The P3 Funded (Maybe) Deep Space Gateway vs Those Big "Friggen" Reusable Private Sector Rockets

          By Brian Orlotti

The Japanese government has announced tentative plans to send astronauts to the surface of the Moon in cooperation with the US by utilizing NASA's proposed Deep Space Gateway (DSG) lunar space station.

It worked once before so let's do it again! According to Canadian Space Agency (CSA) director-general of space exploration Gilles Leclerc, the CSA is developing a new and smaller robotic arm as its contribution to the planned DSG. As outlined in the September 29th, 2017 Toronto Star post, "Canadian Space Agency and its partners developing plans for lunar space station," the CSA began funding the project as early as September 2017 when MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd (now MAXAR Technologies) was "awarded a $2.75Mln CDN contract to work on the new Canadarms." Here's hoping that Leclerc and his CSA colleagues would also be happy to sell Canadarm's to Elon Musk, Robert Bigelow or anyone else looking to build a space station. Photo c/o Toronto Star.

But while the inclusion of international partners such as Russia, Canada and Japan, plus the likelihood of bringing aboard the rest of the nations who collaborated to build the International Space Station (ISS) has certainly broadened the DSG’s potential base of political support, the project is still very much a paper proposal without funding or hardware.

The DSG is also struggling to combat the growing perception that it's mostly just a smaller version of the existing ISS in a slightly more eccentric Earth orbit.

And the public private partnership (P3) proposals being bandied about as funding mechanisms for the DSG are facing stiff competition from less complex, private sector derived proposals to do much the same thing.

As outlined in the November 26th, 2017 Japan News post, "Govt eyes manned lunar surface mission," Japan hopes "to join the US project to construct a spaceport in lunar orbit in the latter half of the 2020s, in an effort to realize a lunar surface exploration mission by a Japanese astronaut. The government plans to submit a draft report on the project to a meeting of a governmental panel of space policy experts."

First announced in September 2017 as a joint venture of NASA and the Russian federal space agency  Roscosmos, the DSG is a crewed lunar space station concept proposed for construction in the 2020s.

The DSG would be used as a staging point for robotic and crewed lunar missions as well as NASA’s proposed Deep Space Transport, an interplanetary spacecraft utilizing electric and chemical propulsion intended for crewed missions to Mars.

Originally part of NASA’s now-cancelled Asteroid Redirect Mission, the DSG would be developed and deployed in collaboration with commercial and international partners.

Japan is a current partner in the ISS and ISS operations have been confirmed through 2024 but operations beyond that year remain uncertain. American and Japanese leaders agreed to a general declaration to promote cooperation in space exploration at the November 6th, 2017 Japan-U.S. summit meeting.

By joining the DSG project, Japan hopes to realize its goal of landing a Japanese astronaut on the lunar surface. Such a goal would serve several purposes; scientific return, boosting the competitiveness of  Japan’s space industry and asserting Japan’s leadership in the field of space resource utilization.

The Japanese government plans to compile a report on the future of international space exploration through its Committee on National Space Policy and then, in December, will revise its space policy road map to include technologies needed for lunar exploration.

Tokyo intends to begin full-fledged negotiations with the US once a new NASA Administrator has been appointed.

Prior to the 2016 US presidential election, NASA had publicly stated it was considering selling the ISS to the private sector, but the new Donald Trump administration has been slow to offer its vision for a post-ISS era.

But interestingly enough, the government supported DSG has at least one direct, private sector competitor.

This past September at the 2017 International Astronautical Congress in Australia, space entrepreneur Elon Musk announced that his company, SpaceX, will utilize its new BFR rocket to build a lunar surface base (dubbed "Moon Base Alpha" by Musk) by 2022.

This lunar base will then be used as a staging point for SpaceX’s planned crewed and robotic missions to Mars.

SpaceX’s track record of success driven by innovative low-cost technology stands in stark contrast to NASA’s long history of repeatedly cancelled, prohibitively expensive programs.

SpaceX’s committed investors and customers as well as its excellent public relations provide a firm support base for its Moon and Mars plans. The DSG is essentially a US government jobs program being run up the flagpole to see if anyone salutes.

The DSG also seems to require the Space Launch System (SLS) a large, expensive and single use NASA designed rocket (a derivative of the cancelled large, expensive and single use Constellation program) which keeps slipping behind schedule/ budget and may never reach operational status.

Oddly enough both the SLS and the DSG were designed to utilize previously existing technologies derived from earlier programs (the space shuttle in the case of Constellation/ SLS and the ISS in the case of the DSG) in order to retain existing skill-sets and minimize industry layoffs.

The SpaceX Falcon family of rockets were under no such design constraints, which allowed for a surprising amount of innovation (including reusability) to be incorporated incrementally into later models at a far lower overall cost.

And SpaceX isn't the only private sector competitor. The Blue Origin BE-4 engine, currently under development, is also considered to be a "game changer" for the space industry.

If we are indeed seeing a "second space race" between the public and private sectors rather than global superpowers, private interests seem to have a firm lead.

To the victor belongs the spoils.

Brian Orlotti.

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

2016: The Year in Space for Canada

          By Chuck Black

Much like our retired snowbirds, Canada's space sector spent large portions of the year fantasizing about better times while attempting to relocate to balmier climes and taking photos of family get-togethers.

