Latest news with #40thSpaceSymposium
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US and China need a space hotline for orbital emergencies, experts say
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Finding a peaceful relationship with the growing prowess of China's space program could start with a simple phone call on a new hotline. The United States needs to act now to address threats to space assets, find new approaches to space traffic management to support the growing space economy, and incorporate commercial perspectives into civilian and national security space policy. That's the output from a task force report sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations, highlighted during the Space Foundation's 40th Space Symposium held April 7-10 in Colorado Springs. The report, "Securing Space: A Plan for U.S. Action," asserts that if the United States is to adapt to today's fast-paced commercial, technological, and national security landscape in space, it needs to make space a top national priority. The report also calls for the creation of a space hotline with China, to be used to lower the risks of miscalculation or misunderstanding as the U.S. and China continue to militarize Earth's orbit. Esther Brimmer, a senior fellow in global governance at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), said a specially-constituted task force proposed a seven-part plan, urging policymakers to reshape its approach to uphold U.S. leadership in space. "There is no single international organization to help manage space, but we can work with the institutions we have," Brimmer said. She was the project director of the CFR space report. CFR is an independent think tank, generating policy-relevant ideas and analysis on consequential issues that face the United States and the world. "It's the first time the Council on Foreign Relations has addressed anything to do with space," said retired U.S. Space Force Lieutenant General Nina Armagno. She served as co-chair of the CFR report along with Jane Harman, a former U.S. Congresswoman. "The space economy is booming," said Armagno, with escalating booster launchings around the world that lob spacecraft into Earth orbit. "But with that, comes congestion, debris, and the threats that we all know are there by Russia and China." But with all that activity, Armagno said "there are no rules in the space domain" and "is anyone listening, I don't know." Within the space community there is an "echo chamber," Armagno said, noting that the CFR report on space is directed at the Trump administration with the intent that they will declare space as a national priority. If funding is applied to that aim, said Armagno, "then we know this administration is listening." Armagno said that the CFR report acknowledges that China is essentially here to stay. "Our report points to sharpening our policy on China. Our policy can't be 'China bad.'" However, China is preparing for conflict in space, with some reports suggesting that it is honing "dogfighting" skills, Armagno added. "Our policy has to be what can we do in the global domain together," but with eyes wide open knowing the U.S. and China don't agree on everything and there is geopolitical tension between the two countries, she said. Two ideas fleshed out in the CFR report underscore needed rules of the road in space, said Armagno. "We want to reinvigorate the discussion on establishing a hotline," Armagno told the audience. "We have a hotline with Russia," she said, so it's not rocket science, and could be modeled in similar fashion. "So in case of an emergency or a miscalculation, we can pick up the phone and get the truth," observed Armagno. An additional idea broached in the CFR report is search and rescue, almost one of the oldest international endeavors that countries do together. "There's already an astronaut rescue agreement, but it's only to rescue astronauts on the planet … if they end up in the ocean or on land. But there's nothing about rescuing astronauts in space," Armagno said. This would be a table talk topic, Armagno said, to pursue with China ironing out the necessary steps of working together in an emergency situation, be it astronauts, cosmonauts, or even space tourists in trouble. "China is there to stay in the space domain," Armagno said, "so we need to figure out some ways to work together, at the very least, in an emergency situation." Samuel Visner of the Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center focused on the ever-growing commercial space sector. He was a member of the CFR task force. "The private sector is absolutely key to our national security," said Visner. It is intertwined with technological and economic security, he said, and "undermine any of them and you weaken our country, you weaken our allies and partners, and you weaken our global position." The private sector's role in securing space needs to be fully recognized, Visner emphasized, but stressed that commercial space endeavors are also "targets of our adversaries." Visner said commercial space systems, be it for navigating trucks to precise harvesting of fields for enhancing agricultural output are now military targets. "Our adversaries recognize that, potentially, they are vulnerable, that we depend on them, and they are preparing to exploit and attack them," said Visner. As a case in point, Visner highlighted that the first attack by Russia in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine involved a cyber attack of a space system