Airbus Has Been in Canada for Thirty-Five Years and Wants to Increase its Contribution to Our Space Activities

          By Chuck Black

Most Canadians don't think of Airbus as a space company. Those who track the industry recognize Airbus as the firm which took a 50.1% stake in the Dorval PQ based Bombardier Aerospace C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership (CSALP) in July 2018 to fund the production ramp-up needed to turn Bombardier’s single-aisle C Series (now known as the Airbus A220) into a commercial success.

Airbus in Canada. As outlined on the Airbus in Canada website, Airbus is a successful provider "of space technology and solutions to Canada’s government, military, commercial and civil space markets. Airbus’ commercial space credentials include providing advanced geostationary telecommunications satellites to Telesat, a leading satellite operator headquartered in Ottawa. The company’s military communications accomplishments include providing military satellite communication terminal equipment and secure communications services to the Canadian Armed Forces." The page also notes Airbus contributions to the DND Sapphire space surveillance satellite and the upcoming Radarsat Constellation Mission (RCM). Graphic c/o Airbus.

Others note the Fort Erie ON based Airbus helicopter manufacturing facility and the contract awarded in 2016 by the Department of National Defence (DND) Fixed Wing Aircraft Procurement Project, for 16 Airbus CC-295 aircraft to take over the search and rescue duties currently provided by six CC-115 Buffalo aircraft and 12 CC-130 legacy Hercules aircraft.

But according to Simon Jacques, the President at Airbus Defence and Space Canada, Airbus is also the second largest aerospace company in the world and heavily involved with Canada's space industry.

Simon Jacques. Photo c/o LinkedIn.

Jacques, along with Pierre-Alexis Joumel, the Airbus executive who recently co-founded "The Moon Race," initiative and Chris Dodd, the Director of business development at Airbus, spoke with this blog on Tuesday. 

According to Jacques, "Airbus has been in Canada for thirty-five years. We are Canadian and our roots are as deep as any other large company operating here."

He should know.

Jacques is also a Canadian, who spent who spent seven years at what was then known as MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (now a part of ‎Westminster CO based Maxar Technologies).

He began his career in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as a combat system engineering naval officer, according to his bio on the Montreal PQ based Aero Montreal website.

According to Jacques, his current priority is grow the Airbus footprint in Canada by building out partnerships with Canadian experts and companies able to supplement the capabilities of existing Airbus suppliers. Airbus currently lists 665 suppliers across Canada and supports over 17,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to the Airbus website.

"Our existing supply chain already supplies us with much interaction with space companies," he feels.

According to Pierre-Alexis Joumel, one of the current Airbus initiatives to target key technologies for future space exploration is "The Moon Race," an international competition to support technology demonstrations in space and on the lunar surface.

As outlined in the October 1st, 2018 Moon Race press release, "The Moon Race: Pioneering Sustainable Lunar Exploration," the goal is to:

...bring together a group of space and non-space partners from the Moon-bound community (and beyond) that will jointly award opportunities for technology demonstrations on the lunar surface to up to four candidates in order to foster global entrepreneurship.

Pierre-Alexis Joumel. Photo c/o LinkedIn.

The initial announcement of the competition was made during the 69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC2018), which was held in Bremen Germany from October 1st - 5th, 2018.

As outlined in the October 3rd, 2018 Space.com post, "'Moon Race' Backed by Blue Origin, Airbus Aims for 2024 Lunar Flight," participating entities in the competition include the European Space Agency (ESA), the Mexican Space Agency, Airbus, Kent WA based Blue Origin and Cedex France based construction giant Vinci Construction.

"We're looking to bring the best and most useful technologies to the Moon's surface," according to Joumel. Those technologies are currently divided up in to four "parallel technology streams" including:

• Manufacturing ("to construct useful items wherever they're needed" according to Joumel). 
• Energy ("to help survive the long winter night").
• Resources ("to provide the raw materials for manufacturing" and maybe even fill the first bottle of Moon water).
• Biology ("to eventually grow food on the Lunar surface").

"We're attracting teams from all over the world. We're actively looking for Canadian teams and talking with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA)," he said. "I invite Canadians who are interested in participating in the Moon Race to contact me."

More information on the event will be announced in January 2019

The Airbus executives also had some strong opinions and useful suggestions relating to Canada's future in space. 

According to Chris Dodd, "we need to move forward with the low-Earth orbit telecommunications constellation infrastructure."

As outlined in the February 28th, 2018 post, "'Big Winners' in Tuesday's Federal Budget," the Federal government included $100Mln CDN in the 2018 Budget to develop constellations of low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites intended to bring internet services to rural parts of the country, but the program hasn't been moving forward as fast as expected. 

"A $100Mln contribution is a good start, but most of it hasn't been released yet and it's not a lot when you look at the big picture and how many Canadian companies could participate in building this system," he said. 

According to Dodd, the total cost of the LEO constellation is in the range of several billions of dollars and the amount so far provided by the Federal government is only a small proportion of the total amount needed.

He also added that:

Telesat’s LEO constellation is largest space project ever conceived in Canada. It has the potential to revolutionize the delivery of affordable, high capacity, secure and resilient broadband connectivity throughout Canada and the world. 

The government needs to join with private industry to bring this ambitious telecommunications infrastructure project to fruition. It’s a good investment that will benefit Canadian, increase exports and is fully aligned with both the skills and innovation agendas.

As outlined in the August 2nd, 2018 post, "Airbus Competing Against Thales/ Maxar to Design and Build the 117 Satellite Telesat Constellation," Ottawa ON based Telesat will act as the lead on the project.