Unfortunately, while we were busy enjoying those fantasies, any government incentives to help us actually do something have been drying up amid Federal promises to "form committees" which "assess the situation."

But back in the real world, historians have at least uncovered intermittent reminders of our once impressive past accomplishments, and small Canadian businesses with private funding led the way towards a potential future. Maybe it will be enough.

With that in mind, here are some of the high and low points for the Canadian space sector in 2016.

Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen (left) seems to be encouraging the cautious, but curious Minister Bains to pull his finger during a presentation at CSA headquarters in St-Hubert, Que. As outlined in the January 7th, 2016 Canadian Press post, "Canada awards contract to build vision system for space station," both were on hand to announce "that a $1.7-million design contract has been awarded to an Ottawa firm to develop the monitoring system made up of lasers and cutting-edge cameras." Photo c/o  Paul Chaisson/ Canadian Press.

The year began on a high note, with the announcement by Navdeep Bains, the newly minted Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) that the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) had allocated $1.7Mln CDN to Kanata, Ontario based Neptec Design Group for the creation of a new damage detection system for close-up surface inspection on the outside of the International Space Station (ISS).

Unfortunately, as outlined in the January 10th, 2016 post, "Innovation Minister's Latest Announcement a Rehash of November 2015 Announcement," that announcement had been made at least once before, in November 2015, and the origins of the contract go back even further, to the previous Stephen Harper conservative government.

Which probably didn't assist the new liberal government's intent to create the impression that they care about science and space.

According to Julie Simard, the CSA's acting manager for strategic communications, the initial November 25th, 2015 announcement that Neptec was awarded the contract was not intended to be an "announcement," but was intended instead to be a "routine administrative procedure," which no one was expected to notice.

Out with the old and in with the new. A  screen-shot  of COM DEV's website on February 8th, 2016 beside a second screen-shot of the same website taken on December 9th, 2016. Screen-shots c/o Honeywell COM DEV. 

In February common shares of Cambridge, Ontario based COM DEV International were de-listed from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) as the iconic Canadian company finished up its final task of becoming a subsidiary of New Jersey based Honeywell International. 

To commemorate, this blog commissioned a five part series covering the short history of COM DEV, beginning with the February 8th, 2016 post on "Part 1: John Hansen, Samuel Singer and Michael Valentine O'Donovan," 

Not all of our fellow journalists were as charitable.

Some even pointed fingers at the newly installed Justin Trudeau government, which decided not to review the sale, even though it may have been legally obligated to do so. For an example of this viewpoint, check out the February 29th, 2016 Space News post, "Why didn’t Canada put up a fight for Com Dev?"

In the final analysis, it's worth noting that the COM DEV sale was, as quoted from our short history of COM DEV cited above, "not not the only recent sale of an iconic and militarily significant Canadian company to the US" nor was it the only Canadian company "built on the back of no small amount of government largesse."

exactEarth Ltd. (XCT) CEO Peter Mabson (center, at the podium) joined Rob Peterman, the director of global business development for the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and quite a number of others, to open the market on February 11th, 2016. The company was first listed on the TSX only two days earlier, on February 9th. Photo c/o CNW Group/TMX Group Limited.

As outlined in the November 7th, 2015 post, "Should the proposed COM DEV sale to US based Honeywell trigger the Investment Canada Act?," the COM DEV sale was not, initially at least, considered an unmitigated disaster for Canada. 

COM DEV spun out its exactEarth subsidiary into a separate, Canadian owned public company, in order to keep the total value of the sale under the amount that triggers an automatic Federal government review under the Investment Canada Act (ICA). The spin-off also gave Canada another hi-tech space-focused company to root for.

But almost immediately, and as outlined in the February 14th, 2016 post, "Newborn exactEarth Faces its First Battle for the Worm," the new firm found itself in direct competition with New Jersey based Orbcomm for the renewal of a "key Canadian satellite-AIS contract."

That contract was originally worth $19Mln CDN when last won by exactEarth, back when it was a subsidiary of COM DEV. However, the dollar amount ended up shrinking substantially by the time the new contract was finally awarded.

As outlined in the May 7th, 2016 post, "Orbcomm, Skywave, exactEarth, CSA Rovers, High School Robotics, MDA, Emerson, Magellan, Honeywell & UrtheCast," the new contract was now only worth $116,000 CDN in total. For exactEarth, this represented an approximately $600,000 CDN reduction in revenue for each month the contract was in force, which was a big hit to take given that the firm only booked $26.6Mln CDN in total revenue for the twelve month period ending October 31st, 2015. 

At this rate, exactEarth will never get the chance to become one of those iconic space companies "built on the back of no small amount of government largesse," like its COM DEV parent.

