PARIS (ESA PR) — With the need for satellite data to be received more frequently for faster weather forecasting updates in the Arctic, ESA has signed a contract with OHB Sweden to a build prototype satellite for the Arctic Weather Satellite mission.

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla. (SpaceX PR) — SpaceX is targeting Tuesday, March 9 for launch of 60 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous window is at 9:58 p.m. EST, or 2:58 UTC on March 10. The Falcon 9 first stage rocket booster supporting this mission previously supported launch of NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the […]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., March 9, 2021 (Redwire PR) – Redwire, a new leader in mission critical space solutions and high reliability components for the next generation space economy, has been selected by PlanetiQ, a commercial weather satellite constellation operator, to supply solar arrays for their HD GPS-RO weather satellites. The contract will include delivery of a 130-watt solar array for PlanetiQ’s spacecraft. The agreement marks PlanetiQ’s third flight contract for Redwire’s solar arrays. Previously, Redwire’s subsidiary Roccor delivered two sets of solar arrays to PlanetiQ, dating back to 2018. 

NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase I AwardFunding: up to $125,000Study Period: 9 months A Titan Sample Return Using In-Situ PropellantsSteven OlesonNASA Glenn Research CenterCleveland, Ohio A Titan Sample Return Using In-Situ Propellants is a proposed Titan sample return mission using in-situ volatile propellants available on its surface. This approach for Titan is very different from all conventional in-situ resource utilization concepts, and will accomplish a return of great science value […]

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. (NASA PR) — In early 2016, an icy visitor from the edge of our solar system hurtled past Earth. It briefly became visible to stargazers as Comet Catalina before it slingshot past the Sun to disappear forevermore out of the solar system.

Among the many observatories that captured a view of this comet, which appeared near the Big Dipper, was the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, NASA’s telescope on an airplane. Using one of its unique infrared instruments, SOFIA was able to pick out a familiar fingerprint within the dusty glow of the comet’s tail – carbon.

• New agreement with rideshare provider Spaceflight Inc. to launch the KSF2 Polar Patrol Mission – Kleos’ third satellite cluster.
• Kleos’ second satellite cluster KSF1 Polar Vigilance on track to launch in mid-2021 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9.
• Commissioning of the company’s successfully launched Scouting Mission satellites nears completion, software commissioning and revenues to follow.
• Kleos’ satellites enhance the detection of illegal activity, including drug and people smuggling, illegal fishing and border & security challenges.

LUXEMBOURG (Kleos Space PR) — Kleos Space S.A (ASX:KSS, Frankfurt:KS1), a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data-as-a-service (DaaS) company, has signed a new contract with rideshare provider Spaceflight Inc. to launch its third satellite cluster (KSF2) in December 2021 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, further growing the constellation.

The four KSF2 Polar Patrol Mission satellites will launch into a 500-600km Sun Synchronous orbit, complementing Kleos’ first and second satellite clusters and increasing cover over key maritime areas of interest (e.g. double the coverage over both Poles).

BARCELONA, Spain (Sateliot PR) — Sateliot, the satellite telecommunications operator, is finalising with Open Cosmos, the company that operates end-to-end space missions, the launch of its first nanosatellite, which is scheduled for the morning of 20 March from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston: Monday, March 8: NO PROGRAM TODAY. Tuesday, March 09, 7 PM PST (9 PM CST; 10 PM EST): We welcome DR. JEFFERY GEENBLATT, Chief Scientist and Chief Visionary Officer for Orbital Assembly Corp. Wednesday, March 10: Hotel Mars is pre-recorded. See upcoming show menu on the home page for program details. Thursday, March 11, 7 PM PDT (10 PM EDT): […]

NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase I Award
Funding: up to $125,000
Study Period: 9 months

Ablative Arc Mining for In-Situ Resource Utilization
Amelia Greig
University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, Texas

As space exploration expands to include human expeditions to the surfaces of other solar system bodies, sustainable in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) infrastructures to harvest local resources for water, building materials, and propellants must be developed.

Water is the most critical component in the near-term and is therefore the focus of many studies. However, being able to mine other resources with the same system will become critical in the future. A good mining system should therefore encompass extraction and collection of water in parallel with as many other local materials as possible.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Over at Fast Company, William D. Cohan says professional investors and financial analysts have a low opinion of the special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), which are being used by Virgin Galactic and six other space companies to go public. (SPACs are an inside joke on Wall Street, and the joke is on you)

SPACs are investment vehicles that are already publicly traded on the stock exchange. Their goal is to acquire or merge with other companies, which then go public under their own names.

CLEVELAND (NASA PR) — NASA teamed up with a group of researchers from Dr. Jacob Chung’s lab at the University of Florida in Gainesville and the Aerospace Corporation based in El Segundo, California, to test two technologies to reduce the amount of cryogenic propellant consumed during future space missions. Instead of working in a typical lab, a plane following a parabolic flight path briefly suspended the technologies and researchers in microgravity.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA, in collaboration with the National Space Grant Foundation, is seeking university teams to develop innovative design ideas that could assist in the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration objectives.

The 2022 Moon to Mars eXploration Systems and Habitation (M2M X-Hab) Academic Innovation Challenge is an opportunity for NASA to build strategic partnerships and tap into the ingenuity of rising Artemis Generation space explorers. This challenge provides university students interested in aerospace careers hands-on design, research, and development experience, while strengthening NASA’s efforts to develop technologies and capabilities for enable future human missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.