May 13, 2025

Budget Cuts and the Fraying of International Partnerships (Source: Space Review)
The top-level federal budget proposal for fiscal year 2026, released earlier this month, included major cuts to NASA and the cancellation of several major programs. Jeff Foust reports the biggest fallout from the proposal might be to cause international partners to rethink their plans to cooperate. Click here. (5/13)
 
Russian and Chinese Development of Radiofrequency Directed-Energy Weapons (RF DEW) for Counterspace (Source: Space Review)
Concerns about Chinese and Russian work on ASATs has largely revolved around kinetic weapons or spacecraft that can grapple other satellites. Markos Trichas and Matthew Mowthorpe discuss how that overlooks work on directed energy weapons that appears to be making progress. Click here. (5/13)
 
Why We Are So Scared of Space, and How This Fear Can Drive Conspiracy Theories (Source: Space Review)
Space can be dangerous, posing threats to us like asteroid impacts. Tony Milligan describes how those fears can feed conspiracy theories. Click here. (5/13)

DIU Adds 12 Vendors to Hybrid Space Architecture (Source: Space News)
The Defense Innovation Unit has added more than a dozen companies to a project to develop a commercial-military satellite network. The project, Hybrid Space Architecture (HSA), brings together Earth-imaging satellite operators, broadband providers and companies specializing in cybersecurity, cloud computing, and quantum encryption with the goal of creating a secure infrastructure for delivering satellite data to military users.

Vendors are being asked to build and demonstrate ways to gather, transmit and process data securely across the globe and deliver it to military units. HSA started in 2022 with eight companies. New vendors include Viasat and Capella Space. (5/12)

Golden Dome Project Intensifies Spectrum Access Debate (Source: Defense One)
The Pentagon's Golden Dome missile defense initiative has intensified a longstanding conflict with the telecommunications industry over spectrum access, specifically frequencies around 3 GHz. The project relies on these frequencies for radar, which telecom companies also need for 5G and 6G expansion. Lawmakers are divided on spectrum auctions, balancing national security with potential revenue. (5/12)

What a German Start-Up's First Test Could Mean for the Space Industry (Source: ID TechEx)
On April 22, SpaceX's Bandwagon-3 rideshare mission took off from Florida. Alongside the other payloads there was a capsule from a German space start-up - Phoenix 1. This was the inaugural payload of ATMOS Space GmbH, and the first orbital test of its inflatable aerodynamic decelerator (IAD).

The Phoenix 1 test resulted in a splashdown over 2,000km off the coast of South America, so recovery was not an option. Nevertheless, ATMOS announced that it had successfully recorded all critical mission and payload data. It is unclear what state the Phoenix 1 heatshield was in upon impact with the ocean, but ATMOS claims that its approach is to "rapidly iterate and update", with plans already in place for a Phoenix 2 with a propulsion system for trajectory control.

At a time when demand for space travel (for microgravity research, in-orbit manufacturing, satellites, and defense applications) is booming, IADs may soon offer an alternative to established tile and ablative TPS. There are still many hurdles to be overcome, but it is realistic to expect that by the end of the decade, some commercial missions will be operated with IADs. (5/12)

X-Bow Plans to Expand Solid Rocket Motor Production in Texas (Source: Space News)
Solid rocket motor manufacturer X-Bow Systems has raised money from, and signed an agreement with, Lockheed Martin. X-Bow said Monday it raised $35 million from Lockheed to complete a $105 million Series B round. The company, which specializes in solid rocket propulsion and small launch vehicles, plans to use the capital to expand production and complete construction of a new "energetics campus" outside Austin, Texas, for producing motors and propellants using additive manufacturing.

In addition to the funding, the companies signed a strategic agreement that could lead to X-Bow becoming a supplier of motors to Lockheed. The agreement marks a deepening interest by Lockheed in securing alternative sources for solid rocket motors after a bid to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne was blocked by regulators in 2022. (5/13)

Auria and Sphinx Win Space Force Contracts for Prototype Systems (Source: Space News)
Two companies won Space Force contracts to develop prototype cloud-based marketplaces for ground station services. Auria Space and Sphinx Defense, both based in Colorado Springs, will develop competing versions of what the Space Force calls a "joint antenna marketplace" under contracts with a combined value of $17.6 million. The joint antenna marketplace would function as a digital clearinghouse where satellite operations centers could dynamically schedule communication sessions with antennas based on availability, bandwidth and mission needs. That system would take advantage of underutilized commercial ground systems while reducing demand on overloaded military systems. (5/13)

Foreign Companies Face Tariffs for SpaceX Launches (Source: Space News)
Foreign companies planning to launch on SpaceX rockets are facing new challenges from tariffs. One Canadian company, Galaxia, said it had to pay a 25% duty on a satellite it planned to launch on SpaceX's Transport-14 mission later this year, which led the company to consider alternative launch options before deciding to stick with its current plan. Exolaunch, which is providing launch services for Galaxia and others on Transporter-14, said it is working with its customers to take advantage of a "duty drawback" program that allows the companies to reclaim up to 99% of the duty for items that are re-exported, such as through a launch. Before the Trump administration's latest tariffs, satellites had been exempted from duties.