used by Ukraine. "Russia has made it clear," Visner said, "that commercial space systems of their adversaries, Ukraine, potentially NATO, potentially the United States, are now legitimate military targets." RELATED STORIES: — Trump's 2026 budget plan would cancel NASA's Mars Sample Return mission. Experts say that's a 'major step back' — China moving at 'breathtaking speed' in final frontier, Space Force says — 'It's very pro-commercial space right now': An industry insider's off-Earth status report Underscored during the symposium discussion is a warning from the CFR task force report: "Without immediate changes to how space is governed, the benefits of access to space could be lost to everyone. As the leading spacefaring country and the home base of the most innovative space companies, the United States is uniquely positioned to determine this future." The report also notes that "unlike aviation, shipping, and telecommunications, the space economy lacks a unified, single international institution that can establish or enforce an agreed-on set of best practices." The full report can be read on the Council of Foreign Relations' website, along with a video explaining its key findings.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Can we actually build a thriving economy on and around the moon?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — Cashing in on a cislunar economy is ballyhooed by space exploration advocates. Cislunar space — the region extending from our planet to the moon — is getting a lot of attention these days, as more and more spacecraft make their way to Earth's nearest neighbor. But what needs to happen to help spark a true cislunar economy? And, given actions of late here on Earth, are we headed for a tariff-free cislunar zone? There's a lot of hard work ahead to put in place the needed hardware to sustain and define such a dollar-generating idea, experts say, but we at least have some ideas about how to get started. It turns out that power allowing day-and-night operations on the moon — that is, "plug-in and play" lunar equipment — stands out as a must-have if humanity is to develop a real, rather than aspirational, cislunar economy. The thought of cislunar space becoming a cash cow of the cosmos was heavily discussed during the Space Foundation's 40th Space Symposium, which was held here from April 7 to April 10 by the Space Foundation. "I don't see an inner solar system in which we don't significantly develop the moon if you're going to go anywhere," said Rob Chambers, director of strategy for exploration at Lockheed Martin. "The basis of an economy has to be something that Earthlings will pay for." Lockheed Martin is taking a visionary look at the building blocks of lunar infrastructure. For example, the company thinks that, by 2044, the moon could be abuzz with international research and commercial infrastructure, transforming its barren surface into a livable ecosystem. You can take Lockheed's take on the infrastructure needed to maintain a permanent presence on the moon — near its south pole, which is thought to be rich in water ice — in this futuristic tour. "We're focused on water and therefore hydrogen and oxygen propellants as the key product that is the base of the economy," Timothy Cichan, space exploration architect at Lockheed Martin, told "The big thing is power…lots of power," he said, as well as the mobility needed to source the water ice lying on the chilly, permanently shadowed floors of polar craters. "Even in lunar nighttime, it's as close to cold as the permanently shadowed regions," Chambers explained. "You have to learn how to handle getting in and out of those thermal gradients. You have to be comfortable [with] operating in the nighttime in order to do productive things in the daytime." So, do you design for cold or hot on the moon? "You've got to design for both," Chambers said. "If you've got all the power you want, say hundreds of kilowatts, now you can optimize for something other than just survival." If there's less than 85% continuous sunlight, he added, "our numbers say switch over to nuclear fission at that point. There are not that many places on the moon that have 85% sun. That, to us, says buckle up and get comfortable with nuclear fission. Once you've done that, now the world's your oyster." Cichan pointed to the evolving nature of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to establish a permanent human presence on the moon in the coming years. Additionally, there's the space agency's footing of the bill for lander-carried experiments via its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. "NASA is making sure that we can evolve to an actual economy," said Cichan. "Nobody has closed a business case around that as yet, but we want to set up the infrastructure such that it is commercially operated, so that we can evolve to a place where there is a lunar economy. It's in a nascent form right now, very dependent on government dollars." Cichan said that his message is, try to do things today to get prepared for the cislunar economy: "You have got to be there; otherwise, you're not part of the conversation." Chambers labeled our current ability to make money in a cislunar economy as a "chasm of capitalism." "I think there will be either a demand signal that the government says they will keep pouring in billions of dollars and they will buy power — for instance, writing a contract that has a guaranteed procurement with exit clauses if they don't. That's one way of