February 20, 2025

Musk Meltdown: ESA Astronaut is "Fully Retarded" "Idiot" and "Liar" for Denying ISS "Rescue" Narrative (Source: SPACErePORT)
ESA Astronaut Adreas Mogensen had the temerity this week to call bulls#*t on Elon Musk's claim that the two astronauts stuck on the ISS after Starliner capsule anomalies are only there for "political reasons". "What a lie," wrote Mogensen..."And from someone who complains about lack of honesty from the mainstream media." Musk's response: "You are fully retarded... [Their] Return WAS pushed back for political reasons. Idiot."

Musk said he offered to the Biden administration to bring them back, but was refused. UCF's Phil Metzger attempted to add some nuance, citing the $250 million cost for an additional Dragon mission. But Musk wasn't having it: "Price was never even discussed! They flat refused... The real issue is that they did not want positive press for someone who supported Trump." He went on the further denigrate the Danish astronaut: calling the "so-called 'Commander'" a "passenger."

Never mind that NASA did indeed contract with SpaceX for returning the astronauts, amid the agency's very complex manifesting/scheduling process for ISS operations. (Musk called another commenter a "liar" for pointing that out.) Musk seems to think his opinions on any topic are superior, his logic infallible. That's a dangerous trait for someone given carte blanche by the President of the United States to make unchecked multi-billion dollar changes to the Federal Government. (2/20)

US Aviation Sector Calls for Emergency Funding for Air Traffic Technology, Staffing (Source: Reuters)
The U.S. aviation sector on Wednesday called for "robust emergency funding" from Congress for air traffic control technology and staffing after a series of crashes that have raised alarm. Airlines for America, the Aerospace Industries Association, International Air Transport Association and others including major aviation unions urged Congress in a joint letter on Wednesday to take action, noting the FAA faces serious technology needs and is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels. (2/19)

Report Questions Space Force Strategy in Facing China (Source: Space News)
A new Mitchell Institute report critiques the US Space Force's current strategy, arguing that its focus on competitive endurance and deterrence may leave the US vulnerable. The report suggests that the Space Force needs to adopt a more combat-ready approach to effectively compete with China's expanding military capabilities in space. (2/19)

SDA Revokes Terran Orbital Contract After Viasat Protest (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Space Development Agency (SDA) has revoked a contract for 10 satellites it awarded to Terran Orbital after a lawsuit by Viasat. The SDA said it will recompete the contract for 10 Tranche 2 Transport Layer Gamma satellites it awarded to Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, a subsidiary of Terran Orbital (now owned by Lockheed Martin), in August.

An Air Force review concluded that an SDA official improperly informed Terran Orbital that its bid was too high to be selected. A separate contract for Tranche 2 Transport Layer Gamma satellites awarded to York Space Systems is not affected. SDA's director at the time of the award, Derek Tournear, was placed on administrative leave last month, reportedly because of the Viasat complaint. (2/20)

Luxembourg's OQ Technology Wins EU Accelerator Funding (Source: Space News)
OQ Technology, a Luxembourg company developing an Internet of Things constellation, has won funding from a European Union-backed accelerator. The company could receive up to 17.5 million euros ($18.2 million) from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator program depending on its ability to raise money from other investors for a Series B round worth 35-40 million euros. The company has launched 10 smallsats to provide IoT services and is working on technology for direct-to-device services. (2/20)

Trump and Musk Continue to Politicize ISS Astronaut "Rescue" (Source: Space News)
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk repeated unsupported claims about the Starliner astronauts in a televised interview. In a Fox News interview Tuesday night, both Musk and Trump claimed that astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were left on the ISS by the Biden administration for political reasons. NASA said last August it would return the Starliner spacecraft without the two astronauts on board for safety reasons, stating then that the White House was not involved in that decision.

NASA's independent safety board, the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, supported that decision in its recent annual report, citing an additional thruster failure during the spacecraft's return. The two astronauts have also stated they do not feel "abandoned" on the ISS. The two are expected to return by late March, a slip from February because of delays building a new SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that led the agency to swap spacecraft last week. (2/20)

That Asteroid Hurtling Toward Earth is Starting to Look Scarier (Source: Quartz)
There’s a 3.1% chance an asteroid will hit Earth on Dec. 22, 2032. But there’s no reason to panic — at least not yet. A space rock called 2024 YR4 is now the asteroid with the highest-ever chance of possibly hitting Earth. Scientists don’t know exactly how big it is, but they think it measures between 130 and 300 feet. They also aren’t sure exactly what it’s made of. (2/19)

