China is Developing Reusable Satellites to Return 600 kg to Earth

China is developing a new type of recoverable satellite that is reusable and intends to use it for commercial purposes, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, a State-owned space giant in charge of the program.

The company said the new model will be designed to meet growing demand for space-based scientific experiments from a wide range of industries, including space science, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and energy. The first such satellite is scheduled to be launched in 2020, it said.

Zhao Huiguang, chief designer of recoverable satellites at the China Academy of Space Technology, said on Monday that researchers expect that 10 to 15 such satellites will be needed in the next decade by clients from home and abroad.

Zhao explained that the weightlessness inside the spacecraft will be beneficial to conducting many scientific experiments and recoverable satellites are the most suitable platform for such experiments.

Moreover, the research and development of new materials, electronic components and medicines have also benefitted from space-based experiments on such satellites, he said.

Compared with current recoverable satellites in China, the new type will feature reusability, better technology and stronger carrying capacity, Zhao said.

"Our current recoverable satellites are able to ferry 250 kilograms of scientific payloads back to Earth. The new model will be able to carry up to 600 kg," the designer said.

link.

Germany Starts Work on Space Mining Laws

Facing tough competition from China, the United States and even tiny Luxembourg, Germany is racing to draft new laws and attract private investment to secure a slice of an emerging space market that could be worth $1 trillion a year by the 2040s.

The drive to give Germany a bigger role in space comes as European, Asian and U.S. companies stake out ground in an evolving segment that promises contracts for everything from exploration to mining of outer-space resources.

Firms likely to benefit from any future spending rise in Germany include Airbus, which co-owns the maker of Europe’s Ariane space rockets, and Bremen-based OHB.

The new legislation would limit financial and legal liabilities of private companies should accidents happen in orbit, set standards for space operations and offer incentives for new projects, the German economy ministry told Reuters.

link.

ULA's Plans for a Cislunar Economy

United Launch Alliance (ULA) President and CEO Tory Bruno has provided a new overview of his company’s role in a proposed “Econosphere” in space. Although it will take decades to fully realize its potential, ULA hardware is set to provide the key elements via its CisLunar 1000 roadmap, allowing numerous commercial companies to come together to create a self-sustaining community of around 1000 people in the space between the Earth and the Moon.

The CisLunar 1000 plans revolve creating an in-space economy that would tap into the vast amount of resources that could be harnessed from objects such as Near Earth Asteroids (NEA) and on the surface of the Moon.

Eventually, the community would become self-sufficient via in situ resource utilization (ISRU), while becoming economically viable via the prospecting of precious materials that are rare on Earth but abundant in space.

“What we understand today is there’s over 17,000 of these (varying range of NEAs) that come in different classes. Best estimates, there are two trillion kilograms of industrial metals residing in that region,” noted Mr. Bruno during his address to students at the University of Colorado Boulder.

link.

Bezos Wants to Move Industry Into Space

Elon Musk wants us to build human colonies on Mars. Jeff Bezos has a slightly more measured take.

Onstage at the Code Conference on Tuesday, the Amazon founder and CEO said that we have to start bringing parts of the industrial economy to space in order "to save Earth."

link.

The New Space Race #1

Whether people realize it or not, there is a new space race on.  This time, its less about getting to a place first, so much as attempting to build a sustainable, reliable space program with guaranteed access to space.   To be sure, the world will be going to Mars, but the steps to get there are much bigger than simply going to the Moon.  The US, China and others are build the infrastructure to get there.  Who will build fastest and sustainably will be the first ones to step onto the Red Planet.

The New Space Race will be an aggregation of news about those efforts that will be posted as sufficient news of interest has accumulated.  

China:

China will launch a second space station in June.

Europe:

The new Airbus+Safran rocket is hinging on a French tax ruling.

The Ariane 6 is moving ahead, but will not be reusing any of its parts, unlike the American rockets being developed.

Safran believes the first first contract for the Ariane 6 will be signed by year's end.

Russia:

The first satellites have been shipped to Russia's new spaceport for launch.

Russia will be substituting local parts for its rockets that used to be made in Ukraine.