Dodd also believes in increased transatlantic space co-operation. "Canadian industry acknowledges the benefits of the current CSA efforts within the ESA. Major Canadian players including Honeywell and MDA benefit from Canadian/European co-operation and much can be gained from our partnerships." He added “The CSA should increase its contribution to ESA programs to create more opportunities for Canadian industry to participate in Europe’s Earth observation, telecommunications, science and exploration projects.” 

According to Jacques, it's "difficult for the government to pick out what's important and while we all agree that aerospace is vitally important, we often get hung up on the specifics. That's why we need a balanced space plan, something that's good for Canada and for the industry as a whole including stakeholders."

"A clear commitment by the government to a long-term, balanced space plan is long overdue," he said.

Jacques also said that the Federal government plans to begin moving forward with the proposed enhanced satellite communication project (ESCP). The program is a long running Federal proposal to build a two node constellation of modified Molniya orbiting DND satellites "to fill the requirement of the new Canadian defense policy for all-Arctic (communications) coverage."

But as outlined in the December 8th, 2017 post, "Long Awaited DND Polar Sats Postponed. Will be Cancelled/ Replaced/ Renamed After Next Election (Like Last Time)," this blog doesn't expect any further announcements on ESCP until after the next election.

Of course, who knows what will happen over the next few months, especially since it's an election year. Here's wishing Airbus the best of luck with their future plans.

Chuck Black.

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Chuck Black is the editor of the Commercial Space blog.

Zoom Zoom Zoom! We're Going to the Moon!

          By Henry Stewart

The great thing about conferences, especially something as entrenched as the annual International Astronautical Congress (IAC2018), currently winding down after a successful run from October 1st - 5th in Germany, is that many will use the event to run their projects up the international flagpole to see if anyone will step forward to offer funding.

This year, a surprising number have attempted to steal the thunder from Hawthorne CA based SpaceX CEO Elon Musk who, as outlined in the September 19th, 2018 post, "Japanese Billionaire Parties Around the Moon," announced last month that Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and an entourage of artists would use a Falcon BFR to visit the Moon in 2023.

They've done that by making their own announcements about possible new "Moon shots" and exploration initiatives. Two even boast a Canadian connection. They include:

• Ottobrunn Germany based Airbus Space and Defence and others, as outlined in the October 1st, 2018 Orlando.com post, "Another moon shot? Airbus launches 'Moon Race' competition," which noted that, "After 50 years, humans are going back to the moon, and at this point the only question is who or which company will get there first."

As outlined in the post, this effort is composed of European and North American partners including Airbus (the lead), Mexico City based Agencia Espacial Mexicana, Kent WA based Blue Origin, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Cedex France based Vinci Construction.  

More partners are expected to join as the project moves forward.

Airbus is also working with the ESA, Boeing and others on the planned US Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOP-G). As outlined in the September 20th, 2018 The Engineer post, "Airbus to develop concepts for moon-orbiting space station," the ESA has "asked Airbus to work on concepts for key parts of the proposed Deep Space Gateway, a major international effort to build a moon-orbiting space station." Photo c/a Boeing.

According to the October 1st, 2018 The Moon Race press release, "The Moon Race: Pioneering Sustainable Lunar Exploration," the partners will contribute to a German based not for profit limited liability corporation called "The Moon Race NPO gGmbH," which will manage a contest, called The Moon Race. The contest will target "teams worldwide including start-ups and new ventures eager to bring their technologies to the Moon surface." 

The object will be to establish partnerships and to gather the necessary funds for the project and to act as a "strategic platform for discussion and information sharing both inside the community."

Specific prizes and milestones are still to be defined and, as outlined in the October 3rd, 2018 Al-Jazeera post, "Moon missions in five years: Bezos' Blue Origin sets sights high," at least one of the corporate partners is working on "the conceptual design phase of a large lunar lander that it says will provide reusable access to the moon's surface and its resources."

• China which, as outlined in the October 2nd, 2018 Sputnik post, "China planning probes, manned missions, ultimately a base on moon - Space Chief," which "is setting ambitious goals, including exploring both lunar poles by 2030 and, further in the future, sending manned missions to the moon and establishing a permanent base there. 

According to the article, "the news comes as leaders of the US and Chinese space agencies said they were open to cooperation on research and missions."

• Bethesda MD based Lockheed Martin, a global aerospace and defence company which, as outlined in the October 4th, 2018 Physics.org post, "Lockheed Martin unveils its lunar lander concept vehicle," used IAC2018 to unveil its new "lunar lander concept vehicle is designed to carry a crew of four and be able to stay on the moon for up to two weeks."

As outlined in the article, Lockheed Martin is responding to "NASA's plans to renew the exploration of the moon and Mars in the next decade" with a package designed to shuttle between the moon's surface and NASA's proposed orbiting "Lunar Gateway," the newest name for what is more formally known as the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOP-G).

There's no doubt the final program will be pricey. But Lockheed Martin is assuming that buckets of money will come available for future exploration sometime after the first flights of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) either occur or the program gets cancelled to free up funds, sometime after 2020. 

• Cape Canaveral FL based Moon Express and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) which, as outlined in the curt October 3rd, 2018 CSA press release, "The CSA signs an agreement with US-based Moon Express," have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to "enable Canadian firms and researchers to offer their expertise and capabilities to Moon Express (through the CSA)."

Moon Express CEO Richard and CSA CEO Laporte on October 3rd. Photo c/o ME.