Asteroid 2024-YR4 Impact Odds Decrease (Source: NASA)
The already small chance of an asteroid impact in December 2032 has dramatically dipped. NASA said Wednesday that the latest observations of 2024 YR4 show only a 1.5% chance of an impact after gradually rising in recent weeks to as high as 3.1% on Tuesday. NASA noted it expects the impact odds to continue to change in the coming weeks as more observations of the asteroid allow astronomers to refine its orbit. The asteroid also has a 0.8% chance of hitting the moon in December 2032. (2/20)

Blurred Military Responsibilities in Space (Source: Space News)
Defense industry executives are raising concerns about confusion among agencies about space-related roles and responsibilities. At a Mitchell Institute event Wednesday, executives noted that responsibilities remain blurred among the Space Force, which is a military service; U.S. Space Command, which is a unified combatant command; and intelligence agencies operating in space.

That makes them worried about the service's ability to secure resources and execute its mission effectively. They cited the recent announcement of the "Iron Dome for America" initiative as an example, as it mandates the acceleration of space technologies for missile defense without clearly delineating the responsibilities of the Space Force versus those of the Missile Defense Agency and other organizations.

The comments came at the rollout of a report that concludes the Space Force lacks the resources and "warrior mentality" needed to compete with China. The report by the Mitchell Institute's Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence takes direct aim at Space Force Chief Gen. Chance Saltzman's "theory of success" framework, arguing that his emphasis on competitive endurance over victory could leave America vulnerable in the new space race. They said while other military branches embrace their combat roles, the five-year-old Space Force has struggled to develop a similar warfighting ethos. (2/20)

Trump Seeks $50 Billion DoD Cuts (Source: Space News)
The White House is proposing to cut $50 billion from defense spending in fiscal year 2026. The proposed cuts are part of plans to reduce defense spending by 8% a year for the next five years, but will protect some priority programs such as Iron Dome for America. The administration has signaled that programs related to climate change and what it describes as "excessive bureaucracy" will be first in line for reductions. (2/20)

Free to Leave NASA (Source: Space News)
NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free is leaving the agency. NASA announced Wednesday that Free, the highest-ranking civil servant at the agency, would retire at the end of the week. Free has spent 30 years at NASA in two stints, and has been associate administrator since the end of 2023. The agency didn't disclose why Free was retiring now or his future plans.

Free had been expected to become acting administrator at the start of the new administration but the White House instead selected Janet Petro, director of the Kennedy Space Center, to lead the agency on an interim basis. The announcement came a day after NASA avoided, at least temporarily, firings of probationary employees similar to those taking place at other government agencies. (2/20)

True Anomaly Opens SoCal Factory (Source: Space News)
Colorado-based True Anomaly has opened a factory in Southern California. The company said the 90,000-square-foot factory in Long Beach, California, will be dedicated to the design, development and manufacturing of new products for the military market, including classified Space Force programs. The new facility keeps True Anomaly close to a major customer, Space Systems Command, which is headquartered in Los Angeles. The company is maintaining its Colorado headquarters and factory, where it produces its Jackal spacecraft for proximity operations. (2/20)

These Are the SpaceX Engineers Already Working Inside the FAA (Source: WIRED)
Engineers who work for Elon Musk’s SpaceX have been brought on as senior advisers to the acting administrator of the FAA, sources said. According to sources, SpaceX engineers were already being onboarded at the agency under Schedule A, a special authority that allows government managers to “hire persons with disabilities without requiring them to compete for the job,” according to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Weeks earlier, President Trump was quick to blame “DEI” for air traffic failures, railing against a decade-old program that helps the FAA identify talent among populations with disabilities. People with disabilities hired into the FAA and other federal agencies are often accepted under the Schedule A authority—exactly the route these new engineers have taken into the agency. These new hires come after the terminations of hundreds of FAA probationary employees, and the most deadly month of US aviation disasters in more than a decade. (2/19)

Air Force Launches Unarmed Nuclear Missile From Vandenberg (Source: LA Times)
The Air Force launched an unarmed missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base overnight, in a demonstration of the readiness of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Santa Barbara County base on Wednesday. The country has performed more than 300 similar tests in the past. (2/18)

Blue Origin Promises to Land on the Moon in 2025 (Source: BGNES)
In 2025, the Blue Moon Mark 1 module should make a soft landing on the lunar surface, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp promised. Limp suggested that one of the upcoming launches of the heavy-lift New Glenn rocket could include the Blue Moon Mark 1 module, which is being developed by Blue Origin under the Human Landing System (HLS) contract with NASA. "I remain confident we can get to the moon this year," the company's chief executive said. (2/18)

Airport Seeks Immediate Eviction of Space Perspective; Orlando Firm Sues Company Over Bills (Source: Florida Today)
Space Perspective officials want a judge to halt or delay their looming eviction from Space Coast Regional Airport, citing "significant investment and operational resources" at the airport and saying that relocating their balloon-capsule tourism company is not immediately viable. But the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority (TCAA) seeks to repossess Space Perspective's trio of leased airport properties — including a 700-foot-long balloon manufacturing facility — after the company racked up $90,295 in unpaid rent in recent months, court records show.