Russia's new Federation space capsule being developed is touted as being cheaper than the SpaceX Dragon Capsule.

Due to the crashing Russian economy and slashed Russian space budget, the new Angara-A5V rocket first launch has been postponed at least ten years to 2025.

USA:

Did the law that granted Americans and American companies rights to mine asteroids not go far enough?  Should the US have allowed foreign companies to register claims?   I think that would have clashed with the international treaties regarding outer space, but also would have ended up making the US the defacto arbitrator of all things space.  That seems like a really big...presumption.

Dragon 2 landing rocket test.

SpaceX also tested the Dragon 2 capsule's parachute system, but with a mass simulator rather than a capsule.

The NASA awarded three new resupply contracts for the space station.  SpaceX will continue with their Dragon capsule.  Orbital ATK will continue with their Cygnus module.  The new addition is Sierra Nevada with a unmanned cargo version of their DreamChaser.  This is partially being funded by the Europeans.  The really good news about the decision is losers, Boeing and Lockheed, will not be protesting the selections!

Lockheed has stated the Orion capsule is still on schedule for its 2018 first launch. Work on the pressure vessel for the first Orion has completed.

The Senate and House have introduced legislation to reinstate the limitation on the United Launch Alliance on using the Russian rocket engines.  Congress is debating the engine ban now.

In a related move, the US Air Force may terminate the unique contract it has with the ULA due it not bidding on a GPS launch.

Musk claims he will be unveiling his Mars architecture in September and the first launch to Mars will be in 2025.

Obama Signed Asteroid Mining Law, may Lead to Treaty Violation

U.S. President Barack Obama signed legislation on Wednesday providing a framework for space companies to mine ore from asteroids and other bodies, but legal critics are worried the measure could lead to violations of international law.

The Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act gives any American who successfully extracts natural resources from outer space the property rights over the haul.

But it has long been agreed between countries that outer space is not to become another Wild West, some legal scholars argue, and the new law risks privatizing a realm that is meant to belong to all of humanity.

"My view is that natural resources [in space] should not be allowed to be appropriated by anyone — states, private companies, or international organizations," said Ram Jakhu, a professor at McGill University's institute of air and space law.

He said the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, signed by the U.S. and other countries, including Canada, makes it clear that the surfaces and contents of asteroids and other celestial bodies are protected from commercial harvesting.

The treaty's Article 2 reads, "Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means."

That view isn't unanimous among legal scholars, however. Some say small asteroids don't qualify as "celestial bodies," while others say it's not "appropriating" an asteroid to extract minerals from it. And the new law does contain a clause making it clear the U.S. isn't asserting sovereignty or exclusive rights over any celestial body.

Ricky Lee, an Australian lawyer who wrote his doctoral thesis on the legalities of space mining, said companies are already making routine, for-profit use of limited space resources by launching satellites into low orbits, and especially into high-up geostationary orbits, of which there are a maximum number of slots available.

"So the idea that commercial use of space resources is prohibited by the Outer Space Treaty... is quite simply absurd," he said in an email.

link.

Commercial Space Bill Passed, Allows Asteroid/Moon Mining Goes to President for Signing

The House of Representatives has approved the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, paving the way for it to be sent to President Barack Obama for signature. The Senate approved an identical measure last week.

[...]

Space Resource Exploration and Utilization

Establishes a legal right to resources a U.S. citizen may recover in space consistent with current law and international obligations of the United States. Directs the President to facilitate and promote the space resource exploration and recovery.

[...]

Identifies Appropriate Oversight for the Commercial Development of Space

Directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy, in consultation with the Department of Transportation, Secretary of State, NASA and other relevant Federal agencies, to assess and recommend approaches for oversight of commercial non-governmental activities conducted in space that would prioritize safety, utilize existing authorities, minimize burdens on industry, promote the U.S. commercial space sector, and meet U.S. obligations under international treaties.

link.

2nd link.

How Substantial was Metatron's Investment Into Deep Space Industries?

The asteroid mining firm Deep Space Industries (DSI) announced today that Metatron Global, A.S., an international investment firm with offices in the Czech Republic, has agreed to make a substantial investment in the company. The investment will enable DSI to accelerate its plans to prospect for resources at an asteroid in the near future, hire more top level leadership and develop high value products based on its groundbreaking technologies.

