The University of Colorado Boulder and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) will soon lead a new space mission to capture the first-ever closeup look at a mysterious class of solar system objects: binary asteroids.

These bodies are pairs of asteroids that orbit around each other in space, much like the Earth and Moon. In a project review on September 3, NASA gave the official go-ahead to the Janus mission, named after the two-faced Roman god.

The mission will study these asteroid couplets in never-before-seen detail. Known as Key Decision Point-C (KDP-C), this review and approval from NASA allows for the project to begin implementation, and baselines +the project’s official schedule and budget.

It will be a moment for twos: In 2022, the Janus team will launch two identical spacecraft that will travel millions of miles to individually fly close to two pairs of binary asteroids. Their observations could open up a new window into how these diverse bodies evolve and even burst apart over time, said Daniel Scheeres, the principle investigator for Janus.

The mission, which will cost less than $55 million under NASA’s SIMPLEx program, may also help to usher in a new era of space exploration, said Lockheed Martin’s Janus Project Manager Josh Wood. He explained that Janus’ twin spacecraft are designed to be small and nimble, each one about the size of a carry-on suitcase. After blasting off in 2022, the smallsats will first complete an orbit around the sun before heading back toward Earth and sling-shotting their way far into space and beyond the orbit of Mars.

Janus is led by the University of Colorado Boulder, where Scheeres is based, which will also undertake the scientific analysis of images and data for the mission. Lockheed Martin will manage, build and operate the spacecraft.

The mission will rendezvous with two binary pairs—named 1996 FG3 and 1991 VH—each showcasing a different kind of orbital pattern. The pair called 1991 VH, for example, has a “moon” that whips around a much bigger “primary” asteroid following a hard-to-predict pattern.

The team will use a suite of cameras to track the dynamical motion in unprecedented detail. Among other goals, Scheeres and his colleagues hope to learn more about how binary asteroids move—both around each other and through space.

Executive Comments

“Binary asteroids are one class of objects for which we don’t have high-resolution scientific data,” said Daniel Scheeres, distinguished professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at CU Boulder. “Everything we have on them is based on ground observations, which don’t give you as much detail as being up close. Once we see them close up, there will be a lot of questions we can answer, but these will raise new questions as well. We think Janus will motivate additional missions to binary asteroids.”

“We see an advantage to be able to shrink our spacecraft,” said Josh Wood. “With technology advancements, we can now explore our solar system and address important science questions with smaller spacecraft.” Wood added that the mission’s twin spacecraft, each of which weigh just about 80 pounds, will travel farther than any smallsat to date. He added, “I think it’s a great test for what is achievable from the aerospace community,” Wood said. “And the Colorado-centric development for this mission, combining the space talent of both CU Boulder and Lockheed Martin, is a testament to the skills available in the state.”

The Technische Universität Berlin and Exolaunch have signed a launch agreement for the SALSAT smallsat — under this agreement, Exolaunch is providing launch, mission management, and integration services for the Technische Universität Berlin on a Soyuz-2 rideshare mission later this month (September 2020).

SALSAT (Spectrum AnaLysis SATellite), aims to analyze the global spectrum use of S-band and VHF, UHF amateur radio bands. This analysis is required due to the increasing number of users and the intensification of radio communication, which is leading to an escalating probability of interference between radio signals. The satellite will analyze the global spectrum usage with SALSA, a spectrum analyzer payload based on a Software Defined Radio (SDR).

SALSAT also features a variety of unique secondary payloads, such as a Linux based, intelligent onboard processing system to analyze the spectrum on-board. The smallsat also features novel, three-axis Fluid-Dynamic Actuator (FDA). SALSAT will be the first satellite in space to demonstrate three-axis attitude control with its FDAs.

The mission’s collected spectrum data will be made available to the public through a web portal which international researchers, study groups, and amateur radio enthusiasts can access. SALSAT will be a valuable contribution to the future of satellite communications. The mission is funded by the German Bundestag through the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Deutsche Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR).

SALSAT is a part of the September Soyuz rideshare mission – Exolaunch’s seventh mission with Soyuz-2 that is manifested by the company. The mission is set to launch numerous commercial payloads carrying cutting edge technologies from Exolaunch’s international small satellite customers. Named Wanderlust, Desire to Travel, this rideshare symbolizes both the ever-increasing importance of sustainable access to space for smallsats and the longing for travel that is currently restricted.

