Category Archives: Space Travel

A new fleet of satellites is being built in Houston to mimic the color-changing chameleon.

Like the versatile reptile, the satellites could be quickly updated and reconfigured while in orbit. Lets say a volcano erupts and there isnt an imaging satellite nearby. This planned Chameleon Constellation of 24 to 36 satellites could switch within minutes from running machine learning models on data collected in space to taking pictures of the disaster and aiding first responders.

Or perhaps a malicious hacker gets into the satellites software and renders it useless. An update to fix the security weakness could be quickly pushed out.

More from Hypergiant: Houston company solving the next problem of deep space travel: How to post to Instagram

Such adaptability is not typical of satellites, landing Austin-based Hypergiant Industries and its Houston space division a contract with the U.S. Air Force, the company announced Tuesday.

Were at this transition point, said Ben Lamm, co-founder and CEO of Hypergiant, where the space industry that has been predominantly a hardware industry is moving and advancing to one thats innovating through software.

Lamm and John Fremont founded Hypergiant in 2018 to help bring artificial intelligence and machine learning to hardware-intensive industries such as aerospace, defense and energy. Last year it acquired Houston-based Satellite & Extraterrestrial Operations & Procedures, a company that deployed satellites, to form the Hypergiant Galactic Systems division.

This division is tackling issues that range from outer-space internet (so colonists on Mars wouldnt have to wait for long stretches of time, potentially months, to see the results of a Google search) to more user-friendly mission control software to this new Chameleon Constellation of satellites.

The latter is being funded by the Air Forces Small Business Innovation Research grants.

We need to be able to put assets in space as quickly as possible and then continuously improve them to maintain superiority, Air Force Maj. Rob Slaughter, director of the Department of Defenses Platform One, said in a news release. In order for the U.S. to remain competitive and protect the systems that run the lives of everyday Americans, we created a solution that allows for continuous software delivery in space. The only difference between a national security system and space junk is the software that operates it.

Hypergiant is building its software on top of the Platform One software, which ensures Hypergiant will meet Air Force and Department of Defense security requirements. Its first satellite, roughly the size of two bread loaves, is set to launch in 2021 on Northrop Grummans Cygnus spacecraft used to carry supplies to the International Space Station.

After the spacecraft delivers its supplies, the satellite will be attached to the outside of the Cygnus vehicle. Cygnus will depart the station, travel some 62 miles above the station and then deploy the satellite.

This first satellite will be used to prove that Hypergiants software can be frequently updated (and recalled, if necessary). Thats how it works on Earth - software updates are pushed out regularly and with small, iterative changes for iPhones, work computers, etc.

But Lamm said current satellite software is only updated once or twice a year.

Instead of having existing space assets that are constantly almost out of date with their software, Lamm said, we can update those assets in real time.

Then as more satellites get launched into space, they will connect to one another and combine their computing capabilities to enable more powerful machine learning. This can allow satellites to make their own decisions.

Tweaking satellite designs: SpaceX adds visors to its Starlink satellites to minimize impact on astronomers

Currently, if a satellite takes a picture of something it doesnt recognize, it will have to send the data down to people on Earth. Those people analyze it and then send a new signal to the satellite telling it what to do next. With machine learning, the satellites could autonomously determine what the mystery object might be and if they should take more pictures to investigate further.

Ultimately, the goal is for these satellites to change tasks as theyre orbiting the planet. Future versions of the satellite could be equipped with antennae to provide emergency communications in the case of a network outage, cameras for taking pictures of the Earth and other sensors. By sending up new software code, these tasks can be swapped to meet various Air Force needs.

Thats why we named it Chameleon Constellation, Lamm said. Now your constellation has changed.

andrea.leinfelder@chron.com

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New Houston-made satellites to mimic versatility of the chameleon in space - Houston Chronicle

LOS ANGELES and NORTH ANDOVER, Mass., June 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Relativity Space, the world's first autonomous rocket factory and launch services leader for satellites and6K, the world's leading developer of microwave plasma technology for the production of advanced materials used in additive manufacturing, lithium ion batteries and other industrial markets, today announced a strategic partnership to prove true sustainability in additive manufacturing production. The partnership is intended to create a closed loop supply chain where certified scrap materials produced at Relativity are turned into powder by 6K, which can then be reprinted by Relativity. The two companies will also explore new materials created specifically for rocket manufacturing and space travel.

"Relativity is completely reimagining the aerospace supply chain, by creating an autonomous robotic factory that can additively manufacture a rocket in 60 days. This partnering with 6K will add another important element to our very unique approach: the ability to reuse materials," said Tim Ellis, CEO of Relativity. "We are looking forward to working with 6K to add this sustainability to our supply chain, while ensuring closed loop traceability all the way through."