While Federal ministers were attempting to avoid providing any new funding for space, they seemed to have no problem being associated with the photo opportunities which naturally flow from a space program. Top Left: CSA astronaut David Saint-Jacques, CSA president Sylvain Laporte and Ontario Drive and Gear (ODG) space and robotics manager Peter Visscher discuss Canada's newest (and, so far at least, missionless) rovers with Innovation Minister Bains at CSA headquarters on May 5th, 2016. Top Right: Innovation Minister Bains at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum (CASM) with astronaut David Saint-Jacques and surrounded by students from Marc Garneau Elementary School plus the So-What Youth for Science Program on May 16th, 2016, making the announcement that Saint-Jacques would visit the ISS in 2018. Bottom Left: Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, announcing a $48.5Mln CDN upgrade of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Polar Epsilon 2 program on June 17th, 2016. As outlined in the July 17th, 2016 post, "That 2013 "Fixed Pricing" Contract for RCM Might Not be Entirely Fixed," the Polar Epsilon project was an add-on to the original RADARSAT Constellation mission (RCM), which also originated with the previous government. Bottom Right: Minister Bains at CASM again, this time on June 17th, 2016, when he announced an open call for two new Canadian astronauts. Photo's c/o CSA, Adrian Wyld/ Canadian Press & MDA.

By March, it was becoming apparent that many of the hopes placed in the palms of the new liberal government by Canadian space advocates might just possibly be misplaced.

As outlined in the March 13th, 2016 post, "Waiting for Garneau," ex-astronaut and veteran liberal MP Marc Garneau, was too busy with the transport portfolio even to begin to focus on the space industry.

And, as outlined in the March 27th, 2016 post, "No Puppies Falling from the Heavens With Space Funding in this Federal Budget," the March 2016 Federal budget didn't help much either. 

It instead predicted large deficits over the next five years (beginning with $29.4Bln CDN in the first year), which would be used to finance tax-free monthly child benefits, more money for First Nations, infrastructure spending and extended employment insurance benefits to hard-hit regions.

But not space...

And the "big announcement," that the government has committed up to $379Mln CDN over eight years (beginning in 2017), to maintain Canada's commitment to its International Space Station (ISS) partners, is something the government always knew it had to do in order to preserve slots for Canadian astronauts David Saint-Jacques and Jeremy Hansen to travel to the ISS in 2019 and 2021.

However, those travel commitments were made well before the current government took office, much like that award to Neptec in January 2016, which was discussed earlier in this post.

Science minister Duncan at the at the 8th Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC2016) in Ottawa on November 10th, 2016. As outlined in the November 10th, 2016 transcript of her speech under the title, "Minister Duncan Reflections: One Year as Minister of Science," much work has occurred over the past year "to rebuild the government’s respect for and trust in our scientists," but much remained to be done. Photo c/o Chuck Black.

By June, as outlined in the June 13th, 2016 post, "Government Announces Comprehensive Review of Canadian Science," the Federal government felt uncomfortable enough with its performance to announce a "comprehensive review" of just about all Federal funding for science and academics as part of "Canada's Innovation Agenda."

It included the activities of the National Research Council (NRC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), as well as programs like the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the various Canada Research Chairs, Genome Canada and others.

The committee was originally expected to present to Federal Science Minister Kirsty Duncan before the end of the year. As of December 19th, it hasn't. Twelve presenting days left till the end of the year!

Later in the year, as outlined in the October 18th, 2016 post, "A Quick Update to 'Iconic Macdonald Dettwiler is now SSL MDA Holdings, a US Based Company'," there was a second government announcement that "the Government of Canada is seeking candidates for a Space Advisory Board that is inclusive, forward-thinking and positioned to drive innovation and science in Canada, and that will help identify future opportunities for economic growth that will benefit all Canadians."

Even more recently, as announced in the December 12th, 2016 post, "exactEarth, Lybid-1, the CSA (which Needs more Committees) and the Upcoming 2017 Earth Observation Summit," the CSA organized three more committees tasked with providing "independent advice to the CSA on Space Utilization science priorities and (to) provide feedback on CSA programs and initiatives."

We're hopeful that, in 2017, at least one of those committees will issue some sort of report, announcing something. Frankly, almost any announcement which doesn't involve forming another committee would be an improvement over 2016.

CSA international partnerships with other space agencies also seem to have been less successful in 2016 than in the past.

For example, as outlined in the March 28th, 2016 post, "Japanese Hitomi (ASTRO-H) Satellite Suffers Major Malfunction," noted the failure of the The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray astronomy satellite, which was launched on February 17th, 2016.

Hitomi carried the Canadian built Astro-H Metrology System (CAMS), a laser alignment system used to measure the distortions in the extendable optical platform which the Hitomi satellite uses for image correction. The CAMS system was built by the Ottawa based Neptec Design Group, in consultation with Canadian researchers.

Also of note was the October 2016 crash of the Schiaparelli Entry, Descent and Landing Demonstrator Module (EDM), a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian space agency Roscosmos, with Canadian participation.

As outlined in the October 24th, 2016 post, "Schiaparelli Goes Splat!," the lander, the first of the two part exobiology on Mars (ExoMars) astrobiology project designed to search for evidence of Martian life, ceased communicating with ESA mission control approximately one minute before its planned touchdown on October 19th.

It wasn't an altogether disastrous year for the CSA.  Canada's Maritime Monitoring and Messaging Microsatellite (M3MSat) was launched successfully by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), from Sriharikota, India, along with another Canadian satellite owned by Montreal based GHGSat Inc. on June 21st, 2016. As outlined in the June 22nd, 2016 CSA press release, "Canada's M3MSat Successful Launch - Advancing Canada's capabilities to monitor maritime traffic from space," the M3MSat mission "will improve ship detection and marine traffic management in Canadian waters." Photo c/o You-Tube.