As outlined in the far larger October 3rd, 2018 Moon Express press release, "Moon Express Signs Memorandum of Understanding with the Canadian Space Agency," the two organizations "will explore the possibilities of using Moon Express lunar orbiter and lander systems for potential CSA payloads and will promote possibilities for collaboration between Moon Express and the Canadian space industry and academia."

Of course, MOU's are traditionally non-binding agreements. 

As outlined in the June 5th, 2017 post, "Only Seven Years after Bob Richards Left Canada, His Rover is Going to the Moon," Moon Express CEO and co-founder Dr. Robert "Bob" Richards is a Canadian expat entrepreneur with an extensive resume in Canada's space sector, including a stint as director of the space division at Toronto, ON based Optech (now known as Teledyne Optech). 

In essence, Richards certainly has the ability to source Canadian connections even without the active support of the CSA. 

The CSA will be hosting Fall 2018 Industry Days from October 15th - 17th at the CSA headquarters in Saint-Hubert PQ, in order to promote Canadian capabilities to Moon Express and other major space companies. For Richards, it be a triumphant return to tiny Canada after almost a decade competing successfully in a far larger international marketplace.

At IAC2018, the CSA also signed MOU's with the new Australian Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

• NASA and the Israeli Space Agency (ISA) as per the October 3rd, 2018 NASA press release, "NASA, Israel Space Agency Sign Agreement for Commercial Lunar Cooperation," which was signed by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and ISA director Avi Blasberger. 

Dr. Ido Anteby, the CEO of SpaceIL ,an Israeli nonprofit organization formed in 2011 to compete in the mostly defunct Google Lunar XPrize, was also present.

SpaceIL intends to continue "to work toward landing the first Israeli spacecraft on the Moon. Together, NASA and SpaceIL will collaborate on analyzing the scientific data returned from the mission," according to the press release. 

• NASA and a bunch of other domestic and international organizations, including (possibly) Canada. 

As per the October 3rd, 2018 NASA press release, "NASA Administrator Highlights 'Moon to Mars' Events Across Agency Oct. 24." the US space agency plans to hold an online press conference and series of events on October 24th, to provide details on how NASA will prepare to first return astronauts to the Moon and then send them to Mars.

During these events, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will speak at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at noon EDT, spotlighting NASA's new Moon to Mars approach for human space exploration. 

He'll discuss the agency's plans to lead a sustainable return to the Moon, which includes the integration of U.S. companies and international partners, with the aim to use the Moon as a proving ground for the ultimate goal - sending astronauts to Mars.

Bridenstine's speech will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

The US is also pulling in a variety of international favors in order to generate the widest possible support for the program. 

For example, as outlined first in the September 18th, 2018 post, "Colorado Based Maxar/MDA Asking for $1-2Bln to Build Another Canadarm for the US LOP-G," NASA employees are working with senior members of the CSA and others to encourage the Federal government to announce funding for Canada's contribution to future US space plans just as soon as possible.

• Russia and China which, as outlined in the October 2nd, 2018 Newsweek post, "Russia and China want to Build a Base on the Moon Together," have been exploring the options for "working jointly to establish a lunar station," as a way to save money.

According to the article, recent international political pressures are slowly driving a wedge into the traditional partnership between the US and Russia, who developed a joint partnership based on their many years of working together on the International Space Station (ISS). 

Of course, this isn't the first time China and Russia have promised greater cooperation and it likely won't be the last. At some point, both nations may even decide to follow through on their pronouncements.

As a result of the 2014 Crimean crisis, Dmitri Rogozin, the director general of the russian space corporation Roscosmos, was added to an international  sanctions list by the US, Canada and the European Union (EU), and therefore did not attend IAC2018. He was replaced at the IAC2018 Heads of Agencies Plenary by Dmitry Loskutov, the head of the international cooperation department at Roscosmos.

For more on this new race to the Moon, check out future editions of the Commercial Space blog. 

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Henry Stewart is the pseudonym of a Toronto based aerospace writer. 

When it Comes to the LOP-G, NASA Should Summon ESPRIT and/or Call for a Falcon

          By Brian Orlotti

European engineers have designed a new robotic logistical spacecraft for NASA's proposed Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOP-G).

Initial concept of the ESPRIT module, as of September 2017. Graphic c/o RussianSpaceWeb.

As outlined in the September 9th, 2018 Russia Space Web post, "ESA develops logistics vehicle for cis-lunar outpost," the new module, dubbed the European system providing refueling infrastructure and telecommunications (ESPRIT) is intended to supply fuel, power and communications for the LOP-G.

Its design is a compromise intended to compensate for changes made in early 2017 to the LOP-G's assembly schedule which imposed severe mass restrictions and, therefore, fuel restrictions on its first component.

The LOP-G’s planned first component, the power and propulsion bus (PPB) was to have been launched in 2023. In May of 2017, to deal with the imposed mass restrictions, engineers at the European Space Agency (ESA) proposed to split the PPB into two separately launched modules.

The second module, dubbed the logistics communication and utilization bay (LCUB), would offload certain tasks previously assigned to the PPB. It could take on a Canadarm, a small airlock for scientific experiments and communications gear. The LCUB would also feature an observation window in its airlock.

In mid-2017, the LCUB was renamed to ESPRIT. As its name implies, the spacecraft would carry xenon and hydrazine fuel and directly plug into the propulsion system of the PPB. ESPRIT’s onboard communications system would enable it to serve as a comms relay between assets on the lunar surface, other spacecraft and Earth.

The Japanese space agency, JAXA, is considering installing an experimental optical communications system on ESPRIT.

In order to maneuver the module to the cis-lunar station, ESPRIT would be launched along with a space tug based on the Japanese HTV or a private vehicle.

