Illustration of Axiom Segment attached at Node 2 Forward port of the ISS. Credit: Axiom Space
Just announced in a press release January 24, the joint venture between Thales and Leonardo will design and develop Axiom’s Micrometeoroid & Debris Protection System and Habitation Module. Axiom was granted access by NASA in January to attach its space station modules to the International Space Station’s Node 2 Forward port in the latter half of 2024. The Axiom Segment may eventually replace the ISS upon decommissioning later this decade. We’re one step closer to the first space settlement in low Earth orbit.
Artist rendition of Starship exploring Saturn. Image credit SpaceX/Flickr
In an interview by Stuart Clark in BBC Science Focus Magazine, Vice President for North American operations for the International Space University Gary Martin answers questions on how private enterprise is changing space exploration. Companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin, through their own initiatives and public/private partnerships are opening up the final frontier, paving the way for space settlement.
3-stage illustration of a Made in Space Archinaut platform assembling a satellite platform much larger than itself. Image credit: Made in Space
Made in Space, who’s mission is to develop state-of-the-art space manufacturing technology to support exploration, national security, and sustainable space settlement, has been acquired by Redwire, a company just formed earlier this month by AE Industrial Partners (AEI) through the acquisition of Deep Space Systems and Adcole Space. Redwire aims to be a leader in mission critical space solutions and high reliability components for the next generation space architecture. With the acquisition of Made in Space and its Archinaut platform designed to manufacture large structures in space, AEI is well positioned for solving the complex challenges of future space missions needed for space settlement.
In a thread on Twitter, Kevin Cannon suggests that suppliers for services that SpaceX will need to settle Mars such as sanitation, medical supplies, entertainment, finance and others, get started sooner rather then later laying out their plans if they want to be selected to help settle a new world.
In an essay in the The Space Review, Kamil Muzyka, a PhD Candidate at the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, lays out the space governance framework for profitable and sustainable operations through intergovernmental agreements (IGA). According to Muzyka, any new regulation should address:
Safety and security of operations
Governance and reciprocal approach to authorization of space activities
Dispute resolution
A platform for information sharing for commercial, safety, and scientific use
A framework for processing, manufacturing, and construction using space objects with the use of obtained resources
Liability for damage caused by people and machines
The use of synthetic organisms within space objects or on the surface of a celestial body
Addressing the issues of extraterritorial intellectual property suits
Recommendations for space debris removal, recycling, reuse, and protection of national heritage sites (space objects and their direct vicinity) on the surface, subsurface, atmosphere, or orbit of a celestial body
The Hague International Space Resources Governance Working Group is already working on the Building Blocks of an International Framework on Space Resource activities that will lead to eventual codified space law in this area.
Procure Space (Ticker symbol UFO) is a little known Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) available to average investors that is the only such vehicle focusing mainly on the space industry. Created by ProcureAM, LLC the ETF trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The objective of the fund is to track the S-Network Space Index which is designed to measure the performance of companies engaged in space-related industries. In the future, additional companies engaged in other space-related industries may emerge and be added to the index. These industries could include space colonization and infrastructure, among others.
Procure Space ETF (UFO) portfolio breakdown by industry sector and country. Graphic credit: ProcureAM
Dynetics, one of three companies awarded a contract by NASA to develop a Human Landing System (HLS) for the Artemis Program, has just come out with a 3D printing file accompanied by a booklet of step-by-step instructions for hobbyists to make their own scale model of the company’s HLS. This is great way to inspire young people to get into STEM fields and hopefully get involved in space exploration and settlement.
Image of Dynetics’ 3D Printing Instructions and completed HLS Model. Image Credits: Dynetics
One of many proposed space solar concepts; depiction is not to scale. Image credit: Naval Research Laboratory
NSS just posted a link to a recent NRL report outlining the next steps needed to make space solar power a reality. We’ve linked to the report on our Space Solar Power page. The report concludes with six recommendations:
(1) Mature space solar’s functional technologies and develop advanced concepts, particularly for power beaming.
(2) Monitor and maintain parity with foreign developments to avoid technological surprise, and to reduce the chances of being faced with a breakout capability.
(3) Advance robotic in-space assembly and manufacturing technology. Investment in these fields could have spin-off dividends in areas as diverse as astronomy, intelligence, and space industrialization.
(4) Address regulatory hurdles, especially in the area of spectrum identification for power beaming.
(5) Track technological progress regularly in areas such as launcher reuse and satellite mass production.
(6) Strengthen relationships between defense and civilian agencies, as well as international partners.
In a recent thread on Twitter referring to a forthcoming paper, Kevin M. Cannon calculates the optimum path for rover access down into the cold traps in lunar craters at the Moon’s poles. The entire dataset including an ice prospecting guide is available on Cannon’s website which is now linked on our In Situ Resource Utilization page
Lowest-energy, lowest-distance and lowest-slope paths from illuminated, flat staging areas outside the cold trap to a target within it. Image and text credits: Kevin Cannon via Twitter
A European student team call Ampex 20 is working on a project called MoonFiber which aims to automate production of glass fibers on the Moon. Applications include fabrication of composites, thermal insulation, fabrics and other products requiring woven material. Products made in-situ from local materials significantly reduce costs by not having to transport them from Earth.
Spinning unit capable to withstand the Moon environmental conditions. Image credit: Ampex 20
The MoonFiber project is being conducted by RWTH Aachen University in Germany. A teaser video is available here.