In April, this blog focused on the first of two examples of well funded CSA studies which failed to turn into successful programs.

As outlined in the April 22nd, 2016 post, "2009 Canadian Space Agency Report on Indigenous Canadian Launcher said "Yes!" But CSA Didn't Move Forward," the CSA had the option to build and support a small domestic launcher, but chose not to.

And, as outlined in the September 26th, 2016 post, "The REAL Reason Why Canada Won't Be Participating in the NASA Resolve Mission Anytime Soon, Probably!," the CSA really, really wanted to contribute a rover to the NASA Resolve mission, but seems to have messed that up as well.

Once the headquarters of Canada's preeminent space company, MDA HQ in Richmond, BC is now just another regional office for a Canadian subsidiary of a giant US multinational. Photo c/o T-Net.

One Canadian company which seemingly understood better than the rest the need to "get the hell out of Dodge," was Burnaby, BC based MacDonald Dettwiler (MDA).

As outlined in the October 7th, 2016 post, "Iconic MacDonald Dettwiler is Now SSL MDA Holdings, a US Based Company with a Canadian Subsidiary," only "eight years after the Federal government rejected its sale to US based Alliant Techsystems (ATK) because it was not of "net benefit" to the country, BC based Macdonald Dettwiler (MDA) has quietly turned into a Delaware holding company, changed its name, added several new US based board members and moved its corporate headquarters to San Francisco."

Best of all;

... those actions seem to have been undertaken without triggering a formal review under the Investment Canada Act (ICA), the Canadian Federal law governing large, foreign direct investment in Canada, which was used as the legal basis for rejecting the 2008 sale (of MDA to ATK, as outlined in the April 10th, 2008 CBC post, "Federal government blocks sale of MDA space division")

That perception was reflected in both the October 17th, 2016 National Post article "U.S. firm stages ‘stealth takeover’ of Canada’s largest space tech company," and the October 18th, 2016 National Post follow-up article, "EDC financing satellite construction in California because of ‘direct benefit’ to Canada."

Maybe ICA reviews are like the Star Trek prime directive, which seems notable only for being ignored.

Of course, MDA begged to differ. As outlined in the December 16th, 2016 post, "MDA says No Sale of Canadarm Technology to the US Government in NASA RESTORE-L, DARPA RSGS or "Any Other" Project," it claimed, at least as outlined by MDA communications manager Wendy Keyzer, to have never left the country or sold any Canadian technology to the US.

At this point, the real resolution to this difference of opinion appears destined for our "top stories of 2017" coverage.

But perhaps the most important space story of 2016 is how the activities of the space sector are being driven by the private sector, and not the public sector.

As outlined in both the October 3rd, 2016 post, "Sixteen Organizations Currently Developing Small-Sat Launchers," and its follow-up October 12th, 2016 post, "Sixteen More Organizations Currently Developing Small-Sat Launchers," almost three dozen privately funded rocket companies are currently in operation.

And, as outlined in the November 20th, 2016 post, "SpaceX, Telesat & Kepler Just Three of the Dozen Satellite Constellations Currently on the FCC Table," more satellites are expected to launch into orbit over the next few years than have been launched since our current space age began in 1958. 

Most of those new satellites will be privately funded.

Toronto based Kepler Communications, as last profiled in the August 16th, 2016 post, "Kepler Communications Raises $5Mln in Venture Funding," is certainly one of the rising stars of the Canadian space industry, but there are others such as Montreal, PQ based GHGSat which, as outlined in the December 9th, 2016 GHGSat press release, "Claire Makes 500th Measurement!," is slowly turning its small emissions tracking satellite into a major revenue stream.

And maybe that's the real future of Canada's space industry, as private sector companies competing for market share and profits rather than as supplicants of a government funded program with no defined goal.

Author Robert Godwin with Colleen Lapp at the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI) Toronto branch meeting at the University of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) on November 24th, 2016. Godwin was in town to speak on the topic of "The Empire Strikes Out - The Commonwealth Space Program," and to promote his latest books. According to Godwin, Phil Lapp "embodied Canadian Space achievement" and even "put the space in CASI." Among other things, Lapp helped to found the Canadian Astronautical Society (CAS) in 1957, and then helped it merge with the Canadian Aeronautical Institute (CAI) to become the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI) in 1962. Photo c/o Chuck Black. Graphic c/o CG Publishing.

It's also noteworthy that two books focused on Canadian aerospace and space pioneers were published this year.

This blog covered those books in the November 27th, 2016 post, "Apogee Publishes New Book on 'The Father of Canadian Astronautics'," and the September 12th, 2016 post on "William Leitch: Presbyterian Scientist & the Concept of Rocket Spaceflight 1854-64."

So what's going to happen next year in space for Canada? Find out, when the Commercial Space blog returns with all new stories beginning January 3rd, 2017.

Chuck Black.

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Chuck Black is the editor of the Commercial Space blog.

Rocket Companies, But Not SpaceX, Are Collecting Rocket Patents

          By Henry Stewart

Cover c/o CPA Global.

