SAN ANTONIO, Texas, June 21, 2021 (Southwest Research Institute PR) — To advance understanding of Earth’s nearest neighbor, NASA has selected three new lunar investigations, including a payload suite led by Southwest Research Institute. The Lunar Interior Temperature and Materials Suite (LITMS) is one of two packages that will land on the far side of the Moon, a first for the agency, as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS, initiative.

CINCINNATI, June 22, 2021 (Procter & Gamble PR) — Tide^® has signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA to help in the development of laundry detergent solutions and technology development in space. Under the agreement, NASA may test and study Tide cleaning solutions in space. The study could have potential on-planet implications like innovative solutions for resource and environmental challenges on Earth. Aligning with Tide’s decade-long sustainability commitment, Ambition 2030, Tide will strive to bring off-planet learnings back to everyday consumer products.

Currently, astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) wear clothing several times before replacing with a new set. Clothing is delivered to the station through resupply shipment opportunities. The limited cargo capacity makes the practice of replenishing the clothing supply challenging for deep space missions, such as Artemis Moon missions and a crewed roundtrip Mars mission. Without a laundry solution, 160 pounds of clothing per crew member per year are launched to ISS. Human roundtrip missions to Mars could be two to three years in length.

In a recent report, the GAO — Government Accountability Office — had reported technical issues with the Blue Origin produced BE-4 engine that will power United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket. Vulcan Centaur’s first flight will launch Astrobotic Technology’s Peregrine on a mission to land on the moon. That flight was scheduled for the end of 2021, but it has slipped into next year due to COVID-19 pandemic related […]

MOJAVE, Calif., June 23, 2021 (Masten Space Systems PR) – Masten Space Systems is proud to be one of NASA’s providers for lunar delivery services to the Moon as part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. Masten Mission 1 includes delivery of science and technology instruments near the Haworth Crater at the lunar south pole, a site expected to offer insight into the presence of important volatiles on the Moon. In addition to commercial payloads, Masten’s XL-1 lunar lander will deliver and operate eight NASA-sponsored payloads to assess the composition of the lunar surface, evaluate radiation, and detect volatiles, such as water, methane, and carbon dioxide, under the agency’s Artemis program.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

The United States reclaimed the top spot in launches from China last year as NASA astronauts flew into orbit from American soil for the first time in nearly nine years, SpaceX deployed the world’s first satellite mega-constellation with reused rockets, and two new launchers debuted with less than stellar results.

American companies conducted 44 launches in 2020, with 40 successes and four failures. Bryce Tech reports that U.S. companies accounted for 32 of the 41 commercial launches conducted last year. The majority of those flights were conducted by SpaceX, which launched 25 orbital missions.

China came in second with a record of 35 successful launches and four failures. The 39 launch attempts tied that nation’s previous record for flights during a calendar year.

Let’s take a closer look at what U.S. companies achieved last year.

PARIS (ESA PR) — Aspiring astronauts from across Europe are awaiting the next step in ESA’s astronaut selection, following the 18 June closure of the Agency’s first application period in 11 years.  

Though figures are not yet final, initial numbers indicate more than 22 000 people submitted an application to ESA’s astronaut vacancy notices. During ESA’s last call for astronauts in 2008, the number of applicants who provided a medical certificate and finalised their online application form was 8413.

Through this recruitment round, more than 200 people applied for the newly-established astronaut (with a physical disability) vacancy, and around 5 400/24% of all astronaut applicants identify as female – in 2008, this figure was 15.5%.

By Andrew Wagner
NASA’s Spinoff Publication

Visible light has been used to communicate for centuries: lanterns on ships and Morse code flashes allowed information to be conveyed at a distance. But now there’s a better way to use light to communicate over even further distances and with far more accuracy – lasers.

Launching in 2021, NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) is going to geostationary orbit, where it’ll communicate with the ground at gigabit speeds. It’s the agency’s latest step to get more data from space per downlink.

NASA has also partnered with companies to improve the technology needed to make laser communications work, and one of these companies is building off that partnership to help customers get the data they need.

Well, it’s official. Lots of people seem to really hate Jeff Bezos. As of this writing, two online petitions on Change.org have garnered nearly 117,000 signatures urging that the Amazon founder not be allowed to return to Earth during his July 20 trip to space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule. (The petitions are here and here.) “Billionaire’s should not exist…on earth, or in space, but should they decide the […]

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — Two astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station Friday, June 25, for a third spacewalk to continue power system upgrades that are already increasing output and proving the technology that will enable NASA’s future Gateway lunar outpost.

Live coverage will begin at 6:30 a.m. EDT on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app, with the crew members scheduled to exit the station’s Quest airlock around 8 a.m. The spacewalk will last approximately 6 hours, 30 minutes.

Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) will install and deploy the second of six new ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) on the station’s 4B power channel.

First EXIM Satellite-related Deal Since 2015, Counters Foreign Competition

WASHINGTON (EXIM PR) – The Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) unanimously approved $80.7 million in EXIM financing to support launch services by SpaceX and also U.S.-brokered launch and initial in-orbit insurance for Hispasat Canarias S.L.U., a subsidiary of Hispasat, S.A., of Spain. These EXIM-supported services will help Hispasat to deploy a new satellite, Amazonas Nexus. The EXIM financing, which may take the form of a direct loan or a loan guarantee, is estimated to support approximately 500 American jobs in California, Florida, Texas, and Virginia.

The transaction is the first EXIM financing of a satellite-related export since 2015, before EXIM was forced to pause board-approved transactions for several years due to the lack of a board quorum. Today’s announcement marks an important step in EXIM’s re-emergence following the agency’s historic seven-year reauthorization by Congress in 2019. EXIM’s support is needed for this transaction to provide long-term financing for Hispasat that was unavailable from commercial lenders. EXIM’s support also counters potential export credit agency support for a French launch-services competitor, Arianespace.

MOJAVE, Calif. (Masten PR) — At Masten, we’re working to accelerate the realization of space ecosystems on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Our goal is to unlock the value in space to ultimately benefit humans on Earth. So how do we achieve that? First, we’ll enable regular, sustainable access to the lunar surface. Then, we’ll make it possible to extract and utilize extraterrestrial resources, such as water, methane, and rare-Earth metals. These resources can be used not only for fuel and power, but they also open the door to new commercial applications and technology innovations that can help preserve our resources on Earth.

PARIS (ESA PR) — After months of constructive negotiations, ESA and EU signed today a new Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA) in a ceremony to celebrate the launch of the new EU space programme.   

This will mark a fresh start for space activities in Europe and represents an important step forward in the relationship between ESA and EU. It is also one of the top priorities of Agenda 2025, the roadmap of ESA’s Director General Josef Aschbacher.

“This is a major achievement for ESA, recognised for its scientific excellence and technical expertise in designing space systems and ground facilities for the benefit of European citizens,” said ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher.