April 20, 2025

Large Parcels of NASA Property at Marshall Available for Tenant Development (Source: MSFC)
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center has released a Notice of Availability for four parcels of land—65, 30, 20, and 5 acres—located on Redstone Arsenal. These sites are designated for administrative, integration, and manufacturing use as part of a larger effort to establish a mixed-use, multi-tenant R&D environment. This initiative supports collaboration between NASA, industry, academia, and other government agencies, with a focus on co-developing aerospace and dual-use technologies that serve both NASA’s mission and national defense priorities. (4/22)

Space ISAC Announces UK Global Hub (Source: Space ISAC)
The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Space ISAC) is proud to announce the establishment of its UK Global Hub, marking a significant step in its mission to enhance international collaboration in space security. This milestone, unveiled during the 40th Annual Space Symposium, strengthens Space ISAC’s ability to “follow the sun”—tracking adversarial activities from ground to space across multiple time zones and allied nations. Space ISAC is dedicated to sharing critical information and collaborating with the United States, its allies, and partners on behalf of the global space sector. (4/14)

Dark, Pitted, and Possibly Alien: The Skull Hill Rock That Has Scientists Stumped (Source: SciTech Daily)
NASA’s Mars rover is on the trail of a geological mystery in the Jezero crater. While exploring an area known as Witch Hazel Hill, the rover encountered an intriguing dark rock named “Skull Hill” at a boundary between two different rock types. Although its composition initially sparked excitement as a possible meteorite, new data suggests it may instead be a volcanic rock carried from elsewhere.

Skull Hill stands out sharply against the surrounding light-toned terrain due to its dark color and angular shape. The rock features several small pits, and if you look closely, you may even notice spherical particles, called spherules, scattered in the surrounding soil, or regolith. (4/19)

Colorado Company to Become First to Refuel Space Force Asset (Source: KDVR)
Colorado company will become the first to perform an on-orbit refueling of a United States Department of Defense space asset. Astroscale U.S. Inc., a Denver-based on-orbit services and logistics company, will perform two refueling operations of a U.S. Department of Defense satellite that is in geostationary orbit for the United States Space Force, according to a press release from the company. (4/16)

This is What it Costs To Be a Texas Space Tourist (Source: Houston Chronicle)
Move over, Johnson Space Center. Texas has a new tourism hotspot for space enthusiasts: Van Horn, Texas, where the right amount of money can send you to (sort of) space aboard Blue Origin's revolutionary New Shepard rocket. Click here. (4/18)

India's Bellatrix Aerospace Expands to U.S. with New Manufacturing Unit in Delaware (Source: IDRW)
In a bold step toward global expansion, Bengaluru-based space technology startup Bellatrix Aerospace has announced plans to establish a propulsion systems manufacturing facility in Delaware, USA, to serve the burgeoning U.S. commercial space market. As part of this expansion, Bellatrix Aerospace has appointed Chris MacDonald as Vice President to oversee the company’s U.S. operations. (4/11)

'Complete Meltdown' at Pentagon as Hegseth Loses Key Staffers to Controversy (Source: Mediaite)
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is losing his chief of staff, Joe Kasper, in the coming days, according to a Politico report. Kasper will remain with the agency. However, three other Defense aides who were put on leave earlier this week were terminated on Friday. Those three, who were reportedly on leave in connection with an ongoing leak investigation, were senior adviser Dan Caldwell, Hegseth deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll, who was chief of staff to the deputy secretary of Defense. Two sources said Carroll and Selnick intend to sue for wrongful termination. (4/18)

SpaceX Doesn’t Want to Make ‘Golden Dome’ Missile Shield, Musk Says (Source: News Nation Now)
SpaceX has reportedly emerged as a frontrunner to win a crucial part of President Donald Trump’s plans for a space-based “Golden Dome” missile defense system. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has dismissed the reports. SpaceX has reportedly proposed a “subscription service” in which the government would pay for access to the technology, rather than own the system outright.

On Thursday, Musk denied bidding on the project. “SpaceX has not tried to bid for any contract in this regard,” he wrote on social media. “Our strong preference would be to stay focused on taking humanity to Mars. If the President asks us to help in this regard, we will do so, but I hope that other companies (not SpaceX) can do this.” (4/18)

Starship Program Laying Groundwork for Huge Facilities in Texas and Florida (Source: NSF)
SpaceX is busy creating launch and production capacity for the future of its Starship program, focusing on huge Gigabays at both Starbase in Texas and Roberts Road in Florida. To cater for this future production cadence, SpaceX’s launch sites for Starship are also a focus of its attention, with the second pad at Starbase making solid progress, while activity at the Starship site at KSC’s 39A is now in full swing.