Privately owned rocket companies, many of which have announced their presence, promoted their products and criticized their competitors since the September 1st, 2016 SpaceX accident when a Falcon-9 rocket catastrophically blew up on the launch pad, provide compelling anecdotal evidence that the space industry is about to enter an intensively competitive phase.

And now, a large intellectual property focused firm has issued a report showing rocket companies perform at least one other business function common to other highly competitive and highly disruptive industries.

They collect patents to guard their intellectual property (IP) from competition and protect their bottom line from patent trolls.

Jersey Island based CPA Global has issued a thirty-six page "Technology Intelligence Report on Commercial Manned Spaceflight" focused around "an in-depth patent analysis on manned spaceflight innovation."

As outlined in the August 25th, 2016 CPA Global press release, "It is rocket science: how manned spaceflight is the new frontier of innovation," nations with active manned space programs, such as the United States, China and Russia, "represent three-fifths of all patent protection with a worldwide total of more than 4,300 patented space innovations filed since 1960."

Key findings of the report include the following:

Manned spaceflight patent activity is much larger and diverse than one would anticipate. While it’s difficult to calculate, we estimate that there are over 17,000 manned spaceflight inventions that have been patented since the early 1960s.

Patent flings are trending sharply upwards, particularly since China’s entry into the crewed space race. China’s frst astronaut, Yang Liwei, flew aboard the Shenzhou 5 space craft on October 15, 2003, making China the third country in the world with a manned spaceflight program.

The fling trend is also due to increasing patent activity by private launch providers in the United States – where a clear transition from the public to private sector is currently underway. 

The US, China and Russia, each with active manned spaceflight programs, represent three-fifths of all patent flings. Other countries, including Japan, represent only 5% of the patent activity that’s occurred in the last 5 years.

Direct competitors in a cut-throat marketplace. United Launch Alliance (ULA) president and CEO Tory Bruno, Blue Origin founder and owner Jeff Bezos and Arianespace chairman and CEO Stéphane Israël operate rocket companies which have responded to the September 1st, 2016 SpaceX explosion at Cape Canaveral in different, but decidedly opportunistic ways. As outlined in  the September 14th, 2014 Space News article, "ULA says it could accommodate additional Atlas 5 launch next year," ULA has offered increased capacity, and the roll-out of its RapidLaunch program, which would allow satellite providers to schedule a launch as a primary payload aboard an ULA Atlas 5 rocket in as little as three months from purchase. Blue Origin, as outlined in the September 17th, Headline and Global News post, "Plans for a Powerful Orbital-Class Launcher Revealed," has released plans for a powerful new class of  launcher to compete with both ULA and SpaceX offerings. Ariannespace seemed the most philosophical, at least that's the impression left after reading the September 14th, 2016 Via Satellite post, "After SpaceX-Amos 6 Loss, Arianespace Sees Demand Surge." Perhaps that stoicism grew from reading the September 16th, 2016 Space News post, "Mowry leaving Arianespace for Blue Origin," which reported on Clay Mowry, the longtime president of Arianespace’s US subsidiary, who left to join Blue Origin.  Photo's c/o Zimbio, River Janga & Arianespace.

Top patent holders listed in the report included NASA (mostly because of its long history, since "securing patent protection is not a core strategy of the agency"), the Boeing Company, Russian based RSC Energia (which together vie for the largest amount of recent patent applications) and the European based Airbus Group.

The report also listed Lockheed Martin, General Motors, Microsoft, Thales Group, a variety of Japanese businesses (who have mostly "existed the industry"), the French aerospace engine manufacturer Safran SA, US defence contractor Harris Corporation and Blue Origin (a private spaceflight company founded by Amazon founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos) as holders of substantial amounts of rocket and space focused patents.

The SpaceX “no-IP” strategy, which makes the company unique among the firms referenced in the report, also came in for comment. It said, "so far, SpaceX has successfully navigated the IP minefeld, but considering the volume of information included in this study, it is likely that this test will not be the last."

For more on the US patent law system and the SpaceX approach, its worth checking out the January 6th, 2016 post, "Is the US Patent System Broken?"

The increasing amount of private patents issues as compared to government patents. As outlined in the report, "the shift to private sector manned spaceflight has seen a reversal of technical focus. Industry (once) supported government programs by supplying parts and components (guidance, electronics, life support etc.), but commerce is now fully engaged in the development of “core” space technologies such as propulsion and spacecraft design.." Graph c/o CPA Global.

Canada was cited for Canadian Space Agency (CSA) patents related to its Mobile Services System (MSS), which is used on the International Space Station (ISS).

It's also worth noting that, as outlined in the March 1st, 2015 post, "The REAL Reason our Next Space Agency Head is a Marketing Maven and IP Commercializer," CSA president Sylvain Laporte was once the commissioner of patents and registrar of trademarks in the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO).

However, no Canadian companies were cited in the report and Canada was not considered to be one of the important IP generators.

Looks like the great white north is going to sit this one out.

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

A Preview of the 14th European Conference on Spacecraft Structures Materials and Environmental Testing

        By Henry Stewart

Rapidly advancing manufacturing technologies like 3D printing and composite materials are driving the evolution of new spacecraft today, along with related developments in areas such as big data, miniaturization and automation.

