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December 12, 2020December 12, 2020

Breakthrough: New aluminum alloy for radiation resistant spacecraft

Credits: Advanced Science Open Access / Wiley‐VCH GmbH

In space, conventional aluminum alloys tend to degrade when exposed to stellar-radiation such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections resulting in softening of the material to the point of dissolving over time. This property has ruled out aluminum as a lower mass material suitable for space structures…until now.

A new blend of aluminum has been discovered that may provide light weight radiation hardened material for protective hulls of spacecraft. The new research by Matheus A. Tunes et al.* was published in Advance Science. Using a metallurgical strategy called “crossover alloying,” the researchers combined 5xxx (AlMg) with the 7xxx (AlZn) alloy series obtaining beneficial properties of both such as high formability and high strength. The new amalgam was then age hardened to form a complex crystal structure of Mg32(Zn,Al)49 called a “T-Phase” that when subjected to heavy ion bombardment representative of stellar radiation, achieved a high degree of radiation tolerance. The results of the research show that the alloy is a promising candidate for applications in space.

* Authors of the Advance Science paper: Matheus A. Tunes, Lukas Stemper, Graeme Greaves, Peter J. Uggowitzer, Stefan Pogatscher.

December 5, 2020December 5, 2020

Enter the NSS Space Settlement Contest

Credits: Bryan Versteeg, Spacehabs.com via NSS

It’s time once again for the National Space Society’s annual Space Settlement Contest open to students from anywhere in the world up to grade 12. If you are a budding space settlement designer or have kids that are excited about creating communities in space, now is your chance to share your family’s vision in friendly competition with other space enthusiasts. Details can be found at the NSS Space Settlement Contest website curated by Al Globus.

Check out the winner from 2019 called ASM Corpris by The Aersospace Meridian. There’s even an ASM Corpris Anthem called “Chosen Among the Stars”!:

Image of ASM Corporis, winner of 2019 NSS Space Settlement Contest. Credits: Aerospace Meridian / Illustration by Austin Pham. Corporis logo by Jayde Whiting / The Aerospace Meridian

December 3, 2020December 3, 2020

Redwire manufactures the first 3D printed ceramic in space

Image of Ceramics Manufacturing Module (CMM), a commercial manufacturing facility that produces ceramic parts in microgravity for terrestrial use. Credits: Redwire/Made in Space

Made in Space, a recent acquisition of Redwire, has just for the first time successfully manufactured a ceramic part in their Ceramics Manufacturing Module on the ISS using additive manufacturing. The demonstration could stimulate demand in low Earth orbit from terrestrial markets which will be a key driver for space industrialization. Redwire claims that the parts, which included a turbine blisk (bladed disk) and other test pieces, demonstrate that the CMM can produce ceramic parts that exceed the quality of turbine components made on Earth.

According to Redwire’s press release: “CMM aims to demonstrate that ceramic manufacturing in microgravity could enable temperature-resistant, reinforced ceramic parts with better performance, including higher strength and lower residual stress. For high-performance applications such as turbines, nuclear plants, or internal combustion engines, even small strength improvements can yield years-to-decades of superior service life.”

Image of CCM 3D printed part fabricated in LEO. Credits: Redwire

December 2, 2020December 2, 2020

The Space Show fund raising drive

The Space Show – the nation’s first talk radio show focusing on increasing space commerce, advancing space science and economic development, facilitating our move to a space-faring economy which will benefit everyone on Earth – needs your help. The Space Show is hosted by Dr. David Livingston, who completed his doctoral dissertation in 2001 on the commercialization and expansion of space development. Take a moment to visit The Space Show website and read Dr. Livingston’s end of year message. Please give generously to ensure this valuable resource continues to promote, encourage, and support future global economic opportunities, scientific discoveries, and medical advances for all humankind through peaceful and cooperative ventures in outer space.

November 30, 2020December 13, 2020

Lunaprise to preserve humanity’s legacy on the Moon

Lunaprise has contracted with Intuitive Machines in partnership with NASA and SPACEX to place a permanent repository of human information on the Moon. The time capsule will be delivered via Intuitive Machines’ NOVA-C lander on their 2021 flight to the Ocean of Storms. Using patented nanotechnology, the Lunaprise team is able to etch messages from one million Earth Ambassadors on a pure nickle nanofiche capable of withstanding radiation and extreme temperatures on the Moon for millions of years.

You can leave a “Lunagram” helping to create a legacy of our civilization by memorializing your life story in a lunar archive. This is your opportunity to participate in humanity’s plan B in case of an Earth catastrophe, or even if we settle space, to leave a permanent record for the ages.

November 27, 2020November 27, 2020

Lunar Pantheon

A novel concept for a lunar polar settlement built like the ancient Roman Pantheon has just been published in the Philosophical Transaction of the Royal Society A. The stone structure, making full use of local in situ resources, would harness focused solar energy for construction, food production and atmospheric revitalization. The habitat would provide life support for at least 40 people with a greenhouse as large as 2000 square meters with crops illuminated by focused sunlight through a top circular oculus.

