Fontana, California, United States, May 3, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / Orbital Assembly Corporation is a leader in the race to make space available to everyone by building the Voyager-class of Space Stations, a gravity simulating on-orbit habitation environments for leisure, commercial and industrial activities.

Orbital Assembly is aiming to launch not one but two space stations with tourist accommodation: Voyager Station, the renamed original design, is now scheduled to accommodate 400 people and to open in 2027, while new concept Pioneer Station, housing 28 people, could be operational in just three years.

After blasting off from Earth, guests will arrive at a central, zero-gravity docking hub. From there, elevator shafts will carry them outward to a chain of “habitation modules” arranged around the circumference of the circular station. It’s only there, at the edge of the wheel, that the centrifugal force will be strong enough to keep guests and their surroundings firmly grounded.

Humanity’s 70 years of advancing space development has been hindered because astronauts on orbit begin feeling the detrimental effects of microgravity within 48 hours. Until now, long term sustained habitation on orbit has not been possible. Orbital Assembly provides for the critical need of artificial gravity by providing critical infrastructure solutions enabling construction, maintenance, research, commerce, and other operations on-orbit for long periods of time without the detrimental health effects of microgravity.

Orbital Assembly flagship project is the Voyager-class Space Station. The large rotating stations are designed to produce varying levels of artificial gravity by increasing or decreasing the rate of rotation. Artificial, or simulated, gravity is essential to long term habitation in space. The station has been designed accommodate commercial and manufacturing partners as well as national space agencies conducting low gravity research.

The Voyager Class will also provide the comfort of low gravity within the luxurious accommodations of a luxury hotel space for tourists who want to experience an extended visit to space.

The concept of the rotating wheel, proposed in the early 1900s as a way to generate artificial gravity, was later popularized in the 1950s by the German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun (Voyager was originally named in his honor). Thanks to the centrifugal force it produces, visitors will be able to move about normally, more or less.

The billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson have paid to cross or arrive at the edge of the Kármán line, the boundary between our atmosphere and outer space. Beside a budding clientele of Bezos and Branson stature, the era of full-fledged pleasure trips to space seems at hand, even for a multi-day escape.

About Orbital Assembly Corporation
Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC) is the only company advancing the development and operation of the first commercially viable space-based business park with gravity that will enable humanity to work, play and thrive in the space ecosystem. Commercialization of these space parks will include manufacturing of integrated circuits, photonics, fiber optics, satellite rework, military applications, biomaterials, organ growth and pharmaceuticals. The company will also provide communications hubs and opportunities for space tourism.

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Intrnational Space Station, Space, January 24, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer connected live to a session on Thursday at the Davos Agenda 2022 from the International Space Station, somewhere high above the Pacific, to discuss how space research can improve life on Earth.

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While in orbit on a six-month mission with the European Space Agency (ESA), Maurer will support a wide range of science experiments and technological research, including those that address transmissions of disease, the reduction of carbon emissions and human health-related activities. Knowledge gained through his mission will contribute to development that benefits life on Earth.

“We have worked hard in the past few weeks and months to send back cargo that we harvested for scientists to analyse all these samples that we produced in space, and to produce science and knowledge for humanity out of it,” he said.

He added that the cross-country and international collaboration aboard the space station should also be a model for how the world tackles major challenges, such as climate change. From his view, Maurer described the beauty of the planet, but also pointed out that he could see the impact of climate change from space.

“When we fly around the Earth (16 times a day), we cross over areas that are very arid and dry and I can see scars on the planet where people are digging deep to extract resources. So we are actively reshaping the planet. We are cutting down trees and burning down rainforests. I see the flames. I also see the flooding.”

Back on Earth, Al Gore, Vice-President of the United States (1993-2001); Chairman and Co-Founder, Generation Investment Management, explained how space technology and artificial intelligence can help address climate action. He highlighted the work of Climate TRACE, a global coalition created to make meaningful climate action faster and easier by independently tracking greenhouse gas emissions with unprecedented detail and speed.