Constantinos Stavrinides, one of the ESCCMET 2016 conference chairmen, addressing the opening session of the 12th ECSSMET at ESA – ESTEC Noordwijk, in the Netherlands, on March 20th, 2012. He's also worked with Oxfordshire, England based Reaction Engines, to validate concepts for the single-stage-to-orbit Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE). He shares the committee chairman role for ECSSMET 2016 with Pilippe Landiech,  who works in the Orbital Projects Sub-Directorate at CNES. Photo c/o ESA.

In an effort to highlight European firms and organizations with expertise in this area, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), the national space agency of France, and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research for Germany, have come together to organize the 14th European Conference on Spacecraft Structures Materials and Environmental Testing (ECSSMET), which will be held from September 27th - 30th in Toulouse, France.

Attendees comprise the top experts from across European industry, government and academia. The program and technical committee also includes representatives from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), along with significant international participation from China, India, USA, Korea, Turkey and other nations.

The conference program consists of over 200 sessions, covering European advances in spacecraft manufacturing with a broad representation of delegates from institutions, agencies and companies across Europe.

From 1975 until 2001, thirteen conferences were organized by Princeton University which focused on the challenges and opportunities of space based manufacturing. The original events were organized in cooperation with the Space Studies Institute, a not-for-profit organization which grew out of the interest generated by physicist and activist Gerard K. O’Neill’s vision of human colonies in space. and how to build them. For course, no one in 2001 was talking about 3D printing, composite materials or big data. Given that it's been fifteen years since the last space manufacturing conference, perhaps its time to organize another. Graphics c/o NSS.

The primary themes to be considered during presentations, round tables and workshop sessions are outlined on the ECSSMET website. They include:

• Mechanical architecture, design and engineering
• Structural dynamics and static loads including shock, hyper-velocity impact and micro-vibration
• Random and acoustic vibration, analysis and testing
• Environmental testing and test prediction
• Structural materials applications (metallic, composite, ceramics) with a dedicated session addressing design and verification of 3D printed/Additive Manufactured parts
• Thermo-elastically stable structures
• Damping concepts
• Inflatable / deployable structure
• Stochastic analysis and robust design approaches
• In flight experiments and flight data
• Damage tolerance and fatigue

So far, the website lists 18 confirmed exhibitors that will be showcasing hardware, software and other systems at the conference. These include Siemens, Altair, ATG Europe, Dimione Systems, Prenscia and European Test Services. Official proceedings from the event are scheduled to be published on or before December 2016.

The conference is being held this year in Toulouse, which is also known as “ville rose” or pink city. The name is a reference to the city's characteristic terra cotta brick architecture. Toulouse is also a burgeoning European high-tech hub and hosts a significant number of leading-edge aerospace and information technology enterprises as well as distinguished research institutions.

Confirmed ECSSMET 2016 Exhibitors. Screenshot c/o ECSSMET.

Among those is the CNES Toulouse Space Centre. As outlined in the September 27th, 2015 Insider Monkey post on the "11 Fastest Growing Cities in Europe," Toulouse is 7th on the list of the fastest growing cities in Europe. The venue, Pierre Baudis Congress Centre, is a modern facility at the edge of Compans Caffarelli Park in central Toulouse.

All and all, it's an appropriate venue to highlight the best of the current crop of companies pushing the newest technologies in spacecraft manufacturing. 

 ________________________________________________________________________________

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

Japanese Hitomi (ASTRO-H) Satellite Suffers Major Malfunction

          By Henry Stewart

March 27th JSpOC tweet. Screenshot c/o Twitter.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray astronomy satellite launched on February 17th, 2016, has suffered a major and perhaps fatal accident.

As outlined in the March 27th, 2016 JAXA press release, "Communication anomaly of X-ray Astronomy Satellite “Hitomi” (ASTRO-H)," contact with the satellite was initially lost on March 26th. 

On March 27th, the US Military Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) tweeted that the satellite had broken up into five pieces and dropped into a lower orbit in a pattern indicative of either an internal explosion or an external impact with space debris.

Later that same day, Space-Track.org, which  shares space situational awareness services and information with international satellite owners/operators, academia and others, confirmed the JSpOC tweets by releasing the chart below, which showed that the satellite had suddenly lost altitude on March 26th, about the same time as when JAXA lost contact.

The March 27th, 2016 National Geographic Phenomena blog post, "Japan Loses Contact With New Space Telescope," quoted astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, as stating that "that some kind of “energetic event” has occurred—something more than a simple failure of communications."

Space-Track.org chart of Hitomi's sudden change in orbital altitude on March 26th along with twitter commentary from astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell. Graphic c/o National Geographic Phenomena. 

According to the article:

It’s not clear exactly what has happened on board Hitomi. Scientists are currently investigating the situation, and the Japanese space agency, JAXA, reports that it has gotten a trickle of a signal from the spacecraft. 

That means it’s possible the five pieces detected by radar are things like insulation, rather than large chunks of debris resulting from a catastrophic explosion; it’s also possible the spacecraft is tumbling, McDowell says, and that signals from Hitomi are periodically sweeping across the Earth.

