Bryant A.M. Baker' Blog

A $30 million contract was just awarded to Lockheed Martin and Raytheon to develop ground systems for the Space Force's Evolved Strategic Satcom program.  The European Space Agency is making big investments into nuclear propulsion.  And NASA just unlocked a process to turn lunar dust into oxygen.!  All this and more, on today's space brief. 5.  Lockheed Martin and Raytheon to Develop Ground Systems for Next-Gen Space Comms Network The US Space Force has awarded $30 million contracts to both Lockheed Martin and Raytheon to develop competing ground systems for the Evolved Strategic Satcom (ESS) program. ESS is a classified satcom system designed to operate in the event of a nuclear war and is part of the nation's nuclear communications architecture. The ESS program is aimed at augmenting and eventually replacing the current Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) network of nuclear-hardened geostationary satellites made by Lockheed Martin. Northrop Grumman devel...

First, a group of 51 National Guard adjutant generals is urging President Joe Biden to create a separate Space National Guard.  Next, physicists have proposed that a large population of small black holes flooded the early universe with particles and radiation, creating their own black hole-powered Big Bang.  Finally, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk claims that a recent test flight was a "success," but a group of environmental groups have sued the FAA because they disagree.  All this and more on today's space brief. 5.  National Guard Urges Biden to Support Separate Space Guard A group of 51 National Guard adjutant generals is urging President Joe Biden to create a separate Space National Guard (SNG), overturning a decision by the Office of Management and Budget. The OMB directed the Department of Defense to prepare for the voluntary transfer of National Guard members currently performing space missions to a new “Space Component,” which would include both full-time and par...

Russia has announced that it will remain a part of the International Space Station (ISS) until 2028.  NASA's announced that SpaceX is set to launch its next Starship rocket within the next few months. And the United States Space Force's has created a "Santa's Naughty List". All this and more on today's space brief. 5.  Russia to Stay Part of International Space Station until 2028 Russia has confirmed that it will remain a part of the International Space Station (ISS) until 2028, extending its participation by four years. The announcement was made on April 19, 2023, by the head of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, Dmitry Rogozin. The decision to stay on the ISS comes amid increasing tensions between Russia and the West. Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 led to the imposition of sanctions, including a ban on imports of certain technologies used in the space industry. Despite these restrictions, Russia continued to work with NASA and other space ...

The US Department of Commerce plans to develop a space safety system to track satellites orbiting Earth.  China plans to develop a fully reusable version of its Long March 9 rocket. And a recent study discovered that asteroid Phaethon has a sodium tail, rather than a dust tail, as previously believed. This much and more, in today's space brief! 5.  Commerce Department to Rely on DoD Data for Space Safety System The US Department of Commerce is currently developing a space safety system to track the increasing number of satellites orbiting Earth. The department is looking to use data from the US Department of Defense (DoD) to help with this task. The DoD currently tracks thousands of objects in space and has extensive experience in space situational awareness. The Commerce Department's space safety system will focus on providing warnings for potential collisions in space, and will be the first of its kind to be created in the US. The system will use data from a variety of...