On the Wanderlust mission, Exolaunch is set to provide its market-leading separation systems – EXOpod for cubesats and CarboNIX for microsats – as well as the company’s EXObox sequencers, to ensure timely deployment of small satellites into their target orbit. The company has launched more than 85 smallsats on Soyuz missions to date. On this mission, Exolaunch will deploy a cluster of 15 smallsats into a Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) for customers from Europe, the UAE, Canada, and the USA.

Executive Comments

“The ultimate goal of SALSAT is to achieve the safe and sustainable utilization of the available frequency spectrum for space communications,” said Jens Großhans, SALSAT Project Lead. “We value our cooperation with Exolaunch and the support that we are receiving during the launch campaign – despite the challenges presented by the global pandemic. We look forward to seeing a successful launch of SALSAT.”

Michael Tolstoj, Program Manager at Exolaunch, added, “The restrictions imposed during the first months of the global pandemic had an especially severe impact on universities. I have a deep respect for the SALSAT team for making this mission possible despite the significant challenges they had to overcome. The Technische Universität Berlin has a formidable track record of successful smallsat missions and Exolaunch is proud to continue supporting the university’s teams and working with them on this ambitious scientific project.”

Made In Space Europe, a Redwire subsidiary, now has an agreement with Momentus to jointly develop a robotic spaceflight mission that is scheduled to launch in 2022.

Under the MoU, the companies will mount a Made In Space robotic arm on a Momentus Vigoride transfer vehicle. With the robotic arm, Vigoride could grab onto a satellite in space to move it to a new orbit.

Executive Comments

Harrison Pitman, the Product Development Specialist for Made In Space Europe, stated, “To provide transportation services to these assets, a robotic arm is used to capture the external satellites before initiating transportation operations. Robotic arms are preferred to traditional docking methods as this enables a wider array of spacecraft to be serviced by Vigoride.”

Jaroslaw Jaworski, the Made In Space Europe GM, noted that the 2022 demonstration mission will show “how robotic arms can improve in-space transportation. We are looking to critically evaluate the viability of these two highly advanced, commercial technologies working within a fully integrated system.”

Additionally, Momentus has signed an agreement to integrate two PocketPod deployers containing nine PocketQube spacecraft from Spain’s Fossa Systems with the second Vigoride demonstration mission, scheduled to launch in February 2021 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

PocketQubes are miniature spacecraft measuring five centimeters on a side. Similar to cubesats, multiple PocketQubes can be combined to create satellites of various sizes.

The PocketQubes Fossa plans to launch carry communications and Earth Observation (EO) payloads, weather sensors and an experimental propulsion system. Three Fossa PocketQubes are designed to provide Long-Range (LoRa) internet-of-things communications. LoRa is a low power wide area network protocol.

Executive Comments

“FOSSA is very pleased to be partnering with Momentus in these initial steps, we are looking forward to working with Momentus to establish a stable low-cost orbital access service for the long-run,” Julian Fernandez, Fossa CEO, said in a statement.

Mikhail Kokorich, Momentus CEO, said in a statement the new partnership “demonstrates the versatility of the Vigoride shuttle service.”

Momentus previously signed a launch service agreement with British PocketQube manufacturer Alba Orbital. Vigoride missions carrying picosatellites “will pave the way for affordable constellations of picosatellites in the near future,” Momentus said in a recent news release.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida the Kennedy Space Center at 8:46 a.m. this morning, deploying a set of approximately 60 Starlink broadband satellites 15 minutes later.

Earlier this week SpaceX confirmed that employees have been testing Starlink’s latency and download speeds, key measures for an internet service provider.

According to SpaceX engineer Kate Tice, “They show super low latency and download speeds greater than 100 [megabits] per second. That means our latency is low enough to play the fastest online video games and our download speeds are fast enough to stream multiple HD movies at once.”

The goal of SpaceX is to build an interconnected network of about 12,000 small satellites in low Earth orbit. To date, SpaceX has launched about 650 of its version 1.0 satellites and is currently building a system of ground stations and user terminals to connect consumers directly to its network.