Dr. Aaron Bent, CEO of 6K added, "Relativity is pushing the boundaries of additive manufacturing by 3D printing a complete rocket and we see this partnership as a natural extension of their forward thinking practice. Our ability to turn their used powder and parts into premium powder through the UniMelt process provides them with a sustainable source for AM powder. We are proud to be partnering with Relativity to explore ways to increase sustainability, recycling and environmentally responsible manufacturing processes, which the entire AM industry is uniquely posed to be able to integrate into standard practices."

As part of the collaboration, the two companies have signed an agreement detailing a three phase approach from a proof of concept all the way through a Relativity printed part. The project will prove out the process of taking scrap material produced directly at Relativity, utilizing 6K's UniMelt proprietary process to deliver premium certified powder to a final printed part suitable for Relativity's production. Working with the 6K process ensures Relativity will have complete line of sight and control of their supply chain while ensuring certified AM chemistry for production parts that are suitable for the rigors of a rocket launch and space travel.

Lastly, both organizations see sustainability as a key requirement for production. Creating high-quality additive powders from something that was previously viewed as machine scrap showcases that the process significantly contributes to a circular economy and positions Relativity and 6K as pioneers of sustainability in additive manufacturing production.

At Formnext 2019, 6K launched world's first premium metal powders for additive manufacturing derived from sustainable sources. 6K's UniMelt microwave plasma is the first-of-its-kind process that has the unique ability to convert certified chemistry machined millings, turnings and other recycled feedstock sources into premium AM-ready metal powder.6K also demonstrated the world's first HEA part opening limitless possibilities for having a 'perfect blend' of elements to tailor properties, such as high strength coupled with superior elongation, higher strength-to-weight ratios, or stable properties over a wider range of temperatures.

About Relativity Space

Founded in 2015 by Tim Ellis and Jordan Noone, Relativity Space is building the world's first autonomous rocket factory and launch services for satellite constellations. The company's vision is to expand the possibilities for human experience by building the future of humanity in space faster - starting with rockets. Disrupting 60 years of aerospace, Relativity's factory vertically integrates intelligent robotics and 3D autonomous manufacturing technology to build the world's first entirely 3D printed rocket, Terran 1. Relativity is the first application-layer 3D printing company; Terran 1 is the first application. Terran 1 has 100x lower part count than traditional rockets, a radically simple supply chain, and will be built from raw material to flight in less than 60 days with unparalleled iteration speed. Relativity deploys and resupplies satellite constellations with industry-defining lead time, flexibility, and cost, better connecting and securing our planet.

Relativity is backed by leading investors including Bond, Tribe Capital, Playground Global, Y Combinator, Social Capital, and Mark Cuban. For more information, please visit https://www.relativityspace.com

About 6K

6K represents 6000 degrees, setting 6K technology apart from all others. It is the temperature of operation of UniMelt (5778K to be exact), the world's only microwave production scale plasma, and is also the temperature of the surface of the sun.

6K uses proprietary advanced plasma processing and industrial systems to create materials that are enabling the next-generation of commercial and consumer products. The company's continuous UniMeltprocess allows for complete and unprecedented control of the entire materials engineering process, to produce materials at exact specifications. 6K and its divisions are members of MESA The Association for Sustainable Manufacturing.

The 6K Additive division is a ISO9001 facility, reclaims and processes over 500 tons of Ti-64 per year, and is in the process of completing its state-of-the-art 40,000 square foot production facility for additive manufacturing powders.

To learn more about 6K, please visitwww.6Kinc.com

SOURCE 6K

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Relativity and 6K Partner to Develop AM Rocket Parts for Space Made from Sustainable Materials - PR Newswire UK

Thierry Breton, the EU Commissioner, told Reuters that the EU wants to keep up with the US and China in terms of space research.This comes after SpaceXs success with launching NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.

It also follows after Chinas recent moon mission last year.

The EU will sign a 1 billion (913 million) deal with Arianespace for more research into spaceflight innovation.

Arianespace is a commercial rocket launcher that operates in France.

Mr Breton said: Space is one of Europes strong points, and were giving ourselves the means to speed up."

He also explained that the EU will be hoping to look at reusable rockets.

He added: SpaceX has redefined the standards for launchers, so Ariane 6 is a necessary step, but not the ultimate aim: we must start thinking now about Ariane 7.

Ariane 6 is a rocket launcher created by the European Space Agency.

The rocket launcher is over 60 metres tall and weighs almost 900 tonnes when launched.