Editor's Note: Foreign Trade Zone 136 encompasses the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and nearby satellite processing facilities, allowing foreign satellites to avoid "import" taxes to the US before they are "exported" to space. The article refers to a payload imported to California prior to launch; presumably Vandenberg is not served by a foreign trade zone. Click here. (5/13) 

Redwire Pursues European Opportunities (Source: Space News)
Redwire said it is seeing new opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic despite geopolitical challenges. Company executives in an earnings call Monday highlighted recent contract awards in Europe, including one with Thales Alenia Space to provide docking mechanisms for a lunar Gateway module Thales is building for ESA. Redwire downplayed the proposal by NASA to cancel Gateway, going as far to suggest that Europe might find alternative ways to pursue a program like Gateway if the current program is canceled. In the U.S., Redwire said it is pursuing various opportunities to work on the Golden Dome missile defense system. (5/13)

China Launches Classified Satellite (Source: Space News)
China launched the latest in a series of classified geostationary orbit satellites Monday. A Long March 3C lifted off at 2:09 p.m. Eastern from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center and placed into a geosynchronous transfer orbit the Tongxin Jishu Shiyan-19 (TJS-19) satellite. The satellite appears related to the TJS-15, 16 and 17 satellites launched in March and April, but Chinese officials said only that the satellite will be used for "multi-band, high-speed satellite communication technology verification." (5/13)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Missions From California and Florida (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX performed another Starlink launch doubleheader overnight. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 9:15 p.m. Eastern Monday, placing 26 Starlink satellites into orbit. Another Falcon 9 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:02 a.m. Eastern Tuesday, putting 28 Starlink satellites into orbit. The Florida launch featured the 28th flight of the B1067 booster, a new reuse record for the company. (5/13)

Recon Satellite Systems Improve Imaging Coordination (Source: Space News)
Earth observation satellites are working with each other to coordinate imaging. In spite of daunting technical challenges, such coordination, known as tipping and cueing, is now becoming more common and more seamless. That is due in part to the proliferation of satellite sensors as well as artificial intelligence that helps automate the task of sharing the geographic location of an interesting site or the trajectory of a moving vehicle or vessel. In one example, optical imagery revealed an object near a dry dock covered in netting; follow-up observations using synthetic aperture radar revealed that that object to be a submarine. Companies have also used radio-frequency data to identify a vessel that has turned off its tracking system, turning that location over to other satellites to image it. (5/13)

FCC to Investigate EchoStar Spectrum Use (Source: Wall Street Journal)
The FCC says it plans to investigate if EchoStar is using its terrestrial and satellite spectrum. A letter from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to Charlie Ergen, EchoStar's chairman, questioned if the company was fulfilling obligations for building out a terrestrial 5G network under the Boost brand. The letter also said it would seek public comment on use of mobile satellite services spectrum currently held by EchoStar. SpaceX, in a recent letter to the commission, claimed it analyzed that spectrum using one of its satellites and concluded EchoStar's utilization of it was "de minimis at best," a claim EchoStar has rejected. (5/13)

Space Command Advances Counterspace (Source: Breaking Defense)
U.S. Space Command has been gradually getting more authority to perform counterspace operations. Current and former military officials said that Space Command has been getting more control over the use of anti-satellite capabilities, which traditionally had been under the control of the president or secretary of defense. That has focused on temporary, reversible actions like jamming and lazing, rather than an attack to destroy a satellite. However, there is widespread agreement that counterspace operations will eventually move more into the mainstream of military activities. (5/13)

POGO: The 63-Year-Old Problem Threatening Starship's Success (Source: CSI Starbase)
Here's an investigation into the POGO phenomenon which is responsible for the destruction of Starship 2.0 on two most recent test flights. What is causing this issue? Why was it not able to be detected during pre-flight testing. What can we learn from historical examples of NASA's experience with POGO over the past 63 years? And what is the most likely path that SpaceX will take to Suppress POGO Oscillations being generated by the Raptor Engines? Click here. (5/10)

Space Video Vault (Source: Space 3.0)
Here's a great 1960s General Motors Video on Moon Vehicle Design. In this 7 minute video, GM discusses the problems of and research into vehicles to roam the Moon. You’ll see some precursors to LRV, Lunokhod, and Mars Rovers, and another rather um…“quaint” concept as well. Click here. (5/10)

