April 1, 2025

Sierra Space Showcases Advanced Resilient GPS Technology (Source: Via Satellite)
Sierra Space, in collaboration with General Dynamics Mission Systems, has successfully demonstrated Resilient GPS technology for the US Space Force, generating navigation signals to counteract threats such as jamming and spoofing. The effort is part of the Quick Start program to develop smaller, agile satellites capable of countering these threats effectively. (3/31)

Studying Cardiac Cells in Space to Repair Heart Damage on Earth (Source: CASIS)
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for one in five deaths. The inability of damaged heart muscle tissue to regenerate makes heart disease difficult to treat, and end-stage heart failure patients have no choice but to join a long list of people waiting for a heart transplant. Researchers from Emory University are working to provide another option for such patients. To do this, the team took their research to a laboratory unlike any on Earth—the International Space Station (ISS). (3/28)

ICEYE to Supply Radar Satellite Imagery for NATO Decision Support (Source: Space Daily)
ICEYE, a global frontrunner in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite technology, has revealed a new partnership to deliver satellite imagery to the Situation Center (SITCEN) at NATO Headquarters. This strategic agreement will provide SITCEN with direct access to ICEYE's advanced Earth observation capabilities, significantly enhancing its ability to supply timely, data-backed insights to NATO leadership. (3/30)

Space Applications Drives Lunar Mobility Forward with New Rover Initiatives (Source: Space Daily)
Space Applications Services is accelerating its efforts in lunar exploration with two major rover initiatives: the commercially targeted LUVMI-M and the European Space Agency (ESA)-backed LPSR logistics rover. These projects highlight the company's strategic role in shaping the mobility infrastructure for both private and public lunar ventures. (4/1)

First SpaceX Starship Explosion Clears FAA Review; Damage Confirmed on Island Downrange (Source: WESH)
The FAA has completed its investigation of the SpaceX Starship Flight 7 mishap on Jan. 16. This was the first of two explosions for SpaceX – the March explosion is still under investigation. There were no public injuries, the FAA said, but one confirmed report of minor vehicle damage in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

SpaceX identified "11 corrective actions to prevent a reoccurrence of the event." The FAA verified SpaceX implemented corrective actions before Flight 8. Flight 8, however, had its own mishap on March 6. "SpaceX may not launch Starship again until the FAA accepts the final mishap investigation report or makes a return to flight determination and all other licensing requirements are met," the report says. Editor's Note: Did the downrange damage fit within the FAA's debris dispersion models? Does Turks and Caicos have standing to demand a halt to additional overflights? (3/31)

Fact Checking Haridopolos on NASA Firings (Source: NASA Watch)
Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL) said that President Trump “has spared NASA from the large budget and personnel cuts” due to the importance of Artemis and “The only people who left are those who took the buyout.” [Not true] People at NASA have already been fired and looming budget cuts will gut NASA science. Someone needs to brief the Congressman about the facts on the ground. Just sayin’.

One NASA staffer responded: "Help me understand this. Is he saying that budget and personnel cuts are finished? Can we go to work now without worrying every minute of the day?" (4/1)

‘Chaos’: Trump Cuts to NOAA Disrupt Staffing and Weather Forecasts (Source: Guardian)
A sense of chaos has gripped NOAA, one of the world’s premier research agencies, with key staff hastily fired and then rehired, cuts to vital weather forecasting operations and even a new, unsecured server that led to staff being deluged by obscene spam emails. More than 1,000 people have been fired or induced to resign from the agency and 1,000 more staffers are expected to be removed as the purge continues, around 20% of NOAA’s workforce.

Along with leading climate and marine research, NOAA also houses the National Weather Service, which provides bedrock weather forecasts to private providers and the public. There are concerns that the Trump administration’s cuts, spearheaded by Elon Musk’s so-called DOGE, could imperil public safety by hindering timely warnings of tornadoes and hurricanes. (4/1)

Isar Aerospace’s First Spectrum Launch: Success or 'Controlled' Failure? (Source: Virginia Greco, LinkedIn)
European satellite launch service company Isar Aerospace conducted today the first test flight of its Spectrum vehicle, launching from Andøya Spaceport in Norway. After ignition of its first stage, Spectrum successfully lifted off at 12:30 pm CEST.

However, the test flight was very brief: after about 30 seconds it was terminated and the launch vehicle fell into the sea in a controlled manner. The company stated that the test flight met all their expectations, demonstrating their ability to launch the rocket and providing valuable data for analysis. Lessons learned will be applied to future missions, and the second and third Spectrum vehicles are already in production.

I think that launching a rocket is no small feat—many things can go wrong, and every test provides valuable insights to refine the design. However, I find it hard to believe that Isar Aerospace truly considers this flight a great success, as they claimed. The rocket lifted off, tumbled after a few seconds, and the mission was terminated: clearly, something went wrong. That’s part of the process, and there’s no need to sugarcoat it. (3/30)

Isar Declares Rocket Launch a Success Despite Crash on First Attempt to Reach Orbit (Source: Sky News)
Isar Aerospace, the German company that built the rocket, had warned that the launch could end prematurely. It maintained that despite being short, the flight had produced extensive data that its team could learn from. "Our first test flight met all our expectations, achieving a great success," Daniel Metzler, Isar's chief executive and co-founder, said. (3/30)

Earth's Sea Ice Hits All-Time Low, NASA Satellites Reveal (Source: Space.com)
New research from NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Colorado measured Arctic sea ice cover on March 22, during what should've been its annual peak. In conclusion, the agency reported seeing 5.53 million square miles (14.33 million square kilometers) of sea ice — for context, that's the lowest Arctic winter sea ice levels have ever been.