In April 2018, the new Falcon Heavy rocket became another potential carrier for ESPRIT. Launching ESPRIT on a Falcon Heavy rocket would enable it carry more fuel. However neither NASA nor the ESA have confirmed whether they would actually make use of a Falcon Heavy.

After its initial internal studies, the ESA decided that further development of ESPRIT would be conducted under contracts awarded to industry on a competitive basis.

One such contract was given to a group comprised of Toulouse France based Airbus, Cannes France based Thales Alenia Space and Bremen Germany based OHB.

The next phases of ESPRIT’s development, known as Phase B2/C and D, are scheduled to begin in early 2020 with a flightworthy module delivered to its launch site in Florida by mid-2023 and launched on an NASA's costly Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in late 2023 or 2024.

An NASA powerpoint slide from an August 27th, 2018 NASA Advisory Council meeting released by NASAWatch via twitter. As outlined in the August 27th, 2018 NASAWatch post, "NASA Wants the Lunar Gateway To Do Everything for Everyone," the final design of the LOP-G has not been finalized and NASA may be overpromising features and functionality in order to secure funding and molify potential partners. It's also worth noting that the ESPRIT module doesn't seem to be included in this slide. Graphic c/o NASA.

With NASA and the ESA’s bureaucratic miasma causing delays, redesigns and compromises, one is temped to ask why the two space agencies have stuck with the SLS launcher for ESPRIT.

Favouring a scarce, prohibitively expensive launcher versus Falcon Heavy, a cheaper system now actually being produced, does little for efficiency.

‘Not Invented Here’ syndrome, perhaps?

Brian Orlotti.

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Brian Orlotti is a network operator at the Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION), a not-for-profit network service provider to the education and research sectors.

The European Space Agency Post Brexit

         By Chuck Black

Under the belief that "leaving Earth requires international collaboration," the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has built longstanding partnerships with both NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) which allow it to gain access to space missions for a lower cost.

But Canada isn't the only country which has placed relationships with other countries at the core of their space program.

The United Kingdom's long standing partnership with the ESA is being torn apart over UK access to the Galileo Satellite Navigation system, which provides geolocation and time information to appropriate receivers anywhere on or near the Earth.

In March 2018, the European Commission (EC), the "executive cabinet" of the European Union (EU) announced that the UK may be excluded from parts of the Galileo program following its exit from the EU. This includes Galileo's publicly regulated service (PRS), an encrypted navigation service for government authorized users and sensitive applications that require high continuity.

Galileo is being built by the EU specifically so that European nations do not have to rely on the Russian GLONASS, Chinese BeiDou or the US Global Positioning Systems (GPS), which could be disabled or degraded by their operators at any time.

The UK, while it has already contributed a staggering £1Bln ($1.74Bln CDN) out of the £8.5Bln ($14.76Bln CDN) in expected Galileo costs over the life of the program, has no guarantee that the EU will continue to provide access after March 29th, 2019, when the country is scheduled to officially exit from the EU in a process known as Brexit.

As outlined in the July 4th, 2018 post, "Galileo satellite launch: EU primed for July liftoff despite UK post-Brexit uncertainty," UK Prime Minister Teresa May has already been publicly advised to "to ditch the European system in favour of America’s GPS," by Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, the UK's foreign intelligence service tasked with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligence (HUMINT) in support of the UK's national security.

According to the article, UK Business Secretary Greg Clark has asked for £100Mln in funding ($174Mln CDN) from the Treasury "to investigate whether or not Britain would be better off developing its own navigations system."

At least one, non-EU nation is currently involved with Galileo and others have been in the past. In 2009, Norway joined the programme pledging €68.9Mln ($106Mln CDN) and allowing its companies to bid for the construction contracts. Norway, while not a member of the EU, is a member of ESA, as is the UK.

Before going its own way with BeiDou, China was also a partner in Galileo.

As outlined in the January 17th, 2018 Physics.org post, "Europe's space agency braces for Brexit fallout," the ESA has been "drawing up contingency plans for projects, commercial deals, and staffing that may be adversely affected by Brexit."

As for the UK, it is heavily investing in its space industry and plans to control 10% of the international market by 2030.

That's a new path and, as outlined in the May 21st, 2018 post, "EU "Freezes" Britain out of Galileo SatNav System; RAF Promises New "British" SatNav & Space Defence Policy," its not a path likely to make many new friends for the UK within the EU.

Chuck Black.

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Chuck Black is the editor of the Commercial Space blog.

EU "Freezes" Britain out of Galileo SatNav System; RAF Promises New "British" SatNav & Space Defence Policy

          By Henry Stewart

In the latest example of how politics influences the activities of the space industry, the United Kingdom (UK) has learned that, after contributing £1.2Bln ($2.06Bln CDN) of the estimated £8.5Bln ($14.6Bln CDN) total cost towards the building of the European Union (EU) Galileo navigation satellite system (GNSS) UK scientists will not be allowed to remain involved with the program.

As outlined in the May 21st, 2018 Express post, "RAF to launch NASA-style space agency after EU freezes Britain out of Galileo project," the non-elected governing body of the European Union (EU), known as the European Commission (EC), has said that continued UK participation in the Galileo program would “no longer be appropriate” after the expected exit of the UK from the EU (known as 'Brexit"), currently scheduled for midnight on March 30th, 2019 Central European Time.

In response, UK Secretary of State for Defence Gavin Williamson has tasked the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) with assessing "the military requirements for a UK global navigation system," and developing partnerships "with other close allies such as Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the US" interested in contributing to a UK based satellite navigation project.

