March 27, 2025

UN Decries Hike in Satellite Navigation System Interference (Source: Space Daily)
The United Nations on Tuesday urged countries to boost protections amid a marked increase in efforts to interfere with satellite navigation systems like GPS that are critical for aviation and maritime safety. The UN's International Telecommunication Union, its International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization jointly voiced "grave concern" at growing disruptions of so-called Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS).

Amid growing geopolitical tensions, GPS and other such systems, which are used for weapons systems but also for a vast array of vital civilian applications, have increasingly been targeted. There have been warnings of increased GNSS signal disruptions since the start of Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as amid the Middle East conflict. (3/25)

Super Earth Uncovered by Tandem Space Observations (Source: Space Daily)
An international research collaboration has identified a new super-Earth circling a star cooler than the Sun. The planet, named TOI-512 b, was confirmed through precision measurements by ESPRESSO, a spectrograph developed under the leadership of UNIGE. With a density nearly identical to Earth's, TOI-512 b sits on the threshold between rocky and gaseous planets, a key region for unraveling planetary formation and evolution. (3/26)

Star-Mapping Space Telescope Gaia Sent Into 'Retirement Orbit' (Source: Space Daily)
After more than a decade mapping out our home galaxy, the Gaia space telescope was powered down and sent into "retirement orbit" around the Sun on Thursday, the European Space Agency said. Since launching in 2013, the telescope has been charting the positions, motion and properties of nearly two billion stars to create a vast map of the Milky Way, revealing many secrets of the cosmos along the way, the ESA said in a statement. (3/27)

China Sends Regenerative Flatworms to Orbit for Biological Research (Source: Space Daily)
China's space station will soon host an unusual biological subject for experimentation: the planarian, a species of flatworm distinguished by its extraordinary regenerative powers. With an evolutionary lineage dating back more than 520 million years, planarians are a staple in laboratory research. Their unique ability to completely regenerate body parts from any segment - including vital organs and even their brain - makes them an ideal model for studying tissue repair and cellular renewal. (3/26)

Unknown Physics May Help Dark Energy Act as 'Antigravity' Throughout the Universe (Source: Space.com)
Dark energy could have an accomplice that helps it slow the growth of large cosmic structures, such as vast superclusters made up of clusters of galaxies. A new analysis of astronomical data suggests unknown physics is at work assisting dark energy in acting almost as "antigravity," undoing the work of gravity, which clumps together matter to build vast structures. The large-scale structure of the universe refers to vast, interconnected patterns of galaxies, galaxy clusters, and superclusters organized into filaments, voids, and walls that comprise the "cosmic web." (3/27)

Does All Intelligent Life Face a Great Filter? (Source: Ars Technica)
Once established, life has to go through a series of steps where it increases in complexity. On the Earth, this progression likely started with simple reproductive molecules like RNA. Life then figured out how to encapsulate itself as single-celled microbes. It figured out sex and exploded into a variety of multicellular forms. Some billions of years later, some of that multicellular life figured out how to be reasonably smart and start using tools to manipulate and control its environment. In our case, the birds figured it out first, but then the primates took it to another level.

Those smart, tool-using creatures then conceived of machines to take them into the edge of space. The last step is for that space-faring species to really go for it, sending themselves or their robotic emissaries far and wide, colonizing every available corner of the galaxy, and if they are sufficiently motivated, the Universe. Or, if they’re not quite in the mood for galactic colonization, then at least making some other signs of their presence, like blasting out galaxy-wide radio transmissions, modifying every star they come across, or engaging in a fair bit of mega-engineering.

For the Great Filter to work, one or more of these steps must be incredibly hard. It could be just one step, a cataclysmic cliff that species have an impossible time getting around. Or it could be a series of Lesser Filters that, taken together, create a labyrinth of steps that species can’t escape. No matter what, though, getting to the galactic stage has to be hard. So hard that any wannabe starfarers get snuffed out in the cradle. (3/26)

French Air & Space Force Space Wargame Focuses On Joint Action (Source: Aviation Week)
The fifth edition of the French Air & Space Force’s AsterX space exercise is focusing on integration with other forces, aiming to grow the capabilities of the five-year-old space command. The red team is representing a fictitious country named Mercure, which has many attributes of Russia. (3/26)

