Tag: space industry

NOAA Says Evidence of Rare Metals in Stratosphere Likely from Rocket Launches

The Washington Post reports NOAA researchers collected and analyzed particles in the stratosphere that indicates the presence of rare elemental metals niobium and hafnium, which “are common in spacecraft manufacturing and can be found in semiconductors, rocket chambers and other applications.” The discovery “sheds light on the environmental aftermath of a growing number of rockets, satellites and other human-made spacecraft that give off metal vapors as they reenter the atmosphere.” The researchers also “identified aluminum, lithium, copper and lead in the stratosphere – all of which are linked to alloys used by the aerospace industry.” It is still unclear “how the existence of these rare metals and other elements in the stratosphere might influence the climate.”
Full Story (Washington Post – Subscription Publication)

Commercial Space Industry Projected to Experience 41% Growth Over Next Five Years

Fortune reports that the global space economy “grew 8% to $546 billion in 2022 and is projected to climb another 41% over the next five years, according to a leading space nonprofit.” The sector is expected “to show resiliency in the coming years, despite uncertainty about the global economy and a recent slowdown in space investment.” Companies are seeing “continued revenue growth from commercial space assets and governments around the world boosting expenditures, according to a report from the Space Foundation, a Colorado Springs, Colorado-based space flight advocacy group.” The analysis “considered spending from 51 governments, as well as commercial revenue from companies in 11 space industry sub-sectors.” Space Foundation Director of Research and Digital Programming Lesley Conn said, “Commercial space is the vital growing sector of the overall space economy. Within five years, certainly you’re going to see a real acceleration and an expansion of space and space assets.”
Full Story (Fortune)

What to Expect in the Space Industry in 2023

The New York Times reports that in 2022, NASA “wowed us with cosmic scenes captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.” The DART mission “slammed an asteroid into a new orbit. Artemis I set humanity on a course back to the moon.” China finished “building a new space station in orbit, SpaceX launched 61 rockets in 12 months, and the invasion of Ukraine imperiled Russia’s status as a space power.” It’s a lot “to measure up to, but 2023 is bound to have some excitement on the launchpad, the lunar surface and in the sky.” SpaceX is building Starship for Artemis III and “numerous other rockets may take flight for the first time in 2023.” The most important, Vulcan Centaur by United Launch Alliance, “will eventually replace that company’s Atlas V, a vehicle that has been central to American spaceflight for two decades.” A number of “American private companies are expected to test new rockets in 2023, including Relativity and ABL.” They could “be joined by foreign rocket makers, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries which could test Japan’s H3 rocket in February, and Arianespace, which is working toward a test flight of Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket.” We’re guaranteed “at least one lunar landing attempt in 2023.” A Japanese company, ispace, “launched its M1 mission on a SpaceX rocket in December.” It’s taking a “slow, fuel-efficient route to the moon and is set to arrive in April, when it will try to deploy a rover built by the United Arab Emirates, a robot built by Japan’s space agency, JAXA, as well as other payloads.”
Full Story (New York Times)

AIAA Statement on the Successful Virgin Galactic Unity 22 Mission

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 11, 2021 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) congratulates our corporate member Virgin Galactic on its successful flight test of SpaceShipTwo Unity today. AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher made the following statement:

“On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we are excited to congratulate Sir Richard Branson and the Virgin Galactic team on their accomplishments today! The successful Unity 22 mission marks a major step forward in humanity’s quest to extend the human neighborhood beyond planet Earth. Virgin Galactic is helping move us closer to the day when space travel is widely accessible to people everywhere.

We especially congratulate Unity 22 Mission Specialist Sirisha Bandla on her part in this flight. In addition to serving as a Unity 22 crew member, Sirisha is a member of our ASCEND Guiding Coalition. The ASCEND Guiding Coalition is the executive board of advisors for ASCEND, the global community focused on building humanity’s off-world future faster. Sirisha exemplifies the community experience of space because no one goes to space alone.

We commend the pioneering role of Sir Richard Branson in accelerating the nascent space tourism industry. Today’s mission would not have been possible without his long-term vision and risk taking. He has courageously led the Virgin Galactic team through challenges and tragedies to get here. Their collective perseverance is admirable, reminding us of how we must accelerate innovation in space with the utmost focus on safety and our shared humanity.

We recognize the countless professionals in the aerospace industry involved in making this mission a success, from design, to fabrication, to testing, and now to operations. We salute and applaud the Virgin Galactic team for pursuing their dreams with determination and making important contributions to shaping the future of aerospace.”


Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

James Webb Space Telescope Begins Alignment Process

SPACE reports that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) mission team members “have begun the three-month process of aligning the $10 billion Webb.” For the first time, “photons from distant stars traveled through the entire telescope and were detected by Webb’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument.” NASA officials wrote Thursday, “This milestone marks the first of many steps to capture images that are at first unfocused and use them to slowly fine-tune the telescope. This is the very beginning of the process, but so far the initial results match expectations and simulations.” The alignment process involves seven phases, “which will key on imagery Webb captures of the bright star HD 84406.”
Full Story (SPACE)

Space Industry Warned of Recession Impact

Space News reports that United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno on Monday warned of the negative impact on the space industry by a possible recession. Quilty Analytics reported, “We expect the slowdown in public capital markets activity to continue, at least in the near-term, until market volatility remains subdued for a sufficient period of time.” Bruno noted the current environment is not favorable for high-risk investments, including those in the space sector. Bruno added, “There may be some companies that would have been great to have saved. But the ones that do get invested in are going to get a lot more attention and have a better chance of surviving.”
Full Story (Space News)

James Webb Space Telescope Damaged by Meteoroids

BBC News reports that one of the main mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been damaged by impact of a small meteoroid. NASA reports the meteoroid struck the space observatory “sometime between 23 and 25 May,” but is unlikely to affect mission performance.
Full Story (BBC News)