UK Defence Secretary Williamson. Photo c/o Mirror.

The assessment will become a core component of the first UK Defence Space Strategy, which is expected to be developed over the next few months.

Other UK news services are also reporting on the story.

As outlined in the May 21st, Independent post, "UK plans own space programme after dispute with EU over Galileo project, defence secretary announces," the UK will:

...review its contribution to the EU’s Galileo satellite programme and “plan for alternative systems in this crucial area”, Gavin Williamson has said as he announced the launch of the UK’s first Defence Space Strategy. 

The move follows an increasingly bitter dispute between Whitehall (the centre of the UK government) and Brussels (the EU capital) over the access the UK, the European Union’s biggest spender on defence, will have to the bloc’s satellite navigation project after it leaves the EU.

The article also quoted the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, who said last week that British companies could not be directly involved in a new EU satellite navigation system after Brexit, but Britain would have access to its signal.

“It cannot be business as usual,” according to Barnier. “Third countries and their companies cannot participate in the development of security-sensitive matters.”

The announcement that the UK is planning “alternative systems” suggests that the UK government is resigned to being excluded from Galileo and forfeiting its investment.

The proposed new UK Space Defence Strategy "aims to significantly boost the sector in response to changing threats to the country’s critical infrastructure," according to the May 21st, 2018 Government Europa post, "UK launches first space defence strategy to protect space-based infrastructure."

According to the post:

Under the new strategy, the RAF Air Command will take control and assume responsibility for the UK’s military space operations in the future. These operations are set to increase as the nature of space-based threats changes.

According to UK Secretary of State Williamson, “Britain is a world leader in the space industry and our defence scientists and military personnel have played a central role in the development of the EU’s Galileo satellite programme alongside British companies, so it is important we also review our contribution and how we plan for alternative systems in this crucial area.”

Galileo GNSS is being built through the European Union (EU) by the European Space Agency (ESA). It's advertized as being intended primarily for civilian use, unlike the more military-orientated systems such as the US based Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia's  Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) or China's 1st generation BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) and 2nd generation COMPASS system.

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is a "cooperating state" of the ESA and participates in a variety of ESA programs and missions including Galileo, as outlined in the October 8th, 2003 Universe Today post, "Canada Joins Galileo System."

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Henry Stewart is the pseudonym of a Toronto based aerospace writer

NASA's Proposed Lunar Outpost Will Promote "US Preeminence in Cislunar Space" & US Aerospace Companies

         By Henry Stewart

NASA has released a "partnerships memo" on the proposed Deep Space Gateway/ Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOP-G), the planned follow-on program to the current International Space Station (ISS), which has been proposed as a staging point for future Moon and planetary exploration.

But the new memo doesn't say a lot to comfort the current ISS partners, which include the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities (Roscosmos), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

As outlined in the May 2nd, 2018 NASA "Gateway Memorandum for the Record: A statement from NASA regarding partnerships and development of the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway," the next step in human spaceflight:

... is the establishment of US preeminence in cislunar space through the operations and the deployment of a US-led lunar orbital platform, “gateway.” 

Together with the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion (the Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle, an American interplanetary spacecraft intended to carry crews to destinations at or beyond low Earth orbit), the gateway is central to advancing and sustaining human space exploration goals, and is the unifying single stepping off point in our architecture for human cislunar operations, lunar surface access and missions to Mars.

The gateway advances US industry development and ensures US global leadership in an emerging, critical domain allowing the US to chart the course by which others may join...

Most importantly for the international partners,"NASA will balance and serve as the integrator of the spaceflight capabilities and contributions of US commercial partners, our international partners and other US government entities."

In other words, "America First!"

It's not that there is anything wrong with a nation prioritizing domestic political considerations over international partnerships. This is historically what nations do.

That's why the 2018 Canadian Federal budget included so much more domestic funding for science and innovation.

It's also why current US president Donald Trump, with his calls for "America First," enjoys enough popularity to remain US president, no matter what other political baggage he might happen to possess.

But looking out for Canada isn't really the role of the space agency.

CSA is the federal government agency responsible for Canada’s contributions to the ISS, so it's got to be angling for a position on whatever comes afterwords, no matter what the real benefit might be for Canada.

Bureaucracies act to preserve themselves.

If your only tool is a hammer, all your problems start to look like nails. As outlined in the May 5th, 2017 Jan Wörner blog post, "Reflecting on Where We Stand Today," the head of the ESA believes strongly in teamwork and "intensive cooperation." According to Wörner, "my simple plea if we wish to continue to secure the success of flagship (ESA) programmes is to proceed as in recent years: with a focus on teamwork, clear terms of reference for the various actors, combining efficiency with knowledge, and not looking to secure any institutional or individual advantage. The European taxpayer and all Europe’s citizens deserve no less than that their publicly-financed organisations conduct themselves according to those principles." 

The CSA also acts as Canada's liaison with other national space agencies such as NASA, the ESA and a variety of non-governmental international organizations involved in space activities such as the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS, currently chaired by retired CSA director general David Kendall, who will wrap up his term in June 2018).

And when your only real tool for solving problems is a winning personality and the ability to forge partnerships with others, then the solution to every problem is to make a new friend.

But sometime the cost of friendship is high.

Now that the Trump Administration and NASA have seen fit to appraise us of the cost of participating in the proposed Lunar outpost, we might want to take a look at one or two proposals designed to promote Canadian preeminence and highlight Canadian aerospace firms.

At some point, unless we find an area to become or remain "preeminent" in, the US and most others, will stop asking for our help.

