After successfully docking its Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1) with the Intelsat 901 communication satellite, Northrop Grumman’s Space Logistics subsidiary scored a contract with DARPA today to take satellite servicing to the next level. They will partner on the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) program, with Space Logistics replacing Maxar Technologies, which withdrew last year.
The DARPA Launch Challenge came to an end today with no winner in its attempt to demonstrate fast, responsive launch. The one team left in the competition, Astra, was not able to launch its rocket from Kodiak, Alaska due to a technical problem. This was the last day in the prescribed window for it to place small satellites into orbit to win a $2 million prize.
NASA’s WFIRST space telescope may be on the Trump Administration’s chopping block, but it just cleared a critical milestone review to move forward into construction. Congress has saved the telescope — the follow-on to the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) — from cancellation twice already. It is expected to do so again for FY2021 despite the Administration’s proposal yet again to terminate it.
NASA Associate Administrator Steve Jurczyk said on Friday that the first launch of the Space Launch System (SLS) with an uncrewed Orion spacecraft, Artemis I, will take place in mid-late 2021. He also said NASA will award contracts “within weeks” for the Human Landing System (HLS) as NASA strives to meet the Trump Administration’s goal of landing astronauts on the Moon by 2024 — the Artemis program. Embracing Artemis is the first step towards a trillion dollar cislunar space economy according to space industry executive Tory Bruno who spoke at the same conference in Laurel, MD. He urged everyone to stop “squabbling” and support the program.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of March 1-7, 2020 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
Boeing continues to work through the software errors and communications issues that arose during December’s uncrewed Orbital Flight Test of the CST-100 Starliner commercial crew spacecraft. Boeing is implementing the findings of a joint NASA/Boeing Independent Review Team (IRT) and identifying gaps in its software testing, while it continues to investigate why Starliner’s communications system was not able to connect on more than 30 occasions.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) expressed skepticism tonight that any FY2021 appropriations bills, including NASA’s, will pass this year. His outlook for other legislation, like a new NASA authorization bill or his Space Frontier Act, is almost as gloomy. While hopeful that space will remain a bipartisan issue, he was harshly critical of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and is not convinced she will allow any legislation favorable to the Trump Administration to clear the House.
Today, Northrop Grumman and Intelsat announced that the Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1) docked with the Intelsat 901 communications satellite yesterday. MEV-1 is now controlling the satellite’s orbital position and attitude and will soon move the satellite back to its operational orbit where it will resume service. This is the first docking between two commercial satellites.
Virgin Galactic will roll out a new “One Small Step” initiative tomorrow to allow people interested in flying on one of its suborbital trips to space to put down a deposit to be at the front of the line when ticket sales reopen. When that will be, and how much it will cost, are still unknown, however.
Condolences are pouring in for the family and friends of Katherine Johnson, who died today at the age of 101. She won fame in recent years for her previously unheralded work as a human computer during the early days of NASA’s human spaceflight program — one of the African American women now known as the “Hidden Figures.”