“Some things you can see directly from space, like methane, but the difficulty of measuring CO2 emissions against a highly varied CO2 background on the Earth make it necessary to use AI to get precision we need,” he said. He added that if you consider something like GPS, it is clear how quickly the opportunities offered by space tech and space exploration can become integrated into our lives.

But the data and knowledge that is gained from space should not be limited to those who own satellites, said Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology, Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology of the United Arab Emirates. “If only countries with access to satellites get access to the data, we deny other countries the opportunity to benefit from that knowledge,” she said.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2022, space is increasingly crowded and commercialized. While the diversification of actors is for many an exciting development, dated space governance frameworks are coming under considerable pressure, exposing fault lines between the ambitions of different players and the acceptability of their actions.

Echoing this message, Josef Aschbacher, Director-General of the ESA, noted that the volume of satellites indicates that regulation is important.

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However, it will have to keep up with a fast-changing industry, which, according to Chris Kemp, the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Astra, is currently seeing a revolution of sorts. “Access is increasing all the time thanks to significant falls in the cost of putting satellites into space and this has enabled a new generation of entrepreneurs to build companies, to take these companies public and provide new capabilities.”

About the Davos Agenda 2022
For over 50 years, the World Economic Forum has been the international organization for public-private cooperation. The Davos Agenda 2022 is the focal point at the start of the year for leaders to share their outlook, insights and plans relating to the most urgent global issues. The meeting will provide a platform to accelerate the partnerships needed to tackle shared challenges and shape a more sustainable and inclusive future.

First published at TravelCommunication.net – Global Travel News

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Washington DC, United States, January 17, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / A blank-check company that has former Blue Origin President Rob Meyerson as its CEO has completed a $287.5 million initial public offering, furthering its plans to link up with ventures focusing on space, cybersecurity and energy innovation.

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C5 Acquisition Corporation, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), announced the closing of its initial public offering of 28,750,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit, including 3,750,000 units issued pursuant to the exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in full, on January 11, 2022. The units were listed on the New York Stock Exchange and began trading under the ticker symbol “CXAC.U” on January 7, 2022. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock of the Company and one-half of one redeemable public warrant. Each whole public warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock of the Company at a price of $11.50 per share. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the shares of Class A common stock and public warrants are expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols “CXAC” and “CXAC WS,” respectively.

The Company is led by CEO Robert Meyerson, former president of Blue Origin. Steve Demetriou, Chair and CEO of Jacobs Engineering (NYSE:J), will be the company’s Non-Executive Chair of the Board of Directors. The Company is a newly organized blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of effecting a merger, consolidation, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or companies. While the Company may pursue an initial business combination with any company in any industry, the Company intends to focus on businesses at the leading edge of national security innovation in three key sectors: Space, Cybersecurity and Energy Transition.

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and Moelis & Company LLC served as the joint book-running managers for this offering. The offering was made only by means of a prospectus, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Attention Capital Markets, c/o Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., 499 Park Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

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The registration statement relating to the securities became effective on January 6, 2022. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

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Houston, Texas, United States, June 21, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The fast-rising SpaceFund venture capital team announced its newest member today. James Mertz brings a highly successful career in family office, energy, and real estate investing to a team that has already shaken the space investment world with its early successes and thought-leading investment strategies. Mr. Mertz joins Meagan Crawford as a managing partner of the rapidly-growing “BlastOff” fund, where they oversee and manage the fund’s portfolio of leading-edge space technology companies.

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“James Mertz is a perfect fit for SpaceFund. He is a quick study, has high integrity, is sharp, hard-working, and has a laser focus on the bottom line and creating value for our investors,” said SpaceFund co-founder and board chair, Rick Tumlinson. “Coming from outside of the space field, he helps us continue to balance our vision with even more rock-solid business acumen.”

Mertz brings SpaceFund over thirteen years of experience in various energy, investing, and venture roles, including as Managing Partner at Mertz Holdings, an active early-stage family office, and President of Mertz Energy, an independent E&P company. In addition, he is a founding partner of Townsend Mertz, a real estate investment firm, a Venture Advisor for Resonant Venture Partners, and an LP Advisor at FTW Ventures.