"DSI is not your usual company. Our business plan is not your usual business plan. It takes a special kind of investor to step up and support what we are doing," said DSI Chair Rick Tumlinson. "Metatron is that kind of company. Not only are they incredibly sophisticated, not only do they take due diligence to another level, they "get it". More, they are not just writing a check, but adding their expertise and energy to ours as we move forward, adding a new and important dimension to our team."

-

link.

China Successfully Launches Long March 6 Rocket

China successfully launched its new Long March 6 rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on Sunday, with the booster placing 20 small satellites into orbit.

Long March 6 is a three-stage small satellite launcher capable of placing up to 1,080 kg (2,381 lb) into a sun-synchronous orbit of 700 km (435 miles). It is 29.2 meters (96 feet) tall.

link.

An Article in the New York Law Journal on Asteroid Mining Legalities

Over the last two years, U.S. business and policy makers have focused afresh on the commercial possibilities of the asteroids—the solar system's minor planetary objects. Most of these are located between Mars and Jupiter, while some are closer to Earth. Some have large deposits of precious metals and other potentially valuable substances. In the last few years, some private operators have announced plans to mine them commercially, a concept that, until now, has been exclusively the realm of science fiction.

In apparent response to these initiatives, the House of Representatives recently passed the "Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act of 2015," H.R. 1508, part of a broader SPACE Act of 2015, H.R. 2262. The proposed legislation aims to assure private companies of title over "[a]ny asteroid resources obtained in outer space"—assuming, of course, that they are eventually able to get there. Although this initiative only began in the late part of the last congressional session, with relatively brief hearings, it was sponsored by key members of the House Committee on Space, Science and Technology. The bill now goes to the Senate (where it already has at least two potential adherents, including presidential candidate and Senator Marco Rubio). If enacted, this will be a bold, if controversial, development in U.S. space policy.

link.

Lockheed, MDA, Thales Alenia Unveil Jupiter Deep Space Tug, Cargo Ship

link.

U Washington Paper: 22% Profit Over 20 Years for Asteroid Mining

Defining a successful commercial asteroid mining program

Authors:

Andrews et al

Abstract:

This paper summarizes a commercial Asteroid Mining Architecture synthesized by the Senior Space Design Class at the University of Washington in Winter/Spring Quarters of 2013. The main author was the instructor for that class. These results use design-to-cost development methods and focused infrastructure advancements to identify and characterize a workable space industrialization architecture including space transportation elements, asteroid exploration and mining equipment, and the earth orbit infrastructure needed to make it all work. Cost analysis predicts that for an initial investment in time and money equivalent to that for the US North Slope Oil Field, the yearly world supply of Platinum Group Metals could be increased by 50%, roughly 1500 t of LOX/LH2 propellant/year would be available in LEO, and very low cost solar panels could be assembled at GEO using asteroidal materials. The investment also would have a discounted Net Present Value Return on Investment of 22% over twenty years.

Virginia Commonwealth University Researcher Attempting to Grow Plants in Meteorites

or those of us without a green thumb, growing even the most hardy plants in perfect conditions can seem impossible. How about trying to grow plants on a meteorite? Well, at least one scientist is doing it, with moderate levels of success.

The thinking goes—if we're going to have space colonies, we're going to need some way to eat. Transporting all food from Earth isn't realistic, and neither is bringing tons of bags of topsoil. Photos of asteroids, meteors, and other planets in our solar system look incredibly desolate, but, in fact, some of them contain many of the nutrients necessary to grow plants.

"People have been talking about terraforming, but what I'm trying to do is give some concrete evidence that it's possible to do this, that it's possible to grow in extraterrestrial materials," Michael Mautner, a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher and one of the world's only "astroecologists" told me. "What I've found is that a range of microorganisms—bacteria, fungi, and even asparagus and potato plants—can survive with the nutrients that are in extraterrestrial materials."

Asteroids and meteorites often contain phosphate, nitrates, and even water that plants can feed on. Mautner thinks it's not outside the realm of possibility to directly grow certain plants on other planets, in some sort of protected environment.

