Amped up (8/17/23)

Good morning. Today, we’re thankful for Pioneer 7 (which launched on this day in 1966) and the decades worth of data on the Sun’s magnetic field and solar wind that it sent back to Earth.

Today’s newsletter:
🔌 Michigan, UK work together
🚀 SpaceX leads launch
✒️ Space opportunities
📝 The contract report

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The US and UK Team Up on Electric Propulsion

Partners are teaming up across the pond to work on spacecraft propulsion tech.

Pulsar Fusion, a propulsion startup based in England, announced last week it is collaborating with the University of Michigan to research electric Hall-effect thruster tech. The UK Space Agency is funding the collaboration.

“This is another key US partnership for Pulsar—we continue to pursue best-in-class innovation, and this is particularly exciting, given the global commercial interest in these engines,” Pulsar chief Richard Dinan said in a statement.

Pulsar recently began developing in-space electric propulsion systems to capitalize on the growing demand for the tech. The U of M partnership will allow the company to further develop the capability.

Back to engineering school: Electric propulsion Hall-effect thrusters are commonly used to maneuver spacecraft in orbit. The propulsion system uses electricity to ionize and accelerate a propellant (usually xenon or krypton) to produce thrust.

• Electric propulsion is much more efficient than combustion engines, achieving a specific impulse (Isp) of 2,000+ seconds. For comparison, SpaceX’s Raptor engine has <400 seconds of Isp.

• The tradeoff with electric propulsion is that it packs far less of a punch when it comes to thrust.

Yankees and Brits: NASA has prioritized the development of electric propulsion systems, allocating significant investment toward designing them into key space assets like the Lunar Gateway. The UK aims to further support its growing commercial space industry by funding the Pulsar and Michigan partnership.

"As a manufacturer of space engines, there are regulatory challenges in being based in the UK, but England does have a fantastic talent pool, and our scientists deserve to be at the forefront of these emerging technologies,” Dinan said.

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MDA’s Next Giant Leap

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As an industry leader in the new 'Space Age', Next Giant Leap — MDA’s four-part podcast series with GZERO Media — dives into the economics and geopolitics of space from low Earth orbit to space's role in transforming communication, defence, AI, and climate action.

Some highlights include:

• Artemis II mission and Canada's role in it with Artemis II astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

• Canadarm3 - one of MDA's chief contributions to the Artemis program featuring MDA’s VP of Robotics and Space Operations Holly Johnson.

• MDA's CEO Mike Greenley speaking about the satellite revolution in low earth orbit and sharing how essential satellites are to life here on Earth.

• MDA’s Senior Director of Defence Strategy Kevin Whale shares how space is increasing in strategic importance for many countries and is becoming important to preserve space for future generations.

Next Giant Leap is a must-listen for everyone involved in the space sector. Sit back, relax, and have a listen.

BryceTech Releases Q2 2023 Briefing

SpaceX is dramatically outpacing the rest of the world in launch cadence and capacity. In its Q2 2023 launch trends briefing, BryceTech quantified just how much the launcher is breaking away from the competition.

SpaceX vs. the world: On each of the launch metrics tracked by BryceTech—that is, number of launches, number of satellites launched, and mass to orbit—SpaceX led the pack in Q2.

The primary contractor for China’s space program, CASC, comes in second on each of these metrics—but it wasn’t close. SpaceX launched 22 times in the quarter, compared to CASC’s six. (Side note that SpaceX also dominated the US market, making up 88% of American launches in Q2). SpaceX also launched 648 total satellites, while CASC launched just 49.

Widening the gap: SpaceX has led the world in mass-to-orbit for the past seven quarters, according to BryceTech data. That includes quarters where the launcher didn’t lead the pack in number of launches—SpaceX tied CASC at 18 launches in Q4 2022, for example, but sent more than twice the mass to orbit. That’s a whole lot more mass per launch.

This year, SpaceX has expanded its staggering lead. In Q4 2021, SpaceX led in mass-to-orbit by a much smaller margin (63,400 kg to CASC’s 51,000 kg). In the first two quarters of 2023, however, SpaceX has sent about 10x as much mass to space as CASC, which has been its closest competition in both cases.

Spacecraft breakdown: Of the 797 spacecraft launched in Q2, the vast majority were communications satellites. Here’s how it breaks down:

• 67% comms, led by Starlink deployments

• 16% technology development

• 13% remote sensing

• 1% or less each of science, crew and cargo transport, and miscellaneous applications

Commercial satellites also far outnumbered government deployments, and 97% of satellites launched were smallsats. It’s a new world out there.

See You Tonight!

Join the Payload team with Bank of America, Deloitte, Flow Engineering, and Velo3D for tonight’s space industry happy hour. This is an evening of networking you won’t want to miss!

Space Opportunities

Here are the top government opportunities for space companies this week, as compiled by our partner TZero.

🛰️ NASA has opened the Cubesat Launch Initiative providing space flight opportunities for education, science, and technology payloads. Responses are due Nov. 17.

📳 USSF has released a forecast for upcoming FY24 commercial satellite communications solicitations.

📡 DIA has released a forecast for FY24 space-related solicitations.

Additional opportunities and details can be found in the TZero Space Tracker, which is now offering new, lower pricing and a one-month free trial.

In Other News

• NASA’s mobile Artemis launch tower rolled back to the launch pad for testing.

• Russia's Luna-25 lander entered lunar orbit.

• ULA's CEO Tory Bruno is confident Vulcan will fly by year's end.

• SpaceX is expediting shipments of Starlinks to Maui to help restore internet access.

• Starship’s hot staging ring has been installed on Booster 9.

• India’s Chandrayaan-3 lander separated from its propulsion module as it enters the lunar landing homestretch.

• BAE Systems announced plans to acquire Ball Corp’s aerospace division for $5.5B.

The View from KSC

When we say “birds” in space lingo, we’re not talking about these two ospreys who made a nest this summer near the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.