READ MORE:Space travel is giving the future of cryptocurrency a boost

The European Space Agency worked with over 600 companies in 13 European countries to develop Ariane 6.

The spacecrafts first flight was scheduled for 2020, however, it is yet to lift off.

Ariane 6 is reportedly able to launch both heavy and light payloads to a wide range of orbits.

It can be used for Earth observation, telecommunication, meteorology, science and navigation.

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Arian 6 is set to be launched from Europes Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana in South America.

The European Space Council decided to start developing Ariane in 2014.

Mr Breton is allegedly asking for 16 billion (14 billion) an additional to fund space exploration in the European Commissions next budget.

Of the funds, 1 billion (913 million) is set to be used for a European Space Fund that will help space startups.

The EU is reportedly also looking at investing in a satellite system to provide high-speed internet across Europe.

This would be similar to the Starlink satellites being launched by SpaceX.

Elon Musks rocket company has been sending Starlink satellites into orbit.

Earlier in June, the company carried 58 of its own broadband satellites as well as three Earth-observing spacecraft for Planet Labs into space.

There are reportedly more than 500 starling satellites in low-Earth orbit.

SpaceX aims to bring tens of thousands of orbiting routers into space to surround the Earth with broadband internet access.

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SpaceX news: EU to boost their space exploration to keep up with China and US - Express.co.uk

Virgin Galactic wants to be a lot more than a company which flies wealthy passengers to the edge of space on small rocket ships.

The company, which went public in October 2019, recently partnered with NASA to help train private astronauts to reach the International Space Station. NASA also just booted up a new Suborbital Crew office with an aim of using Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, among other suborbital vehicles perhaps even stratospheric balloon ships to fly scientists and their involved experiments to space.

But Virgin Galactic is looking to expand far beyond all of these businesses, as CEO George Whitesides explained in a recent interview with Business Insider.

In the not-too-distant future he couldn't say exactly when Virgin Galactic hopes to leverage its suborbital space tourism operations and data, along with new research and development, into a high-speed transportation system. The goal: Claim a fraction of the airline industry's premium long-haul travel business, which totals about $300 billion a year.

"If we can just capture 5% or something like that, then it's still a huge number. I mean, $10 to $15 billion of revenue is is a massive opportunity," Whitesides told Business Insider in May, adding that he believes people will want to go places faster in smaller vehicles, and are willing to pay for the privilege. "The things that we're working on are very much part of our aviation future."

The gap for such operations is wide open, given that the Concorde a supersonic passenger airliner retired in 2003. That's not to say it will be easy or inexpensive to reclaim, improve, and expand such business territory, but Whitesides feels Virgin Galactic is up to the challenge, even in the face of prior failures to create new supersonic and even hypersonic passenger vehicles.

"The words 'many companies have tried' is music to my ears," Whitesides said. "People said we couldn't build up human spaceflight company. People say we couldn't go public."

A British Airways Concorde supersonic jet taking off in flight. AP

It's not hard to see why another high-speed transportation system has not hit the commercial market since the Concorde's retirement.

The supersonic passenger jet did operate for nearly three decades, but its initial development required nearly 20 times the funding that its founders anticipated so the UK and French governments ended up absorbing the costs to get the aircraft off the ground.

That colossal initial investment, the disruption of sonic booms, resulting limitations in where supersonic jets could fly (i.e. over oceans), and high maintenance costs limited the numbers and use of the Concorde.

An artist's concept of NASAs X-59 QueSST supersonic jet, which is being designed and built by Lockheed Martin to produce lower-volume sonic booms. Lockheed Martin via NASA However, many decades' worth of improvements in aviation, propulsion, and computing technology have passed since the Concorde's creation, including work by NASA and its contractors, such as Lockheed Martin's X-59 QueSST jet an experimental aircraft designed to produce quieter sonic booms, and is slated for first flight in 2021.

"I think the Concorde was designed with like the computing power of, I don't know, my pocket calculator calculator. It really was 60s-era propulsion," Whitesides said.

Such developments, along with Virgin Galactic's own and growing experience in flying rocket-powered passenger spaceships, gives Whitesides confidence that now is the time to look past the failures of prior attempts to make high-speed travel work for consumers.

"We're building spaceships we can do these things and we can tackle big, big, big challenges, particularly when there's such a big opportunity on the other side," Whitesides said. "It's not going to be easy, but I think that we actually have a unique head-start because we've been doing all this other stuff."

Whitesides indicated that its development effort may cost billions, and said the emergence of its plan to tackle high-speed travel, let alone a flyable prototype, is likely years down the line.