There is now better information on how the Gigabays will be laid out at the Space Coast. This can be seen by looking at the layout of the pilings. With the pilings, the 24 separate workstations can be seen, each looks to have a wall between them, likely for installing work platforms to cover the vehicle at said workstation. There will be four rows of six stations with two transfer aisles. Click here. (4/18)

Flyover Video Shows Progress by SpaceX, Blue Origin, Relativity, and Stoke Space at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: NSF)
KSC/Cape Flyover! SpaceX continues to build up its Starship facilities, and Blue Origin has taken steps to fly again with its New Glenn Rocket. Also, Relativity and Stoke Space have also made rapid progress on their facilities. Click here. (4/16)

Scientists Detect Record-Setting Explosion Outside Our Galaxy (Source: Live Science)
Groundbreaking observations of a repeating explosion in space, the recurrent nova LMCN 1968-12a, reveal that it's the hottest burst of its kind ever recorded. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, LMCN 1968-12a is the first recurrent nova outside our galaxy to have been studied in near-infrared light. (4/18)

Russian Spacecraft Brings Astronauts Back to Earth From ISS (Source: Reuters)
A Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Wagner and NASA astronaut Donald Pettit has returned to Earth, Russia's Roscosmos space agency reported on Sunday. "Its deorbiting and descent to Earth were normal," the agency said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. It added that the spacecraft landed in Kazakhstan. (4/19)

Ad Astra Demonstrates VASIMR Under NASA Contract (Source: Ad Astra)
Ad Astra Rocket Company has successfully completed a 30-month contract with NASA to develop an advanced thermomechanical design of the radiofrequency (RF) coupler for the VASIMR rocket engine. The innovative design was experimentally demonstrated in late March 2025, during sustained plasma tests of the VX200SS VASIMR engine prototype at Ad Astra’s Texas laboratory.

The innovation produces up to 28% reduction in the steady-state operating temperature of the RF coupler, an improvement that would enable the engine to operate at higher power. The RF couplers (each engine needs two) are highly integrated, electromechanical assemblies that handle virtually all the power of the engine. They launch RF waves into the engine’s magnetized central core. These waves produce and heat a plasma – a superheated gas – to millions of degrees. The plasma internal energy is converted to rocket thrust by the engine’s magnetic nozzle. (4/15)

Aegis Aerospace Lands Texas Space Commission Grant (Source: Aegis Aero)
Aegis Aerospace Inc. announced today it has secured a Space Exploration and Aeronautics Research Fund (SEARF) grant through the Texas Space Commission (TSC) to deliver an in-space manufacturing platform for advanced materials. The TSC board of directors voted today to approve grant applications that total $26 million for five proposed projects. Aegis Aerospace is to receive up to $10 million. (4/16)

Amid Trump Cuts, US Scientists Gaining 'Refugee' Status in France (Source: NPR)
A French university courting U.S.-based academics said it has already received nearly 300 applications for researchers seeking "refugee status" amid President Trump's elimination of funding for several scientific programs. Last month, Aix-Marseille University, one of the country's oldest and largest universities, announced it was accepting applications for its Safe Place For Science program, which it said offers "a safe and stimulating environment for scientists wishing to pursue their research in complete freedom." (4/18)

As Military SATCOM Use Grows, Rivals Vie to Cut SpaceX’s Market Share (Source: Air & Space Forces)
“If you look at the commercial satellite communications industry, we’ve been integrated for quite some time, providing our services alongside MILSATCOM,” said Todd Gossett, of SATCOM provider SES Space & Defense. “We’ve seen, over the past decade, a much more purposeful integration of these commercial capabilities into the military alongside purpose-built capabilities [into] what we now call hybrid space architecture.”

The question now is how broadly the Space Force will look to leverage additional SATCOM providers. Defense officials announced late last year they are expanding the Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (PLEO) Satellite-Based Services program from a maximum of $900 million to $13 billion, based on demand across DOD. But some worry that there is insufficient competition in the marketplace. (4/18)

Will the US Hand Space Leadership to China by Pulling NASA Out of Mars Race? (Source: SCMP)
White House moves to cancel NASA’s flagship Mars sample return program amid sweeping budget cuts would leave China’s Tianwen-3 mission – set to deliver around 600 grams of Martian material to Earth by 2031 – alone in the race. The White House recommended ending funding for the mission, already subject to major cost overruns and delays, in its 2026 budget proposal which is expected to be finalized by Congress and the White House in coming months.

“While the United States and China are battling on Earth for leadership in the global economy, the US is giving their leadership role in space to China,” said Yuqi Qian, a planetary geologist at the University of Hong Kong. Qian, who works with international collaborators to study the volcanological history of the moon and other rocky bodies in space, said the White House was introducing substantial uncertainties for the US and its allies. (4/19)

Interlune Wins $4.8M Grant for Texas Center Focusing on Simulated Moon Dirt (Source: Geekwire)
Seattle-based Interlune has won a grant of up to $4.84 million from the Texas Space Commission to open a center of excellence at NASA’s Johnson Space Center that would focus on simulated moon rocks and soil. The center would be part of the Texas A&M University Space Institute, which is currently under construction on the grounds of the NASA center in Houston. Construction is due to be completed by September 2026. (4/18)

NASA Glenn to Test Air Quality Monitors Aboard Space Station (Source: NASA)
As NASA prepares to return to the Moon, studying astronaut health and safety is a top priority. Scientists monitor and analyze every part of the International Space Station crew’s daily life—down to the air they breathe. These studies are helping NASA prepare for long-term human exploration of the Moon and, eventually, Mars.

