March 8, 2025

Regulations are in the Crosshairs. But Which Ones? (Source: Space News)
Trump released an executive order calling for 10 regulations to be eliminated for each new one issued. Now, domestic and international space companies are watching carefully as the second Trump administration takes aim at federal regulations to determine what it could mean for how they operate and, ultimately, their bottom line. (3/7)

Space Development Agency Delays Next Launch Amid Supply Chain Woes (Source: Defense News)
The Space Development Agency will push the launch of its next satellites until late this summer — another setback due to vendor delivery delays. “With the added challenge of late supplier deliveries, it has become clear additional time is required for system readiness to meet the Tranche 1 minimum viable capability,” the agency said. The satellites are part of a mega constellation of data transport and missile tracking spacecraft known as the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. (3/7)

Kazakhstan Explores Space Tech for Agriculture Development (Source: Trend)
Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan Aidarbek Saparov visited the National Space Center, and got reviewed with modern solutions in the field of space monitoring aimed at improving the efficiency of the agro-industrial complex of the country. Specialists from Kazkosmos discussed how data obtained from Kazakhstan's satellites is applied in the agricultural sector for monitoring crop conditions, pasture lands, and water consumption, and presented the results of agricultural land monitoring carried out using Earth remote sensing data. (3/8)

Why Britain Can Win Big by Betting on the New Space Race (Source: The Standard)
Britain and space exploration hardly sound like natural bedfellows. In fact, many may be surprised to hear that Britain has a space program at all: the UK Space Agency, who, led by CEO Dr Paul Bate, have ambitions of making the country one of the world’s leading space economies.

Investment in the UK’s space sector–an industry that employs 60,000 people–is a practical imperative for the growth of the country’s economy, Will Whitehorn says. A staggering 16 percent of the UK’s GDP is dependent on space technology, the UK Space Agency say. Of course that doesn’t mean we’re spending that much money on space travel. (3/7)

India's Space Sector Poised to Reach $44 Billion (Source: AniNews)
Union Minister Jitendra Singh projected India's space sector to surge to $44 billion in the near future, marking a nearly fivefold growth. According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr. Singh pointed to the National Space Innovation and Applications (NSIL and In-SPACe, which have fostered collaboration between government and non-government entities, driving India's space economy to $8 billion. (3/8)

White House May Seek to Slash NASA’s Science Budget by 50 Percent (Source: Ars Technica)
Although the Trump administration will not publicly release its budget request for at least a few more weeks, senior agency officials are starting to be briefed on the president's priorities. This includes NASA. As expected, the president's plan for the space agency includes some significant shakeups, including a desire to move elements of NASA headquarters to field centers around the country.

However, in perhaps the most drastic change, the White House seeks to massively cut funding for science programs at the space agency. Multiple people familiar with the White House proposal said cuts to NASA's "Science Mission Directorate" could be as high as 50 percent. (3/7)

SpaceX Urges FCC to Block Globalstar's Cellular Satellite Plans (Source: PC Magazine)
SpaceX is lobbying the FCC to block iPhone satellite provider Globalstar from launching a new constellation of 48 low-Earth orbiting satellites. Globalstar's "C3" constellation promises to expand the satellite-powered features on future iPhones, funded in part by a $1 billion investment from Apple. However, SpaceX claims the FCC needs to dismiss the application because the C3 constellation will use radio spectrum in the 1.6GHz and 2.4GHz bands. (3/7)

X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Concludes Seventh Successful Mission (Source: USSF)
The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle-7 (OTV-7), the U.S. Space Force’s dynamic unmanned spaceplane, successfully deorbited and landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California on March 7. While on orbit, Mission 7 accomplished a range of test and experimentation objectives intended to demonstrate the X-37B’s robust maneuver capability while helping characterize the space domain through the testing of space domain awareness technology experiments. (3/7)

Half-Ton Metal Ring Fell from Space over Kenya—the Country’s Space Agency Confirmed What Many Feared (Source: India Defense Review)
On December 30, residents of a village southeast of Nairobi, Kenya were startled by the sudden appearance of a massive metallic ring that plummeted from the sky and crashed into a local field. The object, measuring 8.2 feet across and weighing over 1,100 pounds, was examined by the Kenya Space Agency (KSA). Initial analyses pointed toward a possible connection with an Ariane V rocket launched in 2008, but no definitive link had been established.

The Kenyan metal ring incident underscores a larger issue that cannot be ignored. As space activity expands, the risks associated with falling debris will only increase. If no comprehensive regulations are established, future incidents may pose even greater threats to populated areas. (3/7)

Top-Ranking Agencies from 2024 Best-Places-to-Work Survey Now Facing Layoffs, RIFs (Sources: FNN, AP)
The release of the Partnership’s 2024 Best Places to Work rankings comes amid the Trump administration’s efforts to overhaul the federal workforce. Many agencies that earned the top spots in the Partnership for Public Service’s 2024 Best Places to Work series last year are now experiencing major and tumultuous shifts in their workforces.

