May 23, 2025

Mystery Project to Invest $247 Million, Create 1000 Jobs at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Florida Today)
An undisclosed aerospace company wants to invest $247 million establishing a major development near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, creating about 1,000 jobs "at industry average wages," a Space Florida memo shows. This mystery company is identified as the secretive Project Beep in Space Florida agenda materials, and only scant details have been publicly released.

Project Beep would establish aerospace manufacturing, research and development, warehousing and administrative facilities on 25 acres at the multi-tenant Exploration Park on the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. Project Beep would involve a 30-year land lease with Space Florida. The authority's board of directors will discuss the large-scale economic development proposal during a 1 p.m. teleconference on May 28.

In scale of magnitude, Brevard County's fast-growing aerospace-aviation sector nearly doubled in employment from 2017 (7,847 workers) to 2023 (14,828 workers), Economic Development Commission of Florida' Space Coast records show. Project Beep stands to add about 1,000 employees to that sum. (5/22)

Cape Canaveral to Study Rocket Launch Noise, Vibration Ahead of Starship (Source: Florida Today)
With rocket launches on the rise, Cape Canaveral condominium resident Lilian Myers worries that window-clattering liftoffs may already be inflicting structural damages to her fourth-floor condo and surrounding 35-unit building. Looking ahead, SpaceX seeks to increase annual Falcon 9 rocket launches from 50 to 120 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station alone. And soon, SpaceX will bring massive Starship rockets and Super Heavy boosters — the most powerful rocket system in history — to Florida's Space Coast.

A single Starship launch generates the noise equivalent of at least 10 Falcon 9 launches, a Brigham Young University research team determined after analyzing the colossal rocket's fifth Texas test flight last October. “The years have gone by, and the window-rattling has gotten to be worse — and a crack in my ceiling has appeared. And a crack that goes all the way from the base of our building to the fifth story, that was recently repaired," Myers told the Cape Canaveral City Council last month.

In a proactive move, the Cape Canaveral City Council unanimously approved an upcoming $10,019 rocket launch impact study with the Florida Institute of Technology. Researchers will install sensor suites this summer at a handful of municipal and privately owned buildings across the 1.9-square-mile city, collecting data on decibel levels, vibrations and air quality before, during and after every launch through at least May 2026. (5/21)

'The Chinese Have Really Caught Up': Why NASA is in Race to Land Astronauts on the Moon (Source: Florida Today)
NASA, with the urging of many politicians, has been racing to get astronauts back to the moon — before the Chinese land taikonauts on the lunar surface. But what’s the rush to return to a place the United States has already been and left 53 years ago? Especially when Mars looms as an enticing option for interplanetary travel.

Space experts say there’s plenty of reasons for the urgency: national pride and national security. But also returning to the moon and building habitats would mean long term dominance in space and ensure access to resources that NASA didn’t know where there when the Apollo missions flew. Now with the Chinese making significant progress in human space exploration, the clock is ticking. (5/23)

Isaacman Nomination Hearing Coming in Early June (Source: Space News)
The Senate is set to vote on Jared Isaacman's nomination to be NASA administrator in early June. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) filed cloture on Isaacman’s nomination Thursday, a procedural move that sets up a vote in early June after a break next week for the Memorial Day holiday. Since the Senate Commerce Committee advanced the nomination at the end of April, Isaacman has continued to meet with senators not on the committee amid concerns about proposed major budget cuts to NASA in 2026. (5/23)

The Pentagon Seems to be Fed Up with ULA’s Rocket Delays (Source: Ars Technica)
A Space Force official says the service is dissatisfied with ULA's work on the Vulcan Centaur rocket. In written testimony earlier this month, Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, who is serving as acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition, said that ULA has "performed unsatisfactorily" on Vulcan, citing a slow transition to the new rocket that has delayed national security launches. He added that while the Space Force has certified Vulcan, "open work" remains on the vehicle before its first national security launch, scheduled for no earlier than July. Those comments, in his written testimony, did not come up during the hearing last week by a subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. (5/23)

Chinese Astronauts Perform TSS Spacewalk (Source: Xinhua)
Two Chinese astronauts performed a spacewalk outside the Tiangong space station Thursday. Astronauts Chen Dong and Chen Zhongrui spent about eight hours outside the station, installing a debris protection device and inspecting equipment. The spacewalk was the first by the current Tiangong crew since they arrived at the station on the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft last month. (5/23)

Emirati Rover to Land on Moon with Next Firefly Lander (Source: Firefly Aerospace)
An Emirati rover will go to the moon on the next Firefly Aerospace lander mission. Firefly said Thursday it signed an agreement with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) to fly its Rashid 2 rover on the company's Blue Ghost 2 lander. That spacecraft is set to launch next year, landing on the far side of the moon. The small rover will collect data on lunar dust and the plasma environment. MBRSC's first Rashid rover was lost in the crash of the ispace HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lander in 2023. (5/23)

