April 23, 2025

Italian Space Agency Mourns Death of Pope Francis (Source: Space.com)
Pope Francis, the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, passed away on Monday at 1:35 a.m. EDT (0535 GMT; 7:35 a.m. local time) in his residence at the Domus Sanctae Marthae in Vatican City. The Italian Space Agency (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, or ASI) expressed sorrow over the passing of the pope in a statement released that same day.

“The President, Teodoro Valente, and the Director General, Luca Vincenzo Maria Salamone, together with all the staff of the Italian Space Agency, express their deep condolences for the death of Pope Francis,” ASI officials said in the statement. (4/22)

There's Liquid on Titan, Saturn's largest Moon. But Something's Missing and Scientists are Confused (Source: Space.com)
Scientists have known for a while that Saturn's largest moon, Titan, has rivers and seas of liquid methane on its surface. But it's strangely lacking in deltas, a new study suggests. On Earth, large rivers create deltas with sediment-filled wetlands. Deltas form when the mouth of a river empties into another body of water. Besides Earth, Titan is the only planetary body in our solar system with liquid flowing on the surface. Researchers recently looked for deltas on the big Saturn satellite but came up empty. (4/22)

Animal That Once Lived With Dinosaurs Helps Keep NASA Kennedy In Balance (Source: NASA)
They’re known as “living fossils”. For over 450 million years, horseshoe crabs have been an ecologically vital part of our planet. They’re one of the few surviving species on Earth dating back to the dinosaurs. At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) is one of more than 1,500 types of animals and plants you can find living on its over 144,000 acres, the majority of which is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service.

Horseshoe crabs are keystone species in coastal and estuary systems like the ones surrounding Earth’s premier spaceport. By themselves, these resilient arthropods are a strong indicator of how an ecosystem is doing to support the migratory birds, sea turtles, alligators and other wildlife who rely on it for their survival. (4/22)

Innovative Approaches Advance Search for Ice on the Moon (Source: SOEST)
A group of UH Mānoa researchers in Hawaii published a study in Geophysical Research Letters that outlines an innovative approach to detect buried ice deposits at the Moon’s poles. “With our recent study, we showed that a new technique for detecting buried water ice on the Moon is possible using naturally-occurring cosmic rays,” said Emily S. Costello. “These ultra-high-energy cosmic rays strike the lunar surface and penetrate to the layers below. The rays emit radar waves that bounce off buried ice and rock layers, which we can use to infer what’s below the surface.” (4/22)

China Completes 20 Astronaut Extravehicular Activities (Source: Xinhua)
China has successfully carried out 20 astronaut extravehicular activities (EVAs) over the course of its space program, with its EVA technology among the most advanced worldwide, a spokesperson with the China Manned Space Agency said on Wednesday. The longest single EVA by Chinese astronauts reached nine hours, setting a world record, said CMSA spokesperson Lin Xiqiang at a press conference on the Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceflight mission. (4/23)

Two Pakistani Astronauts to Receive Spaceflight Training in China (Source: Xinhua)
Two Pakistani astronauts will be selected to receive spaceflight training in China, and one of them will have the chance to participate in a joint space mission as a payload specialist, said a spokesperson with the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Wednesday. (4/23)

Rocket Launch Sites in Japan: A Guide to the Country’s Aerospace Facilities (Source: Tokyo Weekender)
Japan is a country renowned for its technological advancements. It nurtures a state-of-the-art robotics industry, boasts high-tech R&D facilities and pursues innovative AI applications. It’s also home to one of the world’s leading space agencies: JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. To support JAXA’s mission, the country has several sites associated with rocket launches and space development — and they’re open to tourists!

These fascinating sites offer travelers a mesmerizing look at Japan’s space program and, if luck is on your side — or careful planning combined with cooperative weather conditions — a chance to observe an actual rocket being launched into orbit or beyond. If this sounds like an exhilarating addition to your itinerary, read on! What follows is a list of Japan’s main launch sites and everything you need to know about them. Click here. (4/23)

First Microbes Blast Off Testing Production of Food for Space Travel (Source: Space Daily)
Scientists from Imperial College London have embarked on a mission to test how engineered microbes can help sustain future spacefarers on interplanetary voyages. As space agencies and private companies aim for distant planets, the logistics of carrying food, water, and fuel become increasingly costly and complex. Feeding one astronaut in orbit can cost up to Pounds 20,000 per day. To address this, researchers are exploring the potential of engineered yeasts that, through precision fermentation, could manufacture essential supplies in space. (4/23)

Students Test Compact Reentry Glider to Advance Hypersonic Research (Source: Space Daily)
A team of fourth-year mechanical and aerospace engineering students at the University of Virginia aims to pioneer a new low-cost method for gathering hypersonic flight data. Their innovative glider, called HEDGE (Hypersonic ReEntry Deployable Glider Experiment), is set to launch aboard a NASA suborbital rocket this August from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Part of their senior capstone course, HEDGE represents a bold attempt to validate whether miniature spacecraft like CubeSats can effectively transmit reentry data for use in larger-scale hypersonic designs. The glider, roughly a foot long, will attempt to achieve hypersonic speeds by exploiting the rocket's high-altitude drop, then reentering Earth's atmosphere while transmitting real-time environmental readings.  (4/23)

