NASA Flight Opportunities Program Update

Modal Propellant Gauging (MPG)

What It Is

MPG is a non-invasive, inexpensive, robust method designed to gauge settled and unsettled liquid propellant at gauging resolutions of 1% for settled propellants and 2-4% for unsettled, sloshing propellants.

By Joanne Perkins
Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFRL) —  The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, has released the results from its Advanced Structurally Embedded Thermal Spreader Two, or ASETS-II. The AFRL experiment was 100% effective in testing the most recent version of the revolutionary Oscillating Heat Pipes, or OHPs, and the results of the more than 6,600 hours of on-orbit testing are being made available to the public.

By Nicole Quenelle
NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center

As NASA prepares to send astronauts back to the Moon to live and explore, capabilities for space-based manufacturing of sensors, circuits, and other electronics will become increasingly critical. Recent microgravity flights have helped to advance cutting-edge methods for 3D printing of electronics by teams from San Jose, California-based Space Foundry and Iowa State University in Ames, supported by NASA’s Flight Opportunities and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programs.

By Lt. Col. Jonathan Shea
Director of the DoD Space Test Program

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Every great technological advancement begins with prototypes and experimental designs that are tested, refined and further developed.

For space technology, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Space Test Program (STP) is one of the oldest and biggest facilitators of the kinds of experiments that leads to tomorrow’s innovative space technology. STP provides mission design, spacecraft acquisition, integration, launch and operations support to facilitate experimental payload access to the space domain. These experimental payloads demonstrate technologies that accelerate the development of war-winning space capabilities for the joint warfighter.

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (SpaceX PR) — SpaceX is targeting today, Tuesday, August 30 for a Falcon 9 launch of 46 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The instantaneous launch window is at 10:40 p.m. PT (5:40 UTC on Wednesday, August 31), and a backup opportunity is available on Wednesday, August 31 at 10:40 p.m. PT (05:40 UTC […]

• Outpost Technologies is spearheading a new reusable satellite market with low-cost sustainable products
• Company raises $7.1M in a seed round from Moonshots Capital, with participation from Draper Associates, Starlight Ventures, Kittyhawk Ventures, AIR Capital, Starburst Ventures, Shasta Ventures, and others
• Funds to be used for technology development and talent acquisition
• The first Outpost satellite will be launched and tested in early 2023

Santa Monica, Calif., August 30, 2022 (Outpost Technologies PR) — Outpost Technologies Corporation (“Outpost”), the sustainable space company, announced the closing of a $7.1M Series Seed round. This round was oversubscribed during a bearish fundraising environment, demonstrating Outpost’s visionary approach to disrupting the satellite market. The company has developed, and flight tested a novel re-entry method that enables satellites to safely return to Earth with a precision landing. This technology makes single-use satellites obsolete and enables the broader aerospace market to attain dedicated payload return to Earth. This round of funding will enable Outpost to advance technology development and build its team with exceptional talent.

SASKATOON, SK, Aug. 29, 2022 (Royal Helium PR) –– Royal Helium Ltd. (“Royal” or the “Company”) (TSXV: RHC) (TSXV: RHC.WT) (OTCQB: RHCCF) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a long-term agreement with a major North American space launch company for the supply of helium.  Initial deliveries under the supply agreement will commence in 2023. 

Royal is also pleased to announce that with the engineering of its initial processing facilities largely complete, supply and construction contracts are currently being awarded.  The Company will be constructing two initial facilities, the first at Steveville, Alberta and the second at Climax, Saskatchewan.  The combined throughput capacity of the plants will be 20,000 mcf/day (20 million cubic feet per day gas input).

HOUSTON (Celestis PR) — “Nichelle Nichols succumbed to natural causes and passed away. Her light, however, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from, and draw inspiration,” Kyle Johnson, Nichelle’s son said in a statement shared on Nichols’ official site.

“Her’s was a life well lived and as such a model for us all.”

NASA Mission Update

NASA, the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES), and SpaceX are now targeting Monday, Dec. 5, for the launch of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography, or SWOT, satellite. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch SWOT from Space Launch Complex-4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Editor’s Note: When you think of Roscosmos, images of powerful launch vehicles, Soyuz spacecraft, cosmonauts and related things immediately come to mind. The business of Roscosmos is space. Right?

Not entirely. Roscosmos oversees a sprawling collection of companies that manufacture a diverse of products. Need medical pressure chambers? Roscosmos has got you covered. Tram cars? It makes them, too. Desktop electric stoves? Yup. Hydraulic fracking technology? You bet.

By Jeanne Dailey
Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFRL) —  The Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate in collaboration with the Georgia Tech Research Institute, or GTRI, NASA and DuPont de Nemours, Inc., has a brand-new spacecraft materials experiment flying on the International Space Station.