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Henry Stewart is the pseudonym of a Toronto based aerospace writer

Those European Bureaucrats Subtly Sneering at Elon Musk Likely Won't Get the Last Laugh

          By Brian Orlotti

European Space Agency (ESA) Director General (DG) Johann-Dietrich "Jan" Wörner has finally come clean with a public admission that the advent of reusable rockets and new manufacturing technologies from "NewSpace" firms like SpaceX, Blue Origin and Rocket Lab poses a threat to European space leadership.

ESA DG Jan Wörner's public lecture on "Driving Space 4.0 – an enabler for Entrepreneurship and Innovation" at Tallinn University of Technology during his visit to Estonia on September 15th, 2016 and John Cleese as the French taunter in the 1975 British slapstick comedy film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." When it comes to rockets,Wörner and his ESA member nations along with their space agencies (including the Canadian Space Agency, an "associate member"), simply don't believe they need anything new or reusable. "I told them we already got one," they've said up until now, much like Cleese's character. Images c/o Youtube/ Python (Monty) Pictures.

In a February 11th, 2018 post on the ESA DG's personal blog under the title, " Europe's Move," Wörner noted severe upheavals in Europe over the 2016 UK Brexit vote, plus continuing economic and social troubles.

Then, in a prime example of how the rise of NewSpace is re-energizing global space efforts, Wörner called for “disruptive innovation,” with ESA member states contributing to finance the development of a new European reusable rocket.

In one paragraph, Wörner, in a textbook case of bureaucratic butt-protection, stated that in a 2014 ESA meeting, he had put forth reusability amongst the high-level requirements for the development of a new line of Ariane and Vega rockets (Ariane 6 and Vega C). But due to “time and cost pressure,” this requirement did not make it onto the agenda.

Wörner then, in a show of icy pragmatism, admitted that the world has changed and that Europe must consider new ideas and adapt, even as it now tastes the consequences of its slackness.

Readers of Wörner’s post could also detect the smoldering jealousy at SpaceX’s success, as shown in this passage:

One particularly powerful example is in the launcher sector, where global competition has been intensifying with the advent of very cheap systems. 

In addition, breakthrough developments from new space sector players such as reusable launchers and marketing wheezes like sending a car into space are attracting attention and increasing pressure on the public sector.

Wörner closed off his post by stating that French and German leaders are now supportive of  disruptive space technology. He quoted a Sept 26 2017 speech by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Sorbonne in which he stated, “I want to see Europe take the lead in this radical innovation revolution.”

Wörner also quoted from an agreement from Germany’s coalition government, “We are committed to maintaining the European Space Agency (ESA) as an independent international organisation and intend to strengthen it further.”

What satisfaction, what fulfillment, what joy it must be to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to be damned with faint praise by the very bureaucrats who sneered at him 15 years ago. As the NewSpace industry shines in triumph, we are reminded of the wisdom of Frank Herbert’s words.

Graphic c/o AZ Quotes.

Leaders in France and Germany have expressed their backing for more disruptive actions with, for example, French President Emmanuel Macron making multiple references in his speech at the Sorbonne on September 26th, 2017 to encourage “l’innovation de rupture” or disruptive innovation, as a major strategic priority for Europe before adding:

Je souhaite que l’Europe prenne la tête de cette révolution par l’innovation radicale. (translated as "I want to see Europe take the lead in this radical innovation revolution").

Similarly, the coalition agreement between the two political parties in Germany published in recent days provides a sound foundation for such a step:

Wir setzen uns dafür ein, die Europäische Weltraumorganisation (ESA) als eigenständige internationale Organisation zu erhalten und wollen sie weiter stärken (translated as, "we are committed to maintaining the European Space Agency (ESA) as an independent international organisation and intend to strengthen it further).

But words need to be followed up by actions. As outlined in the December 14th, 2018 EuroNews post, "Race to build Ariane 6 rocket launch pad," while most believe that the current ESA Ariane 5 rocket cannot compete with current SpaceX launchers such as the Falcon 9 and the Falcon Heavy, there are still four long years before the next launcher in the Ariane rocket family, the Ariane 6, is expected to be ready for its first launch.

Will the Ariane 6 be able to compete against SpaceX? According to Wörner, without substantial changes in design to include reusability, it likely won't.

Time to watch those sneers turn to fear.

Brian Orlotti.

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Brian Orlotti is a regular contributor to the Commercial Space blog.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Financial Times EXPOSES International Space Mining Plans

          By Brian Orlotti

The UK's Financial Times (FT) newspaper, generally known as a low-key conservative style publication focused on business and economic news, has included a four page supplement on space mining and commercial space activities as part of its Thursday, October 19th, 2017 print edition.

Leading with the October 19th, 2017 post, "Cosmic plans take giant leap from sci-fi to reality," FT kicked off its assessment of the efforts of a variety of public and private players in this fast developing, multi-trillion dollar industry. It's just a shame that there were no stories listing Canada's contributions in this area. Photo c/o Financial Times. 

Such media exposure highlights the continuing rise of the NewSpace industry. Here are a few of the stories:

• As outlined in the October 19th, 2017 FT post, "Space mining aims to exploit Earth-threatening asteroids," asteroids are the “Jekyll and Hyde of the solar system.” 

If their "evil" side is in charge, they can impact Earth, causing death and destruction. Their "good" side is that they offer a treasure trove of scientific information as well as an enormous supply of raw materials for humanity. The post makes the point that to embrace the "Jekylls" and avoid the "Hydes," we’ll need to know the asteroids’ location and composition. 