An artist's 2002 rendering of an air-breathing, hypersonic X-43B vehicle: the third and largest of NASA's Hyper-X series flight demonstrators that never came to be. NASA

Whitesides was reluctant to share details of Virgin Galactic's futuristic high-speed travel concept. But he said it's not because he didn't want to, but rather because he couldn't: The company is in its earliest stages of research, development, and data gathering, and is not yet certain of its direction.

"Where you choose your technology approach will shape dramatically the development costs and the technical difficulties. What we're trying to do, as we think through the problem, is to make smart choices, to do something that's compelling," he said. "There's no question that this is going to be something that will require the resources of multiple partners, so you can definitely see potentially various companies being involved in this."

Whitesides said "a very wide range of potential options" is on the table since "propulsion technology is light-years ahead of what it was with ... the Concorde propulsion."

Supersonic travel, or between Mach 1 and Mach 5 one to five times the speed of sound will most likely lead to the use of an air-breathing engine, as the Concorde used. But the company is most experienced in the reusable rocket-engine system that powers SpaceShipTwo. The vehicle has flown five employees to the edge of space over two flights, though it has not yet rocketed any paying passengers.

An illustration of SpaceX's Big Falcon Rocket system (now called Starship) launching with passengers from an ocean platform near a city. SpaceX/YouTube That rocketry know-how might be leveraged into a hypersonic system that could fly between Mach 5 to 25, which is what SpaceX hopes to eventually do with its fully reusable Starship-Super Heavy launch system. In theory, a hypersonic vehicle could launch from New York and to Shanghai in less than an hour.

But Whitesides said hypersonic speeds introduce a large amount of complexity. A vehicle moving at such speeds requires cruising through space and would generate searing-hot plasma during its reentry, mandating the creation of a robust, lightweight heat shield.

"I'm not going to promise Mach 25, because that that definitely suggests a certain type of propulsion that we haven't formally thought through," he said. "Mach 25 would be great, but you do have high heating and higher [gravity]-loads on reentry. So you've got to think through all of these trades to make sure that the whole experience that you're providing to people is compelling and can be widely adopted."

Whitesides said flying passengers in SpaceShipTwo at Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound the vehicle's top speed, which it uses to fly more than 50 miles above Earth will help Virgin Galactic gain an edge over competitors.

"We're going to be building up a huge database of high-speed flight," he added. "It's going to be unrivaled, except for maybe the biggest defense primes. ... But nobody's flown a bunch of people at Mach 3 who are not test pilots or fighter pilots."

For his part, Whitesides said he's trying to keep his "personal emotions" out of the effort and "just let the engineers do their thing."

"They'll present the [trade-offs] and then we'll try to rapidly move forward," he added. "It's not going to be next year, but it is something that I think we can continue to work on in a sort of a staged approach and hopefully change the world."

Do you have a story or inside information to share about the spaceflight industry? Send Dave Mosher an email at dmosher+tips@businessinsider.com or a Twitter direct message at @davemosher. More secure communication options are listed here.

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Virgin Galactic aims to evolve $15 billion business from space tourism - Business Insider

Gov. Mike DeWine threw his support behind the push.

COLUMBUS The state Senate passed a resolution urging the federal government to locate the U.S. Space Command in Ohio.

Last week, the state Senate unanimously approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 15. The measure now heads to the state House for consideration.

Moving the space command to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Dayton area could bring as many as 1,400 jobs to the Buckeye State, officials say. The feds could announce a decision in early 2021.

The Dayton region is the ideal place for the U.S. Space Command headquarters, state Sen. Bob Hackett, R-London, said in a statement. We will do all we can to strengthen and expand this industry right here where it all began, the birthplace of aviation and the future of aerospace Ohio.

Gov. Mike DeWine threw his support behind the push. Beavercreek Mayor Bob Stone submitted a nomination, and the governor sent a letter endorsing the plan to the assistant secretary of the U.S. Air Force.

Wright-Patterson is home to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, which is the Department of Defenses primary source for foreign air and space threats, according to its website. The Air Force Research Laboratory is also located in Ohio.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Dayton region would be excellent hosts for the U.S. Space Commands new headquarters, DeWine said in a statement. This area is already home to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and Air Force Material Command. Its a powerful combination and a synergy that you cant find anywhere else.

The resolution seems likely to pass, especially after House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, endorsed the move.

Ohio is home to many fine institutions that support Ohios aeronautical pioneers, Householder said in a statement. Our great state represents the best and the brightest minds in our nation that have tackled problems and challenges of space travel and space-based threats with steadfastness and composure.

Story courtesy of The Center Square.

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Resolution approved to urge feds to locate Space Command headquarters in Ohio - MahoningMatters.com

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A new study claims that humanity would need to send a minimum of 110 people to Mars to build a self-sustaining civilization there.