The Space Perspective eviction case remains underway in Brevard County Circuit Court. In a motion last week, the TCAA asked a judge to immediately issue an eviction default judgment. A hearing on the case has been scheduled for March 5. In a separate lawsuit, an Orlando executive search firm sued Space Perspective two weeks ago seeking $29,000 plus interest in unpaid fees after allegedly referring two job candidates who were hired by the balloon tourism company. No court date has been scheduled in that case. (2/17)

Lunar Space Station Module Prepares for US Transport Ahead of Artemis IV (Source: Space Daily)
A key component of NASA's Gateway lunar space station has completed rigorous environmental tests and is now in the cleanroom for final preparations before its journey to the United States.

When Artemis IV astronauts travel to the Moon, they will be the first to visit Gateway, a space station orbiting the Moon designed to support human exploration and scientific research. Currently, the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), a foundational module of Gateway, is being carefully positioned in a cleanroom at Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy. The module's complex structure, built to sustain astronauts and enable scientific operations in lunar orbit, has successfully passed a series of demanding environmental stress tests. (2/16)

SpaceX Debris Enters Atmosphere Over Poland (Source: Space Daily)
Debris from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that blasted off in the United States on February 1 entered the Earth's atmosphere over Poland on Wednesday, the Polish space agency said. A 1.5 meter by one meter chunk from an unidentified object was found Wednesday morning in the grounds of a warehouse on the outskirts of the western city of Poznan, police said. Police later said a second similar-sized object had been located several hours afterwards in a forest a few kilometers from where the first was discovered.

The Polish Space Agency (POLSA) said a stage of the Falcon 9 R/B rocket made "an uncontrolled re-entry into the atmosphere" at about 0346 GMT. It said the rocket was part of a Space X Starlink Group launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on February 1. No casualties or damage were reported. (2/19)

Researchers Confirm Existence of Habitable Sone Exoplanet (Source: Space Daily)
An international team of astronomers has validated the discovery of a super-Earth positioned within the habitable zone of a nearby Sun-like star. Initially detected two years ago by Oxford University scientist Dr. Michael Cretignier, the planet's existence has now been confirmed following an extensive analysis of observational data spanning more than 20 years. The findings, which offer new opportunities to explore potentially life-supporting exoplanets, have been published in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Named HD 20794 d, the planet possesses a mass six times that of Earth and orbits a star located just 20 light-years away. The planet's orbit places it within the habitable zone, meaning it occupies a region where liquid water could potentially exist on its surface, an essential criterion for life as we understand it. (2/18)

ESA Advances HydRON Project for Next-Generation Space Communications (Source: Space Daily)
The European Space Agency (ESA) has taken a significant step in advancing space-based optical communications by signing a contract with Thales Alenia Space to develop Element #2 of the High-throughput Digital and Optical Network (HydRON). This initiative aims to deploy an advanced laser satellite system that will revolutionize data transmission across space. The newly planned satellite collector in low Earth orbit (LEO) will facilitate seamless connectivity between different orbital layers through cutting-edge optical communication technologies. (2/16)

Karman Completes Expanded IPO with Full Over-Allotment Option Exercise (Source: Space Daily)
Karman Holdings Inc., a leading provider of mission-critical systems for defense and space applications, has successfully closed its initial public offering (IPO), raising significant capital through an upsized offering that included a full exercise of the underwriters' over-allotment option. (2/16)

Star Catcher Secures AFWERX SBIR Phase 1 to Advance Space Power Beaming (Source: Space Daily)
Star Catcher Industries, Inc. (Star Catcher), a pioneer in space-to-space power beaming, has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 contract by AFWERX. This initiative aims to refine Star Catcher's technology for enhancing power capabilities of spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

The U.S. Department of the Air Force has an increasing demand for enhanced satellite power capabilities to support real-time operations and counter threats from strategic adversaries like China and Russia. This SBIR Phase 1 effort will focus on validating and improving Star Catcher's proprietary space-to-space power beaming technologies to bolster military preparedness. (2/16)