“I’m beyond excited to be part of the SpaceFund team,” said Mertz. “To be able to combine my experience and expertise in creating portfolio value with being part of the space revolution is a dream come true.”

SpaceFund is moving into a new phase of investing. With the success of its first “LaunchPad Fund,” whose investments in 14 companies have already doubled in value in the nine months since it closed in late 2020, the “BlastOff” Fund is the next step for the company.

Managed by Mertz and long-time space business expert Meagan Crawford, the larger fund will follow on early investments by the LaunchPad Fund and bring larger allocations to bear on new rising stars of an industry that is literally taking off. Mertz has been quietly working with the company as it planned and launched the fund, integrating with the team and adding his great expertise to its formation and launch while laying the foundations for its success.

“The combination of James and his history of success outside of the space field, with Meagan and her central place in the space technology industry is a killer app for SpaceFund,” said Tumlinson. “These two are destined to be the new dynamic duo of space investing.”

Over the last thirteen years, James has generated a 39% IRR and helped grow portfolio companies to unicorn status, one of which has exited. In addition, James sourced and managed multiple capital investments, helping diversify family holdings, including Resonant VC, Neurodyn Inc., Reach Production Solutions, and many others.

“I am here to support the SpaceFund mission of opening the High Frontier by both enabling the birth and success of new space companies and helping outside investors navigate what can be a confusing landscape of shiny objects,” said Mertz. “Coming from energy and real estate investing, I am not impressed by fancy animations and slide decks. Instead, show me the team, show me the financial statements, show me the path to profits.”

The addition of Mertz is part of an overall plan by Tumlinson that began with the rollout of SpaceFund, and is designed to build credibility through access to deal flow, placement of successful investments, and leadership by an innovative team of space investment thought leaders.

“We planned from the beginning to take a step by step approach to securing our place in space investing, building credibility, becoming thought leaders and slowly adding capabilities and five star personnel,” said Tumlinson. “Meagan is already known as the ‘startup whisperer.’ Bringing James on is the next part of that plan, and integrating his amazing and pragmatic expertise from outside the space field will propel us to even higher levels. So I suggest my friends in the space field step back, as this team is Blasting OFF.”
SpaceFund welcomes James Mertz as co-managing partner for SpaceFund Two.

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About James Mertz
James Mertz is a Texas native. He received his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and received his MBA with highest Distinction from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and IESE Barcelona. While at Michigan, Mr. Mertz studied in Bulgaria through the Fulbright Program and is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma.

Mr. Mertz is also co-Managing Partner of Townsend Mertz, a diversified real estate equity fund manager, and President and founder of Mertz Energy, where he manages a technical team to source and generate oil and gas projects. Prior to these activities, Mr. Mertz started and led the Oil & Gas Downhole and Subsea division for Amphenol, a $40 billion market cap manufacturing company.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

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Auckland, New Zealand. May 16, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / Following a successful lift-off, first stage burn, and stage separation, Rocket Lab experienced an anomaly during its 20^th Electron mission ‘Running Out Of Toes.’

The issue occurred following second stage ignition during the flight on May 15, 2021 UTC, resulting in the loss of the mission. The launch vehicle’s second stage remained within the predicted launch corridor and caused no harm to the public, Rocket Lab’s launch or recovery crews, or the launch site. Electron’s first stage safely completed a successful splashdown under parachute and Rocket Lab’s recovery team is working to retrieve the stage from the ocean as planned.

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Rocket Lab is working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to investigate the anomaly and identify the root cause to correct the issue for future missions.

“We are deeply sorry to our customer BlackSky for the loss of their payloads. We understand the monumental effort that goes into every spacecraft and we feel their loss and disappointment. Our team is working hard to identify the issue, rectify it, and be safely back on the pad as soon as possible,” said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and chief executive. “On one of our toughest days, our team operated with professionalism and worked swiftly to ensure the anomaly was managed safely. Our team is resilient, and our top priority remains to safely and reliably return to flight for our customers. We will learn from this, and we’ll be back on the pad again.”

