April 25, 2025

Fear, Greed and Glory with Lori Garver (Source: Space News)
Garver reflects on the continuity and changes in NASA’s approach, highlighting enduring issues such as the politically driven support for the Space Launch System (SLS) and the broader implications of increased partisanship. Garver also critiques the sustainability of current lunar missions and expresses concern about potential budget cuts, particularly in space and Earth sciences, as NASA shifts focus toward Mars exploration and commercial low Earth orbit (LEO) initiatives. Click here. (4/24)

Head of FAA’s Commercial Space Office Is Taking Buyout Offer (Source: Bloomberg)
The head of the Federal Aviation Administration office that approves launches for SpaceX, Blue Origin and other commercial space companies is taking a buyout offer and leaving the regulator. Kelvin Coleman has been the associate administrator of the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation since September 2022 and had previously served as the deputy associate administrator since 2017. He’s considered a leader in the space industry and was the keynote speaker at a major space conference earlier this year. It’s unclear when he’s leaving and who will fill his role at the agency. (4/24)

Hidden and Hampered: Elevating the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (Source: Space News)
In recognition of the growing domestic commercial space economy, the administration should elevate the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) out of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Office of Space Commerce (OSC) out of NOAA. Both offices must report directly to the Office of the Secretary and be given the high-level attention and “seat at the table” needed for an industry so critical to our national and economic security.

Both agencies — AST and OSC — are responsible for promoting and regulating commercial space operations. And both space agencies are hidden within much larger organizations with their own important — but very different — missions. While I’m a space industry advocate and can argue with anyone about the importance of space, I am going to lose that fight every day when comparing space in our daily lives to the importance of accurate weather forecasting and safe air travel. Burying commercial space within other organizations makes it hard for our industry to gain the executive branch’s attention without there being a national disaster in space. This must change. (4/24)

Sierra Space Advances Space Station Technology With Hypervelocity Impact Testing at NASA White Sands (Source: Sierra Space)
Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company and defense tech prime that is building a platform in space to benefit and protect life on Earth, announced today that it recently conducted successful hypervelocity impact trials at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico, to optimize the structural integrity of Sierra Space’s Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) habitat. The goal of this NASA-supported testing was to refine a shield for the company’s expandable, flexible space station structure to make it capable of withstanding impacts from hazards on orbit. (4/24)

Texas Lawmakers Call For NASA Headquarters Relocation To Houston (Source: Aviation Week)
Texas lawmakers are urging President Trump to shift NASA’s Washington, D.C., headquarters to the agency’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) here. The calls echo similar pleas from the governors of Florida, home to Kennedy Space Center; and Ohio, home to Glenn Research Center. (4/24)

Uplift Aerospace and Utah State University Sign Research MOU to Study Human Adaptation in Spaceflight (Source: FoxNews Now)
In a pioneering step toward advancing human performance in space, Uplift Aerospace has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Utah State University (USU) to conduct groundbreaking research on vestibular habituation in preparation for spaceflight. The study aims to investigate how the human vestibular system-critical for balance and spatial orientation - can become better adapted to microgravity to improve astronaut performance and reduce space motion sickness. (4/24)

Isaacman: NASA Cuts Not Optimal (Source: Space News)
The nominee to be NASA's administrator said proposed cuts of up to 50% in science would not be "optimal." In responses to questions for the record from members of the Senate Commerce Committee, posted online Thursday, Jared Isaacman said he was not involved in discussions about the White House's fiscal year 2026 budget proposal. That plan reportedly includes a cut of nearly 50% in NASA science, which Isaacman said "does not appear to be an optimal outcome."

In particular, he expressed support for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which would be canceled in the proposal. Isaacman said that if budgets were limited, he would prioritize Artemis over human missions to Mars, reiterating his support for major elements of Artemis like SLS and Orion. He also downplayed his connection to Elon Musk, saying the two were not close and calling "1000% false" a report in March that stated Musk called Issacman after the election to offer him the NASA administrator job. (4/25)

NASA Closes New York Office at Columbia University (Source: Space News)
NASA is terminating a lease for an office in New York that works on climate research. The Goddard Space Flight Center said Thursday that its lease for offices for the Goddard Institute for Space Sciences (GISS) in a Columbia University building would be terminated at the end of May. GISS itself will remain open, working remotely as NASA works to find alternative office space.