Both government and private efforts are discussed. On the government side, NASA’s OSIRIS-REX and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Hayabusa 2 missions are mentioned, as well as the European Space Agency's (ESA) Asteroid Touring Nano-sat Fleet.

This nano-sat fleet, proposed to the 2017 European Planetary Society Congress (EPSC2017), which was held in Latvia from September 17th - 22nd, would launch 50 nano-satellites propelled by solar sails. Each nano-sat would use a 4cm telescope to image six asteroids from a distance of about 1,000 km. 

On the private sector side, the focus was on Mountain View CA based Deep Space Industries and Redmond WA based Planetary Resources.

Noted were both the Planetary Resources’ Arkyd-301 mission, a small group of spacecraft expected to launch in 2020 that will investigate asteroids believed to be rich in exploitable water, and the Deep Space Industries’ Prospector-1 spacecraft, which will intercept a near-Earth asteroid to determine its value as a source of space resources, and is currently scheduled to launch around the same time.

• In the second, October 19th, 2017 FT post "Space mining, asteroids and why we need to map inner solar system," Danica Remy and Ed Lu of the Menlo Park CA based B612 Foundation, make the case for space agencies, private corporations, academics and non-profits to work together on a co-ordinated asteroid mapping project. 

Remy and Lu argue that such a project is urgently needed to fill in the still-missing details on the millions of asteroids in our inner solar system. Such information will be crucial for both commercial mining efforts as well as in dealing with asteroid strikes on Earth like the 2013 impact of a 17m-wide asteroid near Chelyabinsk, Russia that released 30 times more energy than the Hiroshima bomb.

• A third, the October 19th, 2017 FT post, "'Factories in space’ set the heart beating" discuss space-based 3d printing efforts.

One firm discussed was Moffett Field, CA based Made in Space, a NASA spin-off company founded in Silicon Valley in 2010. In 2014, the company installed a 3d printer on the International Space Station (ISS) and used it to produce the first "additively" manufactured object in space. 

This was followed by another printer from the company, installed on the ISS and in operation since 2016. This printer has produced parts, tools, devices and multi-part assemblies. Later this year, Made in Space will also launch equipment that can print fibre-optic cable in space with greater quality than those made on Earth. 

Also noted was the ESA’s successful 3D-printing of a 1.5-tonne demonstration building block from simulated lunar soil in 2013. 

This 1.5 tonne, mostly hollow 3D printed building block, composed of "simulated Lunar regolith,," was produced as a demonstration of in-situ Lunar construction capabilities by the ESA in 2013. As outlined in the May 16th, 2016  The Conversation post, "Want to build a moon base? Easy. Just print it," entire houses "have now been 3D printed, including out of renewable resources such as clay and earth.." Photo c/o ESA.int.

• A fourth article, the October 19th, 2017 FT post, "Glasgow wins favour as space satellite city," profiled Glasgow, Scotland, the home to nanosat-makers working to miniaturise and democratize space exploration.

Singled out in the article was Glasgow based Clyde Space, a cubsat maker founded in 2005 that worked with the UK Space Agency (UKSA) to design and build UKube-1 — Scotland’s first satellite, launched in 2014. 

The company is currently building twelve satellites for six missions, but by 2020 hopes to be producing constellations of 50-100 small satellites.

There were a number of other articles in the four page series of profiles on space mining and all are useful to view, such as the October 19th, 2017 FT post, "Private investors push down stratospheric cost of space start-ups," which focused on how the commercial opportunities of space are snowballing, and the October 19th, 2017 post, "Cosmic plans take giant leap from sci-fi to reality."

Taken together, the Financial Times’ supplement is a heartening sign that commercial space ventures have left the fringe and finally shed the "giggle factor" that plagued them for so long.

If only there were a few Canadian stories included with the supplement.

Brian Orlotti.

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Brian Orlotti is a regular contributor to the Commercial Space blog.

Inuit Leaders Ignored as ESA Satellite Launched Over the Arctic

          By Chuck Black

The European Space Agency (ESA) ignored Inuit concerns by launching a hydrazine loaded rocket last week, using a second stage which fell to Earth in the waters between Nunavut and Greenland after launch with up to a tonne of its unburned toxic fuel still onboard.

The Sentinal 5P being launched on a Russian rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia on October 13th, 2017. As outlined in the October 15th, 2017 Spaceflight Now post, "ESA details construction of Sentinel-5P satellite and Tropomi instrument," the satellite carried the Dutch/ UK built TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (Tropomi), a spectrometer that measures ultraviolet, visible, near visible, and short-wavelength infrared to monitor trace gases in Earth’s atmosphere. Photo c/o ESA.

As outlined in the October 13th, 2017 APTN News post, "European Space Agency ignores Inuit concerns, launches hydrazine loaded rocket," the Sentinel 5P satellite was launched from a site in northern Russia on October 13th, 2017.

“We condemn Russia’s actions and demand that this launch be halted,” said Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna. “Our people rely on the marine ecosystem to support our families, communities, and livelihoods.” The Inuit Circumpolar Conference, an organization that represents Inuit around the world, also protested the satellite launch.

The Canadian Federal government in Ottawa also protested the launch as did Kuupik Kleist, the former Prime Minister of Greenland. According to the article:

Hydrazine is so toxic that almost every space program in the world, including Russia’s, has moved away from it. 

That area falls within Canada’s exclusive economic zone and is within the jurisdiction of the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act.

The second stage of the rocket, containing up to a tonne of unburned hydrazine, splashed down in water between Greenland and Baffin Island.