Today’s anomaly occurred after 17 successful orbital launches of the Electron launch vehicle. With multiple launch vehicles currently in production, Rocket Lab is prepared for a rapid return to flight as soon as investigations are complete and any required corrective actions are in place.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

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Houston, Texas, United States, May 13, 2021 / madeinspace.com / SpaceFund Inc., announced it has fully deployed investments from its first “LaunchPad” fund today. The venture capital firm placed investor funds in 14 companies, including both some well-known NewSpace stars, as well as seeding rising stars it believes capable of helping lead humanity into the frontier of space.

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“We’re right on track in our plan to seed and support the growth of these amazing companies,” said SpaceFund founder Rick Tumlinson. “Our formula is working. First we find brilliant frontier tech startups in need of early funding, then we bring in funds from visionary investors, and after significant diligence, we place those funds in just the right places to power the space revolution.”

SpaceFund is rapidly becoming the world’s leading space venture capital company. Its team started the LaunchPad fund in 2019 as a proof of concept to demonstrate its ability to find, navigate, and capitalize on deal flow that may be elusive to those outside of the insular next generation space community.

“We balance our excitement about what is and will be happening in space with a deep and thorough vetting process,” said SpaceFund managing partner and co-founder Meagan Crawford. “We don’t chase rockets, satellite swarms, or shiny objects. Instead, we find brilliant teams with game changing technologies and solid business plans. While some of them may not seem glamorous, they are the foundational elements of a rapidly rising space economy.”

In addition to one stealth company, the LaunchPad fund has now completed building its portfolio with investments in the following companies:

• Axiom Space: The world’s first commercially built, owned and operated space station.
• Cognitive Space: Transforming the state of automation and AI for spacecraft and orbital machines.
• Cosmic Shielding: Major game changing radiation shielding and space weather forecasting.
• Eden Grow Systems: The first built-for-space integrated food and energy production system, now commercializing this technology for use on Earth.
• Made In Space (Redwire): The first in-space additive and industrial manufacturing company.
• Novo Space: The first plug-and-play modular computers for the most ambitious space missions.
• Orbit Fab: The first Gas Stations in Space for satellite refueling and the first  Satellite Gas Cap fueling ports.
• Sen: The first commercial live high-resolution television of Earth (and space), from space.
• Skyloom: The first high speed laser (optical) space communications network.
• Space Forge: The first end-to-end, free-flying space micro-manufacturing plants.
• Space Perspective: The world’s first luxury spaceflight experience company.
• SpaceX: The world’s most advanced rockets and spacecraft.
• Voyager Space Holdings: A leading global space exploration company.

“These companies are a good representation of those rising to meet the challenge of what Gerard O’Neill called the ‘High Frontier,’” added Tumlinson. “The seeds our investors are enabling us to plant and support now, will grow into the mighty oaks of the future space industrial ecosystem. With our next BlastOff fund, we will widen this base, finding new leaders, and providing the funding for growth needed to assure humanity can permanently and profitably expand into that frontier.”

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SpaceFund is now investing in new companies out of its second fund, the BlastOff fund. If your space startup would like to be considered for investment, please fill out the ‘Submit Your Company for Consideration’ form on the SpaceFund website

First published at TravelCommunication.net

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Houston, Texas, United States, May 6, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / SpaceFund venture capital firm announced today that it is spinning off a new aerospace strategic consulting company to serve growing government, corporate, and investment industry demand for advice and informed diligence. The new firm, SpaceFund Intelligence (SFI) builds on the skills and team already assembled by the rapidly growing SpaceFund venture capital firm, while adding high level players to its roster of top-flight experts. The new team includes engineering, biomedical, geo-political, and policy experts as well as former high ranking US military and government leaders.

