February 25, 2025

Blue Origin’s New Shepard Completes 30th Mission to Space (Source: Blue Origin)
Blue Origin successfully completed its tenth human spaceflight and the 30th flight for the New Shepard program. The astronaut crew included: Lane Bess, Jesús Calleja, Elaine Chia Hyde, Dr. Richard Scott, Tushar Shah, and an undisclosed sixth crew member. Lane flew for the second time, the fourth New Shepard customer to do so. Including today’s crew, New Shepard has now flown 52 people into space, including repeat astronauts. (2/25)

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 - The World's First Private Orbital Launch Site (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 is the world's first private orbital launch site and the primary launch site for our Electron rocket. With two launch pads, a 24/7 launch operations team, and clear skies and sea around us, learn more about how Launch Complex 1 has been foundational to opening up access to space with Electron. Click here. (2/18)

New Horizons Probe to Cross Termination Shock Zone 20 Years After Voyager 1 (Source: ExtremeTech)
The New Horizons probe, which delivered stunning images of Pluto in 2015, is set to cross the “termination shock” on the boundary of the Sun’s heliosphere over 20 years since Voyager 1 first made the transition. Since it was launched in 2006, though, New Horizons carries far more modern scientific equipment that could yield exciting new science on the nature of our solar system and how various forces interact on its extreme edge. (2/24)

Chinese Rivals to Musk's Starlink Accelerate Race to Dominate Satellite Internet (Source: Reuters)
Space is about to get more crowded for Elon Musk. The billionaire's Starlink communications network is facing increasingly stiff challenges to its dominance of high-speed satellite internet, including from a Chinese state-backed rival and another service financed by Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab founder Jeff Bezos.

Shanghai-based SpaceSail in November signed an agreement to enter Brazil and announced it was in talks with over 30 countries. Two months later, it began work in Kazakhstan, according to the Kazakh embassy in Beijing. Separately, Brasília is in talks with Bezos's Project Kuiper and Canada's Telesat, according to a Brazilian official. News of those discussions is being reported for the first time. (2/24)

The Skies Are Getting Crowded (Source: Marketplace)
When Starlink first launched in 2019, there were only 2,000 satellites. And Starlink has 7,000 alone right now. They have suggested that they want as many as 42,000, so they have the vast majority of satellites in the sky currently. But there’s also projections that there will be 100,000 total by the end of the decade. So they really kind of like kicked off this race to low Earth orbit.

Project Kuiper is the most well known. Pretty soon after Starlink, they started working on their own, and they’re just starting to launch satellites now, but the service is still not available. They plan on having a good number in there too. There’s a Chinese company that’s also working on building their own mega-constellation. So it’s really kind of a race to get satellites up there right now. (2/24)

New Technology Dramatically Boosts Gravitational Wave Detection (Source: Earth.com)
For years, scientists have been eager to tune in to the subtle vibrations sent across the universe by cataclysmic events. Gravitational-wave observatories provide that opportunity, but capturing the weakest signals demands innovative advancements. A newly developed optical system offers a possible route to higher laser power levels, which is crucial for capturing more distant events.

The new system directs infrared radiation onto mirrored surfaces with carefully shaped patterns. The ring-like approach corrects the warping that arises from intense laser power. Each main mirror weighs about 88 pounds, so minimizing distortions is not easy. With precisely controlled heating zones, the system keeps the reflections crisp and stable, which is a major benefit for detecting faint signals. (2/23)

Teledyne Space Imaging Launches Two Imaging Sensors in Sun-Synchronous Orbit (Source: Teledyne Technologies)
Teledyne Technologies announced that sensors from Teledyne Space Imaging will play a key role in two prestigious NASA explorer missions that are ready to launch this month. Both missions launch on the same rocket on 28 February 2025 from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The PUNCH mission (Polarimeter to UNify the Corona and Heliosphere) is led by Teledyne Space Imaging customer, Southwest Research Institute on behalf of NASA. (2/24)

NASA Supercomputer Reveals Strange Spiral Structure at the Edge of Solar System (Source: LiveScience)
The Oort cloud — the mysterious shell of icy objects at the edge of the solar system — might sport a pair of spiral arms that make it resemble a miniature galaxy, new research suggests. The exact shape of the Oort cloud and how it is affected by forces beyond our solar system have, so far, remained mysterious. Now, researchers have developed a new model that suggests the inner structure of the Oort cloud may look like a spiral disk. (2/23)