The paper, written by Jean-Marc Salotti from Frances Bordeaux Institut National Polytechnique and published in Scientific Reports, took a big swing in trying to solve this seemingly simple question via mathematical modeling.

For survival on Mars, some assumptions are made for the organization of the settlers and engineering issue, Salotti wrote in the study.

The minimum number of settlers has been calculated and the result is 110 individuals.

Salotti concedes the figure is a relatively low number, but it would help to make sure that supplies and resources dont run out quickly. He imagines these individuals living in an oxygen-filled dome and growing plants in greenhouses constructed of glass with reflectors that provide sufficient light.

In order to have appropriate soil for plants, Salotti believes an assortment of rocks, salts, water and organic wastes and decomposers (insects and microorganisms) is needed.

Water will be extracted from icy terrain and recycled using natural filters, he added.

Salotti noted that the overall success of those people on the Red Planet would likely depend on an array of factors, including how well they cooperate with one another and share their time and resources.

Problems arising from armed conflicts and government control here on Earth, however, could be major roadblocks for the future colonization of Mars.

In case of war on Earth, important space sector infrastructures may be destroyed, causing a long-term interruption in space travel, Salotti said.

It could also happen that a conflict occurs between the terrestrial governments and the settlers and, later on, a group declares independence and tries to survive on its own. Another reason could be the will of a new government to stop the settlement process because of the never-ending increasing cost.

Story continues

Although the question the study tackled is largely theoretical at the moment, Salotti is aware that life on Earth could one day be threatened by some cataclysmic eventand the only way humanity could survive would be to head to Mars or another suitable planet.

Earlier this month, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk urged his employees to accelerate the work on the next-generation Starship rocket, which will one day transport humans to Mars and eventually build a colony there.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.

Image: Reuters

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At Least 110 People Needed to Start Life on Mars, Space Expert Says - Yahoo News

As it was during the recent launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 booster, carrying the Crew Dragon and its two-person crew toward a rendezvous with the International Space Station, the entire space community and much of the worldwide general public are truly excited about the planned July 22 launch of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.

They should be.

NASA considers the 2,300-pound Perseverance rover to be a robotic scientist. Its astrobiology mission, much like the introduction to Star Trek,is to seek out new life in this case, signs of past microbial life on Mars. In addition, Perseverance will characterize the Martian climate and geology, collect rock and soil samples, fly a drone over the surface, and serve as the latest stepping-stone for human exploration of the Red Planet.

Its exciting and inspiring.

But, along with that excitement and promise comes a serious and potentially troubling disconnect. When Perseverance launches atop the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 541 booster, if you squint your eyes just right, it will seem exactly the same as when Viking 1 was launched on Aug. 20, 1975, to touch down on the Martian surface on July 20, 1976. The point is that, in the 44 years between the Viking 1 landing and the launch of Perseverance, we are using basically the same chemical rocket propulsion technology.

The same example applies to the SpaceX Falcon 9 booster and the Crew Dragon spacecraft. When that lifted off at the end of May, it was reminiscent of watching John Glenn in the Friendship 7 Mercury spacecraft being launched into orbit by an Atlas (6) booster 58 years ago. Theres little real difference in the technology.

Recognizing the seriousness of this problem, NASA last year highlighted, The future of manned space exploration and development of space depends critically on the creation of a dramatically more proficient propulsion architecture for in-space transportation.

Almost six decades after Glenn reached orbit, technology on Earth evolves at blinding speeds and in life-improving ways and yet, rocket propulsion remains virtually the same. How? And more importantly, why?

Space exploration, in the most favorable of circumstances, remains a harsh and risky business. Knowing that, mitigating risk and exposure should be Job One for those reaching for the stars.

When Perseverance launches, it will be seven months until it touches down in the Jezero crater on Mars basically, the same length of time that it took Viking 1 to reach Mars. What would the United States look like today if we still relied upon horse-and-buggy travel and the steam engine?

When humans do venture out to Mars, what if, instead of seven or nine months for a one-way journey, they could get there in seven or nine weeks? By dramatically cutting the time needed to get from the Earth to Mars, we would greatly reduce the risk to human crews. Beyond that, we would make Mars and the rest of the near solar system infinitely more accessible and promising.

The obvious question becomes: Is such a leap in technology possible? I believe the answer is, Yes. Its called Fusion propulsion and several companies in the United States are working to perfect the concept.

Unfortunately, at least from a national security perspective, this same technology is also being developed in China and Russia. That begs an even more important question: Should the U.S. government be instituting Manhattan Project-like urgency to develop fusion propulsion for space travel?