To make matters worse, NASA scientists also discovered that, this year, summer ice in the Antarctic retreated to 764,000 square miles (1.98 million square kilometers) as of March 1, tying for "the second lowest minimum extent ever recorded there." The combined loss of sea ice in both polar regions has led to an all-time low for total sea ice on the planet. Altogether, the missing sea ice is now roughly the same size as the continental United States east of the Mississippi. (3/29)

SpaceX Launches Polar Crewed Mission From Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Space News)
SpaceX launched a private astronaut mission Monday night that is the first crewed mission to fly over the Earth's poles. A Falcon 9 lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, placing the Crew Dragon spacecraft Resilience into orbit. Resilience is flying a mission called Fram2 led by Chun Wang, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, with three others on board.

The spacecraft is the first crewed mission to fly a polar orbit, taking it over the north and south poles. The mission, slated to last three and a half days, will include 22 experiments performed by the crew on topics ranging from observations of the aurora to medical tests. Dragon will splash down off the California coast, the first Crew Dragon spacecraft to return there after previous missions landed off the Florida coast. (4/1)

Investigation Into Failed New Glenn Landing Completed (Source: Space News)
Blue Origin has wrapped up the investigation into the failed booster landing on its first New Glenn launch. The FAA said Monday it approved the final report into the company-led investigation into the January launch, stating that the booster failed to land when it was unable to restart its BE-4 engines. Blue Origin said it is working on propellant management and engine bleed control improvements for the booster. The company reiterated a late spring date for the next New Glenn launch, but did not state what payload, if any, it will carry. (4/1)

Space Force to Test In-Space Satellite Refueling (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force is preparing a series of experiments to test in-space satellite refueling technologies. The planned demonstrations, known as Tetra-5 and Tetra-6, will evaluate refueling hardware from Astroscale, Northrop Grumman and Orbit Fab. Tetra-5, involving Astroscale and Orbit Fab, is scheduled to launch next year with Northrop Grumman's Tetra-6 in 2027. For the Space Force, these experiments will provide crucial data to assess the viability of the emerging in-space logistics industry, including technologies and business models. (4/1)

GITAI Designs Robotic Arm for Lunar Rover (Source: Space News)
Space robotics GITAI has completed a study of a robotic arm that could be used on a lunar rover. California-based GITAI said its Japanese subsidiary finished its work for the Japanese space agency JAXA, designing a robotic arm system that could be used on JAXA's pressurized lunar rover. GITAI is anticipating a second phase of work from JAXA worth potentially millions of dollars. (4/1)

China Launches Long March 2D with Internet Satellite (Source: Space News)
China launched a satellite overnight to test satellite internet technologies. The Long March 2D rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 12 a.m. Eastern Tuesday, putting into orbit an unnamed satellite. The satellite will be used mainly for technical tests and verification for direct-to-cell satellite broadband and space-ground network integration. It is the sixth satellite in a series of such test satellites launched since 2023. (4/1)

Same-Day Launch Sends Starlink Satellites to Space From Florida (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX launched a set of Starlink satellites hours before the Fram2 mission. A Falcon 9 took off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, putting 28 Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch was scheduled for Sunday but delayed by weather. Editor's Note: Occurring just hours after a unique polar-inclination launch, this Starlink mission demonstrates how the Space Force has modernized the Eastern Range to support a much busier schedule of twice-daily launches, alleviating concerns about the Cape being too busy to accommodate new users. (4/1)

‘We Weren’t Stuck’: NASA Astronauts Tell of Space Odyssey and Reject Claims of Neglect (Source: CNN)
Two NASA astronauts say they are doing well after a nine-month stay in orbit. At a press conference Monday, NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore said they were reacclimating to normal gravity after a stay on the International Space Station that went from just longer than one week to nine months because of problems with their Starliner spacecraft.  They again rejected the notion that they were "stuck" and "abandoned" in space, stating they knew they would get back sooner or later and enjoyed their time in orbit. They added they were "very thankful, very amazed" that their mission got so much attention. (3/31)

Fate is in the Stars: the PARCAE Ocean Surveillance Satellites (Source: Space Review)
In the 1970s, the US started launching a new series of ocean surveillance satellites called PARCAE. Dwayne Day examines the history of that program. Click here. (4/1)
 
Europe’s Launch Challenge (Source: Space Review)
On Sunday, German launch vehicle startup Isar Aerospace launched its first Spectrum rocket, which crashed less than a minute after liftoff. Jeff Foust reports that the launch comes at a critical time for Europe’s launch industry, as they seek to demonstrate to European governments they can provide new ways to reach space. Click here. (4/1)
 
Preparing for the EU Space Act and its Potential Influence on the Future of Space Traffic Management (Source: Space Review)
The European Union is expected to take up in the coming weeks a new space law that will include provisions about space traffic management. Michael Gleason explains that this could reshape the global approach to space sustainability. Click here. (4/1)