Aerospace and Defense Review : News

The booster was recovered by SpaceX using controlled landing on its seafaring drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You' in the Atlantic ocean. This makes it possible for SpaceX to test if the launcher can actually be used ten times as intended Elon Musk owned SpaceX took a big leap towards its dream of making the internet available to the consumers. The company launched yet another sixty satellites on its Falcon 9 heavy rockets. Unlike the previous year's batch of satellites, these new ones do not require to be tested. They have been launched to form the constellation that shall provide uninterrupted internet connectivity. SpaceX set another public record with the most number of flights by a Falcon 9 Launcher. This was the Falcon 9's fourth relaunch, lifting off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station . The launch took place on Veterans Day, commemorating military veterans, with SpaceX dedicating the flight to service members. The booster was recovered by SpaceX using controlled landing on its seafaring drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You' in the Atlantic ocean. This makes it possible for SpaceX to test if the launcher can actually be used ten times as intended. At present, network providers rely on wireless cell towers and routed cables to provide connectivity to customers. This means a lot of remote areas around the world still do not have access to the internet. The other available options are either too expensive or offer prolonged connectivity speeds. Traditional satellite internet providers beam internet coverage from a high orbital perch, with their satellites positioned in geostationary orbit. The long-distance the signal needs to travel makes it slow. SpaceX's Starlink constellation is set to operate at a much lower altitude, which will hopefully solve the problem of slow signals, providing reliable coverage at lower prices. The company believes that in with another six to eight launches of the Starlink constellation satellites, they will be ready to provide satellite internet to the U.S. by mid-2020s. However, SpaceX is not the only company involved in the race. Several other companies, like OneWeb, Telesat, and Amazon, have also ventured into setting up a satellite network . ...Read more

The 11th warfighting command under the military shall function with the aim to protect and defend the space domain. Just like the confidential military space data, the operations and functioning of the U.S. Space Command will be kept a secret U.S. President Donald Trump's move to set up and activate U.S. Space Command has been hailed by many as a necessary decision to warn all those who question U.S. dominance in space. Air Force Gen. John Raymond will lead the unified combatant command as commander of the U.S. Space Command . The 11th warfighting command under the military shall function with the aim to protect and defend the space domain. Just like the confidential military space data, the operations and functioning of the U.S. Space Command will be kept a secret. The U.S. Space Command was first established in 1985. However, it was merged with U.S. Strategic Command in a post 9/11 realignment of military resources. While this may seem like a reactivation of the command, officials pointed out that the U.S. Spcaecom much different from its predecessor. It has been 17 years since the first U.S. Space Command was shut down, and things have changed rapidly. There is an increased dependency on satellites for every aspect of military operations. China and Russia's development of electronic and kinetic weapons is a worrisome factor for the U.S. government as it poses a threat to the U.S. satellites present in space. Under the U.S. Strategic command, the primary focus is of nuclear deterrence, which would leave space without an adequate amount of attention. U.S. Spacecom, on the other hand, gives top priority to space. Here are three interesting facts about the U.S. Spacecom Spacecom Established, not Operational Commander Raymond has been authorized to build roughly a 300-personstaff at U.S. Space's temporary headquarters at Preston Air Force base, Colorado. Currently, Air Force Gen. John Raymond, is the second in command at the U.S. Spacecom. The organization will be supported by two on-field organizations; a Combined Force Space Component Command (CFSCC) at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and a Joint Task Force Space Defense (JTF-SD) at Schriever Air Force Base , Colorado. The CFSCC is currently tasked with overseeing over 70 Air Force, Army, and Navy space units and ensures space capabilities such as GPS navigation and satellite-based communications are available to the U.S. commanders and its allied nations. The JTF-SD is a new organization that operates along with the U.S. Intelligence Community, the Classified National Space Center . It will be in charge of identifying potential threats and preparing the options to defend satellites if they come under attack. Working with Allies, in a Classified Way Both the on-field teams for Spacecom are combined teams. Commander Raymond also seems to have been emphatic about building and improving partnerships with allies. Previously, the CSpOC was known the Joint Space Operations Center and was changed to Combined Space Operations Center , keeping the allies in mind. Partner nations with a permanent presence at the CSpOC include Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The 2018 space warfare planning effort called Operation Olympic Defender has also been transferred to the U.S. Spacecom. The United Kingdom was the first country to join this mission then. The Pentagon is often criticized for keeping threats as classified. According to Raymond, it is essential that the U.S. government makes its enemies aware of its capabilities and does not hold every information classified. The U.S. Spacecom will require the ability to discuss threats more openly in order to tackle the problem. U.S. Spacecom vs. U.S. Space Force The Spacecom is not the same as the Space Force, although the Trump administration is pushing for the establishment of the latter. There has been a lot of misconception that both the Space Force and the Spacecom are one entity. As a result, a large part of the Pentagon's outreach was towards explaining the difference between the two. The U.S. Spacecom is a combatant command which is in charge of preparing all military operations in space . It is supported by service members, drawn mostly from the Air Force, Army, Navi, and Marine Corps. The Space Force will be set up as a service division under the Air Force Wing. The U.S. military shall provide the combatant commanders with the required weapons to be battle-ready. ...Read more

The MILO Institute aims at speed and cost control, seeking to perform missions within five years that cost $200 million or less. The organization was built around the premise that many worthwhile space science missions don’t receive the government backing they need to reach orbit The nonprofit MILO Institute has revealed names of some of the governments and universities across the world signing onto its plan of sharing the costs of deep space science missions across multiple organizations. The MILO Institute, unveiled at the 2018 International Astronautical Congress in Bremen Germany, is a research collaborative led by Arizona State University with support from Lockheed Martin and Lockheed Martin subsidiary GEOShare. The organization was built around the premise that many worthwhile space science missions don’t receive the government backing they need to reach orbit. “There is more compelling space science that should be getting done, that needs to get done but is simply not getting done,” said GEOShare CEO Lon Levin. MILO Institute executive director and CEO of the ASU Research Enterprise (ASURE) David Thomas believes that if organizations pool their resources, more missions could fly and more engineers, scientists and students would have opportunities to participate. Also, the MILO Institute aims at speed and cost control, seeking to perform missions within five years that cost $200 million or less. "A scientific panel will ensure MILO Institute missions perform decadal level science," said Levin. The lunar missions have been scheduled to fly alongside NASA payloads. In case there is enough payload, then the mission could fly alone on the McCandless Lunar Lander. This would provide an opportunity for MILO Institute members to perform compelling science on the surface of the moon at a small fraction of the traditional mission cost. Lockheed Martin was one among the nine countries selected by NASA last year in the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program to bid on task orders to send payloads to the lunar surface. However, Lockheed Martin is yet to get any task order of nature. Besides, the Milo Institute will be inviting members to perform close flybys of asteroids and comets in a mission called NEOShare and travel to Apophis, before 2029 when the asteroid comes within 30,000 kilometers of Earth's surface. Check This Out:- Top Aerospace Manufacturing Solution Companies ...Read more