NASA made a winning bet by getting behind SpaceX. Should NASA and the Department of Defense, through DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), get behind the fusion propulsion program now? Almost seven decades of no progress in the rocket propulsion field would seem to render that a rhetorical question.

As that horse-and-buggy technology limps along, ever so slowly pushing Perseverance toward Mars, squint your eyes one more time and imagine it going supersonic by comparison. If you dont, the Chinese and the Russians surely will.

Douglas MacKinnon was a writer in the White House for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and former special assistant for policy and communication at the Pentagon during the last three years of the Bush administration. He was an adviser to NASAs space shuttle team and worked space-related issues while at the Pentagon. He is the author of: The Dawn of a Nazi Moon: Book One.

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Why go 'horse and buggy' to Mars when we could go supersonic? | TheHill - The Hill

Think back to January 1. You were shaking hands with everyone you met. The words social distancing made absolutely no sense. And getting tested meant something...very different.

But humans adapt, and the fact that were still here reading email like chumps shows our resilience. We hope this newsletter allows you to take a step back, put all the events of H1 in context, and go into the second half of the year with more energy and purpose.

Before we dive in...we want to offer a huge thank you to all the frontline and essential workers who made the world turn in H1, from doctors and nurses to store clerks and municipal workers. Your perseverance will not be forgotten.

What will the first half of 2020 be remembered for? Likely when a microscopic parasite much, much smaller than bacteriaSARS-CoV-2demanded that we slam the brakes on the global economy to prevent mass death.

So we did. Countries around the globe performed the first coordinated global shutdown of the economy...ever.

Restaurants, retail stores, and offices were shuttered. Bustling airports turned into ghost towns. With theaters closed, performers were forced to give concerts on balconies. Some were better than others.

Not to get all 1am in the dorm room on you, but it's worth pausing to consider just how un...paralleled that is. Starting with

You already know this part. We're in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. 93% of the world's workforce lives in countries with partial or full workplace closures, the UN said in April.

As for the macro stats...last week, the IMF projected the global economy will shrink by 4.9% this year, worse than earlier projections. It called this "a crisis like no other."

IMF

No. 1: A historic tsunami of government intervention. In the U.S., Congress has authorized a record-shattering $3 trillion for coronavirus reliefand it may not be done yet. The Fed, meanwhile, has done everything it can to encourage spending, borrowing, and investing short of secretly installing Robinhood apps on our phones like it's a U2 album.

No. 2: Advanced communications and information tech allowed many workplaces to shift to remote in surprisingly seamless fashion. Sophisticated delivery systems enabled by the smartphone brought the grocery store, local restaurants, and bookstores to our doorsteps.

Looking ahead...the focus has shifted from the shutdown to the best way to un-shut-down. That's going to be much more complicated.

This spring, killings of three unarmed Black Americans led to the most widespread protests over racial injustice and police brutality in decades. And this time, a new face joined the action: corporate America.

Businesses said the three words theyve skirted for years: Black Lives Matter. And they promised, this time, things would change.

Some broke open their wallets. Bank of America pledged $1 billion over four years to address inequality. PayPal set up a $530 million fund to support minority-owned businesses. Pepsis $400+ million initiative includes doubling its spend with Black-owned suppliers. And Walmart, Comcast, Sony, Apple, Netflix, and SoftBank committed $100 million apiece to various initiatives.

Others looked twice at what theyre selling. Quaker Oats and Mars are removing racist branding and imagery from Aunt Jemima and Uncle Bens food lines, respectively. Beauty giants Unilever and LOral will remove fair and whitening labels from skin lightening products.

Looking ahead...those are powerful commitments from some of the private sectors most influential brands. But their legacy in confronting racial injustice will be determined by their actions when the world isn't watching.

MarketWatch | Before COVID-19, the all-time record for weekly jobless claims never cracked 700,000. This April, claims neared 7 million in a single week.

A look at the other numbers that have defined the last six months of COVID, quarantine, and craziness.

Coronavirus

Black Lives Matter

Travel

Entertainment

Work

If you know a business that hasn't been profoundly transformed in H1, reply with the name because we didn't know there were companies on Mars. 2020 has presented crisis after crisis for corporate America, and we can't think of a better case study than Twitter.

In an oddly prescient moment in February, CEO Jack Dorsey told investors Twitter would move to a more distributed workforce. After the pandemic reached the West Coast, it was among the first to let staff WFH; by March 11, WFH was mandatory. By May, it was a permanent option.

As demonstrations against racial injustice spread, Twitter was one of, if not the, most important platforms for protestors to share information and organize. And a few weeks ago, Twitter led big businesses in making Juneteenth a corporate holiday.