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SFI is led by SpaceFund Senior Managing Partner, Meagan Crawford, SpaceFund founder Rick Tumlinson, who is known as one of the founders of the space revolution sweeping the aerospace industry, and Dr. Lamont Colucci, Full Professor of Politics and Government at Ripon College and Senior Fellow in National Security Affairs for the American Foreign Policy Council and advisor to the U.S. Space Force. SpaceFund venture capital’s Junior Partner, Andrew Granatstein, leads SFIs operational and analytical team, having assembled and managed the now well-known SpaceFund Reality Rating (SFR) databases, which have become an industry standard research source.

“Consulting for SpaceFund Intelligence while acting as Managing Partner of SpaceFund allows me to translate my day by day, up to the minute knowledge of space business into advice and support for our clients at SFI, while also bringing the SFI team’s expertise to bear on SpaceFund’s own diligence,” explained Meagan Crawford. “This arrangement makes sure that everyone wins, improving SpaceFund’s ability to deploy capital efficiently, while also ensuring that industry and government can keep their finger on the pulse of this rapidly developing industry.”

The SFI military and strategic team includes stellar and respected names such as R. James Woolsey, former Secretary of the Navy and head of the Central Intelligence Agency, and Ambassador Henry F. Cooper, former head of the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative.

“I am excited to be part of such a high-level and leading-edge team,” said Woolsey. “I feel that my depth of knowledge of how the military and intelligence community work, and my overall experiential base in the Pentagon’s leadership is a perfect fit, giving SFI both depth and breadth when it comes to the needs of government and industry clientele.”

Other team members include Dr. Jim Logan, former Chief of Flight Medicine / Chief of Medical Operations at NASA, China and Asia space and technology expert Dr. Namrata Goswami, Dr. Shawna Pandya, physician and VP of Immersive Medicine at Luxsonic Technologies, Dr. Gabriele Rizzo, former cabinet member and advisor to the Italian Minister of Defence, Dr. Peter Pry, Executive Director of the Task Force on Homeland Security, and former Air Force Lt. General Steve Kwast of Genesis Systems.

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According to SFI, this team is growing weekly, and will include an even broader depth and breadth of expertise as time goes on. While focused on space, related areas such as cyber, robotics, artificial intelligence, and geopolitics will help the company provide a one stop shop for institutions and companies seeking a broadly integrated view of the future.

Concluded Rick Tumlinson: “SpaceFund Intelligence, with its position alongside SpaceFund, is in a unique position to access both the listed team member’s insights and experience but can also reach out and tap our vast and growing network of entrepreneurial and foundational space leaders. It is a space renaissance dream team.”

First published at TravelCommunication.net

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Houston, Texas, United States, April 7, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / SpaceFund announced it has reached and surpassed the planned first close of $5 million for its $20 million BlastOff Fund today. The Houston and Austin-based company says commitments to the fund have reached $9 million as of Monday morning.

“We are thrilled to see how many investors are placing their trust in our team,” said SpaceFund founder Rick Tumlinson. “We spent a lot of time slowly and carefully developing our processes and credibility, so we can better serve both investors and the amazing space startup community, and it’s paying off.”

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SpaceFund began life at the end of 2019, announcing its first LaunchPad fund in the fall of that year. The proof-of-concept fund closed in August of 2020 and has already invested in 13 exciting space startup companies. Continuing SpaceFund’s strategic plan, the BlastOff Fund will build on those investments and expand the firm’s portfolio with larger investments, including some in later-stage companies.

“SpaceFund is about combining a bold approach with a very conservative diligence and investment process,” said SpaceFund managing partner Meagan Crawford. “The BlastOff Fund continues our careful growth plan but is designed to accelerate our ability to place investment into those companies that are leading the Space Revolution.”

The BlastOff Fund was helped in its ignition by billionaire digital finance innovator Jed McCaleb, creator of the Stellar protocol, who anchored the BlastOff Fund. A well-known visionary leader in the cryptocurrency world, McCaleb is also a believer in the rise of the NewSpace industry and commercial space.

According to McCaleb: “I came to SpaceFund to ask questions because they are seen as credible thought leaders in the space investment industry. By the time we finished talking, it was clear they were an obvious choice to help me invest in this amazing field.”

