February 6, 2025

Asteroid 2024 YR4 May Hit Earth in 2032 – How Worried Should We Be? (Source: New Scientist)
Telescopes around the world are currently trained on a building-sized asteroid hurtling in Earth’s direction, in an effort to try to understand whether it might hit us. Our current best guess is that this object, called 2024 YR4, has a 1-in-43 chance of striking in 2032, the highest risk of any known asteroid. But what does that number really mean, and when should we start panicking? (2/6)

Musk Plans Safety Upgrades for US Air Traffic Control (Source: Politico)
Elon Musk has announced a partnership with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to upgrade the US air traffic control system, prompting mixed reactions from lawmakers. Musk's "DOGE" team will focus on safety improvements, particularly in the "notice to air missions" system, which recently experienced a failure. Duffy also plans to address the shortage of air traffic controllers. Neither the Transportation Department nor the White House answered requests for more details. (2/5)

Commercial and Military Uses of Cislunar Space (Source: Space Daily)
Cislunar space, the region between Earth and the Moon, has emerged as a focal point for both commercial and military interests. Its strategic importance is underscored by the growing investments in space exploration, resource utilization, and defense capabilities. There are several potential commercial uses of cislunar space. One of the most promising of these is resource mining. The Moon is thought to be rich in valuable materials such as helium-3, rare earth elements, and water ice. Click here. (2/4)

NASA Pioneers Autonomous Tools for Satellite Swarms (Source: Space Daily)
Coordinate your actions, unify your approach, and collaborate to fulfill a shared objective. This "pep talk" succinctly captures how NASA's latest swarm-based breakthrough operates. Known as Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy (DSA), it allows each satellite to make decisions independently while uniting with fellow spacecraft to pursue collective goals, all free from human oversight.

Within NASA's DSA project, researchers achieved multiple unprecedented feats when testing technologies for satellite swarms. Managed at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, the project develops essential software needed by autonomous, distributed, and intelligent spacecraft clusters that must interact seamlessly to achieve complex mission requirements. (2/5)

Vast Begins Haven-1 Testing, Pushes Back Launch Date (Source: Space News)
Vast Space has started testing a qualification article of its Haven-1 commercial space station while pushing back its launch date. The company announced Thursday that the primary structure qualification article for its Haven-1 station passed initial pressurization tests recently, giving the company confidence in its design. Vast announced Haven-1 in May 2023 and said at the time it was targeting a launch of the single-module station as soon as August 2025. Vast now says that launch is projected for no earlier than May 2026 based on a better understanding of what it will take to complete the station. Even with the delay, Vast argues that Haven-1 gives the company an edge when competing for the next phase of NASA's Commercial LEO Development program to support work on larger commercial space stations. (2/6)

Astrobotic Lander to Carry Astrolab Rover (Source: Space News)
Astrobotic's Griffin lander will transport a rover built by Astrolab to the moon. The companies announced a deal Wednesday for Astrobotic to take Astrolab's FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform, or FLIP, rover to the south polar region of the moon as soon a the end of this year. FLIP is a technology demonstrator for Astrolab's larger FLEX lunar rover.  FLIP is similar in size to VIPER, the NASA lunar rover that was the original payload for the Griffin-1 mission until NASA decided last summer to cancel VIPER. Astrobotic said it talked with more than 60 organizations interested in flying payloads in place of VIPER on the lander and found Astrolab to be the best fit. (2/6)

Japan's Sky Perfect JSAT is Planet's Mystery Customer (Source: Space News)
Japanese satellite operator Sky Perfect JSAT is the mystery customer for a large Planet satellite contract. The Japanese operator said Wednesday it will own Pelican high-resolution optical imagery satellites provided by Planet under a U.S.-based entity called JSAT Beyond Innovation, a move likely aimed at enhancing access to the country's expansive defense market. A Planet spokesperson said the agreement covers 10 satellites over seven years. Planet announced the $230 million contract last week but described the customer as only an Asia-Pacific company. (2/6)

Iridium Considers Developing NavSats (Source: Space News)
Iridium is considering the development of small satellites to provide navigation services. Iridium CEO Matt Desch said he was considering an "experimental stage" of placing a few smallsats in orbit to demonstrate positioning, navigation and timing services. He said small satellites could also support efforts to develop a very high frequency (VHF) radio system for improving pilot communications with Aireon, which already provides aircraft surveillance services using hosted payloads on Iridium's satellites. The company's current constellation of 66 Iridium Next satellites remains in good health and is projected to last to 2035. (2/6)

