This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston: Tuesday, November 02 — 7 PM PDT (9 PM CST; 10 PM EDT): We welcome back DR. FRANCIS (FRANK) CUCINOTTA of the Department of Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences of the University of Nevada Las Vegas regarding radiation updates. See his paper on our blog. Wednesday, November 03 — Hotel Mars pre-recorded. See the Upcoming Show Menu at www.thespaceshow.com for […]

LOS ANGELES, 1 November 2021 (Mynaric PR) – Mynaric has signed a multi-year, strategic agreement with Northrop Grumman that identifies the company as a strategic supplier for laser communications in the space domain.

“The U.S. government is the driving force to deploy laser communication capabilities in space,” said Bulent Altan, CEO of Mynaric. “We are happy to have been selected as a strategic supplier by Northrop Grumman to pursue ongoing and upcoming programs in this important market segment and look forward to jointly providing secure and broadband communication to serve the U.S. government’s needs for distributed communication architectures.”

Earlier this year Mynaric submitted bids with a combined value in the mid-double digit million USD range to Northrop Grumman in the framework of multiple government space programs that are still pending contract awards by the U.S. government. Separately, Northrop Grumman will issue a purchase order for a set of CONDOR Mk3 terminals to kick-start the new relationship.

MOJAVE, Calif., November 1, 2021 (Stratolaunch PR) – Stratolaunch today announced that the Honorable Daniel Goldin, longest tenured National Aeronautics and Space Administration (“NASA”) Administrator, and Dr. Kamiar Karimi, former Senior Technical Fellow at the Boeing Company (“Boeing”), have joined its Board of Directors.

PARIS (ESA PR) — ESA is poised to showcase how satellite data underpins global efforts to avert climate catastrophe at pivotal international talks held in the UK.

This year’s edition of the United Nations climate change conference – COP26 – takes place in Glasgow, Scotland, from 31 October to 12 November.

STRASBOURG, France (Leanspace PR) — Leanspace, the company building the future digital infrastructure of the space industry, today announced its launch out of stealth mode with several major customers. A Seraphim Space backed start-up, it has already raised over 2 million Euro in seed funding from institutional and angel investors.

Its first offering is the Leanspace Cloud, a technology enabling space organizations to easily build integrated software ecosystems to run space missions. It will be launched at the SpaceTechExpo in Bremen, Germany, via a public demonstration event in partnership with ClearSpace, the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and the International Space University (ISU).

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., November 2, 2021 (Redwire PR) – Redwire Corporation (NYSE: RDW), a leader in space infrastructure for the next generation space economy, today announced that it has acquired Techshot, Inc., a leader in biotechnology in microgravity, bioprinting, and on-orbit manufacturing needed for commercial space-based research and development.  

“Techshot’s space bioprinting and other proven biotech solutions in microgravity are some of the most consequential innovations in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with life-saving benefits on and off our home planet,” said Peter Cannito, Chairman and CEO of Redwire. “Adding Techshot’s leading position in commercial space biotechnology with Redwire’s leading position in on-orbit material manufacturing adds significant scale and synergy to our commercial space offerings.  This is a giant leap forward in our vision for people living and working in space for the benefit of the terrestrial economy.” 

NEW YORK (NASA PR) — Climate change may affect the production of maize (corn) and wheat as early as 2030 under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario, according to a new NASA study published in the journal, Nature Food. Maize crop yields are projected to decline 24%, while wheat could potentially see growth of about 17%.

PARIS (ESA PR) — Géraldine Naja took up duty as Director of Commercialisation, Industry and Procurement (D/CIP), based at ESA Headquarters in Paris, on 1 November 2021. From France, Ms Naja has 30-year experience in the European space sector in managerial and strategy development positions. She graduated from the French École Polytechnique with a degree in engineering and then from École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées (ENSTA) with a Masters […]

OSLO, Norway (Norwegian Space Agency PR) — Andoya Space is to receive 365.6 million Norwegian kroner [US $43.4 million] from the Norwegian government to establish a launch base for small satellites at Andoya in Northern Norway. 

PARIS (CNES PR) — CNES and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) have signed an implementation arrangement covering cooperation activities in the field of flight dynamics and geodetic research as well as the French instrument MIRS (an infrared imaging spectrometer) as part of the Japanese MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission scheduled for launch in 2024.

By Nicole Quenelle
NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center

EDWARDS, Calif. — As you read this article, you don’t need to worry that cosmic radiation might destroy the computer displaying it. That’s because the Earth’s atmosphere provides protection against such radiation. However, for astronauts relying on computing systems in space, cosmic radiation is a real concern. This is why NASA is supporting tests of radiation-tolerant computing systems on suborbital vehicles – and eventually on the Moon.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is announcing new leadership roles, as well as the merging of two offices into the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS), in support of Biden-Harris Administration priorities and the focus on space strategy.

• Dr. Bhavya Lal will serve as the associate administrator for OTPS
• Melanie Saunders will serve as the agency’s new chief resilience officer
• Casey Swails will serve as the deputy associate administrator for business operations
• Tom Cremins will serve as the associate administrator for space security interests
• Douglas Terrier, the agency’s current chief technologist, will serve in a new position as the associate director for vision and strategy at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston. In the interim, Lal will serve as acting chief technologist

All appointments are effective immediately.