New Russian Propulsion Technology Could Send Spaceships to Mars in a Month (Source: OilPrice.com)
Russia's state atomic energy corporation, Rosatom, has developed a plasma electric rocket engine that could send spacecraft to Mars in just 30 to 60 days. The plasma engine works by accelerating particles between two electrodes under high voltage, creating a magnetic field that expels the particles and provides thrust. A laboratory prototype of the engine has been developed and is undergoing ground testing to develop a flight model by 2030. (2/23)

Musk’s Starlink Gets FAA Contract, Raising New Conflict of Interest Concerns (Source: KVIA)
The FAA has agreed to use SpaceX’s Starlink internet system to upgrade the information technology networks it uses to manage US airspace, raising new concerns about conflicts of interest for CEO Elon Musk in one of his other roles, that of recommending funding cuts at federal agencies, including the FAA. The size of this contract was not immediately reported. (2/24)

Verizon Completes its First Satellite-to-Cellular Enabled Video Call with AST (Source: Verizon)
This first video call demonstration is a result of the recent approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to AST SpaceMobile authorizing testing using Verizon’s spectrum in the United States. This approval enables AST SpaceMobile’s first five commercial BlueBird satellites, operating in low Earth orbit today, to test satellite connections with smartphones supporting voice, full data and video applications, and other native cellular capabilities. (2/24)

Eutelsat Succeeds in World's First 5G Network Trial From Space with OneWeb (Source: Reuters)
French satellite service provider Eutelsat has successfully carried out the world's first trial of 5G Non-Terrestrial Network connection using OneWeb's low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, it said on Monday, sending its shares 9% higher. European telecom and space firms are ramping up efforts to expand internet networks with satellite investments at the core of the European Commission's 10.6 billion euro ($11.1 billion) IRIS² program. (2/24)

What Starship Can, and Can’t, Do (Source: Space Review)
SpaceX is set to conduct another Starship test flight as soon as the end of this week. Jeff Foust reports that, as the giant vehicle gets closer to operations, more people are thinking about both the potential uses of the vehicle and those where it may not be as competitive. Click here. (2/25)
 
Space Literacy: Environmental Education for a Spacefaring Civilization (Source: Space Review)
More than a century ago, the conservation movement sought to educate the public on the benefits of preserving the environment. Beverly and Robert Bachelder describe how similar education is needed to show the public the importance of preserving the space environment. Click here. (2/25)
 
Remote Sensing and the International Law of Space (Source: Space Review)
The commercial remote sensing industry has grown significantly as more companies offer high-resolution images of the Earth taken from space. Richard Carson examines some unresolved international space law issues of the field. Click here. (2/25)

Protesters Block SpaceX Office as Elon Musk Faces Backlash Over Federal Layoffs (Source: Times of India)
On Wednesday evening, a large group of activists gathered outside SpaceX's Washington DC office  to protest recent federal job cuts announced by the Trump administration. The demonstration was a result of mounting frustration over government  layoffs. (2/25)

Rocket Lab Completes Design Review for Space Force Mission (Source: Investing.com)
Rocket Lab announced the successful completion of the Critical Design Review (CDR) for the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command's (SSC) Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) mission, named VICTUS HAZE. The announcement comes as the space technology company, now valued at $11.8 billion, has seen its stock surge over 238% in the past six months. (2/24)

Firings at US Agency Foreshadow Second Wave of Mass Government Layoffs (Source: Reuters)
The U.S. government's human resources agency is rushing to shut down and drastically shrink entire departments in what sources familiar with the actions say will serve as a template for a second wave of mass layoffs in the federal bureaucracy. The Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the personal information of millions of past and current government workers, has eliminated its entire 40-strong procurement team and gutted a group overseeing the handling of sensitive employee data within the agency. (2/24)

No More Singularities? Quantum Gravity Could Finally Solve the Black Hole Mystery (Source: SciTech Daily)
Scientists have discovered a way to create black holes without the mysterious singularities where physics breaks down. By using pure gravity rather than exotic matter, their new model challenges previous theories and brings us closer to understanding the true nature of spacetime. This breakthrough not only simplifies the conditions for black hole formation but also aligns with the fundamental laws of thermodynamics. The research opens doors to new astrophysical applications and could ultimately reveal how the universe prevents singularities from forming. (2/24)

Mankind is About to Broadcast the First Ever Music From the Moon (Source: Music Radar)
We are about to deliver a communication data center to the lunar service as part of the first steps to establishing a more permanent connection with our rocky neighbor. The hardware comes courtesy of Lonestar Data Holdings whose Lunar Data Centre – named Freedom – has successfully completed testing and integration into Intuitive Machines' IM-2 mission lander – named Athena.