He's not simply tossing asparagus seeds onto a meteorite, however—he's grinding up the rock into something more closely resembling soil. His plan is to eventually find several different plants and extraterrestrial soils that make the most sense to farm, and use his experiments to develop a "rating system" for which are likely to fare best—a kind of interplanetary farmer's almanac, if you will.

Of course, Mautner is doing these experiments on Earth, and it's worth taking his results with more than a grain of salt—he's not considering the lack of oxygen on other planets and the different gravity conditions.

"The conditions outside Earth are presumably anaerobic—that's an order of magnitude harder to do," he said. "But, if we can find things that can grow in extraterrestrial materials under Earth conditions, you can start to talk about it. We can maybe start to use those materials in artificial, oxygen-containing environments."

link.

Japanese Design, Plan (?) Solar Power Satellites

Imagine looking out over Tokyo Bay from high above and seeing a man-made island in the harbor, 3 kilometers long. A massive net is stretched over the island and studded with 5 billion tiny rectifying antennas, which convert microwave energy into DC electricity. Also on the island is a substation that sends that electricity coursing through a submarine cable to Tokyo, to help keep the factories of the Keihin industrial zone humming and the neon lights of Shibuya shining bright.

But you can’t even see the most interesting part. Several giant solar collectors in geosynchronous orbit are beaming microwaves down to the island from 36 000 km above Earth.

It’s been the subject of many previous studies and the stuff of sci-fi for decades, but space-based solar power could at last become a reality—and within 25 years, according to a proposal from researchers at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The agency, which leads the world in research on space-based solar power systems, now has a technology road map that suggests a series of ground and orbital demonstrations leading to the development in the 2030s of a 1-gigawatt commercial system—about the same output as a typical nuclear power plant.

It’s an ambitious plan, to be sure. But a combination of technical and social factors is giving it currency, especially in Japan. On the technical front, recent advances in wireless power transmission allow moving antennas to coordinate in order to send a precise beam across vast distances. At the same time, heightened public concerns about the climatic effects of greenhouse gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels are prompting a look at alternatives. Renewable energy technologies to harvest the sun and the wind are constantly improving, but large-scale solar and wind farms occupy huge swaths of land, and they provide only intermittent power. Space-based solar collectors in geosynchronous orbit, on the other hand, could generate power nearly 24 hours a day. Japan has a particular interest in finding a practical clean energy source: The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant prompted an exhaustive and systematic search for alternatives, yet Japan lacks both fossil fuel resources and empty land suitable for renewable power installations.

link.

SpaceX Plans Multiple Tests for Rocket Reusability

While Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and NASA monitored the Falcon 9 second stage as it powered a Dragon cargo spacecraft on the third cargo resupply (CRS-3) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) from Kennedy Space Center on April 18, another group of launch specialists was looking elsewhere. They were tracking the descent of the first stage to a controlled, gentle splashdown and demonstration of what they hope will clear the way for routine powered-booster recoveries on land.

The test was another step toward SpaceX's aim of fundamentally reducing launch costs by employing completely reusable rocket boosters that can be quickly refueled for another flight without rebuild or refurbishment. To achieve this target, which could see the first test flight of a reused booster as early as 2015, the company plans to guide a discarded first stage to a powered landing at a yet-to-be-determined site along the Florida coastline this year.

While SpaceX remains coy about the exact fate of the modified Falcon 9 first stage, the overall results appear to be encouraging despite the apparent breakup of the booster after it landed in heavy seas. Additional encouragement comes from the successful first vertical launch and recovery test flight of the Falcon 9 Reusable (F9R) development unit 1 at SpaceX's rocket facility in McGregor, Texas, the day before the CRS-3 flight.