NASA Develops Flight-Ready Aerogel Antennas for Next-Gen Airspace Communications (Source: Space Daily(
NASA is advancing flight communications with a breakthrough antenna made from one of the lightest solid materials ever created. Engineers at NASA's Glenn Research Center are embedding this innovative device directly into aircraft surfaces, offering a sleeker and more efficient solution for future aviation platforms, including autonomous air vehicles and drones. The antenna employs a polymer-based aerogel - a highly porous, lightweight material composed of 95% air - which can be tuned to resemble the flexibility of plastic wrap or the rigidity of plexiglass. (4/23)

Texas-Based Moon Landers Could Face Rocky Future as the Trump Administration Cuts Costs and Eyes Mars (Source: Houston Chronicle)
The future of Texas moon landers could be at a critical juncture. NASA is spending more than it planned on the lander missions. Only one has landed upright on the moon. And the Trump administration could soon be turning the agency’s focus from the moon to Mars. This trifecta – at a time when the federal government is obsessed with cutting costs – could jeopardize the NASA program supporting commercial landers as it nears the end of its guaranteed funding. (4/22)

Space Info-Sharing Center Signs MOU With French Space Command (Source: Aviation Week)
The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Space ISAC) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with France’s Space Command to deepen its role in promoting international space security. The document was signed during the cybersecurity event CYSAT USA. (4/22)

At Elon Musk’s Behest, Voters Cast Ballots for a New Town: Starbase, Texas (Source: New York Times)
It has been a rough patch for Mr. Musk, but he is about to realize a dream for SpaceX, its employees and for himself, his own town on the southern tip of Texas. On the ballot: A measure to formally launch Starbase, Texas, the town long dreamed of by Elon Musk to be home to his rocket company, SpaceX, and its 3,500 employees. Voting was taking place, appropriately enough, at a SpaceX building usually closed to visitors.

As the company grew its footprint, moving its corporate headquarters and feverishly building housing to keep up with its swelling work force, the boss wanted a real town. With voting now underway, that reality could be declared on May 3, Election Day, when voting ends. Only a few dozen voters came out on the first day of early voting. There were, after all, just 279 people eligible to cast a ballot, 90 percent of whom have flocked to the area and registered since the start of 2024. (4/23)

Space Is A Growing Battlefield. Can The UK Lead The Way? (Source: Politics Home)
To the anguish of the space industry, the UK is the only country to have successfully developed, and then abandoned, a satellite launch capability. That was over 50 years ago. But with the nature of conflict evolving, nowadays government is taking space much more seriously, reports Sophie Church

Without space, the British economy would lose £1.2bn a day. Yet currently, only around one per cent of the UK’s defence budget is spent on space. The National Space Council – run by ministers across government – last sat 643 days ago. The UK continues to depend on US satellites for its GPS services, and following Brexit, no longer participates in the EU’s Galileo satellite navigation system. (4/21)

A Single Space Flight Emits More Carbon Than 1bn Individuals Will in Their Lifetimes (Source: City AM)
Tourism is not the harmless middle-class pastime we’ve all been brainwashed into believing, thanks to a never-ending diet of slick, over-produced adverts. No. Tourism is an insidious scavenger. While you tramp through some chapel searching for enlightenment and culture, your sweat and breath are busy devouring the frescos. And it gets worse. Much worse.

A 2022 World Inequality Report said that a single space flight of a few minutes emits more carbon emissions than 1bn individuals will emit in their lifetime. The study also noted that an 11-minute space trip emits no less than 75 tonnes of carbon per passenger “once indirect emissions are taken into account” and that the number is more likely to be in the 250–1,000 tonnes range. (4/23)

The Webb Telescope is Making Incredible Discoveries. It May Go Dark (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The political news these days is enough to make some of us wish they were a million miles away. But consider this: Even in the depths of space, there’s no escape from politics. The $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope is literally parked 1 million miles away. In the nearly three years since it became operational, “Webb,” as it’s called, has made some incredible findings.

You might think any U.S. president would view this as an asset. Alas, like so much of the country’s ongoing scientific research, Webb is at risk of being defunded. President Donald Trump’s administration has removed NASA’s top scientist and proposed a nearly 50% budget cut to the agency’s Science Mission Directorate, which oversees planetary science, astrophysics research and more. (4/22)

SpaceX Proposes Increase in Rocket Launches From Cape Canaveral and New Landing Zone (Source: Florida Today)
Florida's spaceport is about to get even busier with SpaceX now proposing not just an increase in launches from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 40, but a brand new booster landing site, too. This means not just more launches, but more sonic booms as well.