Defense Markets an Attractive Target for Commercial Space Companies (Source: Space News)
Investors see space companies that once focused on commercial markets pivoting to defense applications. The trend represents somewhat of a reversal from just a few years ago, when startups were encouraged to prioritize commercial applications, investors said on panels at the Smallsat Symposium. That focus is an effort to follow the money, with greater funding projected for defense work, but some cautioned against getting "caught up in fads." (2/6)

Investors Caution Against Taking-on SpaceX (Source: Space News)
Investors cautioned companies from trying to compete directly against, or even emulating, SpaceX. They noted that challenging SpaceX may be particularly fraught now, given the influence Elon Musk has on the new administration. Many companies are interested in following SpaceX's model of vertical integration, but panelists cautioned that approach is expensive and means "consolidating all of the problems of the industry in your own house." They do see signs of increasing investment in the industry, particularly in larger growth rounds, which could be fueled if some space companies are able to successfully go public through traditional IPOs in the near future. (2/6)

Roscosmos Chief Replaced (Source: Moscow Times)
The Kremlin has abruptly replaced the head of the space agency Roscosmos. The government announced Thursday that it had relieved Yury Borisov as leader of Roscosmos, replacing him with Dmitry Bakanov, a former deputy transportation minister and head of the state-backed satellite communications firm Gonets. The move took many by surprise, given no indications that Kremlin leadership were seeking to fire Borisov.  A Russian government spokesman called the move part of a "planned rotation" and that it has no complaints about Borisov, but added that Roscosmos needed "dynamic development." (2/6)

ULA Vulcan Launch From California Expected This Year (Source: Noozhawk)
The first Vulcan launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California could take place before the end of the year. ULA chief Tory Bruno said this week the company was making good progress upgrading Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 3 to support Vulcan. He said the pad should be ready by the middle of this year with Vulcan flight hardware arriving for the first launch around the same time for a national security mission that could lift off before the end of the year. (2/6)

Norway's Kongsberg Expands (Source: Space News)
Norway's Kongsberg Satellite Services, or KSAT, is expanding its role in satellite operations for government and commercial customers. KSAT established a Satellite Operations Center at its headquarters in Tromsø, Norway, with a second facility in Denver. ESA's Arctic Weather Satellite was the first customer for the satellite operations service, which also supports Space Norway's two-satellite Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission and GHGSat's constellation of satellites that monitor greenhouse gases. KSAT offers customer assistance in spacecraft design, testing, integration, verification, payload planning and data management. (2/6)

Atmos Space Cargo Secures Reentry Approvals (Source: Space News)
Atmos Space Cargo has secured regulatory approvals for its first reentry vehicle mission. The company said Wednesday that it received a positive payload review from the FAA for the Phoenix spacecraft, which will launch on SpaceX's Bandwagon-3 rideshare mission in April. The capsule will remain attached to the upper stage until the stage performs a deorbit burn, then will separate to test an inflatable reentry system. Atmos doesn't plan to recover the capsule after it splashes down in the Indian Ocean but will use the data it returns to support work on future reentry vehicles. (2/6)

Space Startups Exploring AI Applications (Source: Space News)
Space startups are continuing to explore applications for artificial intelligence. During a panel at the Smallsat Symposium, companies described how they were using AI, from a ChatGPT bot, to keep tabs on new datasets to using neural networks to correct labels in those datasets. While there is interest in AI tools for novel applications, like imagery analysis, others said the tools are well-suited for "unglamorous" uses like summarizing documents and refining code. (2/6)

Boeing and ThinKom Partner on Satellite Antenna for Military Aircraft (Source: Space News)
Boeing and satellite antenna maker ThinKom Solutions have partnered on a satellite communications antenna for military aircraft. The ThinAir antenna, combined with Boeing modems, was recently tested to show its use for high-bandwidth communications with satellites in geostationary and non-geostationary orbits. The antenna is also designed to support hybrid networks that integrate commercial and government satellite infrastructure. (2/6)