getting through that chasm … assured government spending," Chambers said. Another scenario, he said, is that the mining of helium-3 — a fuel for nuclear fusion reactors — on the moon turns out to be a viable business, and then people will pour in money. "History has shown that humans figure out how to make money anywhere." Michael Nayak is a program manager with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). He's leading DARPA's 10-Year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) Capability Study. At the symposium, Nayak spotlighted what's needed within the next decade to establish an era of interoperable lunar infrastructure, which could spur a fully functioning lunar economy. "Today, the lunar economy has mining as its center. But in order for that to scale, we need megawatts of power," he said. In fact, Nayak would bet on a power company to be in the top five of a "lunar Fortune 50" business listing. In second place is heat rejection and generation as a commercial service, Nayak predicted, "especially in the wildly fluctuating temperatures of the moon." Related stories: — Moon mining gains momentum as private companies plan for a lunar economy — Water mining on the moon may be easier than expected, India's Chandrayaan-3 lander finds — NASA's Artemis program: Everything you need to know Of like mind is Jamie Porter, director of the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium managed by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. "If you don't have power, you just can't do anything. You need it to be able to move forward," Porter told the Space Symposium gathering. "At DARPA, we are simply interested in big risks," Nayak said. The hard question that quickly emerged early in the LunA-10 study, he added, was, "How does it scale?" That is, how can we move beyond prototype lunar hardware to industry infrastructure and an actual lunar economy? "Power and thermal are absolutely critical," said Nayak. "The third thing is, where should we go [on the moon] if commercial industry is the point? Where are the specific locations with 'reserves' that are sufficiently deep that I can build an end-to-end economic model around?"
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Mexico's Spaceport America looks up and into the future
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — Spaceport America is the first purpose-built commercial spaceport in the world — but its executive director has a portfolio of ideas to further grow the launch complex. Already home to an array of commercial space industry tenants, such as Virgin Galactic, SpinLaunch, Up Aerospace, and Prismatic, Spaceport America is a "rocket-friendly environment of 6,000 square miles of restricted airspace, low population density, a 12,000-foot by 200-foot runway, vertical launch complexes, and about 340 days of sunshine and low humidity," the organization boasts on its website. Scott McLaughlin is an engineer, drawing upon a past of design and business marketing to help determine how best to grow Spaceport America, an inland spot in southern New Mexico desert that offers 18,000 acres adjacent to the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range. caught up with McLaughlin in an exclusive interview during the Space Foundation's 40th Space Symposium, to gain a perspective on the Spaceport America of now and a look at what's glimmering on the horizon and assuring the sprawling complex is a vibrant and vital part of America's aerospace infrastructure. How's your outlook for Spaceport America, eyeing it as a good place for orbital launch and reentry? McLaughlin: We're trying to be a site as ready as we can and one that anticipates the market, trying to get ahead of that market. We have distinct areas of the spaceport, but not so distinct that we can't do different things at different times. In our vertical launch area [VLA], we also are looking at testing of things that could explode or crash. We're focused on getting water to that location, and also have a facility that protects operations there — like payload processing — from the sun, rain and weather. We are trying to develop the VLA to be a real orbital vertical launch site. How about supporting horizontal launch? McLaughlin: That's where we are getting a lot of interest. We're expanding access roads and about to build a hangar that acts as a security center, a STEM [education] center, and leasable office space. It would also offer a small conference area; and handle small vehicle and payload processing. That's a big change for us. You noted market changes. What changes do you see that make Spaceport America even more viable today? McLaughlin: I think opening ourselves up to doing different kinds of work. We're more like a civilian test range now. We've got high-altitude UAVs [Unmanned Aerial Vehicles]. We're willing to do engine production. We believe we're about to sign a data center, one that's able to provide services to our customers who want low-latency, artificial intelligence, or high-powered computing. You'll be able to rent some virtual machines and do your own thing and have it be instantaneous at the spaceport. So I think being more broadminded about what we can do at the spaceport is helping generate customers and revenue. Over the years, people have been attracted to Spaceport America due to the suborbital flights of Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic. How's that relationship? McLaughlin: Our goal is to see Virgin Galactic fly in a year or so, hopefully