Lifeboat Foundation

Hmmmm.

A private space company is suing the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for allegedly taking an idea and giving it to a foreign-owned competitor.

Orbital ATK accused DARPA, which develops military technology, of giving its business plan to repair satellites to Space Systems Loral (SSL), a company-based in California but registered as foreign-owned. Orbital ATK says handing business plans to SSL violates U.S. policy.

Continue reading “Gov’t Sued For Taking US Company’s Business Plan And Giving It To Foreigners” »

With the acquisition of Google’s satellite company and 88 new satellites, Planet is poised to become the world’s most powerful space surveillance company.

Japan’s ancient art of paper folding has inspired the design of a potentially trailblazing “smart” radiator that a NASA technologist is now developing to remove or retain heat on small satellites.

Technologist Vivek Dwivedi, who is standing in front of a sputtering reactor used to deposit vanadium-oxide onto sample substrates for testing, is collaborating with Brigham Young University researchers to develop a radiator ideal for small spacecraft.

Continue reading “NASA’s New Shape-Shifting Radiator Inspired by Origami” »

The devices we’re sending into space are getting smaller and lighter, which means there’s less room for bulky and static components. Flexibility and compactness are coming into vogue, and this prototype satellite radiator is inspired by that most compact and flexible of arts: origami.

An ordinary radiator would, of course, help dissipate heat generated by the sun or on-board electronics. But its shape and size, and therefore to a certain extent its capabilities, are set when it is manufactured.

Goddard Space Flight Center and Brigham Young University researchers are working on a radiator that can fold up or expand as needed to accelerate or slow the rate of heat dissipation as its operators see fit.

Continue reading “Origami-inspired radiator from NASA could change shape to warm or cool tiny satellites” »

A satellite that’s scheduled to launch later this year will conduct plant-growth experiments in both lunar and Martian gravity, as a way to help prepare for future human settlement of these worlds.

The Eu: CROPIS spacecraft will rotate around its own axis in low-Earth orbit, at an altitude of over 370 miles (600 kilometers). The satellite will initially produce the gravitational force of the moon on its inside for six months, and will then replicate Martian gravity for another six months.

During this time, tomato seeds will germinate and grow into small space tomatoes; 16 onboard cameras will document the plants’ progress. [Plants in Space: Photos by Gardening Astronauts].

OMG! Guess Guinness Records Book will be on hand at the launch.

India’s space agency will next month attempt to launch 104 satellites from a single rocket, a mission that could land it in the record books.

The Indian Space Research Organization plans to use its workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, to carry three satellites from India, and 101 smaller nano satellites from five countries—the U.S., Netherlands, Israel, Kazakhstan and Switzerland into orbit.

Continue reading “This Is How India’s Space Agency Plans to Launch a Record 104 Satellites in One Go” »

Republican members of Congress are now ordering DARPA to end their work on Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites. Why are they ordering them to stop? Because, according to National Space Policy guidelines, DARPA might be conducting operations that are potentially discouraging similar research in the private sector. Hmmmm :-(.

Republican congressmen orders DARPA to stop their work for in-space satellite services; DARPA refuses. — B.J. Murphy for Serious Wonder.

WASHINGTON: Three influential House lawmakers have asked DARPA in a Jan. 25 letter to review a robotic space repair program to see if it violates the National Space Policy by competing with private-sector efforts and to put the program on hold until the review is complete. The National Space Policy requires “that the government not build or buy systems that “preclude, discourage or compete” with commercial systems. Orbital ATK is building a system it believes competes directly with the DARPA initiative, known as Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites.

It’s an intriguing program. DARPA’s goal is to develop robotic systems that can fix damaged satellites 22,000 miles up. In the words of the program web page, it would be designed to “make house calls in space.”

Continue reading “Lawmakers Call For Halt To DARPA Program: Robots Repairing Satellites” »

Since our launch in 2016, Vector has focused on connecting space startups and innovators with affordable and reliable space by dramatically increasing access and speed to orbit. And as a result, Vector is reshaping the multi-billion launch market. Building on over 10 years of research to develop the Vector-R launch vehicle, Vector is truly at the forefront of innovation and revolutionizing the next generation of rocket launches. George Washington University has developed ground-breaking plasma steering thrusters which will help put Vector ahead in the great “New Space” race. Our collaboration with George Washington University will help us move closer to achieving our long-term vision of furthering the technological achievements for our industry.

Through this agreement, Vector will license the plasma thruster technology created by the School of Engineering and Applied Science at George Washington University for the Vector-R launch vehicle. The technology will allow us to propel miniature satellites, which are significantly less expensive and made from common materials, and control them while in space. As part of the collaboration, Vector will develop the thruster for commercial space use, and the University will continue to develop the next generation of the technology.

Small spacecraft and satellites are extreme ly difficult to maneuver and control once in space, and George Washington University’s plasma thruster technology helps us manage this problem. The thrusters use titanium as a propellant, which is converted into a gas-like plasma to provide propulsion. The plasma then accelerates and expands into a vacuum at high velocities to produce thrust. This thrust helps the craft overcome drag and maintain the small satellite’s orbit. We plan to use the technology as part of our launch system dedicated to micro spacecraft.

Continue reading “GWU’s Innovations in Electric Propulsion Technology Help Vector Provide Unprecedented Access to Space” »