• Assessment authors accused of submitting false emissions numbers
• Report leaves out entire structures and their environmental impacts
• FAA accused of illegally fast tracking approval using less rigorous environmental assessment than required by law

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

An environmental engineer has raised serious questions about the completeness and appropriateness of a draft programmatic environmental assessment (PEA) that covers SpaceX’s major expansion of its Starbase rocket launch and test site in Boca Chica, Texas.

According to a 12-part series on the blog ESG Hound, the assessment that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released for public comment last month violates the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by failing to evaluate all of the impact of the project, which sits amidst environmentally sensitive saltwater wetlands.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — On January 27, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. The Executive Order (EO) calls for a government-wide approach to lead by example in addressing the climate crisis and directs that the Federal government’s buying power and management of real property and other assets be applied to support robust climate action. Federal agencies are responsible for developing a […]

WASHINGTON (National Academies PR) — A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine identifies criteria that could allow robotic missions to certain locations on Mars to be carried out with less restrictive “bioburden” requirements, which are designed to prevent the unintentional transport of Earth-based microbes to Mars.

MOJAVE, Calif. — The Mojave Air and Space Port has received a $5.9 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to rehabilitate and strengthen portions to Runway 12-30, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) announced.

GREENBELT, Md. (NASA PR) — In August 2021, new testing equipment arrived at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in the form of a gravity offset table. NASA engineers will use the table to test robotic satellite servicing technologies that will one day operate in space.  

Set to launch next year, NASA’s Psyche mission marks the first time the agency has set out to explore an asteroid richer in metal than rock or ice.

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — More than 150 years have passed since novelist Jules Verne wrote “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” but reality has yet to catch up with that science fiction adventure. While humans can’t bore a path to our planet’s metallic core, NASA has its sights set on visiting a giant asteroid that may be the frozen remains of the molten core of a bygone world.

TUCSON, Ariz. (University of Arizona PR) — Scientists thought asteroid Bennu’s surface would be like a sandy beach, abundant in fine sand and pebbles, which would have been perfect for collecting samples. Past telescope observations from Earth’s orbit had suggested the presence of ­­large swaths of fine-grain material called fine regolith that’s smaller than a few centimeters.

LONDON (Space Hero PR) — Global media company Space Hero today introduced a team of high-level US advisors, spearheaded by industry veteran Lauren Berkowitz and David Anderman, who was most recently the General Counsel of SpaceX. In their advisory roles, Berkowitz and Anderman are tasked with guiding Space Hero on strategy, global development, and go-to-market.

“We could not be more thrilled to welcome Lauren and David at Space Hero,” said Thomas Reemer and Deborah Sass, Founding Partners and CO-CEOs of Space Hero. “With them at the helm of our US group, we’re confident we can continue to expand our global presence and advance our core mission of bringing the opportunity for space travel to more people around the world.”

Anderman brings a unique skillset to Space Hero, having been the General Counsel of SpaceX and the COO/General Counsel of Lucasfilm Ltd. 

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — Artemis moonwalkers exploring the lunar South Pole will wear revolutionary spacesuits that stand up to the Moon’s harsh environment and keep them safe. NASA is embracing commercial partnerships to optimize spacesuit technology and inspire pioneering in the space market.

NASA published a request for proposal (RFP) Sept. 29  for companies to compete for the agency’s future purchase of spacesuits and support services for spacewalks on the International Space Station, during Artemis lunar surface missions, and as needed on Gateway in lunar orbit. 

MOSCOW, October 7, 2021 (Roscosmos PR) — Russian crewmembers of the 65th long-term expedition to the International Space Station work in accordance with the flight task. Today, October 7, 2021, in preparation for the upcoming landing, the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft crew is swapping the Soyuz MS-19 and Soyuz MS-18 seat liners. Return to Earth is scheduled for October 17, 2021. The crew also continues to work on filming the scientific […]

• Capability publicly presented at GEOINT21 Symposium Exhibition
• Kleos proprietary algorithms utilised
• Geolocation system & measurement methodology explained

LUXEMBOURG (Kleos Space PR) — Kleos Space (ASX: KSS, Frankfurt: KS1), a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data-as-a-service (DaaS) company, is pleased to introduce the Geolocation System technical paper describing its recent successful technical milestones presented publicly at the GEOINT21 symposium exhibition on the 6th October 2021.