“Jed is a well-informed investor and one who deeply cares about the future of space and humanity,” added Crawford. “He is exactly the kind of investor we hope to attract into the SpaceFund family. For us, this isn’t just about money. It is about how we can best impact the future. Jed and the other investors in the fund get that.”

“There is a reason we call this the BlastOff fund,” concluded Tumlinson. “Anyone who follows what is happening in space can see that after almost 60 years, this industry is taking off. Our job is to help investors climb aboard the right companies to carry them to their financial destinations as we open the Frontier.”

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If you are an accredited investor and are as excited about what’s happening in space as we are, please reply to this email to learn more about SpaceFund’s proprietary data, unique market insights, and unparalleled deal flow. You can also acquire the very unique and outstanding domain name: madeinspace.com

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Kennedy Space Center, Florida, United States, November 10, 2020 / TRAVELINDEX / The prospects of a robotic manufacturing base operating off Earth is not as far-fetched an idea as it used to be, according to a study published by a team of researchers led by a physicist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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Advances in robotics and remote manufacturing in the form of 3-D printing offer some tantalizing prospects for future designers to consider as they map out the ways to explore and use resources in the solar system. Also, private companies are establishing goals and abilities to use resources available near Earth.

In their study, Phil Metzger and James Mantovani of Kennedy’s Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory; Anthony Muscatello of the center’s Applied Chemistry Laboratory; and Robert Mueller of the Kennedy Surface Systems Office, detail one potential path toward developing a self-sustaining, space-based industry that would use resources from asteroids and other celestial bodies to meet the needs of Earth.

A fully functioning, remote system of robotic excavators and simple machinery still is years away from reality, and much research on asteroids needs to be undertaken. The building blocks of a successful system, however, appear to be in place, the study concluded.

“Robots and machines would just make the metal and propellants for starters,” Metzger said. “The first generation of robots makes the second generation of hardware, except the comparatively lightweight electronics and motors that have to be sent up from Earth. It doesn’t matter how much the large structures weigh because you didn’t have to launch it.”

The study was undertaken in part because companies on Earth are quickly building business cases for pathfinding missions to evaluate available resources in the solar system with an eye on collecting them.

“They’re going to explore what works and what doesn’t work,” Metzger said.

Metzger said the researchers developed a basic computer model to judge the viability of what would be possible. Their data showed six generations of development to “close the loop,” meaning robots and automated machines would be able to build and operate themselves without any materials from Earth. Basically, they found that prospect was not as daunting as they thought it would be.

Because asteroids are loaded with minerals that are rare on Earth, near-Earth asteroids and the asteroid belt could become the mining centers for remotely-operated excavators and processing machinery. In the future, an industry could develop to send refined materials, rare metals and even free, clean energy to Earth from asteroids and other bodies.

Two significant developments make this prospect possible: robotics and the discovery of fundamental elements needed to make plastic, rubber and various metals existing throughout space.

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“Now that we know we can get carbon in space, the basic elements that we need for industry are all within reach,” Metzger said. “That was game-changing for us. The asteroid belt has a billion times more platinum than is found on Earth. There is literally a billion times the metal that is on Earth, and all the water you could ever need.”

Another critical technology also is developing at just the right time: 3-D printers producing hardware that can be assembled into ever-more-complex machinery and potentially in the future, increasingly capable robots.

“The idea is you start with resources out of Earth’s gravity well in the vicinity of the Earth,” Metzger said. “But what we argued is that you can establish industry in space for a surprisingly low cost, much less than anybody previously thought.”

The finished minerals could be returned to Earth or used in space to build new machinery or as supplies for astronauts as they explore the solar system.

So where to start?

As part of NASA’s recently announced asteroid initiative, the agency is searching for a small asteroid that can be moved into a path within the Earth-moon system so astronauts can visit it as early as 2021 to take samples of the space rock.

“There are some types of asteroids that would be fantastic for space resources,” Metzger said. “It’s primordial solar system material. You can make plastics and you can make rubber by combining the carbon and the hydrogen.”

