Outerspace

DARPA’s big bet on Blackjack

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency foresaw the commercial space boom and recognized an opportunity. Ventures flush with private capital are gearing up to build large constellations of small satellites in low Earth orbit to provide low-latency communications at competitive prices. DARPA was intrigued by what satellite mass production could mean for military space programs.

It was that thinking that drove DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office in 2018 to start Blackjack, an “architecture demonstration” to test the military utility of LEO constellations and mesh networks of low-cost satellites.

Blackjack’s program manager, Paul “Rusty” Thomas, joined DARPA in 2017 after an extensive career running technology and space programs at SpaceX, Orbital Sciences Corp., and Iridium’s original satellite manufacturer Motorola.

In an interview with SpaceNews, Thomas said Blackjack has generated excitement because of its potential to disrupt the traditional approaches for building constellations. Now the pressure is on to deliver on its stated goal: deploy 20 satellites by 2022 to demonstrate that LEO systems can be a more resilient and affordable alternative to the Defense Department’s exquisite and costly geosynchronous satellites.

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In Just One Week, NASA Will Launch a Spacecraft to 'Touch the Sun'

NASA is just a week away from launching its next science mission, a spacecraft called the Parker Solar Probe that will eventually "touch the sun." 

If all goes according to plan, the probe will take off aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket in the early morning of Aug. 11 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The 45-minute launch window opens at 3:45 a.m. EDT (0748 GMT). You can watch the launch live on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV.

To successfully reach the sun, the Parker Solar Probe needs to leave Earth incredibly quickly — hence the massive rocket, which is second in launch power only to SpaceX's brand new Falcon Heavy rocket. [NASA Mission to 'Touch the Sun' Due to Launch in Early August]

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The military is building a space plane. Now it looks to have an engine up to the task

A new generation of GPS satellites is set to launch into orbit later this year. As with other national security missions, a roughly 200-foot-tall rocket will blast the massive satellite to space, fulfilling a contract worth more than $80 million.

But as nations develop technology to disable or shoot down satellites, the U.S. military has started to look at ways to rapidly and cheaply launch smaller crafts into space. One option: a reusable spaceplane that could launch small satellites 10 times in 10 days, spearheaded by a Pentagon research agency and aerospace giant Boeing Co.

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The Greatest Threat to America's Military? A 'Pearl Harbor' In Space.

In June 18, President Trump directed the Pentagon to create a Space Force. But only Congress has the authority to reorganize or create a military service. The Space Force decision will be made after deliberations by the Pentagon, Congress and other stakeholders separately and jointly.

This monumental reorganization of the military space enterprise would begin to yield benefits in the 2040s. That would be fine, as good things are worth the wait, provided no seriously bad event happens before then. Unfortunately, the threat of a space Pearl Harbor will emerge stealthily in the early 2020s in the guise of dual-use spacecraft for which we are ill-prepared. If we do not deter this devastating threat of the 2020s, the well-intentioned Space Force of the 2040s would be too little too late.  

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Our reliance on space tech means we should prepare for the worst

The first successful launch by SpaceX of its new Falcon Heavy rocket, the most powerful rocket in operation today, offered a tantalizing glimpse into the future of space — one done with a touch of typical flair from SpaceX’s billionaire owner Elon Musk, who sent his old red Tesla sports car into orbit as the rocket’s first payload. More impressive still, from a technical perspective, is that two of the Falcon Heavy’s boosters simultaneously landed back at Cape Canaveral, ready for refurbishment and reuse.


However, this breakthrough raises a number of questions about how prepared global society is to deal with the growing reliance on space-enabled connectivity, technology and services. These support a diverse array of political, military and economic activities — many of which modern life on Earth relies upon and which the public often takes for granted. Governments, militaries and commercial organizations could take steps now to better understand and mitigate the risks associated with digital society’s increasing reliance on space.


Space is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the global economy, worth $329 billion in 2016 and estimated to double to around $640 billion by 2030. While SpaceX and other companies are looking to create and exploit new markets through the application of novel technologies, such as space manufacturing, mining or tourism, Earthbound societies remain increasingly reliant on a host of more mature space services and technologies for basic functions.

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Israel to Launch First Ever Autonomous Nanosatellites on Formation Flying

A group of three nanosatellites that will fly on a controlled formation flying for the first time will be launched at the end of 2018. The project intends to prove that a group of satellites could sustain a controlled formation during a period of one year while flying at a 600 km altitude.

The satellites will receive signals from Earth and calculate the location of the emission source for purposes of search and rescue, detection and identification, remote sensing and environmental monitoring.

The size of each satellite is 10X20X30 cm, and their total weight reaches 8 kg. The satellites will carry measuring devices, antennas, computer systems, control systems and navigation equipment. The software and algorithms that will direct the flight were developed in the laboratory for distributed space systems at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.

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Why does DoD care about space situational awareness? One word: deterrence

Why does the Department of Defense engage in space situational awareness? Simple: to deter conflict. 

