March 17, 2025

Multibillion-Dollar Overhaul Aims to Transform Cape Canaveral’s Aerospace Capabilities (Source: WFTV)
Space Florida has reiterated its commitment to long-term strategic infrastructure investment at Cape Canaveral, to the tune of nearly $3 billion over the next 10 to 15 years, according to president and CEO Rob Long. Long said the agency currently has a wetland mitigation environmental master plan in the draft phase that it is continuing to work through. “And then we’ve kicked off the environmental assessment for the wharf space, what we call phase one, which is the immediate area right there in the port around the Department of Defense side.” The cost for the whart project, one of the “Big 6″ unveiled by Space Florida last November, is estimated at $2.1 billion. (3/15)

Crew-9 Astronaut Return Advanced (Source: NASA)
NASA is moving up the return of Crew-9 mission from the station by a day. NASA announced late Sunday that the Crew-9 mission will undock early Tuesday, splashing down Tuesday afternoon off the Florida coast. NASA said it moved up the return, previously scheduled for Wednesday, to take advantage of good weather that was forecast to deteriorate later in the week. Crew-9 will bring back Williams and Wilmore on the Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom, along with NASA's Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. (3/17)

Debate Returns on Space National Guard (Source: Space News)
Bipartisan legislation has reignited the debate over the formation of a Space National Guard. Legislation introduced last week in the House and Senate would formally create a Space National Guard as the reserve component of the Space Force. The effort comes just months after Congress approved the Space Force Personnel Management Act, which eliminated the traditional distinction between active duty, Reserve and Guard units for the service.

That law also permits the transfer of Air National Guard space units to the Space Force without requiring gubernatorial consent, a provision strongly opposed by governors and National Guard organizations. The new legislation would effectively override this arrangement, creating a formal Space National Guard. (3/17)

Europe's Space Industry Shifts with Geopolitical Churn (Source: Space News)
Rising defense budgets and geopolitical shifts are creating new investment opportunities for Europe’s space industry. A panel at the Satellite 2025 conference last week argued that proposals by the European Union to increase defense spending and develop the IRIS² broadband constellation will reshape the investment climate for space companies in Europe, offering similar opportunities that American companies now enjoy. They added that stronger funding and strategic initiatives could help Europe attract more engineers and entrepreneurs. (3/17)

Germany's Constellr Begins Thermal Imagery Collection From New Constellation (Source: Space News)
German startup Constellr released first-light imagery from the initial satellite in a thermal-imaging constellation. The images from the Skybee-1 satellite allowed Constellr to create a detailed map of the heat distribution for Tokyo’s buildings, parks and waterways. Skybee-1 launched on a Transporter rideshare mission in January, with a second satellite scheduled for launch in the summer. The satellites will provide thermal imagery with a resolution of 30 meters per pixel. (3/17)

SpaceX Launches Transporter-13 Rideshare Mission at California Spaceport (Source: Space News)
SpaceX launched the latest in its series of dedicated smallsat rideshare missions Saturday. A Falcon 9 lifted off at 2:43 a.m. Eastern Saturday from Vandenberg Space Force Base on the Transporter-13 mission. The launch carried 74 payloads, including hosted payloads and satellites that will be deployed later on orbital transfer vehicles.

Among the customers for the launch were Iceye, Spire and Varda Space Industries, which launched their latest spacecraft. NASA flew three cubesats for a mission called EZIE that will study electrical currents linked to auroras in the upper atmosphere. The NRO launched two cubesats for a unspecified research mission, while Albedo launched the first of its very low Earth orbit imaging satellites. (3/17)

China Launches Imaging Satellites on Long March 2D (Source: Xinhua)
China launched two imaging satellites Saturday. A Long March 2D rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 12:11 a.m. Eastern and put the Gaojing-3 02 satellite into orbit. The satellite, also known as SuperView Neo-3 (02), is a high-resolution image satellite. The launch also carried the Tianyan-23 imaging satellite for Chinese company MinoSpace. (3/17)

Russia Launches Military Satellites on Angara Rocket at Plesetsk (Source: Russia Space Web)
Russia launched three military satellites Sunday. An Angara-1.2 rocket launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 6:50 a.m. Eastern Sunday on a launch for the Russian Ministry of Defense. The launch placed three satellites into orbit, likely the latest version of the Rodnik military communications satellites. (3/17)