May 26, 2020, may go down as one of the most important dates in Twitter history after a pair of Trump tweets about mail-in voting finally set off the tripwire: Twitter labeled them as "potentially misleading," and a few days later labeled another Trump tweet as "glorifying violence."

Heading into the election, President Trump and all of social media are twisted up in their thorniest tussle over content moderation to date.

Big picture: In February, activist investors reportedly tried to oust Dorsey. Today, he's set aside the ice baths and meditation retreats to steer Twitter through a trio of crises.

The 2020 news cycle has been dominated by a pair of storylines, andwith Luke Hemsworth as proofwe don't always notice the third thing when two take up our attention. Here are some important biz stories that flew under the radar this year...

Big tech: The FTC expanded its investigations into the largest tech companies over anticompetition concerns. The Justice Department, House Judiciary Committee, and state attorneys general have all launched antitrust probes that will heat up this summer, virus or not.

Samsung scandal: The South Korean conglomerate is still wading through a swamp of legal troubles surrounding its founding family. De facto leader Lee Jae-yong is currently awaiting trial for manipulating merger terms, among other allegations.

Gig workers: Food delivery services were hit with lawsuits as DoorDash and others continued to classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees, defying California's new AB 5 law.

Trade: As the COVID-19 blame game soured relations between China and the U.S., suspicions arose that the countries' Phase 1 trade deal, signed in January, would collapse.

Space travel: We doubt you missed the news that a private company (SpaceX) flew humans into space for the first time in May. Elon Musk is now one step closer to raising X A-12 on Mars.

Noam Galai/Getty Images

New York City painted white circles on the grass of Domino Park in Brooklyn to promote social distancing.

Carl De Souza/AFP via Getty Images

Brazilian soldiers disinfect a metro car in Rio de Janeiro to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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After government lockdowns shut the city down, a man walks across an empty highway in Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus originated.

It sometimes feels like the world stopped spinning in 2020. Well, most of the time. But the pandemic also took some trends that were just getting a foothold and shot them into overdrive.

Remote work: When lockdowns started in March, businesses had only days to spin up the infrastructure to support a remote workforce. Now that offices are slowly reopening, a growing cohort of workers may never endure a daily commute again as employers embrace WFH.

Higher ed: Colleges are built around cramming youths into dorms and stuffing their minds with knowledge in lecture halls. That model may not work for the upcoming academic year, and colleges are racing to prepare virtual-first learning experiences. Major changes in the admissions process are also underway as universities finally throw out standardized test requirements.

Virtual spaces: People are finding new ways to socialize, and gaming platforms provide, quite literally, new worlds for hanging out and entertainment. While the Staples Center can hold 20,000...Fortnite can hold a lot more.

Cities: Urban areas need to rethink and redesign with public health in mind. Many were starting to dabble in smart city tech, and now they'll have extra ammunition to make big investments in sensors, automation, and other tech that can help improve safety and health.

Retail: Online shopping was trending up before the pandemic, but now its prospects are looking brighter than everin the U.S., e-commerce sales increased 49% in April. The hottest category is online grocery shopping, which has made years' worth of inroads in a few months. March sales were 200% higher than last year.

We've done enough looking backit's time to look ahead. Heres a glimpse into what the next sixth months hold. Disclaimer: Like everything this year, these events are subject to change.

July

August

SeptemberOctober

NovemberDecember

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Recapping the Historic First Half of 2020 - Morning Brew

File photo of a Falcon 9 launch. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

For the third time in three weeks, SpaceX is preparing to launch a batch of satellites for the companys Starlink Internet network from Floridas Space Coast. Liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket is set for Thursday afternoon from pad 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, weather permitting.

Liftoff of SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for Thursday at 4:39 p.m. EDT (2039 GMT), and two commercial Earth-imaging microsatellites owned by BlackSky will accompany the Starlink payloads into orbit.

The launch Thursday will be SpaceXs fourth Falcon 9 mission in less than four weeks, continuing a whirlwind cadence of launches that began May 30 with the liftoff of SpaceXs Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken into orbit.

SpaceX launched another Falcon 9 rocket June 3 with 60 Starlink satellites, and most recently delivered another 58 Starlink payloads into orbit with a Falcon 9 rocket June 13 on a flight that also carried three commercial SkySat Earth-imaging satellites to space for Planet.

Thursdays mission will be SpaceXs 11th launch of 2020, and will be followed by another Falcon 9 launch scheduled June 30 from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with the U.S. Space Forces next GPS navigation satellite.

The launch June 30 is scheduled for a 15-minute window opening at 3:55 p.m. EDT (1955 GMT).