As part of this effort, NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is sending three air quality monitors to the space station to test them for potential future use on the Moon. The monitors are slated to launch on Monday, April 21, aboard the 32nd SpaceX commercial resupply services mission for NASA. (4/18)

States Bid to Host a Revamped NASA Headquarters (Source: Space News)
More states are lining up in a bid to host NASA’s headquarters, but the prize they seek may turn out to be smaller than they expect. On April 16, members of the Texas congressional delegation sent a letter to President Trump requesting that he move NASA’s headquarters from its current location in Washington to the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Texas is not alone in efforts to lure NASA’s headquarters. Florida lawmakers have expressed an interest for months in moving the headquarters to the Kennedy Space Center, including a bill introduced in March directing NASA to move its headquarters to the center within a year of enactment. Ohio officials are also lobbying for moving the headquarters to the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

Janet Petro said NASA was looking at how the agency is organized to see what could be moved from Washington. “We’re taking a look at where those functions could be relocated.” Even if headquarters is reorganized, Petro envisioned that the agency would retain a presence in Washington. “I would always envision that the office of the administrator would always be in D.C.,” she said, “along with some key functions like [legislative] affairs, maybe the general counsel, some communications staff, et cetera. I think that would be beneficial to have that, as a minimum, in D.C.” (4/18)

Amazon Reveals New Date for Debut Project Kuiper Launch (Source: Digital Trends)
Amazon’s inaugural launch of its Project Kuiper internet satellites on April 9 turned out to be nothing of the sort when poor weather conditions prompted the mission team to postpone liftoff. “Kuiper 1, the launch of a ULA Atlas V 551 rocket carrying the first production satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper, is now planned for April 28,” ULA said in a post on social media. (4/18)

Spain Approves €1 Billion Loan to Hisdesat for PAZ 2 Satellites (Source: European Spaceflight)
Spain’s Council of Ministers has approved a loan agreement under which national satellite operator Hisdesat will receive €1.011 billion over eight years to develop a pair of PAZ 2 satellites. The PAZ-1 synthetic aperture radar was launched in February 2018. It delivers high-resolution Earth observation imagery for a wide range of applications, including border control, intelligence, environmental monitoring, and crisis management. With the development of PAZ-2, the Spanish government, through commercial operator Hisdesat, is looking to significantly increase the system’s capacity. (4/19)

New Study Unveils Volcanic History and Clues to Ancient Life on Mars (Source: Texas A&M)
The team’s analysis revealed two distinct types of volcanic rocks. The first type, dark-toned and rich in iron and magnesium, contains intergrown minerals such as pyroxene and plagioclase feldspar, with evidence of altered olivine. The second type, a lighter-toned rock classified as trachy-andesite, includes plagioclase crystals within a potassium-rich groundmass. These findings indicate a complex volcanic history involving multiple lava flows with varying compositions.

To determine how these rocks formed, researchers conducted thermodynamic modeling — a method that simulates the conditions under which the minerals solidified. Their results suggest that the unique compositions resulted from high-degree fractional crystallization, a process where different minerals separate from molten rock as it cools. They also found signs that the lava may have mixed with iron-rich material from Mars' crust, changing the rocks' composition even more. (4/18)

China Successfully Launches Six Satellites (Source: TASS)
China successfully launched six Shiyan-27 satellites into sun-synchronous orbit on Saturday, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) reported. The launch was carried out on April 18 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center using the CZ-6A (Chang Zheng 6A) rocket. (4/19)

Rethinking The Science Priorities At NSF (Source: NASA Watch)
Now that budget cuts and layoffs are approaching, government science agencies are starting to come up with the public-facing rationale for these draconian cuts. Mostly, it is word salad that often smells like chatbot babbling and wonky talking points, declaring that NSF no longer seems to be interested in assuring the validity of scientific information used by decision makers and the general public. You can expect to see stuff like this coming out of NASA soon. (4/19)

Indian State Launches SpaceTech Policy; Aims to Attract $5 Billion Investment in 5 Years (Source: Hindustan Times)
The Gujarat government on Thursday launched the Gujarat SpaceTech Policy (2025–2030) with an aim of attracting “investments worth $5 billion over the next five years” and creating “employment for 25,000 people”, a senior official said. Under the leadership of chief minister Bhupendra Patel, the government aims to be a frontrunner in space innovation. (4/18)