Judge Dismisses SpaceX Lawsuit Against California Coastal Commission (Source: Reuters)
A federal judge is dismissing a lawsuit SpaceX filed against a California agency that claimed political bias. The judge in the case said Friday that SpaceX failed to show it had been harmed when the California Coastal Commission voted against a proposal to increase rocket launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The vote was largely a symbolic one, since the launch range is run by the Space Force. The commission, in its vote in October, raised concerns about SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's business practices and views, prompting the SpaceX lawsuit. (3/17)

Failure is More than an Option in Rocket Science — it’s a Necessity (Source: The Hill)
Recently, two events — the second attempt by Intuitive Machines to land on the moon and the eighth test of the SpaceX Starship — proved an old adage: Rocket science is really hard. Both of these examples took place on the same day, March 6. First, a Texas company called Intuitive Machines attempted to land its Athena spacecraft on the Mons Mouton region of the lunar south pole.

Later that day, SpaceX launched the eighth test of its Starship super rocket. At first, the flight went well, with the Super Heavy first stage separating from the Starship second stage and being caught on the ground by the Mechazilla “chopsticks.” Then things took a horrible turn. In what seemed like a repeat of the previous test flight, pieces of the giant rocket streaked across the sky over Florida and the Bahamas.

Failure is an option. That phrase is a play on words from a line from the movie Apollo 13 when Gene Krantz, the NASA flight director states “Failure is not an option” referring to the effort to get the crew of that stricken moon mission home. The commercial sector, to which NASA has contracted projects such as spacecraft to take people and cargo to and from the ISS and lunar landers, takes a different approach. Failure is definitely an option. Indeed, it is a necessity. Only through failure does one learn the lessons that lead to success. (3/16)

SpaceX Could Lose Between 50 and 66% of its Satellites (Source: Presse-Citron)
Elon Musk, with his company SpaceX and his satellite internet company Starlink, is the leading launcher of objects into orbit. In total, nearly 10,000 satellites have taken flight to build the Starlink constellation in recent years. But sending so many objects through the atmosphere isn't limitless. Scientists have known for years that the number of satellites in orbit has a limit. The upper atmosphere is particularly closely studied by scientists interested in orbital transfers.

Due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in space, this layer of our atmosphere could shrink in a few decades. A recent study conducted by scientists at MIT—one of the most prestigious universities in the United States—suggests that the number of satellites in low Earth orbit could drop drastically. According to their calculations, the problem isn't the upper atmosphere itself, but rather the role it plays today. It's used to carbonize the debris of satellites launched into orbit. Air friction slows these objects down and returns to Earth, destroying themselves in flight. (3/12)

Billionaire Carlos Slim Reportedly Cancels $22 Billion in Starlink Orders Due to Elon Musk’s Outburst (Source: Clean Technica)
Elon Musk has been getting more and more involved in politics. He got into major political spats in Brazil, the UK, Germany, and of course the US in the past year. In the US, lately, he has been heading up a “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) initiative. Aside from aligning himself with Trump and his incessant attacks on Mexico, Musk insinuated in January that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim was significantly involved with drug cartels in Mexico.

Why was Musk keen to share this? Who knows — he’s fallen for countless conspiracy theories on X/Twitter. Anything that sounds juicy and fits his agenda, whether found at 10pm, midnight, or 2:30 am, is worth retweeting or responding to. No constraints, no consequences, who cares?

After Musk's tacit accusation, Slim decided his giant telecoms company, América Móvil, would no longer need to spend $22 billion on Starlinks  in the next few years. Initially, just about 5 minutes after Musk’s tweet, Slim canceled a $7 billion Starlink order. An hour later, the full $22 billion investment plan had been pulled. (3/10)

The Reason for the Increase in Launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base (Source: KSBY)
Last year there were 51 launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base. This year, they are expecting even more. "The busiest launch year we've had in 50 years, so in my entire lifetime we've never had anything of that magnitude," said Col. Mark Shoemaker, with the U.S. Space Force. Col. Shoemaker says the number of launches has been increasing around 30% every year.