As outlined in the March 28th, 2016 Christian Science Monitor post, "Japan has lost a recently launched space satellite. Where could it be?," this is the third in a series of space observatories that JAXA has tried and failed to operate.

In 2000, Hitomi’s first predecessor, the ASTRO-E space telescope, crashed at launch. Five years later, a series of cooling system malfunctions aboard the next iteration of the satellite, called Suzaku (ASTRO-EII), effectively shut down the X-ray spectrometer (XRS), which was the spacecraft's primary instrument

Hitomi was designed to detect X-rays spewing from supermassive black holes, dark matter, and other cosmic sources. It carried a Canadian built Astro-H Metrology System (CAMS), a laser alignment system used to measure the distortions in the extendable optical platform which the Hitomi satellite uses for image correction.

The CAMS system was built by the Ottawa based Neptec Design Group, in consultation with Canadian researchers.
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Henry Stewart is the pseudonym of a Toronto based aerospace writer. 

Space Agency Heads Congregating in Toronto on September 29th

          by Chuck Black

Berndt Feuerbacher.

It wouldn't be an International Astronautical Congress without public pronouncements from the heads of the largest government space agencies and the 65th International Astronautical Congress (IAC2014), which will be held in Toronto, Ontario from September 29th - October 3rd, will certainly be following in this tradition.

Expected to join moderator and past International Astronautical Federation (IAF) president Berndt Feuerbacher on Monday, September 29th at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) for the traditional IAC Heads of Agencies plenary are the following government space agency representatives:

Charles Bolden.

Charles Bolden, the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Given that each representative will be expected to provide an introductory presentation on the latest developments from their respective agency and then take at least a few questions from the audience, it is assumed that Bolden will talk about why Boeing received so much more money than SpaceX ($4.2Bln USD for Boeing, as compared to $2.6Bln for SpaceX), for a contract to do pretty much the same thing last week, as part of the latest round of the NASA commercial crew program.

Xu Dazhe.

Xu Dazhe, the administrator of the China National Space Administration (CNSA). Coming off the successful International Planetary Congress, another major space conference, which was held Sept 10th to 15th in Beijing, China for the first time, the Chinese leader is likely to be focused on questions of international co-operation and recognition for China's new role as a major space power. 

Jean-Jacques Dordain.

Jean-Jacques Dordain, the director general of the European Space Agency (ESA). He's held the position since 2003, which makes him perhaps a little more experienced than his colleagues at the other space agencies. Dordain will likely face questions over the ESA next generation Ariane 6 launcher and the competition it faces from the US based SpaceX.

Denis Lyskov.

Denis Lyskov, the government secretary and deputy head of the Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS). With ROSCOSMOS head Oleg Ostapenko unable to attend (no doubt for political reasons), the far duller Lyskov, who is considered unlikely to discuss "trampolines" or "space gecko's," is expected to focus on the future expansion plans the agency has been dutifully running up the flagpole over the last year to see if anyone salutes.

Walt Natynczyk.

Walter Natynczyk, the president of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Natynczyk, seemingly one of the shyest and most reticent CSA presidents in a long time, will likely keep his comments focused on longstanding Canadian government concerns over "international co-operation" and "collaboration" with the other space agency heads. 

Naoki Okumura.

Naoki Okumura, the president of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Well into the second year of the five-year implementation phase of Japan’s updated basic plan on space policy, the JAXA head will likely want to talk the JAXA "application-focused approach" to space system development and the new JAXA small satellite platform, which Japan hopes to sell to other countries.

K. Radhakrishnan.

K. Radhakrishnan, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Expect Radhakrishnan to focus his comments on the ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), which should to enter orbit around Mars this week.

The plenary will be held on Monday, September 29th from 1:30pm - 3:00pm at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) in Hall F on level 800.

It looks like a good show, well worth attending.

Preparing for the 65th International Astronautical Congress; September 29th - October 3rd in Toronto, ON

          by Chuck Black

It's close to being the greatest show on Earth for space scientists, engineers and policy advocates, second perhaps only to the roar of a manned rocket launch.

Preparations and plans are coming together to make the 65th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2014), which is being held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) in Toronto, Ontario from September 29th - October 3rd, into the best edition yet of what is generally considered to be the "world's premier space event."

The reasons for these perceptions are simple enough to discern. For example, speakers for the Heads of Agencies Plenary of the 2013 International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2013), which was held last September in Beijing, China included Chen Qiufa, the head of the China National Space Administration (CNSA); NASA administrator Charles Bolden: Jean-Jacques Dordain, the Director General of the European Space Agency (CSA); Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) deputy director Sergei Saveliev; Canadian Space Agency (CSA) president Walter Natynczyk; Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) chairman Radha Krishna and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) president Naoki Okumura.

A similar line-up of heavy hitters is expected for IAC 2014.

But while many of the accolades are reserved for the annual gathering of space agency heads, the event is also a technical congress which brings together thousands of scientists, advocates and business executives from around the world to discuss issues of importance to the space community and build the connections needed to encourage and expand outer both space activities and international co-operation.

"We expect to see many bilateral and multilateral meetings and exchanges of information among space agencies, military representatives, the private sector and even space advocacy groups which would be difficult to organize without the cover of an IAC," said local organizing committee (LOC) chair Ron Holdway during a phone interview last week.

