Cape Canaveral could host more than 50 launches this year, a sharp increase from 2020. Col. Brande Walton, vice commander of the 45th Space Wing, said Tuesday that 53 launches from the spaceport are currently scheduled for 2020, with one, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch, already completed. The Cape hosted 31 launches in 2020, and Walton noted that the 2021 projection is subject to change as companies shift their launch schedules. [SpaceNews]
Government intelligence agencies say commercial geospatial intelligence products are emerging faster than they can figure out how to use them. David Gauthier, director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency's commercial and business operations group, said Tuesday that the intelligence community slowly is pivoting to a "commercial first" mindset, and that both his agency and the National Reconnaissance Office are stepping up market research to better understand what's available. Most of the demand is for photographic imagery captured by electrooptical sensors in space, but analysts are increasingly seeing the value of other sources of intelligence, such as radar imagery and radio-frequency signals. [SpaceNews]
NASA has signed an agreement with Japan regarding cooperation on the lunar Gateway. Under the agreement, Japan will provide batteries for NASA's HALO module and other components for the European-lead I-Hab habitation module. Japan will also study providing cargo resupply services using a version of its HTV-X cargo spacecraft. NASA previously announced agreements with Europe and Canada regarding their contributions to the lunar Gateway. [SpaceNews]
Aerojet Rocketdyne has completed its first AR1 engine as it looks for customers for it. The AR1 was assembled at Aerojet Rocketdyne's large engine assembly facility at NASA's Stennis Space Center. The company is looking at options to test it at Stennis, which may require modifications to existing test stands there to accommodate the engine since it uses kerosene rather than liquid hydrogen fuel. Aerojet developed the AR1 for potential use by United Launch Alliance, which instead opted for Blue Origin's BE-4 on its Vulcan rocket. Aerojet is now offering the engine for use on medium-class rockets, and signed an agreement with Firefly Aerospace in 2019 to study its use on that company's future vehicles. [SpaceNews]
A White House executive order Tuesday directs NASA and other agencies to pursue use of small nuclear reactors in space. The order instructs NASA to identify its requirements for nuclear power systems in space through 2040. It also calls on NASA to work with the Defense Department and other agencies on potential national security space applications of nuclear power systems. The order is intended to build upon Space Policy Directive 6, published last month, which set a general road map for space nuclear power and propulsion. [SpaceNews]
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