Commander Dustin Harmon oversees the tests of unarmed Minuteman III missiles. Those launches stay around the same number every year. "I expect to keep launching about three a year," Cmdr. Harmon said. He adds that the launches of the unarmed Minuteman IIIs are planned five years in advance and the purpose is to collect data on the performance. Col. Shoemaker says they are expecting around 70 launches this year, and says you can stay up-to-date with when they will be through their notification system. (3/14)

US-Based Hypersonic, Solid Rocket Motors’ Manufacturing to Speed Up with New Deal (Source: Interesting Engineering)
Afresh deal is expected to streamline and speed up production of hypersonic, solid rocket motors in the United States. Ursa Major, a Colorado-based firm has partnered with Palantir to use the latter’s Warp Speed manufacturing OS technology. The advanced software is expected to streamline Ursa Major’s rocket propulsion manufacturing process.

It can also be the company’s digital backbone to deliver innovative, cost-effective, and mission critical hardware using advanced manufacturing methods at higher and faster rates. “At Ursa Major, we aim to produce units in hours instead of days or weeks, requiring efficiency and cost-effectiveness." (3/15)

Chunk Falls From Falcon 9 En Route to ISS (Source: Irish Star)
SpaceX's rocket blasted off on a daring mission to rescue two NASA astronauts left adrift, but a piece of sheet metal falling from the Falcon 9 rocket has sparked fears. X users voiced concern, hoping that the rocket is "still healthy." One wrote, "I hope it isn't part of a heat shield or other structural piece that came off the return capsule." Another tried to quiet any issues by claiming the debris was a "fairing panel" part of the launch separation designed to survive reentry, deploying parachutes to slow their descent. (3/14)

Launches from Sweden Could Cost Norway Over €146M Per Flight (Source: European Spaceflight)
A report from Norway’s Civil Aviation Authority outlines the potential risks posed by rockets launched from Sweden’s Esrange Space Center over Norwegian airspace. It estimates that each launch could cost Norway more than 1.7 billion NOK (€146.45 million).

In August 2024, the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Fisheries tasked the Civil Aviation Authority of Norway with investigating the risks, socio-economic costs, and other consequences for Norwegian security and societal interests posed by potential rocket launches from Sweden passing over Norway. (3/15)

UK Starlink Users Switch Off Over Musk’s Political Machinations (Source: Guardian)
Tesla sales have tumbled, X has had an exodus of users, and now it seems cracks are appearing among those who have turned to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system as a means of staying connected in remote areas. While the number of Starlink users has been growing, some subscribers have been venting their frustrations over Musk’s political machinations, saying they will no longer use the high-speed satellite internet system. (3/16)

Starlink Satellite Part Hit a Canadian Farm When it Fell From Orbit (Source: New Scientist)
A fragment of an out-of-control SpaceX Starlink satellite smashed into a farm in Canada last year, raising questions about the risks of de-orbiting space junk. “That’ll punch a hole in whatever it lands on, including your head,” says Samantha Lawler, an astronomer at the University of Regina in Canada. (3/14)

Starlink Satellites Got Hijacked for… Science (Source: Daily Galaxy)
Researchers from TU Graz have found a way to use Starlink and other communication satellites for climate research and Earth monitoring. By analyzing how their signals change due to the Doppler effect, they can track gravitational field variations, monitor sea level changes, and even observe real-time weather phenomena. This breakthrough comes as part of the FFG project Estimation, which explores alternative data sources for geodetic measurements. (3/16)

Something Deeply Weird Is Happening at the Core of Our Galaxy (Source: Futurism)
There's a new twist in the hunt for dark matter, the invisible substance believed to make up 85 percent of all the mass in the universe: it may actually be way lighter. An international team of researchers propose a new form of the hypothetical substance that's lower in mass compared to other dark matter candidates, which could explain a mysterious phenomenon at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, in a region called the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ). (3/15)