September 1 has been established as the ‘go’ date for the lightweight Vega launcher’s flight from French Guiana to demonstrate Arianespace’s rideshare response to the growing small satellite market.

This upcoming Proof of Concept mission – which carries a total of 53 small satellites on a new dispenser system – was authorized for Tuesday which confirmed the preparedness of Vega, along with the payloads, the Spaceport’s launch site infrastructure, and the network of tracking stations.

Designated Flight VV16 in Arianespace’s launcher family numbering system, it will validate the Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS) – using a modular dispenser whose components can be assembled as needed in a building-block style. For tomorrow’s flight, seven microsatellites are installed on the dispenser’s upper portion, while 46 smaller CubeSats have been positioned on the lower portion’s hexagon-shaped module.

During Vega’s flight sequence, the seven microsatellites are to be deployed in Sun-synchronous orbit from 40 minutes into the mission through 52 minutes; followed by the CubeSats’ phased release from 1 hour, 42 minutes to just under 1 hour, 45 minutes.

SSMS provides Arianespace with flight opportunities for nano- and micro-satellites, offering solutions perfectly suited to this growing sub-segment of the launch marketplace. The service enables multiple small satellites from 1 kg. to 500 kg. to be flown together on Vega with the objective of sharing the launch cost.

Arianespace and SSMS provide the same services to the small satellite operatore as the largest customers – while new operators such as laboratories, universities and start-ups are guaranteed optimum conditions for the launch of their space projects.

The SSMS dispenser system is a European Space Agency (ESA) product developed by Italy’s Avio under ESA leadership, and was produced by the Czech company SAB Aerospace s.r.o. (CZ). The European Union contributed to the financing of tomorrow’s Proof of Concept flight.

New Zealand is celebrating the successful Rocket Lab launch of its 14^th Electron mission that deployed a single microsatellite for Capella Space. The mission was Rocket Lab’s fourth this year and brings the company’s total number of satellites deployed to 54. 

The ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Not Optical’ mission launched from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula at 03:05 UTC, 31 August 2020. Electron successfully deployed a single microsatellite to a circular orbit at approximately 500 km for Capella Space.

Capella’s 100kg class Sequoia payload is the first synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite to deliver publicly available data from a mid-inclination orbit over the U.S., Middle East, Korea, Japan, Europe, South East Asia, and Africa, and is powered by technology that can detect sub-0.5 meter changes to the Earth’s surface from space.

As the first publicly available satellite in orbit as part of Capella Space’s constellation, Sequoia will provide insights and data that can be used for security, agricultural and infrastructure monitoring, as well as disaster response and recovery. Today’s dedicated mission for Capella Space also marks the successful return to flight for the Electron launch vehicle fewer than 9 weeks since the company experienced an anomaly on July 4th during its 13^th launch.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck, said, “Congratulations to the Capella Space team in this first step to building out a new constellation to provide important Earth observation data on-demand. Electron is the ideal launch vehicle for missions like this one, where the success of a foundational deployment relies heavily on a high level of control over orbit and schedule. I’m also immensely proud of the team, their hard work, and dedication in returning Electron to the pad safely and quickly as we get back to frequent launches with an even more reliable launch vehicle for our small satellite customers.”

Rocket Lab has monthly launches scheduled for the remainder of 2020, including Rocket Lab’s first attempt to recover an Electron first stage after launch. The first recovery mission is slated for Rocket Lab’s 17^th launch, scheduled for lift-off in Q4. Details about the customer and launch window for Rocket Lab’s next Electron launch will be released shortly.

Final preparations are underway for Arianespace’s historic Vega rideshare flight with Europe’s Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS) dispenser system, which has been rescheduled within a launch window from September 1 to September 4, following multiple weather-related postponements.

SSMS provides a new dedicated European rideshare solution with Vega that is modular and capable of accommodating a full range of payload combinations. Vega’s upcoming Proof of Concept mission – designated Flight VV16 in Arianespace’s launcher family numbering system – was conceived in the context of ESA’s LLL (Light satellite, Low-cost, Launch opportunity) initiative.

VV16’s mission – with 21 customers from 13 countries on board – will serve different types of applications: Earth Observation (EO), telecommunications, science, technology/education, and more.

