Lockheed: SpaceX’s Dragon can’t go to the moon – Politico

With help from Bryan Bender and Connor OBrien

Lockheed Martin pushes back on the claim that SpaceX Dragon could bring astronauts to the moon.

Congress is likely to approve of the Space Forces organization plan, but one expert cautions the structural changes are not enough to speed up acquisition.

The House Armed Services Committee approved amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act that focus on a Space National Guard, partnerships with universities and GPS interference.

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Space isnt just for exploring. Its an international proving ground and vital for national security. At Northrop Grumman, our work in intelligence, surveillance, communications, and early warning systems ensures America always has the ultimate high ground. Find out more about how were defining possible in space. Learn more

TWO VERY DIFFERENT MISSIONS: A recent op-ed in The Washington Post from a pair of leading space experts proposing that SpaceXs Dragon capsule could be an alternative to take astronauts to the moon clearly struck a nerve at Lockheed Martin, which is building the Orion spacecraft that NASA plans to use for the mission.

Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars Society and president of Pioneer Astronautics, and Homer Hickam, a career NASA engineer and author, argued that the Dragons recent success in transporting astronauts to the International Space Station has shown that a well-led entrepreneurial team can achieve results that were previously thought to require the efforts of superpowers, and in a small fraction of the time and cost.

But Tony Antonelli, a retired space shuttle pilot and naval aviator who is now the Orion Artemis mission director for Lockheed Martin, says not so fast. A spacecraft is more than a collection of hardware bolted together, he writes in a rejoinder in POLITICO. Low-Earth orbit and deep space exploration are two very different missions.

Spaceflight is a tough business, he explains. When things go sideways in harsh environments, we need backup systems, and backups to those backups, and backups to those. That is more than just redundancy. Its what in the military we call survivability. Dissimilar systems, manual overrides, and layers of options at every turn cant be just bolted onto an existing system.

You cant turn a Prius into a pick-up truck by changing the tires out, Antonelli adds. Its this capability, the ability to handle the unknown unknowns built literally from the ground up, that sets Orion apart as humanitys first exploration class spaceship.

SPACE IN THE NDAA: The House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday adopted a few space-focused amendments during the markup of the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.

The chief of space operations must create a plan for the Space Force to establish a university consortium for national space research. The amendment from Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) would direct the Space Force to brief Congress on the plan no later than Jan. 31, 2021. The Air Force may not transfer any personnel into a Space National Guard unless either the chief of space operations certifies that doing so will not diminish the space capabilities of the Air Force or until the Air Force submits a report to Congress on the plan to establish a reserve component of the Space Force. That report is due Jan. 31, 2021, and troops can begin moving 180 days after that, according to the amendment from Rep. Trent Kelly (R-Miss.) In a swipe at Ligado Networks, the panel adopted an amendment from Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) that would bar the Pentagon from spending money to mitigate GPS interference caused by the company. Instead, the financial burden would fall on the company causing the problems.

SPACE FORCE ORGANIZES: The Space Force will be organized into three major commands in charge of operations, acquisition and training, the new branch announced this week. Space Operations Command and Space Systems Command will both be led by a three-star general, and Space Training and Readiness, or STAR, Command will eventually be led by a two-star general when it is fully established. The Space Force will also establish deltas led by officers in place of the space wings and groups that existed in the Air Force.

What will Congress think? The Space Force will have three layers of bureaucracy commands, deltas and squadrons compared with five layers within the Air Force major commands, numbered Air Forces, wings, groups and squadrons which seems in line with lawmakers mandate to keep the new service lean and agile, according to Joan Johnson-Freese, a professor at the Naval War College. That certainly provides the potential for more organizational efficiency, if the strong natural tendencies of bureaucracies to expand can be resisted, she told us. I am optimistic that the new structure can potentially streamline the internal portion of the process.

But the lean structure wont automatically speed up acquisition, warns Frank Rose, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former State Department official, who added that broader change across the Pentagon is needed. Unless you fix and streamline DOD acquisition processes and requirements processes, its going to be difficult for the Space Force to overcome the challenges the Air Force had when it was responsible for space acquisition.