SpaceX Will Launch Tesla’s Humanoid Optimus Robot to Mars Next Year (Source: Digital Trends)
The year 2025 is going to be pivotal for Tesla’s humanoid robot plans, if the words of CEO Elon Musk are to be believed. But next year could mark an astronomical milestone for the company’s Optimus robot, in quite the literal sense. Taking to X, Musk mentioned in a post that SpaceX will put an Optimus robot on Mars atop its flagship Starship rocket by the end of 2026. (3/15)

NASA HQ Return-to-Office a Challenge for Washington DC Workforce (Source: Reuters)
At NASA headquarters in Washington, just a mile from the U.S. Capitol, employees returned to an infestation of cockroaches and some are working in chairs with no desks, according to two people familiar with conditions there. In a private chat, staffers at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services likened the hunt for desks in some regional offices to "The Hunger Games," the popular series of novels and films where young people must fight to the death in a government-sanctioned contest. (3/16)

First-of-its-Kind Discovery in Solar System – It Could be a 90% Water Planet (Source: EcoPortal)
As scientists are in constant search for water on planets, something has come to their attention: a planet that could have 90% water. In our solar system, there is a dwarf planet called Ceres and research claims that it is icier than we thought it was. Nestled within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, the dwarf planet has been in the research world of scientists for years now.

Scientists previously thought the dwarf planet only had less than 30% water. Having such high water content is profound. If this is 100% true, then it means Ceres will be regarded as one of the water-rich bodies in our solar system. Therefore, it will invite more space explorations where researchers will want to see if the dwarf planet can contain life. (3/16)

Unexpected JWST Observations Hint We Might Be Inside A Black Hole (Source: IFL Science)
A new study looking at observations by the JWST of the early universe has thrown up a new and intriguing mystery; the majority of galaxies appear to be rotating in the same direction. This finding, not predicted by our current understanding of the universe, may hint that we are inside a black hole, according to the study's authors. (3/14)

Black Holes Spew Out Powerful Jets That Span Millions of Light-Years. We're Trying to Understand Their Whole Life Cycle (Source: Phys.org)
Sometimes a galaxy's supermassive black hole "wakes up" due to a sudden influx of gas and dust, most likely supplied from a neighboring galaxy. It begins eating up lots of nearby gas and dust. This isn't a calm, slow or passive process. As the black hole pulls in material, the material gets superheated on a scale of millions of degrees, far hotter than the surface temperature of our sun, and is ejected from the galaxy at near-light speeds. This creates powerful jets that look like fountains in the cosmos.

The accelerated high-speed plasma matter prompts these "fountains" to emit radio signals that can only be detected by very powerful radio telescopes. This gives them their name: radio galaxies. While black holes are common, radio galaxies are not. Only between 10% and 20% of all galaxies exhibit this phenomenon. Giant radio galaxies are even less common. They account for only 5% of all radio galaxies and take their name from the fact that they reach enormous distances. Some radio galaxies' jets reach nearly 16 million light-years. (3/12)

FAA Issues Environmental Take on SpaceX Request for More Launches, New Landing Pad (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
If SpaceX gets its way, the Space Coast will get a lot more rocket rumbles and sonic booms as the company increases Falcon 9 launches and builds out new landing pads. The FAA released Friday a draft environment assessment for the first of those targeting LC-40, where SpaceX wants to increase launches from 50 to 120 per year.

The assessment looks to set up SpaceX to proceed with its plans, although the agency rejected a proposal to build yet another new landing pad at Cape Canaveral because of environmental concerns. The FAA has partnered with the Air Force, Coast Guard and NASA for the assessment, while NASA is the lead agency for a second assessment expected this spring for LC-39A, where SpaceX wants to increase launches from 20 to 36, including up to five of its larger Falcon Heavy rockets each year.