SaxaVord 'to See UK's First Launch This Year' (Source: The Herald)
The UK will see its first space launch this year with a rocket taking off from Scotland’s SaxaVord spaceport, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle told the Commons. Mr Kyle said that he will attend the event, which will see the first time a space-bound blast-off has taken place on European soil. A number of companies plan to use the Spaceport, on Unst in the Shetland Islands, as a launch site for commercial rockets. (3/26)

China Launches Data Relay Satellite on Long March 3B (Source: Space News)
China launched a data relay satellite to support its human spaceflight program Wednesday. A Long March 3B lifted off at 11:55 a.m. Eastern from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center and placed the Tianlian-2 (04) satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The Tianlian-2 satellites are similar to NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellites, providing communications for Shenzhou spacecraft and the Tiangong space station. (3/27)

Rocket Lab Launches German Cubesats for Wildfire Tracking (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab launched eight cubesats for German wildfire-tracking company OroraTech. An Electron rocket lifted off at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Wednesday from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, placing eight OroraTech satellites into orbit. The 8U cubesats, built by Spire, have infrared payloads to allow OroraTech to detect and monitor wildfires. The satellites will operate in an afternoon sun-synchronous orbit, filling a gap in data coverage. OroraTech plans to launch eight more satellites later this year. (3/27)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Satellites at California Spaceport (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX launched another set of Starlink satellites Wednesday. A Falcon 9 blasted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, placing 27 Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch featured the 24th flight of this booster, which performed a droneship landing in the Pacific. (3/27)

France's Anywaves Opens Production Facility, Plans US Expansion (Source: Space News)
French antenna manufacturer Anywaves has opened a new production facility as it makes plans to expand into the United States. The company opened a 500-square-meter pilot plant to bring production of antennas and radio-frequency payloads in house. The plant will help guide the design of future facilities, including one the company plans to open in the United States as soon as 2026. Anywaves has not yet selected a U.S. manufacturing site. (3/27)

Blue Origin Plans April 14 All-Female Suborbital Launch (Source: Blue Origin)
Blue Origin says its next New Shepard suborbital flight is scheduled for April 14. The company announced Thursday the launch date for the NS-31 mission, whose crew the company revealed a month ago. The mission will be the first all-woman spaceflight since Valentina Tereshkova's solo spaceflight in 1963, headlined by television show host Gayle King, pop star Katy Perry and Lauren Sánchez, fiancée of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos. (3/27)

JWST Observes Neptune Aurora (Source: NASA)
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has observed an aurora at Neptune for the first time. Scientists detected the aurora in near-infrared observations of the planet by JWST, with the aurora located in the planet's mid-latitude regions thanks to its 47-degree angular tilt. While Voyager 2 detected hints of an aurora during its 1989 flyby of the planet, astronomers had not seen the aurora in observations since. The cold temperatures of Neptune's upper atmosphere, just over half that observed in 1989, may explain why the aurora is so faint. (3/27)

DoD Plans Major Satcom Contracts This Fall (Source: Space News)
The U.S. military is preparing to award several high-stakes contracts for commercial satellite communications services this fall. The Space Force's Commercial Satellite Communications Office last week issued a final solicitation for bids for the Marine Enterprise Commercial Satellite Services contract, a seven-year deal to provide global satellite coverage for the U.S. Marine Corps estimated to be worth $500 million. Another closely watched procurement is the maneuverable geostationary Earth orbit initiative, estimated at $900 million, that could include acquiring dedicated small GEO satellites. The contracts show a growing reliance on private-sector capabilities for battlefield connectivity and global coverage. (3/27)

Space Force Takes Over Satcom Contracts from DISA (Source: Breaking Defense)
The US Space Force is assuming responsibility for managing commercial satellite communications contracts from the Defense Information Systems Agency, with 10 contracts already transferred. This move includes a $13 billion internet services funding pool, and the Space Force plans to establish its own working capital fund, initially valued at $120 million. (3/26)