The powers that be at Lonestar Data Holdings have – after contemplating the entire musical output of humanity and every piece of music ever created – plumped for [drum roll] Children of the Sky by Imagine Dragons. Yes. The song best known as the theme from the Xbox videogame, Starfield. (2/24)

Scientists Think Visitors From Another Star System May Have Infiltrated Our Galactic Neighborhood (Source: Popular Mechanics)
The closest stellar system to us is the triple system Alpha Centauri. It’s currently creeping closer to our Solar System at 79,000 km per hour (about 49,709 mph), and should be at its closest around 27,700 years from now. With that in mind, researchers at the University of Western Ontario decided to see how many Alpha Centauri objects might have made it to us already, and how many could eventually make it here in the future.

To find out if Alpha Centauri could be currently ejecting material, the researchers turned to existing models of how star systems usually eject debris. The models predicted that, despite the small number of objects from Alpha Centauri that are expected to make it all the way to Earth every year, there could be as many as a million over-one-hundred-meter-in-diameter-sized objects from the system already lurking in our Oort cloud (many smaller object and particles may also be among them). (2/19)

30 Years After Warp Drives Were Proposed, We Still Can't Make the Math Work (Source: Space.com)
In 1994, Mexican theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre decided to figure out if the "warp drive" from his favorite science fiction shows was possible. Amazingly, he found a way to make it feasible, but it's still unclear if it could ever actually work.

Alcubierre's warp drive solution to general relativity employs a region of perfectly flat space. In front of that bubble is a region of compressed space, and behind it is a region of expanded space. This crunching up of space allows the interior bubble and its contents to move at any speed it wants — even faster than light. Amazingly, the occupants of the bubble won't feel anything weird. In fact, from their perspective, they won't be moving at all. (2/22)

Columbia Sportswear Offers Limited Edition Apparel for Moon Mission (Source: CollectSpace)
The pattern of gold dots on Columbia Sportswear's new long-sleeve shirt forms more than just the silhouette of a lunar lander. It also represents the company's insulating technology used to protect the spacecraft, as well as outdoor explorers here on Earth. Inspired by IM-2, Columbia's second trip to the moon with Houston-based Intuitive Machines, the limited edition crew went on sale to the public on Monday (Feb. 24), along with a graphic tee. (2/24)

Australian Outback to Get Launch Site with Election Pledge (Source: WA Today)
It’s a cliche to suggest political parties aim for the stars during election campaigns. But in the case of Western Australia’s upcoming state election, it is quite literally true. Labor has promised $2 million to develop a business case for the WA Space Launch Facility – a common-user spaceport to allow businesses to launch satellites and spacecraft into orbit. (2/25)

US Speeds Integration of Partners Like NZ into Military Space Operations (Source: Science Magazine)
The United States is speeding up the integration of partners such as New Zealand into its military space operations, as the US engages in "great power competition" with China. The Pentagon's power moves in space come with the NATO alliance in crisis, and as China projects naval power in the Tasman Sea with three warships conducting live-fire exercises that disrupted trans-Tasman passenger flights. (2/25)

Tuberville: ‘No Doubt’ Trump Still Moving SPACECOM to Huntsville (Source: 1819 News)
President Donald Trump’s administration will still likely move Space Command from Colorado to Alabama despite recent optimism otherwise from U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO), according to U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).

Tuberville said: “As President Trump and Secretary Hegseth work to remove politics from the military and return to a merit-based system, I have no doubt that they will apply this same criterion to installation locations. I look forward to continuing my discussions with President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, and the incoming Air Force Secretary about the importance of immediately bringing U.S. SPACECOM to its rightful home in Alabama.” (2/24)

Maryland's Quantum Space Wins State Manufacturing Grant Incentive (Source: Quantum Space)
Maryland Department of Commerce that will enhance Quantum Space's satellite integration and test facilities. This critical grant reflects our continued partnership with the state of Maryland. It supports the modernization of our automated manufacturing capabilities, reinforcing our commitment to advancing space technology and innovation, right in Maryland. As a Maryland-based spacecraft company, Quantum Space is proud to call the state our corporate headquarters and the home of our space integration and test facility. We are deeply grateful for Governor Moore and the State of Maryland's support. (2/20)

SDA Proceeds with Satellite Procurements Amid Potential Shakeup (Source: Space News)
The Space Force's Space Development Agency (SDA) is pressing ahead with satellite procurements despite internal turbulence and high-level scrutiny. SDA is advancing plans to acquire 54 additional satellites for a missile defense tracking system that the agency wants to deploy in low Earth orbit. The agency's procurement strategy, though, is under scrutiny as defense leaders determine whether SDA's acquisition approach aligns with long-term national security objectives.