Hardware development was funded by the European Space Agency (ESA); while the European Union contributed to financing of the flight. The combined European efforts will enhance Arianespace’s response to the rideshare demand with solutions that are perfectly suited to the flourishing smallsat market.

Italy’s Avio is the production prime contractor for Vega, delivering the integrated launcher to Arianespace. Avio also developed the small satellite delivery system and the specific mission preparation process for Flight VV16, performing these tasks under ESA leadership. Design authority for the multi-payload dispenser system is SAB Aerospace s.r.o. (CZ) of the Czech Republic.

RBC Signals has been engaged by Momentus for satellite communication (SATCOM) services — this agreement calls for Momentus to use assets within the RBC Signals global ground station network for SATCOM services in support of a series of upcoming Momentus missions that are scheduled to start in 2021.

Momentus is a Space Transportation and Space Logistics company employing new and proprietary technologies, including water plasma propulsion, to enable “revolutionary” low-cost orbital shuttle and charter services. The core of Momentus’ business is Vigoride, a transfer vehicle delivering smallsats to custom orbits in LEO.

The 2021 missions that RBC Signals will support are important for multiple companies and researchers whose satellites will be delivered to orbit on larger rockets via ridesharing. RBC Signals’ support and technology will help power Momentus’ value proposition of transporting these smallsats to a final intended orbit in an extremely cost-efficient manner.

Momentus will be able to schedule access to RBC Signals’ network ground stations seamlessly through ROSS, which is RBC Signals’ intuitive API-based interface for scheduling antenna time.

Executive Comments

“Momentus is innovating the transportation of satellites in space and our team is thrilled to support several of their future missions,” said Christopher Richins, CEO of RBC Signals. “With nearly 80 antennas in over 50 locations across the globe, the RBC Signals network has the flexibility to serve Momentus missions and the game-changing delivery services they provide.”

“Momentus is excited to be working with RBC Signals as our ground solution provider for our Vigoride services starting in 2021,” added Rob Schwarz, CTO with Momentus. “RBC Signals is a great fit for us because they offer outstanding value and simplicity of integration. Their global infrastructure provides access to an extensive and diverse suite of ground terminal locations and capabilities, supporting Momentus’ mix of transportation and Satellite as a Service offerings. Ultimately this allows us to tailor the mission solution for our customers easily, allowing us to better serve their needs.”

Ball Aerospace has successfully completed on-orbit testing of NASA’s Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM), which included ASCENT, a non-toxic, high-performance propellant developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), on board a Ball-built smallsat.

GPIM launched on June 25, 2019 at 2:30 a.m. EDT on board a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and was commissioned in early July of the same year. Ball Aerospace is the primary contractor for NASA’s Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM).

GPIM is part of NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions program within the Space Technology Mission Directorate. Ball Aerospace is the primary contractor for NASA’s Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM). GPIM is part of NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions program within the Space Technology Mission Directorate.

Ball designed and built the small satellite, which contains NASA’s first opportunity to demonstrate the practical capabilities of a “green” propellant and propulsion system in orbit – an alternative to conventional chemical propulsion systems. The propellant is a Hydroxyl Ammonium Nitrate fuel and oxidizer monopropellant developed by the AFRL.

GPIM is part of NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions program within the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), and Christopher McLean of Ball Aerospace serves as the principal investigator. Aerojet Rocketdyne designed and built the thruster payload for GPIM that provides propulsion for the spacecraft.

Ball Aerospace and its partners tested the satellite thruster capabilities by verifying the propulsion subsystem, propellant performance, thruster performance and spacecraft attitude control performance. While in orbit, GPIM is testing the fuel and compatible propulsion system – which includes tanks, valves, and thrusters – by conducting orbital maneuvers to demonstrate the propellant’s performance during attitude control maneuvers and orbit lowering.

With approximately 95 percent of the demonstration completed to date, the flight mission has proven that the ASCENT fuel and compatible propulsion system can be a viable, effective alternative for NASA and the commercial spaceflight industry. GPIM will soon begin a final series of burns that will deplete the remainder of the ASCENT fuel and the spacecraft will reenter the earth’s atmosphere to complete the mission.