SpaceX plans to test-fire the rockets for its next two missions this week. The previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket assigned to the Starlink/BlackSky launch is scheduled for a hold-down test-firing of its nine Merlin main engines Wednesday at pad 39A.

A test-firing of the brand new Falcon 9 booster for the GPS launch is scheduled later this week on pad 40, perhaps as soon as Thursday.

Forecasters predict typical summertime weather on Floridas Space Coast for Thursday afternoon. Theres a 60 percent chance weather conditions could violate the Falcon 9s liftoff weather constraints at launch time Thursday, according to an outlook issued Tuesday by the Space Forces 45th Weather Squadron.

The weather pattern over the next several days on the Space Coast will favor afternoon showers and thunderstorms with daytime heating and the prevailing offshore flow, forecasters wrote Tuesday. The east coast sea breeze will remain closer to the coast, and the west coast sea breeze will move across the peninsula. Mid to upper level westerly steering flow will also help push showers and storms, along with their associated anvils, back towards the east coast.

The main weather concerns for Thursdays launch opportunity will be with the potential for violating the cumulus cloud, anvil cloud and lightning rules.

Theres some slight improvement in the forecast for a backup launch opportunity Friday afternoon, when theres a 40 percent chance of weather violating launch criteria.

SpaceXs Starlink network is designed to provide low-latency, high-speed Internet service around the world. SpaceX has launched 538 flat-panel Starlink spacecraft since beginning full-scale deployment of the orbital network in May 2019, making the company the owner of the worlds largest fleet of satellites.

SpaceX says it needs 24 launches to provide Starlink Internet coverage over nearly all of the populated world, and 12 launches could enable coverage of higher latitude regions, such as Canada and the northern United States.

The Falcon 9 can loft up to 60 Starlink satellites each weighing about a quarter-ton on a single Falcon 9 launch. But launches with secondary payloads, such as BlackSkys new Earth-imaging satellites, can carry fewer Starlinks to allow the rideshare passengers room to fit on the rocket.

The initial phase of the Starlink network will number 1,584 satellites, according to SpaceXs regulatory filings with the Federal Communications Commission. But SpaceX plans launch thousands more satellites, depending on market demand, and the company has regulatory approval from the FCC to operate up to 12,000 Starlink relay nodes in low Earth orbit.

Elon Musk, SpaceXs founder and CEO, says the Starlink network could earn revenue to fund the companys ambition for interplanetary space travel, and eventually establish a human settlement on Mars.

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SpaceX gearing up for another launch of Starlink broadband satellites this week - Spaceflight Now

Boeing has successfully tested the parachute system of its Starliner spacecraft under extreme conditions, the aerospace giant revealed on Monday, June 29.

Like SpaceXs Crew Dragon capsule, the Starliner is designed to transport astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), but unlike the Crew Dragon, it has yet to do so.

Thats mainly down to delays caused by a failed test flight in December 2019 when a software issue prevented an uncrewed Starliner from reaching the space station.

While it works on fixing the software, Boeing is also focusing on the safety of the spacecrafts parachute system. Conducted above White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, last weeks parachute test was aimed at validating the parachutes performance in dynamic abort conditions.

With astronauts expected to ride aboard the spacecraft, NASA and Boeing have to be absolutely certain that if an abort were to take place early into a launch, the parachutes in Starliners landing sequence would inflate in the proper way despite needing to deploy in very different flight conditions compared to a normal landing.

Parachutes like clean air flow, Jim Harder, Boeings flight conductor, said in a report about the test on Boeings website. They inflate predictably under a wide range of conditions, but in certain ascent aborts, you are deploying these parachutes into more unsteady air where proper inflation becomes less predictable. We wanted to test the inflation characteristics at low dynamic pressure so we can be completely confident in the system we developed.

Dropped by a high-altitude balloon, the spacecrafts small parachutes designed to lift away the Starliners forward heat shield deployed successfully. Ten seconds later, the spacecrafts two drogue parachutes also opened as expected, inflating perfectly despite the low dynamic pressure.

To push the Starliner to the limit, the team prepped the test so that one of its three main parachutes would fail to open on descent. Despite the engineered fault, the spacecraft was able to land safely a short while later.

Boeing said the data from the parachute test will be analyzed to improve the reliability of the system ahead of crewed flights, the first of which could take place next year following an uncrewed test flight in the fall.

Boeing is part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program, a public-private partnership combining NASAs experience with new technology created by private companies with the aim of increasing the availability of space travel. The program has already succeeded in returning human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil via the current SpaceX mission to the ISS, with upcoming crewed missions to the moon, and even Mars, also on the horizon.

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Boeing tests Starliner parachutes ahead of second test flight - Digital Trends