The turmoil includes an ongoing investigation by the Department of the Air Force that led to putting the SDA's director, Derek Tournear, on administrative leave last month. The agency is also recompeting a separate 10-satellite contract after a Department of the Air Force review determined that the initial award process had been improperly handled. The Office of the Secretary of Defense has ordered an independent assessment of SDA's operations, underscoring concerns about the agency's acquisition strategies and its ability to meet critical requirements. (2/24)

Conflicting Signals for Space Industry Health (Source: Space News)
There are conflicting signals about the health of the space industry. Industry observers note that while venture funding remains active and satellite demand is rising, companies like Blue Origin and Boeing are laying off staff. Growth across the industry is not evenly spread, with satellite services continuing to show steady improvement that is projected to continue for the next decade. Satellite and launch vehicle manufacturing, though, is more volatile, and in many cases subject to changing government agendas. (2/24)

A NASA mission to look for near Earth objects will launch on a Falcon 9. NASA said Friday it awarded a task order to SpaceX for the launch of the NEO Surveyor mission, currently planned for as soon as September 2027, on a Falcon 9 from Florida. NEO Surveyor features an infrared space telescope designed to discover and track near Earth objects, including those that could pose a threat to the Earth. (2/24)

BAE Systems Wins NASA/NOAA Weather Satellite Contract (Source: Space News)
BAE Systems won a $230.1 million contract to build space weather satellites. NASA, acting on behalf of NOAA, selected BAE Systems Friday for the Lagrange 1 Series, building two spacecraft, integrating instruments and handling mission operations. The spacecraft, scheduled for launch in 2029 and 2032, are designed to provide continuity of coronal imagery and upstream solar wind measurements from the Earth-sun L-1 Lagrange point. (2/24)

Kapta Space Developing Space-Based Radar Tech (Source: Space News)
Startup Kapta Space revealed its plans to develop technologies for space-based radar. The Seattle-based company, operating in stealth for the last three years, secured $5 million in seed funding to support its space-based electronically-steered radar technology. The company envisions its metasurface arrays being used in synthetic aperture radar for geospatial imaging as well as military applications such as tracking ground-based targets. The company, which also won a SBIR award from DARPA to develop its technology, is looking for additional private funding or government contracts to get its technology into space as quickly as possible. (2/24)

China Launches Comsat on Long Marrch 3B (Source: Space News)
China launched a GEO communications satellite Saturday. A Long March 3B lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 7:11 a.m. Eastern and placed the ChinaSat-10R (Zhongxing-10R) into a geostationary transfer orbit. ChinaSat-10R is designed to replace the aging ChinaSat-10 satellite at 110.5 degrees east in GEO, supporting Chinese civil users as well as countries that participate in China's Belt and Road Initiative. (2/24)

Starlink Mission Launched From California Spaceport (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX conducted the 450th Falcon liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California last Saturday, putting 22 Starlink satellites into orbit. With that mission, SpaceX now has more than 7,000 currently in orbit. (2/24)

Propellant Leak Prevented a Falcon-9 Deorbit, Resulting in Debris Falling on Poland (Source: Space News)
A propellant leak prevented a Falcon 9 upper stage from doing a deorbit burn. The upper stage was left in orbit after a launch Feb. 1 from Vandenberg, performing an uncontrolled reentry over Europe last week that resulted in debris falling in western Poland. In an update on its website, SpaceX said that a liquid oxygen leak caused "higher than expected vehicle body rates" that prevented the stage from doing its planned deorbit burn. The company said it has "implemented mitigations" to the stage to prevent it from happening again on future launches, but did not elaborate. This is the third incident involving a Falcon 9 upper stage since last July. (2/24)

Isaaccman Was Sued by Casino for Gambling Debts (Source: Wall Street Journal)
The Trump administration's nominee to be NASA administrator was sued by casinos years ago for gambling debts. A profile of Jared Isaacman revealed that, in 2009, the Trump Taj Mahal casino — not owned at that time by Donald Trump — sued Isaacman for $930,000 after bouncing checks on a credit line extended by the casino. That suit was settled, along with a similar one by a Connecticut casino in 2010. (2/24)