As the prime contractor for GPIM, Ball Aerospace is responsible for system engineering; flight thruster performance verification; ground and flight data review; spacecraft bus development; payload assembly integration and test; and launch and flight support. GPIM uses the Ball Configurable Platform (BCP) smallsat, which is about the size of a mini refrigerator.

The BCP smallsat provides standard payload interfaces and streamlined procedures, allowing rapid and affordable access to space with flight-proven performance. There are currently two additional BCP small satellites performing on orbit: STPSat-2, which launched in November 2010, and STPSat-3, which launched in November 2013. The two STP satellites were built for the U.S. Air Force Space Test Program’s Standard Interface Vehicle (STP-SIV) project.

Executive Comments

“The successful completion of this mission advances in-space propulsion for the entire user community, which opens up the possibility for a variety of missions,” said Dr. Makenzie Lystrup, VP and GM, Civil Space, Ball Aerospace. “GPIM has the potential to inspire new ideas and new missions, which could mean smaller spacecraft, faster and easier ground processing, longer design lives and more – enabling science at any scale.”

“Aerojet Rocketdyne’s specially-engineered green propulsion system proved that satellites can operate on orbit utilizing hydrazine-alternative propellant,” said Jim Maser, SVP of space at Aerojet Rocketdyne. “With an extensive offering of flight proven chemical and electric propulsion systems, green propulsion was a natural progression for the company and we’re excited to help usher in a new era of satellite operations.”

OneWeb, currently proceeding slowly through its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, is asking the US government to relax its rules on importing satellite components and materials under its Foreign Trade Zone regulations.

The Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) rules permit businesses to lower import duties and easier customs processes.

OneWeb has made its application via its joint-venture (OneWeb Satellites North America LLC) with Airbus, which is based in Merritt Island, Brevard County, Florida, and turns out OneWeb’s satellites.

The US Dept. of Commerce announced the application on the government’s Federal Register on August 19th.

“Airbus OneWeb already has authority to produce satellites for commercial, private, and military applications within FTZ 136. The current request would add foreign status materials/ components to the scope of authority. Production under FTZ procedures could exempt Airbus OneWeb from customs duty payments on the foreign- status materials/components used in export production. On its domestic sales, for the foreign-status materials/ components, Airbus OneWeb would be able to choose the duty rates during customs entry procedures that apply to its already authorized finished products (duty- free). Airbus OneWeb would be able to avoid duty on foreign-status components which become scrap/waste. Customs duties also could possibly be deferred or reduced on foreign-status production equipment,” explained the Department of Commerce.

Public comment is invited from interested parties. Submissions should be addressed to the Board’s Executive Secretary and sent to: ftz@trade.gov. The closing period for their receipt is September 28, 2020

Also of note — SpaceX has generated some $1.9 billion of fresh funding during August, and according to reports, is still looking to raise more cash. The initial target was to raise $2.066 billion.

The cash-raising exercise follows on from SpaceX raising $346 million in May.

The news comes as Musk achieves 4th position as the world’s richest person and helped by the rocketing value of Tesla shares. Musk is now worth $85 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, behind Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, in that order.

The injection of new money has been helped by solid performances from SpaceX and its delivery and return of astronauts from the International Space Station (the first-ever by a private business) and the now extremely regular launches of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites. SpaceX has launched 653 Starlink craft, although it is know that there have been some orbital failures.

The latest Starlink launch occurred on August 18th. SpaceX has launched 14 times this year, with 9 of those efforts carrying its own Starlink satellites. That launch cadence is good; however, the company’s efforts were better in 2018 when there were 20 launches of its Falcon 9 and one Falcon Heavy.

SpaceX, in an SEC regulatory filing, said the cash was raised on August 4th and 75 investors participated. The response now values SpaceX at some $46 billion. The investors will receive shares in SpaceX.

The cash will be used for general purposes and capital intensive projects at SpaceX which likely includes more rockets, more Starlink satellites and more investment on Musk’s giant Starship spaceship.

The firm’s Starship project is coming along nicely. A test ‘flight’ (SN5) on August 4th managed a journey of some 175 meters altitude, but there’s some way to go before Musk’s longer-term ambition bears fruit, which is to take 100 people to Mars and back.

News stories authored by journalist Chris Forrester,
who posts for the Advanced Television infosite
and is a Senior Contributor for Satnews Publishers.