The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) has been successfully launched to the ISS onboard SpaceX's CRS-9 Mission. The module was then installed, but experienced some questionable readings under pressurization. After many hours of work in contact with Bigelow Aerospace, NASA was reassured that the BEAM was functioning correctly and the module was inflated to full size. After BEAM successfully completed an 80-hour leak check, the crew prepared for ingress. Astronaut Jeff Williams was the first to enter, taking air samples and gathering data from expansion. Williams noted that the interior of the module was "Pristine", but a bit cold. BEAM serves to be a technology demonstrator, used for research in the development of safer and more robust inflatable modules in the future.
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The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched 20 satellites aboard its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), among which were many from Planet and Terra Bella. The main payload for the launch was India's military-backed remote sensing satellite. Planet launched a dozen of its latest Dove satellites, the Flock 2p, which is their 13th design iteration and considered their "work horse" version. Terra Bella, previously called Skybox, launched the first of its second-generation satellite, and this is the first of 13 that are scheduled for launch this year.
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For the first time in the Space Frontier Foundation's history, the NewSpace Conference was held in Seattle, WA. A crowd of about 700 space-industry executives, engineers, and investors arrived for the conference. The growing space economy in the Seattle area made Seattle a logical location to host the conference. With NewSpace companies in the Seattle area backed by wealthy entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos, Paul Allen, and Elon Musk, Seattle is sure to remain a major space hub for many years to come. The Space Frontier Foundation is currently planning to alternate the conference between Seattle and Silicon Valley every other year.
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Tethers Unlimited Inc. (TUI) landed two major contracts last month. The first, from DARPA, entails the development of a "constructible, persistent GEO platform." Firmamentum, a division of TUI, will work with Space Systems Loral, NanoRacks, and Vulcan Aerospace to develop a modular space station that can be robotically assembled on-orbit. The second contract comes from the U.S. Army and NASA for the development of a high-bandwidth communication system for small satellites. TUI was also selected by NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to develop software to integrate with high performance antenna systems such as electrically steered arrays.
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Spaceflight Industries raised $18MM in Series B financing. The primary financier of this round is Mithril Capital Management, a company that specializes in the technology growth sector. In addition, previous investors in the company such as RRE Venture Capital, Vulcan Capital, and Razors Edge Capital have all contributed to the Series B funding. The company has now raised $53.5MM in total funding. In addition, the company has also acquired OpenWhere, Inc. Spaceflight Industries plans on using this acquisition to further develop and launch its BlackSky geospatial data platform.
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Sky and Space Global announced that it plans to launch up to 200 CubeSats using Virgin Galactic's LauncherOne platform. The UK based company is planning to create its own constellation capable of delivering voice, data, and text messaging services to equatorial countries, airlines, and shipping companies. The platform will consist of 3U CubeSats to be positioned in LEO. The first three CubeSats of the constellation, the Three Diamonds, will be built by European company GomSpace and are scheduled for launch on an Indian PSLV in the second quarter of 2017. The following launches with LauncherOne are scheduled to start in 2018.
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Astrobotic Technology, one of the leading Google Lunar X Prize teams, announced a new lunar lander design along with two new industry partners, Airbus Defense and Space & DHL. Its new Peregrine lander will be able to deliver between 35 and 265 kilograms of payload to the surface of the moon, with a target accuracy of 100 meters. The company also announced that Sharad Bhaskaran will be the new mission director for Astrobotic. With 25 years of experience at Lockheed Martin successfully developing and managing payload projects for spaceflight applications Sharad was a clear choice.
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Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is planning to deliver a Dream Chaser test prototype to NASA in August. SNC has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the UN's Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), laying the groundwork for future missions on behalf of other UN member countries. SNC will be working on Commercial Resupply Mission CRS-2 along with SpaceX and Orbital ATK. Dream Chaser program was put on hold after exiting NASA CRS-1 selection and currently resumed with CRS-2.
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OneWeb Satellites has selected its first three subcontractors. To equip each of its 648 operation and 252 back-up satellites, MDA will manufacture 3600 on-board antennas, Sodern will produce 1800 star trackers and Teledyne Defense will supply the communication repeater equipment. The integration of the satellites will be performed in OneWeb's brand new manufacturing facility in Florida. Arianespace and Virgin Galactic will begin launching these spacecraft in 2018, after which the satellites will be moved to their operational orbits using electrical propulsion.
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ESA, in conjunction with Airbus Defense and Space, have begun a joint project to develop an external payload platform for the ISS. Named Bartolomeo after the younger brother of Christopher Columbus, the platform aims to provide fast and affordable access to the ISS for private and commercial users. As David Parker, ESA Director for Human and Robotic Exploration states, "Commercial partnership will play a growing role in the exciting ESA vision for space exploration."
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Alaska Aerospace Corp. has just received an $80MM Contract from the United States Missile Defense Agency. The company will be providing support for testing of the U.S. Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. THAAD is an anti-ballistic missile system manufactured by Lockheed Martin that uses kinetic energy to impact incoming warheads. Kodiak, AK based flight tests are scheduled to begin in 2017.
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Boeing Opens Starliner Training Center [Link]
Neural Computing Architecture Startup [Link]
Virgin Galactic's Izakowitz as New CEO of Aerospace
[Link]
Alan Stern Receives Service Medal [Link]
SpaceX Landed, Leaning, Recovered [Link]
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This month, Richard Rocket of NewSpace Global, and Dr. Pat Patterson of SmallSat
share their respective
newspace initiatives with Dr. David Livingston on The Space Show.
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OTHER COOL THINGS
Juno Arrives at Jupiter
Jupiter Sounds Super Creepy [Link]
Stratolaunch Update [Link]
Blue Origin Livestream [Video]
SLS Booster Burn [Video]
Virgin Look Inside [Link]
Tony Hawk in Zero G [Video]
Masten's Next Generation [Video]
Space Beer [Link]
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UPCOMING LAUNCHES
July 16
Soyuz - Progress 64P
July 18
Falcon 9 - CRS9
July 28
Atlas V - NROL-61
July TBD
Long March 2D - Quantum Science Satellite
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NEWSPACE MENTIONS IN THIS ISSUE
Aerojet Rocketdyne
Aerospace Corp.
Airbus Defense and Space
Alaska Aerospace Corp.
Arianespace
Astrobotic Technology
Bigelow Aerospace
BlackSky Global
Blue Origin
Boeing
Deep Space Industries
GomSpace
KnuEdge
Lockheed Martin
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Assoc.
Masten
NanoRacks
OneWeb Satellites
OpenWhere
Orbital Insight
Planet Labs
Planetary Resources
Sierra Nevada Corp.
Sky and Space Global
Sodern
Space Systems Loral
Spaceflight Industries
SpaceX
Stratolaunch Systems
Teledyne Defense
Terra Bella
Tethers Unlimited
Virgin Galactic
Vulcan Aerospace
Zero G
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