TOP TWEET: .@NASA & @SpaceForceDoD have signed an agreement to share data from the USSF Space Surveillance Telescope in Australia with NASA's Planetary Defense program. Together, NASA, USSF, & RAAF will find & track near-Earth objects (NEOs) to be ready for any potential impact threat, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted Monday.

SPACE SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT GOES VIRTUAL: The government has been issuing new space policy despite the ongoing pandemic. That makes the Secure World Foundation even more committed to holding its annual Space Sustainability Summit in September to unpack all the changes, said Krystal Azelton, the chair of the event.

From the new NOAA commercial remote sensing regulations to the FCCs decision on Ligados operations, its clear that the space world has not ground to a halt because of coronavirus, Azelton said. Launch is happening. The government is still pumping out regulations. We didnt feel comfortable canceling. Our driver has always been to have important conversations.

Some conference speakers will be announced next week, Azelton said. While holding a virtual event has some drawbacks, she said the foundation has had more luck than we expected with senior-level engagement because scheduling has been easier. Its also opened the door for more international participation since travel isnt required.

Our goal has always been to break through silos, she said of driving conversation among the military, civil and commercial space communities. To do that, I need people to participate in more than just the panel theyre interested in. The foundation is also holding an essay competition as a way to increase involvement by students, who are typically invited to the conference to participate and network.

ALSO: The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics announced Wednesday that its ASCEND conference will be fully virtual. The conference, which was originally scheduled for Nov. 16-18 in Las Vegas, will take place about two weeks after the Space Symposium, an international gathering in Colorado Springs that is still expected to be held in person.

INDUSTRY INTEL: Amazon Web Services on Tuesday launched a new Aerospace and Satellite Solutions business segment, which will sell cloud services to government and commercial space customers. The company, which can help customers quickly process and analyze large amounts of data collected in space, will be led by retired Maj. Gen. Clint Crosier, who served as the director of Space Force planning at the new branch just before leaving the Air Force.

The companys first customer will be Capella Space, a San Francisco-based Earth imaging company founded in 2016. The typical process from the initial tasking request for a certain image to the customer actually getting back the image can take multiple days, according to Capella Space CEO Payam Banazadeh. But using the cloud can speed that up so customers get back the information within a couple of hours.

This partnership with AWS is bringing everything to the cloud, Banazadeh told us. What ultimately this means to the customer is now we can do things very, very fast.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Congratulations to Ed LaCroix, a trustee of the National Association of Rocketry, for being the first to correctly answer that it took six months for the European Space Agencys Mars Express mission to reach Mars.

This weeks question: On July 4, 2016, NASA put a spacecraft into orbit around which planet?

The first person to email [emailprotected] gets bragging rights and a shoutout in next weeks newsletter!

NASA delays Perseverance rover launch to Mars for the third time: Popular Mechanics

The case for exploring Venus before Mars: Mashable

Astronauts conducted a spacewalk Wednesday to replace lithium ion batteries: CNN

NASA is using artificial intelligence to design its new space suit for the moon: Syfy Wire

NASA invests $51 million in more than 300 small businesses: NASA

The coronavirus pandemic isnt slowing SpaceX down: Ars Technica

Senate panel wants alternative GPS by 2023: Breaking Defense

Northrop Grumman gets $222.5 million contract to support legacy missile warning satellites: C4ISRNET

Americans will be able to see a lunar eclipse this weekend: USA Today

The smell of space is now available as a perfume: Engadget

A message from Northrop Grumman:

Space isnt just for exploring. Its an international proving ground to show off the best of what America has to offer and it is vital for national security. Thats why Northrop Grumman is always pushing the boundaries in space, whether through reliable navigation systems or powerful, integrated C4ISR to give our warfighters the complete picture. Because building and maintaining the very best in intelligence, surveillance, communications, and early warning space systems is what gives America ultimate high ground and thats what we do best. Find out more about how were Defining Possible in space. Learn more

TODAY: The Aerospace Corporation hosts a virtual event on the future of commercial spaceflight.

TUESDAY: Astronauts aboard the International Space Station participate in media events with The New York Times, Fox News and USA Today.

THURSDAY: The Aerospace Corporation hosts a virtual event on cybersecurity in space.

THURSDAY: Astronaut Bob Behnken conducts an educational event from aboard the station for the Artemis Student Challenge.

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Lockheed: SpaceX's Dragon can't go to the moon - Politico