According to the March 2017 Cambridge University Press paper, "Toxic splash: Russian rocket stages dropped in Arctic waters raise health, environmental and legal concerns," at least 10 similar launches have discarded rocket stages in Pikialasorsuaq or in the Barents Sea, off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia, since 2002.

As outlined in the October 13th, 2017 Russia Space Web post, "Rockot delivers Sentinel-5P," the Rockot launch vehicle used for the mission is a re-purposed Soviet era ballistic missile.

More modern launchers, typically don't use hydrazine or other hypergolic and highly carcinogenic fuels to power their rocket launchers.

Chuck Black.

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Chuck Black is the editor of the Commercial Space blog.

Europe Will Fund the Prometheus Reusable Engine; Canada Pitched Cyclone-4's

          By Chuck Black

In a useful reminder that the future of rocketry is reusable, France’s Prometheus reusable engine program will receive funding from the European Space Agency (ESA). The new engine is designed to be a direct competitor to the reusable SpaceX Merlin rocket engine.

The ASL Prometheus rocket engine (right) is a follow-on of the ASL Vulcain 2.1 rocket engine, which ASL designed for its Ariane 6 rocket program. The Prometheus is designed to be cheaper ( €1Mln EUR or $1.41Mln CDN for the Prometheus as compared to 10 times the cost for the Vulcain) and take extensive advantage of new technologies and production methods, including 3-D printing. As outlined in the September 15th, 2016 BBC News post, "Clear path to Ariane 6 rocket introduction," the current Ariane 5 rocket, "although remarkably reliable and consistent in its performance, costs substantially more to build and launch than some of its competitors - in particular, the Falcon 9 rocket operated by SpaceX in the US." Graphic c/o ASL. 

But that useful reminder is also a shot across the bow of organizations like Maritime Launch Services (MLS), the recently incorporated Nova Scotia based company formed by three US based partners, who are attempting to sell spaceports filled with 45 year old Ukrainian based single use, hypergolic propellant based rocket technology, to a credulous East coast populace.

As outlined in the February 1st, 2017 Space News post, "France’s Prometheus reusable engine becomes ESA project, gets funding boost," ESA leaders "agreed during December’s ministerial conference in Lucerne, Switzerland, to make Prometheus part of the agency’s Future Launchers Preparatory Program (FLPP)."

The article also quoted Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL) CEO Alain Charmeau who said that FLPP will allocate €85Mln EUR ($120Mln CDN) to fund research and development leading to a 2020 test firing of the Prometheus engine.

Now that Prometheus is an ESA program, Charmeau expects more countries will get involved. As an ESA associate member, Canada could certainly participate in the program.

The Ukrainian built Tsyklon-4 (Cyclone-4) rocket and the Yuzhnoye RD-861 engine it uses. The RD-861 engine is a Soviet era liquid propellant rocket burning unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) and nitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) in a gas generator combustion cycle. It is not built to be reusable, but can be restarted once during its flight. As outlined in the September 2nd, 2016 SpaceFlight 101 post, "Ukraine’s Cyclone-4 Rocket seeks North American Launch Base," the "Cyclone-4 is largely based on the Cyclone-3 that itself uses heritage of the Cyclone-2 rocket that first flew in 1967 and made over 120 flights with a good success rate." Graphics and photo's c/o KSP & Dietrich Haeseler.

Canada's other option for funding a rocket launcher, at least for now, comes with substantial concerns over:

• The Soviet era technology used to build the rockets. 

• The transportation and storage of the corrosive and extremely toxic hypergolic propellant used for the rocket fuel.

• The business plan expected to be used to sell the rockets to satellite companies looking for a ride to orbit.

As outlined in the Jan 31st, 2017 CBC News post, "Why a $100M rocket launch site might be coming to Nova Scotia," MLS, a recently incorporated Nova Scotia based company, created by US based partners and using technology designed and built by Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye Design Office, is currently promoting a Nova Scotia launch site for its Cyclone-4 launcher.

MLS is essentially acting as a local agent for Yuzhnoye, which needs at least $100Mln CDN to fund its Cyclone-4 rocket launch facility. MLS CEO John Isella even continues to work out of the Washington, DC Yuzhnoye office, where he also acts as the North American representative for Yuzhnoye business development.

As outlined in the article, once funded, the "first launch could be as soon as late 2019 if all goes according to plan." Of course, those plans don't seem to work out very often.

An SS-18 rocket body in front of Yuzhnoye Design Office headquarters. As outlined on the company website, "Yuzhnoye State Design Office is one of the most well-known and recognized scientific and design companies in the world." Photo c/o Yuzhnoye Design Office.

Cyclone-4 development originally began in 2002, in partnership with the Brazilian Space Agency. The maiden flight was initially scheduled for 2006 from a proposed launch pad at the Alcântara Launch Center in Brazil. 

However, as outlined in the April 16th, 2015 Space News post, "Brazil Pulling Out of Ukrainian Launcher Project," that deal eventually fell apart over escalating costs and questions about Cyclone-4's ability to take market share away from SpaceX and other low cost rocket providers.

Since then, and as outlined in the September 11th, 2016 post, "Ukranian Based Yuzhnoye Design Office Eyeing a Canadian Spaceport for its Cyclone-4 Rocket," Yuzhnoye, and now MLS, have been looking, "for business and investment partners to develop the launch infrastructure and conduct sales, marketing, and mission management."

Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just that Canadian's would be better served by throwing buckets of money at more current, and maybe even a few homegrown designs.

Local NS citizens will make their determination on the Yuzhnoye spaceport sometime in March 2017.

Chuck Black.

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Chuck Black is the editor of the Commercial Space blog.