Space odyssey (7/21/23)

Good morning. Happy Friday! We hope you all have a great weekend.

In today's edition...
⚛️ Future of fusion space propulsion
✈️ Congress’ plan to share airspace
💫 Payload’s picks

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Fusion Space Propulsion Industry Grows

The emerging fusion energy industry has attracted $6B+ in total investment, including $1.4B raised last year, the Fusion Industry Association (FIA) wrote in its annual state-of-the-market report. 

Out of 40 fusion startups surveyed by the association, five companies, including Helicity Space, NearStar, Princeton Fusion Systems, and Avalanche, said space propulsion is one of their primary markets.

“Investors see that fusion is moving from the scientific lab, national labs, and universities into the marketplace,” FIA’s CEO Andrew Holland told Payload. “It's becoming something that is on a commercially-relevant timescale that investors see as a way to make money.”

Physics class: Nuclear fusion is the process of fusing two atoms (typically hydrogen) together to form a new element (typically helium). The rearrangement releases a tremendous amount of energy.

• Although still in the early days, harnessing fusion could mean a limitless source of energy for the electric grid and a powerful means of in-space propulsion that opens the solar system for exploration.

A shortcut to Mars: Fusion propulsion is not intended for Earth to LEO transport. It could be most useful for interplanetary travel, where its extraordinarily high energy density could enable spacecraft to go farther, faster.

Looking specifically at Mars, harnessing fusion propulsion could cut the travel time by 75%, allowing spacecraft to make the trip in just a few months. For comparison, the journey for NASA’s Perseverance rover took about seven months.

“It opens up the solar system to human exploration and our ability to get people and payloads to Saturn's moons, the asteroid belt, and all these sorts of interesting things,” said Holland.

How it works: There are numerous ways to harness fusion for space propulsion, but the most common design is a pulsed magneto-inertial fusion rocket.

• A plasma gun fires along a track into a magnetic confinement field, triggering a nuclear reaction. The rocket design resembles the spacecraft from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

• The key to the reaction is creating a confined environment with temperatures reaching millions of degrees.

• Fusion power is released in short bursts, providing direct thrust as exhaust out a nozzle.

Hold your horsepower: While there have been significant advancements toward producing fusion energy, most notably with December’s net energy breakthrough at Lawrence Livermore National Lab, hurdles remain before engineers can harness it. According to an FIA survey, most industry insiders believe the technology will first send electricity to the grid in 2031-2035.

Sponsored

Steering the Future with Active Phased Arrays

Active phased arrays represent a transformative leap in radio frequency communication and will reshape how we connect and transmit data.

The take-over: While initially developed for military purposes, their advantages over traditional RF antennas have made them indispensable for space-based tech such as next-gen connected vehicles, in-flight connectivity, and satellite internet.

• SpaceX's Starlink constellation, which now comprises ~50% of the satellites in LEO, is the most widespread use case, grabbing the attention of the Satcom industry. Starlink delivers high-speed internet to millions of users on Earth through its proprietary steerable phased array antennas.

• Nevertheless, Starlinks are limited by their reliance on Ku-band and are not available for other companies or satellite constellations.

Enter CesiumAstro

CesiumAstro is developing general-purpose phased array technology accessible to everyone across many frequencies, from L-Band to Ka-band and beyond, featuring a greater allocated spectrum for both defense and commercial applications.

House Approves FAA Reauthorization Bill

Lawmakers are trying to make sure the growing pace of commercial space launches can peacefully coexist with commercial air travel.

The Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, which addresses the fight over shared airspace, passed the House on Thursday by a 351-69 vote, sending the bill to be considered by the Senate.

Working in harmony: More rockets lifting off also means more airspace closures, causing headaches and disruptions for pilots trying to get passengers to their final destination on time.

The FAA announced changes last month to keep more airspace open during Florida launches, resulting in fewer delays and re-routed flights. But Congress wants the agency to do more.

The bill would authorize $10M annually from fiscal 2024 through 2028 for the FAA to quickly develop ways to share data in near-real time, allowing commercial air traffic and space launches to more seamlessly share the airspace. Congress is asking the FAA to have this improved system in place by the end of 2026.

Spaceport spotlight: Under the bill, airports would be eligible to get grants under the Airport Improvement Program for construction to support launch and re-entry operations. The airport must meet certain criteria, including being a certified launch or re-entry site, having a large enough runway, and certifying that the full runway is required for spaceport activities.

The bill would also extend a 2018 reporting requirement for biannual updates to Congress on US and international spaceport infrastructure until 2028.

By the numbers: The bill would require the transportation secretary to begin tracking commercial space statistics the same way the department currently tracks commercial air travel. Specifically, the department would need to collect and disseminate data on the number of:

• Authorized launches and re-entries

• Space flight participants, and

• Payloads launched, plus their mass

What’s next: Congress is facing a tight deadline to finish the bill and send it to the president’s desk. The current FAA authorization bill expires Sept. 30.

Marketing From Space

Payload cofounder Ari Lewis is hosting a webinar with the CMO of Maxar, Colleen Campbell, on Aug. 1.

Colleen has 21+ years of marketing experience working at companies such as Northrop Grumman, Ogilvy, and Finsbury Glover Hering. The conversation will focus on:

• Maxar’s marketing post-acquisition

• In-house vs. agency decision making

• Maxar’s earned media strategy and Maxar News Bureau

Plus much more!

In Other News

• Debris from NASA’s DART mission was spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope.

• 60% of Americans say one of the space agency’s top jobs should be monitoring asteroids to keep Earth safe from impact.

• China has built a tower to conduct experiments in microgravity on Earth.

• NOAA says June was the hottest on record.

• SpaceX rolled Starship booster 9 to the Starbase launch pad ahead of a static fire.

The View from Space

Swifties from space! BlackSky snapped pics of the Denver stop on the Eras Tour to reveal a packed stadium parking lot with not a Blank Space to be found.