NASA did not disclose the reason for the lease termination other than it was linked to ongoing reviews by the current administration of all government leases. GISS has been in New York since its founding in 1961, and at its current building since the late 1960s under a lease that currently costs NASA $3 million a year. The institute, part of Goddard's Earth science division, is noted for its work on climate modeling. (4/25)

Chinese Astronauts Arrive at TSS (Source: Space News)
Three Chinese astronauts arrived at the Tiangong space station Thursday. The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft docked with Tiangong at around 11:49 a.m. Eastern, six and a half hours after its launch. The spacecraft carried commander Chen Dong and crewmates Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, who will soon take over control of Tiangong in the coming days from the incumbent Shenzhou-19 crew. The six-month-long Shenzhou-20 mission will include extravehicular activities, science and application experiments, outreach activities and more. It will also receive the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft. (4/25)

China Picks 10 International Payloads for Lunar Lander (Source: Space News)
China has selected 10 international payloads that will fly on a robotic lunar lander mission later this decade. The China National Space Administration officially announced the selection Thursday of cooperation projects for the Chang'e-8 mission, scheduled to launch in 2028 or 2029, choosing 10 projects from 11 different countries, regions and one international organization. The payloads include multi-functional robots, rovers, instruments for astronomy and analyzing particles, imagers and a laser retroreflector. Chang'e-8 will target a landing on a plateau near Mons Mouton, also known as Leibnitz Beta, near the lunar south pole. (4/25)

Institutional Fragmentation, Regulatory Hurdles Threaten US Space Leadership (Source: Space News)
A new report warns institutional fragmentation and regulatory hurdles threaten U.S. leadership in space as it competes with China. The State of the Space Industrial Base 2024 report, released this week by the nonprofit NewSpace Nexus in collaboration with Defense Department organizations, concludes that a lack of national direction is eroding America's long-term position in space.

It contrasted "institutional incoherence" with rapid advances by China in various space-related fields. Multiple U.S. departments are independently publishing space strategies, but without an overarching plan or a lead authority to ensure implementation, their efforts are often duplicative or misaligned, the study noted. The report calls for "integrated campaign planning" and the appointment of a lead agency or official to manage national efforts. (4/25)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Satellites at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites Thursday night. A Falcon 9 lifted off at 9:52 p.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral, placing 28 Starlink satellites into orbit. The booster for the mission completed its 23rd flight with a droneship landing. (4/25)

Germany's OroraTech Developing Wildfire-Tracking Constellation (Source: Space News)
OroraTech, a German company developing a satellite constellation to track wildfires, opened a U.S. office. The company opened its U.S. headquarters in Denver on Thursday as it works to win new business from U.S. emergency services, utility providers and government agencies. It announced Larimer County, Colorado, was one of its first customers for a program that gives fire agencies an affordable way to try its services, including hands-on training. Leveraging a proprietary network of 10 heat-tracking cubesats in low Earth orbit, along with public data from more than 30 satellites in LEO and geostationary orbit, OroraTech says its services can significantly improve response capabilities once a fire breaks out. (4/25)

NSF Chief Resigns (Source: Science)
The head of the National Science Foundation resigned Thursday. Sethuraman Panchanathan stepped down as NSF director 16 months before the end of his six-year term. He did not give a reason for the abrupt departure other than stating that he felt "I have done all I can to advance the mission of the agency." Panchanathan's departure comes as the NSF is facing a potential 55% cut to its budget and layoffs of half its staff. (4/25)

