February 24, 2025

Interstellar Technologies Secures Additional ¥ 1.4 Billion From Japanese Government (Source: Interstellar)
Interstellar Technologies has secured ¥ 1.4 billion in additional funding under a program granted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. Interstellar was selected in September 2023 under the space section focused on the “Development and Demonstration of Private Launch Vehicles” were the company received up to ¥2 billion in funding for Phase 1.

After passing the review for Phase 2 in September 2024, another maximum of ¥4.6 billion were awarded. The current additional funding was approved by a Review Committee of experts to accelerate the project and ensure the achievement of the program’s goals. Including the funds of the previous phases the total amount has reached a maximum of ¥ 8 billion. (2/21)

Canadian Citizen Charged With Aerial Photography of Space Force Base (Source: West Orlando News)
This month, the United States Attorney announced the filing of a criminal information charging 71-year-old Xiao Guang Pan, of Canada, with three counts of using an unmanned aircraft to photograph vital defense installations and equipment without authorization. If convicted, Pan faces a maximum penalty of one year in federal prison on each count.

According to the criminal information, Pan used an unmanned aircraft to photograph vital defense installations and equipment at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. On three separate days in January 2025, Pan took aerial photographs of Space Launch complexes, a payload processing facility, a submarine wharf, and munitions bunkers. Taking unauthorized photographs of vital defense installations or equipment is prohibited under federal law. (2/23)

SpaceX Crosses 8,000 Total Starlink Satellites Launched with Latest Falcon 9 Flight (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched the first of two planned Starlink flights over the weekend. Up first was the launch of the Starlink 15-1 mission on Saturday, which carried with it 22 Starlink V2 Mini satellites. With the launch of the Starlink 15-1 mission, SpaceX sent more than 8,000 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit. (2/22)

NASA Confirms it – Confidential Documents Critical of its Databases Mysteriously Disappear (Source: Union Rayo)
Confidential documents related to NASA’s explorations of the Moon have “mysteriously” disappeared from the LEAG (Lunar Exploration Analysis Group) database. The most curious thing is that not all the files have been lost, only the one related to a key report by lunar experts that was carried out in 2023, where NASA was urged to plan a replacement for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).

Three documents of particular relevance have disappeared and the community is starting to get a little nervous… are they hiding “things” from us? In addition to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the master list of LEAG annual reports and the complete archive of the Extraterrestrial Materials Analysis Group (ExMAG) work have gone missing, something essential for recovering samples taken from our Solar System. Who doesn’t want us to know what’s up there? (2/23)

Scientists Turn James Webb to Examine Black Hole at Center of Our Galaxy and Saw Something Wild (Source: Futurism)
Scientists decided to look deep into a black hole and they were met with an explosive light show. Scientists at Northwestern University turned the groundbreaking JWST telescope onto Sagittarius A*, the central black hole at the heart of our Milky Way Galaxy that's about 26,000 light-years away from Earth, to see what its sensitive instruments would pick up.

The astrophysicists observed incredible flares of light spewing out of Sagittarius A*, described as resembling pyrotechnics. "In our data, we saw constantly changing, bubbling brightness," Farhad Yusef-Zadeh, a physics and astronomy professor at Northwestern who was the study's lead author, told CNN. "And then boom! A big burst of brightness suddenly popped up. Then, it calmed down again." (2/23)

Intuitive Machines Plans Not to Tip Over on Next Lunar Landing (Source: Mashable)
When Intuitive Machines became the first private space company to land on the moon, it was hailed as successful, despite its spacecraft breaking a leg and falling to its side. Now, as the Houston-based company seeks to repeat the journey, its executives say they've made improvements to their new spacecraft, Athena, that should help it avoid the problems that impacted the mission in 2024.

A snapshot from the Intuitive Machines landing revealed the spacecraft had broken a leg on the way down. The tilt had apparently caused an antenna to be blocked, forcing the team to use a backup with lower bandwidth to send back data. Their failure investigation resulted in 85 upgrades, including contingencies that should allow Athena to land up to 10 degrees off — perhaps more — and still complete the mission objectives. To be sure it would work, the team tested all of its deployment mechanisms with such a tilt in all different directions. (2/23)

KBR Wins $176 Million Contract to Modernize U.S. Space Surveillance Site in Hawaii (Source: Space News)
KBR secured a $176 million contract to maintain and modernize the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site, a high-altitude facility that serves as a key node in the U.S. military’s space surveillance network. The contract, announced Feb. 20, was a competitive procurement run by the Air Force Research Laboratory. (2/23)

Swimming Robots, Fusion Satellites and More! New NASA-Funded Studies Could Someday 'Change the Possible' (Source: Space.com)
NASA has awarded funds to 15 trailblazing concepts for space technology that could help us explore and inhabit the solar system. The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program (NIAC) is the agency’s scheme to help support the development of early stage innovative space technology concepts formulated by academics, innovators and entrepreneurs. This year’s NIAC Phase 1 grants go to projects including robots for ocean and ice world exploration, in-space manufacturing, balloons for exploring Venus, unravelling the mysteries of black holes and more. Click here. (2/23)

Boeing Starliner’s Helium Headache Becomes China’s Missile Miracle (Source: Interesting Engineering)
Chinese researchers have reportedly made a breakthrough in missile and rocket propulsion inspired by flaws in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. They found that helium could enhance efficiency and thrust while also reducing exhaust temperatures. A team of Chinese scientists found a way to inject helium into solid-fuel rocket motors, improving thrust and stealth capabilities.

They found that this technique effectively tripled the thrust of solid-fuel rockets on demand. The team also discovered that adding helium dramatically reduced the rocket’s exhaust temperature, making them harder to detect in flight. (2/23)

Gilmour Space Announces Launch Window for Australia’s First Sovereign Orbital Rocket (Source: Gilmour Space)
The countdown is on. Gilmour Space Technologies has announced a launch window starting 'no earlier than' March 15 for the maiden flight of Eris, the first Australian-designed and built rocket aiming for orbit.

The news follows final airspace approvals from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and Airservices Australia, clearing the last regulatory hurdle before launch. It also marks the culmination of years of innovative R&D and manufacturing by the Gold Coast-based company, which developed the Eris launch vehicle and Bowen Orbital Spaceport in North Queensland. (2/24)