A near-Earth asteroid or other nearby body presumably could contain enough material to allow a robotic system to mine the resources and refine them into usable metal or other substances. Those materials could be formed into pieces and assembled into another robot system that would itself build similar models and advance the design.

The first-generation machinery would be akin to the simple mechanical devices of the 1700s, with each new generation advancing quickly to the modern vanguard of abilities. They would start with gas production and the creation of solar cells, vital for providing a power source.

Each new robot could add improvements to each successive model and quickly advance the mining and manufacturing capabilities. It would not take long for the miners to produce more material than they need for themselves, and they could start shipping precious metals back to Earth.

Perhaps the most unusual aspect of the whole endeavor, the article argues, is that it would not take many launches from Earth to achieve. Launch costs would be saved because robots building themselves in space from material gathered there wouldn’t need anything produced by people. Very quickly, only the computer chips, electronics boards and wiring would need to come from Earth.

“We took it through six generations of robotic development and you can achieve full closure and make everything in space,” Metzger said. “We showed you can get it down to launching 12 tons of hardware, which is incredibly small.”

The team’s paper titled, “Affordable, Rapid Bootstrapping of the Space Industry and Solar System Civilization,” is published in the June issue of the Journal of Aerospace Engineering.

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Bennu, Asteroid, 200 Mio Miles from Planet Earth, October 20, 2020 — NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft unfurled its robotic arm Tuesday, and in a first for the agency, briefly touched an asteroid to collect dust and pebbles from the surface for delivery to Earth in 2023.

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This well-preserved, ancient asteroid, known as Bennu, is currently more than 200 million miles (321 million kilometers) from Earth. Bennu offers scientists a window into the early solar system as it was first taking shape billions of years ago and flinging ingredients that could have helped seed life on Earth. If Tuesday’s sample collection event, known as “Touch-And-Go” (TAG), provided enough of a sample, mission teams will command the spacecraft to begin stowing the precious primordial cargo to begin its journey back to Earth in March 2021. Otherwise, they will prepare for another attempt in January.

“This amazing first for NASA demonstrates how an incredible team from across the country came together and persevered through incredible challenges to expand the boundaries of knowledge,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “Our industry, academic, and international partners have made it possible to hold a piece of the most ancient solar system in our hands.”

At 1:50 p.m. EDT, OSIRIS-REx fired its thrusters to nudge itself out of orbit around Bennu. It extended the shoulder, then elbow, then wrist of its 11-foot (3.35-meter) sampling arm, known as the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM), and transited across Bennu while descending about a half-mile (805 meters) toward the surface. After a four-hour descent, at an altitude of approximately 410 feet (125 meters), the spacecraft executed the “Checkpoint” burn, the first of two maneuvers to allow it to precisely target the sample collection site, known as “Nightingale.”

Ten minutes later, the spacecraft fired its thrusters for the second “Matchpoint” burn to slow its descent and match the asteroid’s rotation at the time of contact. It then continued a treacherous, 11-minute coast past a boulder the size of a two-story building, nicknamed “Mount Doom,” to touch down in a clear spot in a crater on Bennu’s northern hemisphere. The size of a small parking lot, the site Nightingale site is one of the few relatively clear spots on this unexpectedly boulder-covered space rock.

“This was an incredible feat – and today we’ve advanced both science and engineering and our prospects for future missions to study these mysterious ancient storytellers of the solar system,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “A piece of primordial rock that has witnessed our solar system’s entire history may now be ready to come home for generations of scientific discovery, and we can’t wait to see what comes next.”

“After over a decade of planning, the team is overjoyed at the success of today’s sampling attempt,” said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona in Tucson. “Even though we have some work ahead of us to determine the outcome of the event – the successful contact, the TAGSAM gas firing, and back-away from Bennu are major accomplishments for the team. I look forward to analyzing the data to determine the mass of sample collected.”

All spacecraft telemetry data indicates the TAG event executed as expected. However, it will take about a week for the OSIRIS-REx team to confirm how much sample the spacecraft collected.