SpaceX Identifies Likely Cause for Latest Starship Test Flight (Source: Space News)
SpaceX said it has tracked down what likely caused the loss of its Starship flight on last month's test. SpaceX said Monday it concluded that an unexpectedly strong harmonic response in the vehicle caused stress on hardware, breaking propellant lines. Those leaks fueled a fire in the aft section of Starship on its Jan. 16 flight, leading to engine shutdowns and loss of the vehicle. The company made changes to the vehicle and its operating profile to address that issue, which it tested in an extended static fire of the next Starship vehicle earlier this month. SpaceX is targeting as soon as Friday for the launch of Starship on its eighth test flight, pending approvals from the FAA. (2/25)

Koerner Leaving NASA (Source: Space News)
The head of NASA's exploration mission directorate is retiring. NASA announced Monday that Cathy Koerner, associate administrator for exploration systems development, would retire at the end of the week. She had been in that role since the end of 2023, succeeding Jim Free, who moved up to associate administrator only to retire himself last week. Koerner will be replaced on an acting basis by her deputy, Lori Glaze. The departures of Free and Koerner have raised new questions about the future of the Artemis lunar exploration effort. NASA also announced Monday that Vanessa Wyche, director of the Johnson Space Center, will serve as acting associate administrator. (2/25)

Space Force Ready to Lead US Iron Dome Effort (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force is starting work to identify its role in the "Iron Dome for America" missile-defense program. Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, said Monday that he has established an "integrated planning team" of technical experts to examine how to create a space-based missile-defense system. Saltzman said that team will look at the program "from an overarching perspective" and expected that the Space Force will play a central role in any implementation of Iron Dome. (2/25)

Defense Cuts Present Opportunities for Space Firms (Source: Space News)
Potential defense spending cuts and reallocations could create new opportunities for the commercial space industry. A recent report by the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald concluded that recent proposals, such as the 8% annual cut in defense spending over the next five years, will likely drive procurement reforms, such as fixed-price contracts, that could favor commercial space firms. The investment group noted that commercial space solutions are also potentially among the beneficiaries of reallocation of funds within the DoD. (2/25)

Melroy: NASA Unaware of Musk Claim on Astronaut "Rescue" (Source: Bloomberg)
NASA's former deputy administrator says she was not aware of any proposal by SpaceX to accelerate the return of Starliner astronauts from the International Space Station. Pam Melroy, who was deputy administrator in the Biden administration, said any proposal that SpaceX offered to the White House to bring back Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore early never made it to NASA.

She added that the Biden White House "was very good about letting us make safety decisions" like the agency's decision to leave the astronauts on the station rather than having them come back on Starliner. Musk has repeatedly claimed that SpaceX offered a way to bring Williams and Wilmore back earlier than currently planned, but has provided no other information to substantiate that claim. (2/25)

NASA Cuts Climate Science Funding (Source: Science)
NASA has cut off funding to support international climate science studies. The agency halted work on a technical support unit for the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which the Biden administration allocated $1.5 million for. The agency didn't explain why it cut off support for the effort, which prevented NASA's chief scientist, Kate Calvin, from attending an IPCC meeting in China. The State Department also declined to send a delegation to the meeting as previously planned. (2/25)

China's Deep Blue Plans IPO (Source: Wall Street Journal)
A Chinese launch company has long-term plans for an initial public offering (IPO). Huo Liang, CEO of Deep Blue Aerospace, says his company is planning an IPO in 2028, depending on its progress on launch vehicles and overall conditions in the Chinese stock market. The company raised nearly $200 million last year and has a valuation of about $690 million as it works on its Nebula line of rockets. Huo said that the Chinese space industry is accelerating and argued that companies like his could catch up with SpaceX by 2030. (2/25)

Space Force Cancels 'Resilient' GPS Contract (Source: Defense News)
The Space Force has canceled a contract with one of four companies working on "resilient" GPS systems. Space Systems Command canceled a $10 million study contract with Astrion after early reviews found its concepts were not "quite at the level of maturity" as desired. Space Systems Command awarded the contract to Axient, since acquired by Astrion, last year as part of its Resilient GPS program that seeks to develop small, low-cost GPS satellites to augment the existing constellation. Similar contracts with the other three companies – Astranis, L3Harris and Sierra Space — are continuing. (2/25)