“Since our military is so reliant on space, we have to know what is going on in space,” John Hill, principle director for space policy within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, said March 7 at a panel discussion during the Satellite 2017 conference in Washington. 

Space situational awareness, or SSA, fundamentally boils down to deterring conflict, he said, hyperbolically, yet somewhat seriously, adding that this is also a discussion about world peace. 

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SpaceX wants to send two rich people to the moon by 2018

SpaceX is already on track to make history by becoming the first private company to carry astronauts to the International Space Station in 2018. As if that wasn't ambitious enough, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced on Monday that the company is planning to send two private citizens into orbit around the moon a mere six months after carrying its first crew to the ISS.

"I think this should be a really exciting mission that gets the world excited about sending people into deep space again," Musk said in a teleconference.

The mission, which would mark humankind's first return to the moon in 45 years, will be funded by two private individuals who approached SpaceX with the proposition. At this point those backers remain anonymous, but Musk said they've placed a significant deposit.

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China says space program must help protect national security

China’s space program must help protect the country’s national security, but China is dedicated to the peaceful use of space and opposes a space arms race, the government said in a policy paper issued on Tuesday.

President Xi Jinping has called for China to establish itself as a space power, and it has tested anti-satellite missiles, in addition to its civilian aims

China has repeatedly said its space program is for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. Defense Department has highlighted its increasing capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed to prevent adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis.

In its policy paper, the government said the space program was an important part of the country’s overall development strategy.

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Navy Satellite Program Navigating Obstacles 

A critical Navy satellite program continues to face challenges as the Defense Department and its industry partners seek to improve the communications capabilities of deployed troops.

The $7 billion mobile user objective system, known as MUOS, is designed for narrowband communications. It aims to give U.S. forces a global smartphone-like capability with its new wideband code division multiple access waveform.

The system is expected to provide troops with higher data rates and voice quality, improved operational availability, and access to the Global Information Grid and Defense Information Systems Network voice and data services. 

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Decoding China’s quantum satellite experiments

 On August 16, China launched the world’s first quantum communications experiment satellite into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert.

The small satellite, named Micius after an ancient Chinese philosopher, is tasked to establish a hack-proof communication line – a quantum key distribution network, while performing a series of quantum entanglement experiments in space for the first time.

The quantum science satellite (QSS) program is the third mission of the 2011 Strategic Priority Program on Space Science that includes a series of satellite launches between 2015 and 2030 to explore black holes, dark matter, and cosmic background radiation.

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Did Russia Just Test a Weapon in Space?

On Dec. 16, the Russian military reportedly tested what appears to be an anti-satellite weapon—a rocket that can boost into low orbit and smash into enemy spacecraft.

The test could be the latest sign of Russia’s intention, and improving ability, to threaten America’s hundreds of government and private spacecraft—and chip away at the United States’ military and commercial advantage in space.

It might also be the latest provocation from a Russian regime that increasingly denies any responsibility for its most destabilizing moves. That’s how Moscow can get away with hacking elections in the United States and other Western countries and invading Ukraine, among other attacks on global order.

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This Remote Military Base Is Where China Blasts Humans Into Space

Jiayuguan was once the tangible edge of Chinese civilization –- where the Great Wall ends and the desolation of the Gobi Desert begins.

Now, four hours beyond those limits in a locked-down location along the Ruoshui River, China has built a gateway to the new final frontier.

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is the nation’s preeminent “space city”—one of only three places where humans are blasted into the cosmos. Six manned flights have departed from here, including last month’s Shenzhou 11 mission to China’s own orbiting lab. Manned trips to the moon and Mars in the next decades also are being discussed.

The center also is the launching place for China’s most-important machines. The world’s first quantum-communications satellite, designed to provide hack-proof transmissions for the military, left here in August. The government and military, which ultimately controls the space program, don’t announce every launch, but the nonprofit Space Foundation estimates that at least 82 attempts have been made from the site since 1970.

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The bumpy road to Vostochny, Russia's new multibillion-dollar spaceport

The desolate area six time zones from Moscow provides ample space away from most communities to launch rockets carrying small cargo such as satellites and, eventually, larger rockets and manned missions.

The facility also is expected to help ease Russia's dependence on the historic Baikonur cosmodrome, which is in formerly Soviet Kazakhstan and costs Moscow $115 million a year to lease. The Baikonur complex is where the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, and the rocket that carried Yuri Gagarin, the first human in orbit, were launched during the Cold War.

But the road to Vostochny, which means Eastern, has not been smooth since Putin signed a 2007 decree to build the multibillion-dollar spaceport. The construction turned into a public relations nightmare and a symbol of Russia's post-Soviet space failures caused in part by brain drain, erosion of scientific and technological standards and corruption.

Unpaid construction workers started hunger strikes, held rallies and painted gigantic cries for help on the roofs of their barracks before a Putin inspection visit last year. More than 80 audits identified 1,651 violations of the labor code and triggered 20 investigations into several subcontractors and hundreds of officials. Almost 180 of them were demoted and reprimanded, three were sentenced to jail and four more have been arrested.