Real-time data indicates the TAGSAM successfully contacted the surface and fired a burst of nitrogen gas. The gas should have stirred up dust and pebbles on Bennu’s surface, some of which should have been captured in the TAGSAM sample collection head. OSIRIS-REx engineers also confirmed that shortly after the spacecraft made contact with the surface, it fired its thrusters and safely backed away from Bennu.

“Today’s TAG maneuver was historic,” said Lori Glaze, Planetary Science Division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The fact that we safely and successfully touched the surface of Bennu, in addition to all the other milestones this mission has already achieved, is a testament to the living spirit of exploration that continues to uncover the secrets of the solar system.”

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“It’s hard to put into words how exciting it was to receive confirmation that the spacecraft successfully touched the surface and fired one of the gas bottles,” said Michael Moreau, OSIRIS-REx deputy project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “The team can’t wait to receive the imagery from the TAG event late tonight and see how the surface of Bennu responded to the TAG event.”

The spacecraft carried out TAG autonomously, with pre-programmed instructions from engineers on Earth. Now, the OSIRIS-REx team will begin to assess whether the spacecraft grabbed any material, and, if so, how much; the goal is at least 60 grams, which is roughly equivalent to a full-size candy bar.

OSIRIS-REx engineers and scientists will use several techniques to identify and measure the sample remotely. First, they’ll compare images of the Nightingale site before and after TAG to see how much surface material moved around in response to the burst of gas.

“Our first indication of whether we were successful in collecting a sample will come on October 21 when we downlink the back-away movie from the spacecraft,” Moreau said. “If TAG made a significant disturbance of the surface, we likely collected a lot of material.”

Next, the team will try to determine the amount of sample collected. One method involves taking pictures of the TAGSAM head with a camera known as SamCam, which is devoted to documenting the sample-collection process and determining whether dust and rocks made it into the collector head. One indirect indication will be the amount of dust found around the sample collector head. OSIRIS-REx engineers also will attempt to snap photos that could, given the right lighting conditions, show the inside of the head so engineers can look for evidence of sample inside of it.

A couple of days after the SamCam images are analyzed, the spacecraft will attempt yet another method to measure the mass of the sample collected by determining the change in the spacecraft’s “moment of inertia,” a phrase that describes how mass is distributed and how it affects the rotation of the body around a central axis. This maneuver entails extending the TAGSAM arm out to the side of the spacecraft and slowly spinning the spacecraft about an axis perpendicular to the arm. This technique is analogous to a person spinning with one arm extended while holding a string with a ball attached to the end. The person can sense the mass of the ball by the tension in the string. Having performed this maneuver before TAG, and now after, engineers can measure the change in the mass of the collection head as a result of the sample inside.

“We will use the combination of data from TAG and the post-TAG images and mass measurement to assess our confidence that we have collected at least 60 grams of sample,” said Rich Burns, OSIRIS-REx project manager at Goddard. “If our confidence is high, we’ll make the decision to stow the sample on October 30.”

To store the sample, engineers will command the robotic arm to place the sample collector head into the Sample Return Capsule (SRC), located in the body of the spacecraft. The sample arm will then retract to the side of the spacecraft for the final time, the SRC will close, and the spacecraft will prepare for its departure from Bennu in March 2021 — this is the next time Bennu will be properly aligned with Earth for the most fuel-efficient return flight.

If, however, it turns out that the spacecraft did not collect enough sample at Nightingale, it will attempt another TAG maneuver on Jan. 12, 2021. If that occurs, it will touch down at the backup site called “Osprey,” which is another relatively boulder-free area inside a crater near Bennu’s equator.

OSIRIS-REx launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Sept. 8, 2016. It arrived at Bennu Dec. 3, 2018, and began orbiting the asteroid for the first time on Dec. 31, 2018. The spacecraft is scheduled to return to Earth Sept. 24, 2023, when it will parachute the SRC into Utah’s west desert where scientists will be waiting to collect it.

Goddard provides overall mission management, systems engineering and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator, and the University of Arizona also leads the science team and the mission’s science observation planning and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the spacecraft and is providing flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are responsible for navigating the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program, which is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

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