Space Industry Expected to Reach $1T In Revenue by 2040

CNBC reported that the space industry “should reach $1 trillion in annual revenue by 2040, with launch costs dropping 95%, Citigroup analysts said in an extensive report published this month.” Citi said, “Revenue from manufacturing, launch services and ground equipment will make up the majority of the revenue growth in the satellite sector. However, the fastest growth rate is expected to come from new space applications and industries, with revenue forecast to rise from zero to $101 billion over the period.”
Full Story (CNBC)

James Webb Space Telescope Fully Aligned

CNN reports that the James Webb Space Telescope is now “completely aligned, according to the NASA’s Webb team.” Webb “will be able to peer inside the atmospheres of exoplanets and observe some of the first galaxies created after the universe began by observing them through infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye.” The first high-resolution images “Webb collects of the cosmos aren’t expected until the end of June since the observatory’s instruments still need to be calibrated.”
Full Story (CNN)

James Webb Space Telescope Components Cooling to Deep Space Temperature

SPACE reported that there is no timeline as to when all the James Webb Space Telescope’s “observatory components will meet their operating temperatures.” Webb Deputy Senior Project Scientist Jonathan Gardner said Thursday the telescope’s mirrors “are not quite there yet.” All “of the observatory’s instruments are at their final temperature, including the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), which is super-sensitive to heat and gets some help from a cryocooler to stay around 7 degrees Kelvin (minus 447 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 266 degrees Celsius).”
Full Story (SPACE)

Space Industry Sees 10-Year High in Employment, But Worker Numbers May be Insufficient

Space News reports that at a briefing at the 37th Space Symposium Monday, “the Space Foundation released new data on the size of the core space industry workforce in the United States. That research found that there were 151,797 people working in the industry in 2021, an 18.4% increase over the last five years.” The average space industry salary is “more than double the overall average private sector salary,” but there is a shortage in skilled labor positions, particularly in precision manufacturing
Full Story (Space News)

AIR Receives Pre-Orders for Over 50 eVTOLs

Aviation Today interviews Avionics International CEO and co-founder Rani Plaut on the company’s “approach to designing its personal aerial vehicle and achieving FAA certification by the end of 2023.” AIR has already “received pre-orders for over 50 units” of its AIR ONE eVTOL.
Full Story (Aviation Today)

Global Collaboration for Aerospace Companies is Result of Market, Brings Advantages

Panelists: Moderator James G. Maser, Pratt & Whitney; Jean-Paul Ebanga, CFM International; Leslie J. Kovacs, United Launch Alliance; Richard “Ric” Parker, Rolls-Royce; Marc Vales, Airbus Safran Launchers; Bernard Zimmerman, Pratt & Whitney

By Hannah Godofsky, AIAA Communications

The global collaboration panel at the 2015 AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum, moderated by James G. Maser, vice president of strategy, marketing and business development with Pratt & Whitney, asked representatives from global aviation and space industry companies to discuss their experiences in international collaborations or joint partnerships.

Marc Vales, head of future programs with Airbus Safran Launchers, said Airbus and Safran collaborated to better align with the newly competitive nature of the commercial space launch industry. It was a response to market demand, he said, elaborating that it is not easy to fund space ventures without international partners.

Vales said budgets are decreasing throughout Europe and that it is not possible for all European countries to maintain their previous levels of support for space ventures. It takes a more efficient venture with a supply chain spread to provide some needed agility, he said.

“Collaboration is essential in the aero engine industry. Perversely, so is competition,” said Richard “Ric” Parker, director of research and technology with Rolls-Royce. He said Rolls-Royce has collaborated with nearly every major manufacturer of aircraft engines to power products as diverse as the Concorde supersonic airliner, military aircraft, small civilian vehicles and helicopters.

“New competitors are just new partners you haven’t yet figured out how to work with,” Parker said.

Parker stressed that Rolls-Royce is able to create an engine without collaboration but that “we must compete as if there is no collaboration and collaborate as if there is no competition.”

Bernard Zimmerman, vice president of group strategy and development with Pratt & Whitney, said his company pursues collaboration to produce the most high-quality engines possible. “Each of the partners develops and manufactures a piece of the engine,” he said. “This gives us what we call ‘best-of-the-best’ technology.”

Zimmerman highlighted other benefits of collaboration, including access to government funding and university partnerships, and stressed that collaboration has led to the safest possible aircraft engines.

“The best part about being partners is that it makes us all better,” he said, explaining that companies can be friends, competitors or suppliers, but ultimately, they’re all colleagues.

Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM International, talked about the competitive advantage that a close relationship between aerospace and government can represent. He said France and Snecma had a strong alignment, but GE Aviation could not count on the same level of support from the U.S. He characterized the U.S. government’s reaction toward technology sharing as being fearful.

“The French alignment between the government and the private sector was key,” he said. “… having a strong alignment between the government and the private sector can be a decisive factor.”

Leslie Kovacs, director of Washington operations for United Launch Alliance, a joint partnership between Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., explained that the launch market was not large enough to support the redundant capabilities provided by separate launches from the two partners. The U.S. Air Force asked them to consider merging that part of the space business.

All was going well, Kovacs said, and a stable business that has made nearly a hundred successful launches was created. The Russian invasion of Crimea, however, created a serious disruption to the supply chain that had made ULA so successful. ULA had been using an RD-180 engine designed by Russian engineers, and the cost to build that same engine domestically, as the Pentagon requested, worked out to be $800 million.

“Unforeseen political forces are undermining the greatest launch vehicle in the United States,” Kovacs said, stressing that the fixed size of the national security launch market makes it a difficult business.

Video

All 2015 AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum Videos