Aerospace and Defense Review : News

The Department of Defense (DoD) had requested for USD 15.4 billion for the Space Force, the newest branch of the armed forces under the Department of the Air Force, as part of the budget for the fiscal year 2021 This year's annual list of unfunded priorities from the U.S. military includes USD 1 billion for Space Force. The single most substantial priority on the bill is the request for USD 255 million for the launch of two GPS 3 satellites. Each year, after the Pentagon's budget request is submitted to Congress, the military services send a separate wish list to Capitol Hill, termed unfunded priorities. The list includes requests for programs that the military would like the Congress to fund, in case the lawmakers decided to add more money to the Pentagon's proposed budget. Earlier this month, the military services and the Missile Defense Agency submitted around USD 18 billion in unfunded priorities for the fiscal year 2021. “As usual, these lists will have a big impact on the puts and takes the Congress makes to the president’s $705 billion DoD budget request this year,” said Erin Neal, partner at defense and aerospace consulting firm Velocity Government Relations. The Department of Defense (DoD) had requested for USD 15.4 billion for the Space Force, the newest branch of the armed forces under the Department of the Air Force, as part of the budget for the fiscal year 2021. In a letter sent along with the Space Force's USD 1 billion list of unfunded priorities, Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond said; "the Trump administration’s proposed budget is a great first step towards building the Space Force we need for the future, and we want to continue that momentum." The Space Force's billion-dollar wish list includes a mix of launch services, satellite upgrades, classified space warfare technologies, and training for space operators. The single most significant request on the list, two GPS 3 satellites, are already under construction at Lockheed Martin's assembly line. However, the launches are yet to be funded. The additional funds will help Space Force to launch the sixth and seventh satellites of the GPS 3 constellation. The first two satellites of this constellation are already in orbit, with three more scheduled for launch in 2020 and early 2021. Some of the other requests in the 2021 unfunded priorities list include USD 149 million for on-orbit tests of the fifth Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) early warning satellite (GEO 5) and the integration of the final satellite of the constellation GEO 6, USD 175 million for satellite communications improvements, USD 110 million for new space situational awareness capabilities, and USD 30 million to speed up the payload development of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3). See Also :-  Top Space Technology Companies   ...Read more

Majority of smaller satellites don’t survive through the violent process of atmospheric re-entry. But, ESA believes that using cork for nose will help it survive through the extremities European Space Agency (ESA) is planning to test a different kind of spacecraft partially made from cork, hoping to find a safer way to re-enter the atmosphere. The vessel, called ‘QubeSat for Aerothermodynamic Research and Measurements on Ablation,’ is made up of a series of cubes heaped on top of each other and around a foot long. The main shaft is made of titanium coated with silicon carbide. According to a blog post on ESA’s website, the satellite is powered by four thin solar panel strips that stretch out behind it like a shuttlecock. On December 5th, QubeSat reached the ISS as a part of the cargo carried by SpaceX’s Dragon capsule , and recently it has been launched on an orbit that will have the capsule re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere within six months. Engeeniers designed QubeSat with a cork nose to help it survive while descending on Earth’s atmosphere. Most smaller satellites don’t survive through the violent process of atmospheric re-entry. A satellite the size of the QubeSat is likely to blast apart in temperatures that can exceed several thousand degrees Celsius. But, ESA believes that using cork for nose will help it survive through the extremities. The ESA highlights that the cork is a custom mix built by Amorim, a Portuguese company that specializes in the material’s industrial uses. The ESA engineers hope that the nose made of specially designed cork of QubeSat will keep the satellite in one piece by carrying the unwanted heat away from the main vessel, with materials first swelling and then burn off absorbing the heat. After that, the charred cork will chip away while leaving the main vessel unharmed. This process is called ablation. This approach has been used to help the larger capsule re-enter atmosphere but has rarely been used with a smaller capsule as QubeSat. See also:  Top Space Tech Solution Companies ...Read more

If people don't act quickly, there is the risk that space debris could lock out the possibility of future missions for a while. And if a collision creates pieces of debris, it will slam into other satellites as well and break them up, ultimately creating a debris belt around Earth.  Because of the growing number of satellites and orbital debris in space, it called for a change at the House hearing aids . However, how this will be legislated is still under consideration. Thanks to technological advancement, satellites today are smaller and more affordable in comparison to the big machines of the past. But with fleets of small satellites comes the risk of slamming into each other and high profile near misses, which is becoming more common. Two large, defunct, and uncontrollable satellites nearly collided in orbit two weeks ago, passing about 60 feet (18 meters) from each other, narrowly avoiding a collision that could have sent thousands of pieces of "space junk" into low Earth orbit.  In late 2019, the European Space Agency had to redirect one of its satellites to reduce the risk of a collision; the other satellite operator, SpaceX, did not respond to requests to move its own machine out of the way.  Space collisions and space junks over the decades are still causing problems today. Space assets such as weather satellites, telecommunications links, and the GPS navigation system for the United States are among the vital links of space infrastructure that could be knocked out if collisions continue. The U.S. Department of Defense has a catalog of more than 20,000 known space objects. The catalog only represents unclassified satellites or objects, and it also indicates the number of trackable objects. Some things in space are just too small to be tracked with current technology.  The House subcommittee commissioned a few experts to speak on how lawmakers can address this problem, under a provision in the 2020 NASA budget to carry out research and development activities concerning space debris mitigation and to consider a strategy for space situational awareness research and technology.  The solutions proposed were diverse, but for the most part, the experts said it would likely involve using several government entities that could include NASA, the Department of Commerce, and other possibilities. There may be some private industry involvement as well. See Also:  Top Aerospace Tech Solution Companies ...Read more