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Russian space agency launches rocket from new cosmodrome after getting a roasting from Vladimir Putin over failed first attempt

Russian space agency Roscosmos has successfully launched a rocket from its brand new cosmodrome, after a failed first attempt on Wednesday.

The agency was left red faced when its first attempt to launch the rocket was thwarted by a technical glitch - leading many to question the state of the nation's space industry.

President Vladimir Putin was reportedly furious, after flying thousands of kilometres to watch what Russian media and officials touted as an historic event.

He criticised Roscosmos and government officials for the its handling of the situation, saying that "there should be an appropriate reaction".

However, at 05:01 Moscow time (03:01 BST) today, the unmanned Soyuz-2.1A rocket roared off into a clear blue sky from the launch pad at Vostochny cosmodrome in the remote Amur Region near China's border.

The rocket was carrying three satellites, which separated from the rocket's third stage about nine minutes into the flight, heading to their designated orbits.

"The main thing is that this launch pad is now working, it has been prepared well by you and it is functioning," Putin told cosmodrome workers on Thursday.

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House panel doubles authorized purchase of Russian rocket engines

The House Armed Services Committee voted Thursday morning to double the allowed purchase of Russian-made rocket engines from nine to 18, despite a desire to develop an American-made alternative. 

The committee adopted the amendment, by Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.), by voice vote, after vigorous debate that did not fall along party lines. 

The Air Force relies on United Launch Alliance -- a Lockheed and Boeing joint venture -- for its sensitive national security space launches, which uses a launch vehicle reliant on the RD-180 engines. 

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, lawmakers sought to cut ties with Russian defense companies and end reliance on the Russian rocket engines by as early as 2019. 

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Putin: Timely reaction should follow setbacks in space rocket industry

The reaction to setbacks in the rocket and space industry should be timely, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

"Russia remains the leader by the number of launches and this is good but it is bad that we’re confronted with a larger number of setbacks and the reaction to these setbacks must be timely," Putin said at a meeting of the state commission.

According to the Russian president, the construction of the Vostochny space center in Russia's Far East has been carried out in line with the set standards.

"In general, the spaceport was built in line with the standards," Putin said.

He recalled the construction proceeded with difficulties, there were certain problems, in particular, six criminal cases were initiated, and four people are under arrest: two in jail and two under house arrest.

"If their guilt it proven, they will have to change their warm beds at home to plank-beds in prison," the head of state said.

Putin said today’s failure of a launch from Vostochny "is connected not with the condition of the cosmodrome but with the rocket system." At the same time he said he is convinced that in general, "the rocket industry is demonstrating good rates, it considerably outstrips other related industries."

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DoD Embraces Commercial Space Boom, But Warns of Its Limits

From reusable rocket engines to hypersonic spaceplanes, the Pentagon is looking to leverage a recent boom in commercial space innovation for military applications.

But not all missions can be outsourced, according to one top military official.

Space Command Chief Gen. John Hyten laid out the case for the Defense Department's continued dominance of the space arena here at the Space Foundation’s annual Space Symposium. The US Air Force will control the vast space surveillance network for the foreseeable future, he emphasized during a Thursday media briefing.

The Air Force is currently managing space traffic for the entire world by default, analyzing data and maneuvering assets in orbit to make sure they don’t collide with each other or with free-floating debris. The Joint Functional Component Command for Space and the 14th Air Force is responsible for tracking about 23,000 objects in space each day, and sends warnings to operators around the globe to prevent accidents.

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The XS-1 spaceplane moves closer to take off: US military funds craft that could launch spy satellites and weapons by 2019

The mysterious X-37b spaceplane has captured the imagination of many, with some suggesting it is a spy plane and others who think it could be a space bomber.

But now its big brother is one step closer to being built thanks to funding from the US military.

The plane-like craft is known as the XS-1 program, short for 'eXperimental Spaceplane 1', and could blast off in 2019 on its first test mission.

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) is now entering the second and third phases of its ambitious program, which aims to make launching satellites a daily occurrence.

The XS-1 will be an airplane-like vehicle that can fly to the edge of Earth's atmosphere and quickly boost small satellites into orbit.

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ULA’s Next-Generation Rocket Takes Reusability To New Heights

United Launch Alliance’s next-generation rocket, the future Vulcan Aces, will be able to refuel in space, opening the door to in-orbital assembly and other complex space operations.

Most aerospace companies focus on reusing the first-stage rocket, ULA president and chief executive Tory Bruno said in a Wednesday interview at the Space Foundation’s annual National Space Symposium. SpaceX, for example, recently landed a first-stage Falcon 9 rocket on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean after it successfully launched a payload into space.

The concept of a reusable first-stage rocket, if it proves reliable, could transform the space launch market, potentially driving down the cost of space launch to unprecedented levels, analysts contend.