November 24, 2020November 24, 2020

Book Review: Space is Open for Business by Robert Jacobson

Space is Open for Business by Robert Jacobson is a must-read for all potential “astropreneurs” (entrepreneurs involved the NewSpace economy), space advocates, investors or anyone who wants to keep current on space commerce and its impact on the future of humanity. This book is a refreshingly positive view of our future in space, a welcome alternative outlook in stark contrast to many dystopian and negative predictions of where we’re headed in today’s media.

Jacobson covers all aspects of the nascent space economy which has already begun to grow in leaps and bounds, and is headed for explosive growth in the near future. No stone is left unturned by his deep research of all aspects of space commerce, with scores of interviews of executives from both established and small startup space companies.

I especially liked the Sci-Fi and Society chapter in which Jacobson talks about science fiction “illuminating the possibility of the space frontier”. Much of what is now happening in space was predicted in science fiction in the last century. Many CEOs and executives of NewSpace companies were inspired to pursue careers in science or engineering through science fiction books, televisions shows and movies.

Eventually, humanity will evolve to migrate off Earth and establish space settlements throughout the solar system and eventually among the stars. Development of the technologies and commercial activities for space settlement have the potential to create vast wealth, bring billions of people out of poverty and preserve Earth’s natural environment. Jacobson has provided a hopeful glimpse of how the space businesses supporting this effort will manifest this destiny.

November 23, 2020November 23, 2020

Caelus publishes study on terminology of commercial space activities, completes Sino-US Space Commercialization Perspectives Workshop

The Caelus Foundation, a nonprofit who’s mission is to advocate for broad participation in the space domain and to engage and empower people around the world to build a space-centric community through their decisions and actions, has just published a research paper providing an understanding of common terms important for achieving positive benefits from commercial space activities, and in establishing supportive and appropriate regulatory frameworks.

The authors summarize their findings with this conclusion: “This research has revealed that there are significant challenges with communicating the value of space enterprises, given the common terminology used today. This is largely due to the root word for the industry, ‘space,’ being a term that does not naturally convey any specific type of value. Terms such as ‘commercial space’ and ‘newspace’ attempt to compensate for this issue. Yet, as our interviews showed, the lack of clear and universal understanding of these words creates new challenges, while not fully addressing the obstacle of communicating the idea of space as a domain of economic and strategic value.”

On September 19th, Caelus participated in the Sino-US Space Commercialization Perspectives Workshop co-hosted by the Secure World Foundation and the Chinese Society of Astronautics. The purpose of the workshop was to create a dialogue “… to share and understand perspectives from both US and Chinese stakeholders on how space commercialization is happening in both countries, and what can be done to increase transparency between both commercial contexts.” A full debrief is being prepared in partnership with Secure World and will be made available to the public when completed in the near future.

Rob Ronci, Caelus Executive Director and co-author of the research paper appeared on The Space Show November 22 hosted by Dr. David Livingston on which I called in and discussed the above topics with him. You can listen to the show by downloading the recording on the The Space Show website.

November 19, 2020September 2, 2021

Nanoracks enters AgTech ecosystem through partnership with Abu Dhabi

Artist’s rendering of greenhouses inside a StarLab Outpost. Credits: Nanoracks / Mack Crawford

Nanoracks, a Houston based space logistics company along with Pure Harvest Smart Farms and FreshToHome, have been selected by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office to collaborate on cutting-edge projects to boost the UAE’s agriculture technology (AgTech) infrastructure “across land, sea and space”. Nanoracks is initiating a commercial AgTech space research program in its Abu Dhabi based StarLab Space Farming Center. Starlab will be a commercial space research facility focused on advancing technology for food produced in space and in extreme climates on Earth. The space-based technology will have duel-use applications to not only advance desert agriculture addressing urgent food security challenges, but also be focused on long-term human space exploration and eventual settlement.

Nanoracks plans to leverage it’s “Outposts“, space stations created from salvaged upper stages of spent launch vehicles, to house the company’s greenhouses in low Earth orbit. Next year the company plans to launch a groundbreaking first in-space demonstration mission that will test robotic cutting of a second stage representative tank material. To successfully repurpose upper stages Nanoracks will need to be able to cut metal without producing any orbital debris.

Update 1 September 2021: Nanoracks announces the launch of a new Space AgTech company, StarLab Oasis.

November 18, 2020November 19, 2020

UK to fund study of solar power satellites for wireless power generation from space

Solar Power Satellite delivering wireless power to the UK during daylight hours. (NOTE: power would be delivered 24/7). Credits: Frazer-Nash Consultancy

The United Kingdom’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is commissioning a study by the engineering consultancy Frazer-Nash on the feasibility of space-based solar power for delivery of clean, emission free energy to the country’s electrical power grid 24 hours a day. The study, announced on the Frazer-Nash website, will provide an impartial assessment for the government of the engineering viability, budget and economic benefits of space-based solar power for the UK. Frazer-Nash will partner with Oxford Economics, a global forecasting and quantitative analysis company.

Some key challenges expected from the investigation include: a realistic analysis of the scale of the engineering undertaking to build a satellite of such magnitude in space; can the economics justify the effort to be competitive with other sources of power generation; and finally, what are the international regulatory implications of radio frequency spectrum allocation?