Short Takes – 10-2-25 – Space Geek Edition

Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; NTIA Space Launch Frequency Coordination Portal. Federal Register NTIA 60-day information collection request renewal. Summary: “The Space Portal effort seeks to simplify spectrum requests for commercial space launch providers. Currently, the process is a manual request coordinated via email. This effort will provide a central portal where a commercial space launch entity will submit a request for a launch. The commercial launch provider will initiate a request, and the request will be coordinated amongst the federal agencies. The portal will provide a transparent view of where spectrum requests are in the federal spectrum approval process. Commercial launch providers will be able to view the status of their requests and respond to actionable items. This portal ensures compliance with Executive Order 12046, which establishes NTIA's spectrum oversight role, and 47 CFR part 300, which requires that federal systems must adhere to the NTIA manual's procedures and data formats.”

Suite Ride Research Unlocks Potential for First Astronaut with Diabetes. AxiomSpace.com press release. Pull quote: “The research results found that continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and insulin pens can operate reliably in the extreme conditions of space. Early results suggest that CGM devices can perform with accuracy comparable to Earth-based readings, enabling real-time glucose monitoring of astronauts in microgravity and can communicate readings to the ground. Insulin pens flown on the space station are now undergoing post-flight testing to evaluate the integrity of the formulation. This continues research from Virgin Galactic’s Galactic 07 mission where a successful technical demonstration was conducted confirming that commercially available insulin pens can dispense accurate doses in microgravity, aligning with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) guidelines.”

Government contracts lay foundation for circular space economy. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: ““We see a steady increase in interest, primarily from defense, around the capabilities that we can provide but also civil-government demand,” Chris Blackerby, Astroscale chief operations officer, said Sept. 30 during a panel on creating a circular space economy. “We’re building a space neighborhood with different types of capabilities. The way we’re going to get there is not through commercial demand but through government investment.””

ExLabs wins Space Force contract for reconfigurable space platform. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: ““We’re developing adaptable infrastructure designed to meet the evolving demands of space operations,” ExLabs CEO Matthew Schmidgall said in a statement. “As mission tempo increases, dual-use commercial platforms will be key to maintaining strategic advantage.””

Private mission study a step toward offering Orion as a service. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “For Lockheed Martin, the agreement gives the company the chance to study what it would take to fly an Orion mission for a non-NASA customer. “If we’re going to execute a private astronaut mission or a commercial mission, this mission description gives us an opportunity to explore what needs to change on the pathway to commercialization for an Orion mission,” said Bob Behnken, vice president for exploration product and technology strategy at Lockheed Martin Space.”

China and U.S. take initial steps toward space-traffic coordination. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “These communications are occurring at a critical time for satellite operators. Chinese companies plan to establish the 13,000-satellite Guowang internet-of-things constellation and the 15,000-satellites Qianfan or Thousand Sails broadband constellation. SpaceX’s Starlink broadband constellation could include as many as 42,000 satellites and Amazon intends to send 3,236 broadband satellites into Project Kuiper.”