flying twice a week, and that will have a big impact on the spaceport. That impact also includes friends and families, no? McLaughlin: It does. It looks like each passenger brings close to 20 others. So you multiply 20 times 6 passengers onboard the spaceship, times two flights a week, times 54 weeks. That's a lot of people in the area to explore other parts of New Mexico! Projecting into the near-future, what other endeavors are in the offing? McLaughlin: Again, we're trying to be open-minded as we're partnered with White Sands Missile Range to use that airspace. We're even looking at things like an electromagnetic pulse facility. It's a customer that I can't identify yet. And our long-term goal is orbital launch. But we need a vehicle that is designed for orbital launch, either a single-stage-to-orbit with some nice abort modes, or a vehicle that might have wings which would make a nice abort mode. So we're talking to vehicle developers that are thinking the same thing. Unfortunately for us, they will have to test and prove that technology, probably over water. But once that technology is proven then we'd be a great site for both takeoff and reentry. How is the prospect of reentry into Spaceport America? McLaughlin: We are working on a reentry license too. We recently discussed this with specialists and we think we have a site relatively close to the spaceport that's flat and free of mesquite bushes and such, so we can do capsule return and other types of return. And of course we have the runway. So I'd think we'd be the only spaceport that does vertical and horizontal launch and reentry. RELATED STORIES: — Who is Virgin Galactic and what do they do? — Virgin Galactic launches VSS Unity space plane on final suborbital spaceflight with crew of 6 (photos, video) — Get a sneak peek at Virgin Galactic's new Delta class space plane (video) Being an inland spaceport, given ocean-neighboring launch sites, how do you pitch the advantages? McLaughlin: We're never going to have the throughput that the Cape in Florida has. But we'll be a good alternative especially if you're going to do a small to medium-sized launch, and you need to do it quickly, and perhaps do it more securely than you would if you were to fly over water. That's why the Department of Defense is showing interest in the inland spaceport. In your marketing campaign for Spaceport America, what are your top-tier take-away messages for potential customers? McLaughlin: We're very proud of Virgin Galactic and proud they have continued their development in spite of the difficulty of taking humans to space. But at the same time, so many people have connected Spaceport America only with Virgin Galactic. The story we have to tell is that we have a lot more space and we have a lot more customers. We have much bigger aspirations beyond Virgin Galactic, and in fact, we hope that Virgin Galactic might be part of that someday, like point-to-point travel or going into orbit. At Spaceport America we have a much larger vision. We're trying to demonstrate that to both our stakeholders and our customers. We do a lot of cool stuff, and that makes a big difference.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rocket Lab introduces line of customizable solar arrays for satellites
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Rocket Lab is showing that's about more than just rockets. The California-based company has introduced a family of customizable solar arrays, designed to fit the changing needs of customer satellites. Rocket Lab is offering the new Standardized Array, or STARRAY, line as an alternative to save first- or one-time satellite manufacturers the time of designing and testing their own solar arrays from ground, up. The line was introduced earlier this month, at the 40th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 'Customers can choose from a range of pre-engineered solar array configurations to meet the needs of their application while leveraging the flight-proven reliability, performance and speed of Rocket Lab's vertically integrated manufacturing," Rocket Lab's Vice President of Space Systems Brad Clevenger said in a statement. The STARRAY line offers seven variable solar array sizes, ranging in power output from 100 watts to over 2,000 watts. 'Our objective is to offer the industry mission-specific customization with short lead times and lower costs,' Clevenger said in the statement. In 2022, Rocket Lab acquired space solar power technologies company SolAero, to expand its space systems capabilities. The deal added solar cells to Rocket Lab's in-house processes. Now, the company boasts a vertically integrated solar array manufacturing system, allowing it to streamline production of solar cells and assemblies and solar panel subsystems to fully realized solar arrays. Related Stories: — Rocket Lab launches new NASA solar sail tech to orbit (video, photos) — Rocket Lab launches private Earth-observing radar satellite to orbit (video, photos) — Rocket Lab unveils plan to land Neutron rockets at sea, 1st launch in 2025 Expanding their space industry expertise further, Rocket Lab was also recently chosen as a potential partner for the military's multibillion-dollar programs dedicated to building hypersonic technology. And the company's HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) rocket is scheduled to launch the DART AE mission for the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit's Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Testing program.
