond to and mitigate climate change, natural and man-made disasters, curb the spread of diseases and strengthen a global supply chain that underpins our daily lives. Earth Observation (EO) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data is becoming increasingly important to these innovative solutions through dozens of applications that are emerging or already in use by citizens, businesses, governments, industry, international organizations, NGOs, and researchers around the world. In 2021, GNSS and EO downstream market generated over 200 billion euros revenues and are set to reach almost half a trillion over the next decade.

KENT, Wash. (Blue Origin PR) — Blue Origin today announced the crew flying on its upcoming NS-20 flight on March 23 will include Marty Allen, Pete Davidson, husband and wife duo Sharon and Marc Hagle, Jim Kitchen, and Dr. George Nield. 

This mission is the fourth human flight for the New Shepard program and the 20th in its history.  

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Elon Musk’s recent update on the progress of SpaceX’s Super Heavy/Starship launch system didn’t provide much in the way of technical news. However, the billionaire’s presentation did seem to have had its intended political effect.

Musk was clear that if the Federal Aviation Administration doesn’t come through with an approval to conduct launches from its Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, SpaceX will move operations to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

TOULOUSE, France (CNES PR) — The AsterX 2022 exercise took up residence at the Cité de l’Espace in Toulouse from 24/02 to 4/03/2022. This space threat simulation exercise, entirely piloted by the Space Command, is the second to be organized in close collaboration with CNES.

The objective of this exercise, the first edition of which took place in March 2021 at CNES: to define and test certain operational processes in the field of Space Situational Awareness and to test our reaction capacities in emergency situations. A unique operation in Europe.

By David Vergun
DOD News

Every operational plan in the Defense Department rests on an assumption that strategic deterrence is holding, and in particular, that nuclear deterrence is holding, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command said. 

“If strategic or nuclear deterrence fails, no other plan and no other capability in the Department of Defense is going to work as designed,” Navy Adm. Charles A. Richard, who testified today at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in review of the fiscal year 2023 Defense Authorization Request and Future Years Defense Program, said. 

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

NASA is funding research into hypervelocity kinetic penetrators that would allow for the destruction of an incoming asteroid on very short notice.

The space agency awarded a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase I grant worth $175,000 to Philip Lubin of the University of California, Santa Barbara for his “Pi — Terminal Defense for Humanity project.

Scientists are turning to a combination of data collected from the air, land, and space to get a more complete picture of how climate change is affecting the planet’s frozen regions.

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — Trapped within Earth’s permafrost – ground that remains frozen for a minimum of two years – are untold quantities of greenhouse gases, microbes, and chemicals, including the now-banned pesticide DDT. As the planet warms, permafrost is thawing at an increasing rate, and scientists face a host of uncertainties when trying to determine the potential effects of the thaw.

BEVERLEY, South Australia (Fleet Space Technologies PR) — Fleet Space Technologies is delighted to announce that the Australian Government has committed $20 million (USD) to the development of the Space Manufacturing Hub in Adelaide, South Australia. This adds to funds already committed by The Government of South Australia ($20 million AUS) and a consortium of leading space, aerospace and advanced air mobility companies including Fleet, Q-CTRL, AtSpace Pty Ltd and Alauda Aeronautics, the manufacturer of the world’s first electric flying racing cars. That total value of the project is therefore $66 million (AUS).

“The addition of this very significant investment from the Australian Government to the funds already pledged by the South Australian Government is affirmation of our nation’s commitment to the development of a rapidly growing industry and innovation in sovereign technological capabilities in space manufacturing. Fleet Space Technologies is proud to lead the Australian space sector. This industry is creating jobs, technological capability and lasting economic impact for Australia. The Space Hub in Adelaide will position South Australia as a true global centre of excellence in the development of space technologies.”

— Flavia Tata Nardini, CEO and Co-Founder, Fleet Space Technologies