Google Gains Big With Suspected SpaceX Share Sale (Source: Bloomberg)
Google's parent company saw its profit spike reportedly due to SpaceX. Alphabet reported $8 billion in "unrealized gains" in the first quarter of 2025, which the company said was from an investment in an unidentified private company. Google and Fidelity took a 10% stake in SpaceX in 2015 for $1 billion and sources said Google recently sold at least some of those shares late last year as SpaceX's valuation reached $350 billion. (4/25)

Dragonfly Mission Passes NASA Review (Source: NASA)
NASA's Dragonfly mission to Titan has passed a key review. NASA said Thursday that Dragonfly completed its critical design review, allowing the mission to move ahead into assembly of the spacecraft. Dragonfly is scheduled to launch in July 2028, arriving at Saturn's largest moon in 2034. The nuclear-powered rotorcraft will fly to several locations on the surface of Titan to look for prebiotic chemical processes and complex organic compounds that could be the building blocks of life. (4/25)

DOGE Says $33 Billion in Grants Canceled. What Can Grantees Do? (Source: FNN)
The Department of Government Efficiency says it’s cancelled $33 billion in grants. And more are likely to come. Typically when there’s a grant termination, it 'claws back' the funding that hasn’t yet been obligated by the recipient. The way individual awards are structured differs in how they’re paid out. When a grant is terminated, there are two different avenues for relief.

There is a contractual avenue, which would typically begin with a process that is similar to the contract disputes process where you submit a claim to the grants officer and object to the termination. And there may be additional agency appeal rights from an administrative perspective that would ultimately end up at the Court of Federal Claims as a contract dispute. The other avenue is under the Administrative Procedure Act, challenging that the action in terminating the award was an abuse of discretion — arbitrary and capricious — and that’s brought in district court. (4/23)

Melting Planet Laid a Trail of Destruction Over 5 Million Miles Long (Source: Science Alert)
Astronomers have discovered one of the least habitable planets ever. This tiny world is being melted by its host star, leaving a comet-like tail that stretches millions of kilometers behind it. The hellish landscape of BD+05 4868 Ab hosts liquid rock. These magma oceans are boiling right off the surface into space, condensing into a rocky tail. "The extent of the tail is gargantuan, stretching up to 9 million kilometers long, or roughly half of the planet's entire orbit," says Marc Hon, astrophysicist at MIT's Kavli Institute. (4/23)

NASA Image Unveils One of the World’s Rarest Geologic Wonders Hidden in Boston Harbor (Source: Daily Galaxy)
NASA’s image of Boston Harbor, showcasing its remarkable drumlin islands, has captivated both scientists and nature enthusiasts. The photograph reveals a rare geological formation that few people are aware of. They were formed over 20,000 years ago by glaciers during the Wisconsin Glaciation.

As the glaciers began to retreat, they left behind piles of sediment and debris that formed these distinctive drumlins. Today, these islands are considered one of the most unique geological features on Earth, with only two other known drumlin fields found worldwide. (4/24)

A Vast Molecular Cloud, Long Invisible, Discovered Near the Solar System (Source: Queen Mary University)
An international team uncovers a vast, previously unseen molecular cloud ("Eos") near our solar system using innovative far-UV techniques. This first-time detection of a molecular cloud via far-ultraviolet light opens new avenues for exploring the molecular universe. Located just 300 light-years away, Eos offers a unique opportunity to study star formation processes up close. (4/24)

The Role of Private Companies in Apollo (Source: Space 3.0)
An often-overlooked aspect of the Apollo Program was the industrial and technical contributions made by private industry to get those Apollo astronauts into space, onto the lunar surface, and then safely back home. And it took lots of know-how and money to get them there. Apollo11space.com has put together a nice summary of some of these initiatives. Click here. (4/23)

ISS National Lab Opportunity Aims To Help Address STEM Talent Shortage (Source: CASIS)
The ISS National Laboratory is soliciting proposals to leverage the orbiting outpost for education programs and training for space-focused careers. This ISS National Lab Research Announcement (NLRA) is open to U.S.-based institutions (academic, commercial, government, or not-for-profit) with a vested interest in workforce development and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The solicitation has up to $350,000 in total funding available, with the expectation to award up to three projects. (4/23)