Politico
16-04-2025
- Business
- Politico
Musk's shadow grows over space industry
For all of the fretting about Elon Musk on the national political stage, perhaps no part of America operates in his shadow more directly than the space industry. Musk's influence, even before he became President Donald Trump's trusted advisor, was already vast. SpaceX, the company he founded, accounted for 95 percent of all rocket launches from the United States last year, while its constellation of 7,000 Starlink satellites accounts for the vast majority of active satellites in space. Now, with a direct line to President Donald Trump and a new job with tendrils reaching everywhere in government, the billionaire has even more levers with which to push forward his own ideas of what America's space policy should be. Should the industry be anxious, or excited? Interviews with a series of officials suggest a potent mix of both — a familiar feeling for many executives, as they watch his one-man war on whatever he perceives as an obstacle to his will. On paper, the billionaire founder of SpaceX and Trump confidant has no official responsibility for space, and has said he must recuse himself from NASA budget decisions. But Musk — so unable to restrain himself on social media that he bought a whole platform — has stirred controversy with a string of pronouncements on space since Trump's election, calling NASA's moon mission a 'distraction,' promising a crewed mission to Mars and claiming the Biden administration stranded two astronauts on the International Space Station. Musk has also advocated for de-orbiting the International Space Station early — a job that, as it happens, will fall to his own company . (This was shortly after being called a liar by a former ISS astronaut for his claims against the Biden administration.) At the 40th Space Symposium event last week in Colorado, DFD put this directly to a number of space-industry executives. Their reactions were varied — and hinted at the perils of getting crosswise with someone who's both a rival and a gatekeeper for your future. Musk's lack of an official position is enough for Tim Crain, chief technology officer of Intuitive Machines, which builds moon landers as part of a NASA-funded program. 'I don't whipsaw on everything Elon Musk posts and publishes,' he said, to DFD. 'What actual policy comes out of that?' Instead, Crain said he was waiting for NASA administrator nominee Jared Isaacman to take his place as the agency's leader. Others have more open reservations about Musk's influence, though they're hesitant to put them on the record in public. Isaacman has close connections with SpaceX, including partnering with the company on a spacewalk that Isaacman performed. 'It remains to be seen' to what degree Isaacman will distance himself from Musk, said one space industry official, granted anonymity to discuss Musk. Executives at companies that directly compete with Musk seem particularly watchful for any signs that the owner of the world's top space company is influencing the awarding of contracts. 'There's a lot of eyes on him, so he'll have to play by the rules. Otherwise, people will be pretty quick to call foul,' said Peter Beck, CEO of SpaceX competitor Rocket Lab, speaking at Space Symposium, when asked if he was concerned about Musk's influence. The CEO of rocket maker ULA, SpaceX's main competitor for national-security launches, Tory Bruno, offered a similar answer to a similar question, speaking in March in Washington: 'Our expectation is that the procurement process continues to be fair and balanced and truly values competition,' he said. 'I wouldn't want to see it trend towards any kind of monopoly positions for any one provider or the other.' There's one big counterweight to all the anxiety: Musk loves space . Getting humanity off the Earth, and dedicating immense resources to that goal , have been constant threads when he talks about his ambitions in business and policy. So even as some space leaders feel trepidation about Musk throwing his weight around, others would eagerly welcome an American space policy in line with Musk's goals. (Many, arguably, feel both at once.) A Mars mission, for example, could benefit any number of space companies — like those already building private space stations, which would help give humans the extensive time in space they'd need to train up. A crewed Mars mission 'will create a lot of new opportunities for companies like us' said Max Haot, CEO of space station company Vast, speaking last week at Space Symposium. 'If you're going to send hundreds of people to Mars, the first trip to space they should make is not to Mars. They should spend time in space.' Of course, Musk, the richest man on Earth, may not need NASA and its yearly budget of $25 billion to accomplish his dreams at all — meaning that, when it comes to ambitions like going to Mars, Musk could turn out to be a one-man space agency. 'There is a scenario that even without government support, they're going,' said Haot, theoretically propelling profits forward for a host of Mars-related space industries.