The construction of a pair of new landing sites would solve the company’s reliance on two landing pads at LC-13 it will soon lose access to. That space has been set aside by the Space Force as the future launch site for two other commercial launch providers — Phantom Space and Vaya Space — although neither have yet to get a rocket into space. The Space Force’s goal is to have SpaceX and other launch providers maintain landing sites at the same place from which they launch. The Space Force does not intend to renew SpaceX’s license to land at LC-13 after it runs out this summer. (3/15)

China Creates Powerful Spy Satellite Capable of Seeing Facial Details From LEO (Source: Lice Science)
Scientists in China have created a satellite with laser-imaging technology powerful enough to capture human facial details from more than 60 miles (100 kilometers) away. This breakthrough represents a performance increase of 100 times or more compared to leading spy cameras and traditional telescopes, according to a report on the new technology. Amongst a broad gamut of potential applications, the technology could allow operators to surveil foreign satellites to a previously impossible level of detail. (3/11)

Cosmonaut's Chilling Last Words in Final Transmission as He Fell From Space (Source: LadBible)
Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov was allegedly struggling to operate his spacecraft before dying on re-entry to Earth in 1967. Although the names of original Moon-landers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are synonymously attached to the vast dark surrounding our planet, Komarov also entered the explorative history books by becoming the first human to lose his life on a spaceflight all those years ago.

A month after his 40th birthday, Komarov manned a 24-hour solo orbit of Earth in the Soyuz 1 test flight, which completed 16 orbits before a parachute failure caused his capsule to smash into the ground and explode. This unfortunate 'man who fell from space' recorded one final transmission that will chill you to the core. "This devil ship! Nothing I lay my hands on works properly!" he's said to have cried. An official transcript of their devastating exchange from the Russian State Archive claims that one of the last things Komarov told Kosygin was: "I feel excellent, everything's in order." (3/16)

CBS TV Host Accepts Controversial Gift of Bezos Spaceflight (Source: Daily Mail)
While Gayle King's decision to accept Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's invitation to space immediately sparked fierce debate over journalistic integrity, a reputation expert has claimed that the divisive move will not be the scandal that ends her glistening career.

The CBS Mornings anchor, 70, announced last month that she is amongst the all-female crew headed on Blue Origin's springtime mission alongside philanthropist and businesswoman Lauren, 55, and singer Katy Perry, 40. They will be joined by former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, 38, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, 33, and film producer Kerianne Flynn. (3/14)

What’s Driving China’s Commercial Launch Industry (Source: Space News)
Parts of China’s space strategy might not seem directly tied to defense: plans for a joint Chinese-Russian lunar facility, a permanently-crewed space station or a burgeoning quasi-commercial launch sector. It’s the latter that China uses to bridge innovation gaps in low-cost rocketry and satellite constellation deployment. There is a market for “emergency” missions, to satisfy military needs for rapid deployments of satellites. In the United States, Firefly Aerospace had been selected to fulfill a similar function for the U.S. Space Force.

Also, there's SpaceX. “If you line up all the big milestones that SpaceX has had, and what China is doing, there’s a bit of a lag, but there’s a clear mimicking.” The plan, Yao Song says, was to fly nearly 100 reusable rockets annually, with the goal of undercutting SpaceX launch prices. “Our target is to go lower than Falcon 9,” he said. For a Falcon 9, the cost at the time was $2,720 per kilogram, compared to a Galaxy-1 price tag of then $4,000 per kilogram.

But to effectively compete, China had to “master reusable rocket technologies,” explained Qu Wei of the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics in Beijing. As such, a burgeoning reusable space race had unfolded. Often known as “SpaceX and the seven dwarves,” Orienspace stood among at least six other Chinese companies endeavoring to break into the reusable launch market, which included those like the Chinese company Space Pioneer. (3/14)

Spire Global Secures $40 Million in Private Placement (Source: Space Daily)
Spire Global has finalized a securities purchase agreement for a private placement, expected to generate approximately $40 million in gross proceeds for the company, prior to deducting associated fees and expenses. Spire will issue 5 million shares at a price of $8.00 per share. (3/14)

Radioisotope Generators − Inside the ‘Nuclear Batteries’ That Power Faraway Spacecraft (Source: The Conversation)
The farther into space you go, the weaker the Sun’s light becomes and the less useful it is for powering systems with solar panels. Even in the inner solar system, spacecraft such as lunar or Mars rovers need alternative power sources.

The solution is technology developed in the 1960s based on scientific principles discovered two centuries ago: radioisotope thermoelectric generators, or RTGs. RTGs are essentially nuclear-powered batteries. But unlike the AAA batteries in your TV remote, RTGs can provide power for decades while hundreds of millions to billions of miles from Earth. Click here. (3/14)