ESA's Plato Nears Final Camera Installation for Exoplanet Hunt (Source: Space Daily)
The assembly of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Plato mission is making significant strides, with 24 of the 26 planned cameras now integrated into the spacecraft. Once operational in space, Plato will utilize this extensive array of cameras to survey a vast portion of the sky in its search for terrestrial planets, aiming to uncover potentially habitable worlds. (5/12)

New UK Initiative to Revolutionize Solar Atmosphere Modelling (Source: Space Daily)
A new GBP 5 million, five-year research initiative aims to tackle some of the most fundamental questions in solar physics, with a focus on the complex and dynamic processes occurring within the Sun's atmosphere. The Solar Atmospheric Modelling Suite (SAMS) project, funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council's (STFC) new Large Award scheme, seeks to develop a next-generation modelling tool capable of simulating the Sun's atmosphere from the photosphere to the corona, capturing the intricate interactions that drive solar activity. (5/12)

Europe and India Expand Human Spaceflight Collaboration (Source: Space Daily)
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) have taken a significant step in human space exploration by signing a joint Statement of Intent focused on collaboration in low Earth orbit and future lunar missions. This agreement builds upon existing partnerships and recent joint work on missions like the Axiom 4 commercial mission, laying the groundwork for future cooperative efforts.

The newly signed statement emphasizes the development of interoperable rendezvous and docking systems, a critical step toward ensuring their respective spacecraft can function together in low Earth orbit. The agencies also plan to explore astronaut training, analogue space missions - which involve ground-based simulations to replicate aspects of spaceflight - and parabolic flight activities, providing comprehensive preparation for future human missions. (5/12)

Scientists Find Hint of Hidden Liquid Water Ocean Deep Below Mars' Surface (Source: Live Science)
There might be a hidden ocean's worth of liquid water below the surface of Mars, seismic evidence suggests. According to new research, recordings of seismic waves from deep within the Red Planet indicate that a layer of liquid water may be lurking in the Martian rocks between 3.4 and 5 miles below the surface. The total volume of hidden water could flood the whole of Mars' surface with an ocean 1,700 to 2,560 feet deep, around the same volume of liquid that is contained within Antarctica's ice sheet, the study authors estimated. (5/12)

Space Law Doesn’t Protect Historical Sites, Mining Operations and Bases on the Moon (Source: The Conversation)
Outer space – including the Moon – from a legal perspective, is a unique domain without direct terrestrial equivalent. It is not, like the high seas, the “common heritage of humankind,” nor is it an area, like Antarctica, where commercial mining is prohibited.

Instead, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty – signed by more than 115 nations, including China, Russia and the United States – establishes that the exploration and use of space are the “province of all humankind.” That means no country may claim territory in outer space, and all have the right to access all areas of the Moon and other celestial bodies freely.

The fact that, pursuant to Article II of the treaty, a country cannot claim territory in outer space, known as the nonappropriation principle, suggests to some that property ownership in space is forbidden. Can this be true? If your grandchildren move to Mars, will they never own a home? How can a company protect its investment in a lunar mine if it must be freely accessible by all? What happens, as it inevitably will, when two rovers race to a particular area on the lunar surface known to host valuable water ice? Does the winner take all? Click here. (5/12)

Hybrid Space Comms Network Leverages Commercial Technology, Enabling Faster Decision-Making on the Battlefield (Source: DIU)
The U.S. military requires accelerated integration of commercial space technologies to stay ahead of rapidly evolving threats. In order to provide secure, resilient, and agile communications for military operations, the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU’s) Hybrid Space Architecture (HSA) project aims to integrate civil, commercial and military space assets into one integrated architecture to provide the warfighter with asymmetric awareness and improved decision making at the edge.

The HSA network has the potential to increase network resilience by employing multi-path routing of communications to optimize data transport and mitigate adverse effects caused by weather or other obstructions.  HSA seeks to integrate commercial persistent sensing, data fusion, high-performance edge compute, and resilient data transport capabilities to significantly enhance real-time access to information. (5/12)

Will the Sun Eventually End Life on Earth? (Source: Times of India)
A major study by scientists from NASA and Japan’s Toho University has revealed a harsh truth about Earth’s distant future. Using advanced supercomputers, researchers have shown that while our planet is full of life today, it won’t stay that way forever. It won’t be a sudden disaster that ends it all, but slow and steady changes caused by the Sun. The purpose of the study isn’t to create fear, but it does give us a serious reminder of how natural forces, over time, will take away the conditions that make life on Earth possible. (5/12)