“We are starting to connect the dots,” says SpaceX CEO and chief designer Elon Musk, who confirmed on Twitter shortly after launch that the “landing in Atlantic was good.” The “dots” Musk refers to range from development and testing of specific guidance, navigation, control and landing technology using dedicated test vehicles such as the F9R Dev 1 and a scaled predecessor called the Grasshopper, to key tests of reusable technology during actual launches. However, Musk cautions that all the dots need to be joined before SpaceX can claim success: “To be reusable, it must be both rapid and complete, like an aircraft or a car.” Having to replace parts or refurbish stages between flights will defeat the object of saving costs. “The only thing that changes is reloading propellant and expendables, and the vehicle is designed for that,” he adds.

link.

Parabolic Arc Digs Into Blue Origins Plans

The FAA recently approved Blue Origin’s application to expand operations at its West Texas test site “to include new development vehicles, which would use liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants.”

The supplemental environmental assessment was required because of a shift in propellants used in flight tests. The FAA conducted an earlier review in 2006 when it originally approved the testing of reusable propulsion modules and crew capsules (CCs) at the site.

The Final Supplemental Environmental Assessment for the Blue Origin
West Texas Launch Site is a fascinating in that it provides an insight into the vehicles and test operations of the notoriously secretive company.

What follows are excerpts from the report outlining key elements of the company’s future test plans.

link.

ESA Changes Procurement Practices to try to Make Ariane 6 More Competitive

ESA has tossed aside one of its key spending practices — juste retour — in an attempt to produce a new Ariane 6 launch vehicle that can compete with cheaper ones offered by SpaceX and Chinese and Indian providers.

Juste retour (“fair return”) is the space agency’s way of spreading work around to companies in different nations in proportion to what national governments put into a program. The approach produced the highly reliable but expensive Ariane V, whose components and systems are produced throughout Europe.

link.

Is Google Planning Teledesic-like Satellite Constellation?

NSG Analysts have heard from several usually reliable industry sources that a major company, possibly “Google or Facebook,” could be announcing the launch of a very large constellation of satellites in the near future.

“Very large constellation” is defined as up to 1,600 small satellites. Based on information Parabolic Arc has received, the story seems to be true. Google appears to be pursuing a plan to provide global broadband services that is similar to a failed attempt by a company called Teledesic.

Why Google? Well, Facebook hasn’t shown any interest in advanced satellites or space technologies. Mark Zuckerberg’s company has been primarily focused on providing an information sharing platform on which it can sell ads and mine user data for profit. It’s not clear how a global broadband network would fit into the company’s plans.

Google, on the other hand, has shown a great interest in space through the Google Lunar X Prize and other activities.

link.

Tethers Unlimited Demos Orbital Carbon Fiber Manufacturing Prototype

TUI Successfully Demonstrates Novel Tech for On-Orbit Manufacturing of Space Structures: Under a Phase I NASA SBIR, TUI has successfully demonstrated in the laboratory a novel “Trusselator” device that uses additive manufacturing techniques to enable on-orbit fabrication of high-performance carbon-fiber truss structures. The Trusselator technology is a key element of TUI’s “SpiderFab” architecture, which will enable on-orbit fabrication of huge antennas, high-power solar arrays, and other systems not possible with current technologies.

link.

DARPA Worried US is Freezing in Place for Space Technology Development

National-security space programs have become so slow and costly that the U.S. faces the “self-inflicted surprise” of other nations being able to put capabilities into orbit much faster, says the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) director.

Formed in 1958 to prevent a repeat of the “technological surprise” of the Soviet Union's Sputnik satellite launch, the Pentagon agency has embarked on a group of projects intended to make access to space quicker and cheaper. It is an effort to counter what Darpa Director Arati Prabhakar sees as a troubling development “to do with how slow and costly it is for us to do anything we need to do on orbit for national security purposes.”

The projects involve lower-cost, more-responsive launch systems for smaller satellites; building blocks that allow spacecraft to be produced more rapidly and cheaply; robotic technology to assemble, upgrade or repurpose satellites in orbit; and sensors to see and control what is going on in space.

Speaking at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' SciTech 2014 conference here last week, Prabhakar said that as commercial and foreign space activity increases, the U.S. is “freezing in place . . . in terms of our ability to react and do what we need to do quickly, cost-effectively in space.” This is putting at risk the precise, lethal warfare capability “that is a core element of our national security today . . . [but is] simply not possible without the assets we have in space,” she says.

link.