Holdway is currently putting in long nights preparing for the event, which so far boasts over 100 exhibitors and sponsors, about 80% of the available capacity, since he spends his days as the ‎vice-president of government relations for Cambridge, Ontario based COM DEV International.

Of course, he's still expecting to corral a few others over the next two months.

"We need to tie down a few more agencies. We've currently got NASA, ROSCOSMOS, the Israeli Space Agency, the Chinese Space Agency and the UK Space Agency but I know we'll be tying down a few more over the next little while," he said.

IAC 2014 logo superimposed over the MTCC. According to the IAC website, the event "is the one place and time of the year where all global space actors come together." The event attracts more than 3,000 participants each year. Graphic c/o IAC. 

Current sponsors include ABB, the Aerospace Corporation, Airbus, Boeing Defense, MacDonald Dettwiler (MDA), Space Systems Loral (SSL) and quite a few others. As well, Lockheed Martin will be acting as the "industry anchor sponsor" and financial support has been provided by Tourism Toronto and the Government of Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation plus the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment.

According to Holdway, the Canadian organizers are working hard to get the CSA and Canadian expertise front and centre for the event. "No space agency, with the exception of the UK Space Agency, is in expansion mode. We all benefit from comparing our experiences to those of our peers."

The event is hosted by the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI) and organized by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) with the participation of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) and the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA). 

The first IAC was held in Paris, France in 1950 and was an initiative set up by space expert, author and enthusiast Alexandre Ananoff (who also advised fellow author Hergé on his Tintin books "Destination Moon" and "Explorers on the Moon"). Graphic c/o IAC1950 history page.

As outlined by CASI executive director Geoffrey Languedoc, there are even a few openings for those wishing to volunteer for the event if they contact the volunteer coordinator at IAC-Staff@mci-group.com.

All in all, while IAC2014 might not quite provide the roar of a manned rocket launch, the event certainly has enough buzz to fill a room full of opportunities to meet and interact with the people who build and launch them. 

Be there or be square. 

Space Tethers as an Orbital Debris Removal Technique

          by Sarah Ansari-Manea

Space tether. Graphic c/o Wikipedia.

Japan has begun trials utilizing a new method of space cleanup to begin to deal with the large amounts of space debris accumulated around the planet since the start of the space race.

As outlined in the January 15th, 2014 Yahoo News article "Japan scientists test tether to clear up space junk," the new technique will utilize an electrodynamic space tether made from thin wires of stainless steel and aluminium, which will attract dead satellites and other debris magnetically. The electricity generated by the tether as it swings through the Earth's magnetic field will also have a slowing effect on the space junk, which will cause the orbit to decay and the space junk to eventually burn up in the Earths atmosphere.

The tether, designed and built by a team of researchers at Kagawa University for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) using techniques derived from Japanese fishing equipment manufacturing firm Nitto Seimo, is expected to be launched into orbit aboard a Japanese rocket in February 2014.

"The experiment is specifically designed to contribute to developing a space debris cleaning method," according to Masahiro Nohmi, an associate professor at Kagawa University.

Of course, Japan isn't the only country aware of both the dangers of orbital debris and the potential of tethers. As outlined in the January 16th, 2014 Bloomberg article "Cleaning up the Final Frontier," at least one other commercial NewSpace company, Tethers Unlimited, has come to much the same conclusion. Others have also looked into the problem, as outlined in the October 3rd, 2013 Popular Science article "5 High-Tech Space-Junk Solutions."

But the current interest isn't just academic. It's driven by an exponential increase in the number of unnecessary artificial objects soaring around since the dawn of the space age. In 2009 NASA estimated that there were approximately 19,000 pieces of non-functioning, man-made and track-able pieces of  “junk” currently in orbit and many more smaller objects with the potential to damage or destroy, according to the April 2009 NASA media briefing on "The Threat of Orbital Debris and Protecting NASA Space Assets from Satellite Collisions." 

The report also indicated that potential collision warnings between space debris, operational and inactive satellites, manned spacecraft and even the International Space Station (ISS) are issued regularly, particularly in low Earth orbit and at the poles where orbits are more likely to overlap.

Even so, there have been at least four major collisions in the last few years according to the April 27th, 2013 EarthSky article "Space junk headed for a cascade of collisions." NASA and other international space organizations have developed a specific set of guidelines to determine whether maneuvering is necessary to avoid collisions, and have agreed to follow UN guidelines in a preventative attempt to minimize space clutter.

But even with the collisions and frequent scares, engineers and scientists are slow to react to the orbital junk issue, and those leading the charge have little support. It is proving to be hard to justify the billions of dollars that would be expended on a cleanup project of this magnitude.

“The really hard part is trying to convince other countries that your garbage truck in space will be used for the peaceful purposes stated—and not to mess with other people’s satellites,” says Dave Baiocchi, an engineering professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School.

Sarah Ansari-Manea.

If space travel and exploration is to continue, cleanup, or at least a stricter international set of guidelines in space waste management, must be considered. At the current rate of orbital debris accumulation, space travel will be incredibly difficult and dangerous in the future.
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Sarah Ansari-Manea is an aspiring astrophysicist, currently completing a specialist in physics and astronomy at the University of Toronto.