The FAA has released a draft proposal, looking into the environmental impacts and concerns of the public. Among the areas under consideration: air quality impact, noise levels and the need for increased air space closures. A meeting was scheduled for April 16, but was canceled due to a Zoom outage. A new date has not been announced. Just how much of an increase in launches is SpaceX considering?

SpaceX is proposing 120 launches from Launch Complex 40 alone, which is up from the previously allowed 50 per year in 2020. The company had already exceeded that number, launching a whopping 62 Falcon 9 rockets from the pad last year − just shy of a modification made last year to allow for 70 launches from SLC-40. (4/23)

SpaceX Successfully Launches 4th South Korean Spy Satellite (Source: Yonhap)
South Korea successfully launched its fourth homegrown military spy satellite from a U.S. space base in Florida, the defense ministry said Tuesday, in efforts to strengthen its independent surveillance capabilities on North Korea. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the spy satellite, lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport as planned and placed the satellite into orbit 15 minutes later, according to the ministry. (4/22)

Amazon Project Kuiper Space Internet Struggles to Catch Elon Musk’s Starlink (Source: Bloomberg)
Amazon’s internet-from-space venture is struggling to ramp up production, jeopardizing its ability to meet a government deadline to have more than 1,600 satellites in orbit by next summer. Project Kuiper has completed just a few dozen satellites so far, more than a year into its manufacturing program. The slow pace, combined with rocket launch delays, means the company will probably have to seek an extension from the FCC, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss confidential matters. (4/23)

SAIC to Integrate SDA Constellation (Source: Space News)
SAIC will serve as the program integrator for the Space Development Agency's satellite constellation. The five-year, $55 million contract announced Tuesday positions SAIC to lead system engineering and integration support for Tranche 3 of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), a constellation designed to enhance the U.S. military's ability to detect and counter missile threats. SDA created the program integrator role to ensure better compatibility among satellites and cohesion across the network, both in space and on the ground. The move came after challenges in testing and operating satellites from different manufacturers in previous tranches. (4/23)

Northwood Space Raises $30 Million for Phased-Array Ground Stations (Source: Space News)
Northwood Space has raised $30 million to develop a network of ground stations with phased-array antennas. Alpine Space Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz led the Series A investment round Northwood announced Tuesday, with participation from several other investors. The company is deploying a network of ground stations, with the goal of two sites per month, using phased-array antennas it is producing. The company demonstrated its technology last fall by linking a prototype antenna to a Planet earth observation satellite. (4/23)

Iridium Seeks to Mitigate US Tariffs (Source: Space News)
Iridium is taking steps to mitigate the effects of US tariffs on its business. The company, which has imported most of its satellite communications equipment from Thailand, will expand a third-party European logistics partnership that will handle nearly all non-U.S. shipments of that hardware. Without that change, the company estimates it would have to pay between $3 million and $7 million in tariffs to import that equipment. Iridium said about a quarter of its customers are in the United States. (4/23)

Astra Wants to Support Rocket Cargo Delivery for DoD (Source: Space News)
Astra wants to position its Rocket 4 launch vehicle as a system for rapid delivery of cargo. The company intends to leverage its contract with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to demonstrate point-to-point delivery of up to 600 kilograms of cargo using Rocket 4, a launch vehicle it is developing. Astra is one of several companies DIU selected last year for the Novel Responsive Space Delivery project, which aims to prototype commercial solutions for precise point-to-point delivery of supplies from orbit via specialized reentry vehicles.

DIU confirmed that arrangement includes both a suborbital launch and an orbital launch, possibly from outside the United States. Astra, which neared bankruptcy last year before closing a deal to go private, said it is working toward a first test launch of Rocket 4 no earlier than the first quarter of 2026. (4/23)

Atmos Space Cargo Achieves Reentry After Bandwagon Launch (Source: Space News)
Atmos Space Cargo said the first flight of its Phoenix reentry vehicle was largely a success, although with limited data about the reentry itself. Phoenix was one of the payloads on the SpaceX Bandwagon-3 rideshare mission that launched Monday, with the spacecraft reentering about two hours after launch. Atmos said Tuesday that the spacecraft collected data as planned while in space, including operating four payloads for customers.

A change in the Bandwagon-3 trajectory made just five weeks before the launch, at the request of the primary payload, meant that reentry took place over the Atlantic Ocean rather than in the Indian Ocean as planned. This complicated the company's efforts to collect data from reentry. Atmos said that the spacecraft's inflatable heat shield did appear to deploy, but the company is still analyzing the data from the mission. (4/23)

Bangladesh to Get Starlink Next Month (Source: United News of Bangladesh)
SpaceX is set to begin Starlink services in Bangladesh next month. Muhammad Yunus, who is chief adviser, or interim head of government of Bangladesh, met with a SpaceX executive Wednesday to discuss a "technical rollout" of Starlink services in the country starting in May. Those plans are pending resolution of a few unspecified issues, a government spokesperson said. (4/23)