WASHINGTON (Doug Lamborn/Jason Crow PR) — U.S. Representatives Doug Lamborn and Jason Crow, both members of the House Armed Services Committee and Co-Chairs of the House Space Force Caucus, joined in introducing the Space National Guard Establishment Act. This bipartisan legislation will establish a Space National Guard as a Reserve component of the Space Force, our nation’s newest military branch.

“For 25 years, our National Guard space units have provided operational and tactical assistance to protect our nation’s vital interests in space and enhance our military lethality,” said Congressman Doug Lamborn. “Today, they work side-by-side with their active-duty counterparts, both in uniform and often as civilian contractors, bringing vital experience to the mission that enhances our national security space enterprise. This important legislation would officially create the Space National Guard. Colorado has more Guardsmen conducting space missions than any state in the Union. I am happy to join Rep. Crow on this important issue.” 

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (Purdue University PR) — A drag sail that a team at Purdue University developed to pull launch vehicles in space back to Earth is scheduled to undergo a test launch on Thursday (Sept. 2).

The mission, set to take off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, will evaluate how well the prototype helps its vehicle deorbit from space after mission completion. A livestream of the launch will be available through Everyday Astronaut.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

South Korea has set an October date for the maiden flight of the nation’s first fully domestically developed satellite launch vehicle, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) announced. Minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning Hyesuk Lim approved KARI’s plan to conduct flight tests of the new Nuri booster from the Naro Space Center on Oct. 21 and May 19, 2022.

Two Australian academic satellites successfully launched on August 29

TOKYO — Space BD, a leading Japanese space startup, announces the launch of two Australian satellites through Space BD’s small satellite deployment service on August 29, 2021 at 3:14 a.m. (EDT). Space BD has been appointed by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as the private partner for the small satellite deployment service from the International Space Station (ISS) Japanese Experiment Module Kibo since 2018. And it has led to the commercialization of Japanese space assets as a private sector.

This was the first satellite launch for the State of Western Australia, the first satellite launch for of the Australian Research Council Training Centre for CubeSats, Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles and their Applications (CUAVA), and the first overseas satellite launch for Space BD.

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — Two Russian cosmonauts will venture outside the International Space Station Friday, Sept. 3, and Thursday, Sept. 9, to conduct the first pair of up to 11 spacewalks to prepare the new Nauka multipurpose laboratory module for operations in space. NASA will provide live coverage for both spacewalks, or extravehicular activities (EVA), on NASA Television, the NASA app, and agency’s website.

Coverage Friday, Sept. 3, will begin at 10 a.m. EDT, with the spacewalk scheduled to begin at approximately 10:35 a.m., and coverage Thursday, Sept. 9, begins at 10:30 a.m. with the spacewalk expected to begin about 11 a.m. The first spacewalk, called Russian EVA 49, could last up to seven hours, while the second spacewalk, Russian EVA 50, is scheduled to last about five hours.

Video Caption: In 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space. A decade later, Alan Shepard walked on the moon. He carved the frontiers of space exploration so that later we could pave the path. It’s with that legacy in mind that the New Shepard came to be. Blue Origin recently launched the first crew of astronauts aboard the New Shepard rocket. The historic flight brought Wally Funk, Jeff […]

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

NASA says that a surge in COVID-19 cases has caused supply issues that have delayed the planned launch of the Landsat 9 Earth observation satellite from Vandenberg Space Force Base by one week to no earlier than Sept. 23.

“Current pandemic demands for medical liquid oxygen [LOX] have impacted the delivery of the needed liquid nitrogen supply to Vandenberg by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and its supplier Airgas,” the space agency said in a blog post. “Airgas converts the liquid nitrogen to gaseous nitrogen needed for launch vehicle testing and countdown sequences. DLA and Airgas now have implemented efforts to increase the supply of liquid nitrogen to Vandenberg.”

Part of a strategic collaboration to meet the growing demand for reliable in-space transport and access to  geostationary orbit (GEO), Rogue Space has contracted  Firefly as their first launch vehicle supplier  targeting an initial launch in Q3 2023. 

LACONIA, NH (August 30, 2021) Rogue Space Systems Corporation, a U.S. company that is developing a smart spacecraft program and is planning to offer transport, and in-space services to the growing space market, and Firefly Aerospace, a leading provider of economical and dependable launch vehicles, spacecraft, and in-space services, today announced they have signed a Launch Service Agreement (LSA). The agreement confirms that Rogue has secured the entire payload  mass capacity aboard a Firefly Alpha rocket, scheduled for liftoff from Cape  Canaveral  in the fall of 2023.  

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — While the International Space Station was traveling about 260 miles over the Western Australia, a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft autonomously docked to the forward-facing port of the orbiting laboratory’s Harmony module at 10:30 a.m. EDT, Monday, Aug. 30. Flight Engineers Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA monitored operations.

Among the science experiments Dragon is delivering to the space station are:

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (Dawn Aeospace PR) — Dawn Aerospace, a New Zealand-Dutch space transportation company, has conducted five flights of the company’s Mk-II Aurora suborbital spaceplane. The flights were to assess the airframe and avionics of the vehicle, and were conducted using surrogate jet engines. 

The campaign was run from Glentanner Aerodrome in New Zealand’s South Island. Taxi testing commenced in early July and five flights occurred between the 28th and 30th of July, reaching altitudes of 3,400 feet.

This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston: Tuesday, August 31 – 7 PM PDT (9 PM CST; 10 PM EDT): We welcome back DR. DAVID BRIN, scifi author, scientist and policy aficionado. He questions returning to the Moon! Wednesday, September 01 – Hotel Mars pre-recorded. See the Upcoming Show Menu at www.thespaceshow.com for details. Friday, September 03 – 9:30-11 AM PDT; 11:30 AM- 1 PM CDT; 12:30-2 […]

Historic mission to advance science and medicine for human health during spaceflight 

LOS ANGELES, August 30, 2021 – The crew of Inspiration4, the world’s first all-civilian human spaceflight mission to orbit, announced today that they will partake in a first-of-its-kind health research initiative to increase humanity’s knowledge on the impact of spaceflight on the human body. Once in orbit, the crew will perform carefully selected research experiments on human health and performance, which will have potential applications for human health on Earth and during future spaceflights.

Additionally, SpaceX, the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) at Baylor College of Medicine and investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine will collect environmental and biomedical data and biological samples from Inspiration4’s four crew members before, during, and after this historic spaceflight.