Ariane 6 to Launch Galileo 2nd Gen Satellites as European industry Backs Arianespace (Source: Space Daily)
Arianespace has confirmed at the 17th European Space Conference the signing of a launch services agreement with the European Commission and the European Union Agency for the Space Program (EUSPA). Under this contract, Ariane 6 will deploy the first pair of second-generation Galileo navigation satellites (L17). Each satellite, weighing between 2,200 kg and 2,400 kg and outfitted with electrical propulsion, is slated to reach a 23,222 km orbital altitude a few months after liftoff. This signing formalizes a commitment initially granted to Arianespace in April 2024. (2/4)

Momentus to Conduct Multi Sensor Rendezvous Trial with US Air Force (Source: Space Daily)
Momentus Inc. announced that AFWERX, part of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), has chosen a Momentus proposal to test low-cost multispectral sensors for Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO). AFWERX serves as the Air Force's innovation hub and leverages expertise from small businesses to address critical Air Force needs. Under AFRL, AFWERX aims to fast-track emerging concepts and capabilities that support national defense and strategic objectives. (2/5)

Air Force Acquisition Veteran Takes Helm of Space Development Agency (Source: Space News)
The Department of the Air Force has named longtime procurement official William Blauser as the acting director of the U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency (SDA). The move, announced Feb. 5, follows the sudden removal of former SDA Director Derek Tournear, who was placed on administrative leave for unspecified reasons related to past contracting activities. Blauser, who currently serves as the deputy director of the Department of the Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office, steps into the role after a two-week interim period. (2/5)

White House Says Musk Will Police His Own Conflicts of Interest (Source: Bloomberg)
The White House said Elon Musk, the billionaire leading President Donald Trump’s government cost-cutting efforts, will determine if there are conflicts of interest between his work reviewing federal spending and his overlapping empire of six companies. “The president was already asked to answer this question this week,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. “And he said, if Elon Musk comes across a conflict of interest with the contracts and the funding that DOGE is overseeing, that Elon will excuse himself from those contracts, and he has again abided by all applicable laws.” (2/5)

Viasat Wins First Task Under $13B Space Force Contract (Source: Air Force Technology)
Viasat, operating as Inmarsat Government, has secured a task order under a 10-year, $13 billion contract to provide satellite communications for the US Space Force. The $3.5 million order involves leveraging Viasat's partner network to deliver Ku-band low Earth orbit services. (2/4)

DOGE Invades NOAA, Sparking Fears of Cuts and Privatization (Source: Mother Jones)
Staffers with Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (DOGE) reportedly entered the headquarters of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Silver Spring, Maryland, and the Department of Commerce in Washington, DC, today, inciting concerns of downsizing at the agency.

“They apparently just sort of walked past security and said: ‘Get out of my way,’ and they’re looking for access for the IT systems, as they have in other agencies,” said Andrew Rosenberg, a former NOAA official who is now a fellow at the University of New Hampshire. “They will have access to the entire computer system, a lot of which is confidential information.” Project 2025 called for the agency to be “broken up and downsized,” claiming NOAA is “harmful to US prosperity” for its role in climate science.

Rosenberg noted it had been a longtime goal of corporations that rely on NOAA data to prevent the agency from making the data public, instead of giving it directly to private corporations that create products based on it, such as weather forecasting services. Editor's Note: I don't want my access to tornado and hurricane warnings privatized, or available only via Twitter/X. (2/5)

Congress Capitulates While Musk Razes Independent Agencies (Source: SPACErePORT)
The Republican-led legislative branch has remained mostly silent while Elon Musk's DOGE has stormed various agencies under a Trump administration push to unilaterally eliminate or downsize agencies that were created and funded under the purview of Congress. NASA is among those agencies, and it thus far has been subject only to an agencywide scrubbing of DEI programs. NASA's climate-change programs (at least their websites) remain online as of this writing.

Musk has a particular interest (and conflict of interest) in NASA's programs, so DOGE's focus on the agency may be more carefully pursued than its other targets. SpaceX could become the biggest beneficiary of widely expected changes to NASA's Artemis program.

Trump appears to be trying to establish what some Project 2025 supporters refer to as an 'imperial presidency'. It's the notion that presidents should have much more power than they have historically wielded, and Congress should basically act like a parliament, not a co-equal branch of government. It appears many Republicans in Congress now support this approach to governance. I suspect they view Trump's desired cuts as something they too want, but are too 'timid' to pursue as elected lawmakers. (2/5)