Last year,  governmentwide employee engagement and satisfaction was at 67.7 out of 100 — one of the highest ever scores the Partnership has reported since it launched the Best Places to Work series in 2003. In the latest rankings, based on data collected in the spring and summer of 2024, NASA maintained the number one spot on the Best Places to Work list of large agencies for the 13th year in a row, with a score of 81.6 out of 100.

Because the administration has ordered the cancelation of so many contracts, the default career path of going to a contractor seems to be pinched off. Meanwhile, scrambling to replace their health insurance and to find new work, some laid-off federal workers are running into another unexpected unpleasantry: Relatives cheering their firing. Expecting sympathy, some axed workers are finding family and friends who instead are steadfast in their support of what they see as a bloated government’s waste. (3/7)

X-Ray Data Hint at Smashed Planet at the Heart of the Helix Nebula (Source: Universe Today)
The lead researcher on the study, Sandino Estrada-Dorado explains “We think this X-ray signal could be from planetary debris pulled onto the white dwarf, revealing the death of a planet destroyed by the central star of the Helix Nebula.” Scientists had previously identified a Neptune-sized planet orbiting WD 2226-210 with a period under three days,

The latest research suggests an even closer Jupiter-like planet might have once existed. The research proposes this planet initially formed far from its star but gradually migrated inward through gravitational interactions with other planets. Eventually, the propose, it came close enough to be torn apart by the white dwarf's intense gravitational forces and it is this that is thought to have created the unusual X-ray signatures. (3/6)

BAE in 2nd Phase of Space Force FORGE Program (Source: Janes)
The US Space Force has partnered with BAE Systems for the second phase of the Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution program, signing a $151 million deal to develop a prototype command-and-control system for the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared system. (3/7)

Boeing Destination Moon Challenge Now Underway in Space Coast Schools (Source: Space Coast Daily)
The Brevard Schools Foundation, Brevard Public Schools, and The Boeing Company is hosting the 2025 Boeing Destination Moon Challenge, an exciting STEM competition in which student teams take on real-world space exploration challenges. This event brings STEM learning to life as students apply science, engineering, and coding skills to design and present solutions for future Moon missions. (3/6)

NOAA Re-Hires Remote Sensing Licensing Chief (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Trump administration has reinstated the top official at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) charged with licensing commercial remote sensing satellite operations who was fired last week, following a reported revision in the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) instructions to federal agencies requiring the firing of all “probationary” employees. (3/5)

More Churn in NASA's Leadership (Source: NASA)
NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro announced Vanessa Wyche will serve as the acting associate administrator for the agency at NASA Headquarters. Wyche, who had been the director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, is detailed as Petro’s senior advisor leading the agency’s center directors and mission directorate associate administrators. She will act as the agency’s chief operating officer for about 18,000 civil servant employees and an annual budget of more than $25 billion.

Stephen Koerner will become the acting center director of NASA Johnson. The agency also named Jackie Jester as associate administrator for the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs. (2/24)

Hubble Uncovers a Hidden Trio That Could Rewrite Kuiper Belt History (Source: SciTech Daily)
A newly identified Kuiper Belt trio, possibly only the second of its kind, could provide strong evidence that these distant objects didn’t form from collisions but instead took shape through gravitational collapse—just like stars. The potential triple system was previously thought to be a binary. This third object is so close to its companion that it can only be detected through its influence on the system’s orbital motion. (3/7)

After Missing Target Site, Athena Tips Over in Lunar Crater (Source: AP)
A private lunar lander is no longer working after landing sideways in a crater near the moon’s south pole and its mission is over, officials said Friday. The news came less than 24 hours after the botched landing attempt by Texas-based Intuitive Machines. Launched last week, the lander named Athena missed its mark by more than 800 feet (250 meters) and ended up in a frigid crater, the company said in declaring it dead.

In both landings by Intuitive Machines, problems arose at the last minute with the prime laser navigation system. Intuitive Machines’ rocket-propelled drone, Grace, was supposed to hop across the lunar surface before jumping into a crater to look for frozen water. The two rovers from two other companies, one American and one Japanese, were going to scout around the area as well.

NASA’s ice drill experiment was activated before the lander’s batteries died. How much could be accomplished was not immediately known. Several other objectives were accelerated and milestones met, according to the company. NASA paid $62 million to Intuitive Machines to get its three experiments to the moon. Shares of Intuitive Machines tumbled 24% on Friday. (3/7)

US Cuts Ukraine Access to Maxar’s Satellite Imagery Service (Source: Politico)
American satellite mapping company Maxar Technologies said Friday that the Trump administration has suspended access to its satellite imagery by Ukrainian accounts. Maxar, one of the leading providers of commercial satellite imagery to Ukrainian users, said it has contracts with the U.S. government and other countries around the world to provide geospatial data. (3/7)

Trump Dismisses Expert Committee for Space Commerce (Source: Payload)
The Office of Space Commerce has axed its committee of industry experts that weighs in on matters including mission authorization, commercial remote sensing, and space situational awareness, according to three industry sources. The Advisory Committee on Excellence in Space (ACES) was established in 2002 as a commercial remote sensing advisory board. It was expanded in 2024 to include nearly two dozen space experts, with officials from Amazon Kuiper, SpaceX, Astroscale, and Planet among its members. (2/24)