December 17, 2023

GomSpace and Startical Restart Their Collaboration (Source: GomSpace)
GomSpace will reuse the work performed for the previously suspended program to support Startical to perform the European ECHOES demonstration project and settle disputes. The value of the agreement ranges from 4.1 to 4.6 million EUR. GomSpace participation in The ECHOES demonstration will start today, and the satellite will be launched in 2025. The Settlement will have a positive financial impact of 1.5 million EUR in the fourth quarter of 2023. (12/11)

Investors in Terran Orbital Call For Immediate Separation of Chairman and CEO Roles (Source: Business Wire)
A group of concerned investors in Terran Orbital issued a statement reiterating its call for Terran’s Board of Directors to immediately separate the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer following Marc Bell’s recent spate of materially misguided, crude, and defamatory statements, as well as a series of highly conflicting articles and statements, resulting in LLAP’s stock price losing nearly 30% of its value in one day. (12/12)

Axiom Space Selects Stottler Henke’s Aurora AI Software to Manage Astronaut Schedules (Source: Stottler Henke)
Axiom Space  has selected Stottler Henke’s Aurora AI software to manage the schedules of their astronauts during space missions. Aurora software will ensure that crew tasks are scheduled efficiently to maximize crew effectiveness, while ensuring that all space operations constraints are satisfied. (12/12)

Ovzon Receives Order of 135 MSEK From Swedish Space Corporation (Source: Ovzon)
Ovzon has received an order from SSC for Ovzon’s SATCOM-as-a-Service, including Ovzon mobile satellite terminals. The total order value amounts to 135 MSEK. Ovzon SATCOM-as-a-Service supports critical missions with assured connectivity that can transmit and receive large amounts of data by seamlessly integrating performance, mobility and resiliency. (12/13)

Thales Alenia Space Selects UK’s National Satellite Test Facility for FLEX Test Campaign (Source: Thales Alenia)
Thales Alenia Space, a joint-venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has selected the UK’s National Satellite Test Facility for the first comprehensive assembly, integration and test campaign of the European Space Agency’s FLEX (Fluorescence Explorer) satellite. (12/15)

New Shepard to Carry 33 Science Payloads (Source: Blue Origin)
New Shepard will fly its 24th mission on December 18. The manifest includes 33 payloads and 38,000 Club for the Future postcards from students around the world. (12/16)

China Commercial Rocket Launches Di'er-1 Satellite (Source: Xinhua)
China successfully launched SQX-1 commercial rocket from the Jiuquan spaceport Sunday. It was the sixth flight mission of the SQX-1 rocket. (12/17)

Europe Gains Supply Chain Independence in Production of Alexandrite Laser Crystals for Space Missions & Atmospheric Research (Source: AZO Optics)
Companies from Lithuania, Italy, and Germany reached a new milestone for independent European space missions. During the GALACTIC project, they developed a European supply chain of Alexandrite laser crystals for studying changes in the atmosphere and the planet’s surface. The high-power Alexandrite crystals and coatings developed in the GALACTIC project will be used to collect climate change-related observations on the atmosphere and vegetation. (12/14)

United Launch Alliance Named 2023 Business of the Year Finalist (Source: Florida Today)
In the past year, United Launch Alliance's local employees donated almost 1,000 hours of volunteer work across the Space Coast. Click here. (12/12)

First Images Of Spaceship Neptune’s Capsule Structure (Source: Latte)
Space Perspective has unveiled the first images of its completed test capsule structure. The first to be designed for tourism flights under a SpaceBalloon, the spherical capsule, together with the reserve descent system and SpaceBalloon, make up the company’s innovative spacecraft called Spaceship Neptune.

The completed capsule will be flown as part of the company’s upcoming uncrewed test flights, which pave the way for crewed test flights later next year. In 2021, Space Perspective successfully flew a capsule simulator to space under a SpaceBalloon; since then, its teams have been working on the design and manufacturing of the capsule to resume testing, which will include evaluating all corner cases and off-nominal scenarios to pass numerous safety gates. (12/15)

Space Command at ‘Full Operational Capability’ as Congress Battles Over HQ Site (Sources: Washington Times, Space News)
The U.S. Space Command, the Pentagon’s newest combatant command with responsibility for space operations, is completely up and running after its commander on Friday formally announced that it had achieved “full operational capability.” During a headquarters town hall meeting, Army Gen. James Dickinson said Space Command — first conceived during the Trump administration — was finally ready to fulfill its mission on “our worst day, when we are needed the most.”

But Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has made more moves to reverse the HQ siting. He ensured the new NDAA bill limits the use of funds for U.S. Space Command headquarters until DoD's Inspector General and the Comptroller General of the United States complete reviews of the selection announced in July of 2023. He seeks to suspend funding for any construction in Colorado for a permanent Space Command headquarters. (12/15)

NDAA Punts on Space National Guard (Source: Space News)
The National Defense Authorization Act passed last week by Congress does not establish a Space National Guard. It instead directs a “feasibility study on the consolidation or transfer of space functions of the National Guard to the Space Force.” (12/14)

Sierra Space’s Revolutionary Dream Chaser Enters Final Test Campaign, Spaceplane Transitioning to Orbital Operations (Source: Sierra Space)
Sierra Space has delivered the first Dream Chaser spaceplane, Tenacity, to NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. The world’s only commercial spaceplane has entered the final testing phase ahead of its first flight in 2024. The testing campaign will confirm the spacecraft’s resilience to the challenges of launch and the demanding conditions of space as it prepares for its inaugural mission to the ISS under a multi-mission NASA contract. (12/15)

Canadian Space Agency Provides $2.9M to Four Companies for Lunar Exploration (Source: SpaceQ)
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will provide $2.9 million to four companies for six projects for sustainable lunar exploration. The CSA issued a Lunar Surface Exploration Initiative had selected seven projects for the concept phase and is moving on to the prototyping phase, focused on five fundamental fields for lunar exploration. They include agriculture/food production, autonomous/intelligent robots and rovers, avionics and communications, mining and in-situ resource utilization, and power generation/distribution. (12/25)

Argentine Company Wants to Launch Satellites From Uruguay (Source: MercoPress)
The Argentine company Tlon Space S.A. has been reported to be involved in Uruguay's plans to build an aerospace launch platform on the coast of Rocha to send small satellites into space to collect images. To boost these plans, the Uruguayan Congress is reviewing a bill to create a space agency to “direct, coordinate and implement the space policy” resulting from the work of the National Space Policy Board.

Alejandro Ferrari pointed out Uruguay's east coast has about 100 kilometers with an advantage to launch rockets. “Given the inclination, it is possible to launch to polar or equatorial orbits; for one it is very convenient and for the other, it is the border. Besides, it can be launched without interfering with the airspace of neighboring countries. That is an advantage” in addition, the area's low costs and Uruguay's economic stability. (12/16)