Shrinking Budgets Worry Space Force (Source: Space News)
The Space Force's top general is worried that shrinking budgets will make it hard to keep pace with China. Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, said at a Mitchell Institute event Wednesday that the Space Force is "literally shrinking in resources" because of the year-long continuing resolution funding the government and the effects of inflation. He said those declining budgets make him worry that the U.S. will not be able to keep up with Chinese and Russian military space activities. He added, though, that he felt the Space Force would be spared significant reductions in a proposed budget realignment within the Defense Department for fiscal year 2026 announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. (3/27)

Investors to Back Axiom Space at $2 Billion Valuation (Source: Bloomberg)
Axiom Space is raising a funding round that would value the company at about $2 billion. Venture firms 1789 Capital and Type One Ventures are reportedly leading the round that would provide Axiom with at least $100 million. The company raised $350 million in a Series C round in August 2023. Axiom is working on modules for a commercial space station as well as a spacesuit NASA plans to use on Artemis lunar missions. (3/26)

Cygnus Mission to ISS Scrapped After Spacecraft Damage En Route to Florida Spaceport (Source: Space News)
NASA and Northrop Grumman will not launch a Cygnus cargo mission to the International Space Station in June as previously planned after discovering the spacecraft is damaged. NASA said the Pressurized Cargo Module for the Cygnus that was to fly the NG-22 mission to the ISS is damaged and will not be used for that mission, which was to launch in June. NASA said the next Cygnus mission will be NG-23, planned for no earlier than this fall.

NASA warned three weeks earlier of the potential for damage to the spacecraft after Northrop reported its module’s shipping contained was damaged in what the company called a “commercial shipping accident” during transit to the launch site. The agency said then it would adjust the cargo manifest for the next Dragon mission to the station, SpX-32, replacing some science investigations with crew supplies and station hardware in the event NG-22 was delayed. (3/27)

How Elon Musk’s SpaceX Secretly Allows Investment From China (Source: Pro Publica)
As a U.S. military contractor, SpaceX sees allowing Chinese ownership as fraught. But it will allow the investment if it comes through secrecy hubs like the Cayman Islands, court records say. “It is certainly a policy of obfuscation,” an expert said. SpaceX allows investors from China to buy stakes in the company as long as the funds are routed through the Cayman Islands or other offshore secrecy hubs, according to previously unreported court records.

The rare picture of SpaceX’s approach recently emerged in an under-the-radar corporate dispute in Delaware. Both SpaceX’s chief financial officer and Iqbaljit Kahlon, a major investor, were forced to testify in the case. In December, Kahlon testified that SpaceX prefers to avoid investors from China because it is a defense contractor. There is a major exception though, he said: SpaceX finds it “acceptable” for Chinese investors to buy into the company through offshore vehicles.

Experts called SpaceX’s approach unusual, saying they were troubled by the possibility that a defense contractor would take active steps to conceal foreign ownership interests. Kahlon, who has long been close to the company’s leadership, has said he owns billions of dollars of SpaceX stock. His investment firm also acts as a middleman, raising money from investors to buy highly sought SpaceX shares. He has routed money from China through the Caribbean to buy stakes in SpaceX multiple times, according to the court filings. (3/26)

Schiehallion Trust Boosts SpaceX Valuation by 86% (Source: Business Live)
Schiehallion trust increased the value of its holdings in SpaceX by 86 percent last year, as it aimed to narrow the gap between its share price and underlying assets. The valuation of Spacex, which constitutes 9.4 percent of Schiehallion's portfolio, has surged by over 600 per cent since the trust first invested in 2019. Reports surfaced in November that a tender offer had valued Spacex at $250bn for outside investors, sparking investor interest in the private company. (3/26)

Local Activists Protest SpaceX, LNG (Source: Valley Central)
Several local organizations and Brownsville residents protested outside of the Texas Southmost College Performing Arts Center where the mayor was delivering his State of the City address. Over 50 protestors stood outside the building as Mayor John Cowen touted the success of the city. The protestors voiced their disappointment in the leadership of the city for their relationship with SpaceX and Rio Grande LNG.

“LNG would be the largest polluter in the area,” Brownsville Resident Nancy Guevara said. “We won’t have access to clean air or clean water and SpaceX is trying to make their own city which means less access. The protestors also spoke about the increasing pollution they attribute to these companies, holding signs that read ‘Save Boca Chica Beach,’ ‘LNG Kills,’ and ‘No More Contamination.’ (3/27)