Indian Satellite's Misplaced Orbit to Limit Service to 3 Hours Per Day (Source: Times of India)
An Indian navigation satellite stranded in a transfer orbit will only be able to provide limited services. The NVS-02 satellite was launched in January, but a problem with the satellite's liquid apogee motor meant it could not raise its orbit to the geostationary belt as planned. Indian officials said that, in its current geostationary transfer orbit that goes between 190 and 37,000 kilometers, NVS-02 will only be able to provide services for two to three hours per day. (5/23)

PPE and the Cost of Forgetting (Source: Space Curmudgeon)
How NASA lost the plot on public-private partnerships—and may leave its billion-dollar spacecraft with nowhere to go. The Gateway's Power and Propulsion Element (PPE)—born from the ashes of the Asteroid Redirect Mission—was being pitched as a “commercial” contract. McAlister, then still at NASA, was never consulted. When he reviewed the strategy, he was alarmed. The mission had no competition, no commercial market, and requirements still in flux. “This will make a fixed-price contract essentially a cost-plus contract,” he warned in a white paper. He was ignored. Click here. (5/21)

NASA is Killing the Goose That Laid the Golden Egg (Source: Phil McCalister)
Rather than expand on this success and incorporate more commercial practices and partnerships into future acquisitions, NASA turned away from most of the practices that made COTS and CCP so successful.  Ironically, it is now the Department of Defense that is leading the way with tapping into commercial space company capabilities and nurturing those businesses while NASA is destroying them.  Not deliberately, but through lack of understanding, lack of will power, and unwillingness to change.

Even NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, perhaps the signature NASA “commercial” program since COTS and CCP, has been hampered by putting too much risk on the private sector while simultaneously incorporating too much NASA control over the development.

NASA chose firm-fixed-price contracts for CLPS even though the initiative’s operational conditions were not suitable for the optimal use of these contracts. Optimal conditions include well-defined requirements, a stable market, low financial and technical risks, and experienced contractors. Click here. (5/19)

New Frontiers of Southeast Asian Space Diplomacy (Source: ASPI)
Southeast Asian countries were formerly peripheral to debates on space governance. They had nascent space programs and modest capabilities, and their policy interests focused largely on civilian applications. But this is changing. Growing reliance on space-based infrastructure for national development, disaster resilience and connectivity has pushed countries to take a more proactive role in shaping the global space agenda.

The April 2025 session of the United Nations Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) on the prevention of an arms race in outer space marked a turning point—one in which Southeast Asian voices were heard more clearly than ever. While Southeast Asia is not formal bloc in space diplomacy, a shared regional voice is emerging. Click here. (5/22)

Meloni Puts Space Strategy at Italy PMO’s Core (Source: Decode 39)
On 2 April, a seven-page, nine-article decree signed by Under-Secretary Alfredo Mantovano established a “single point of contact for the resilience of critical entities” under the Italian Prime Minister’s Office (Palazzo Chigi). The decree places all critical-space resilience policies within the Prime Minister’s Office, under Meloni’s military advisor, Franco Federici. (5/20)

The Pursuit of Better Drugs Through Orbital Space Crystals (Source: The Verge)
Sierra Space is nearly ready to launch its reusable space plane, Dream Chaser. It’s set to carry into orbit a 3-D printed module designed by engineers at pharma giant Merck. If the test goes well, and if Dream Chaser’s gentle reentry process keeps that sensitive cargo safe, this could be the start of something big — despite those crystals being microscopic.

According to the ISS National Lab, crystals grown in space are simply better: “Scientists hypothesize that these observed benefits result from a slower, more uniform movement of molecules into a crystalline lattice in microgravity.” Research into monoclonal antibodies points towards crystallization as being key for developing more stable, subcutaneous delivery mechanisms. Theoretically, expensive chemotherapy sessions could be replaced by injections that a patient could self-administer at home. (5/21)

FAA Grants Final Approval for Next Starship Launch/Landing at Texas Site (Source: Space News)
The FAA announced May 22 that it approved the return to flight for Starship, after earlier withholding go-ahead until it either closed the March mishap investigation or made a “return to flight” determination. The FAA took the latter route in providing its final approval. “The FAA ... determined that the company has satisfactorily addressed the causes of the mishap, and therefore, the Starship vehicle can return to flight,” the FAA stated. It did not identify the causes of the mishap or actions SpaceX has taken to address them.

The FAA’s approval for the upcoming Flight 9 was the same approach it used for Flight 8, concluding the launch did not pose a safety risk and thus allowing it to proceed even though the mishap investigation into the previous launch was not yet closed. One change for Flight 9, as the FAA noted in its updated license determination last week, is an expansion of aircraft hazard areas, or AHAs, which are airspace closures intended to prevent any debris from a launch failure from hitting an aircraft.

An environmental review concluded that the AHAs should be expanded as the failures on the previous two launches meant there was an increased probability of failure than previously estimated.The AHA for Flight 9 extends east from Starbase for about 1,600 nautical miles past the Straits of Florida, compared to 885 nautical miles for Flight 8. SpaceX intends to reuse a previously launched Super Heavy booster rocket for the first time. (5/22)

Rocket Lab Schedules Next Launch in Series of Multiple Missions for BlackSky (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab announced the launch window for its next mission for real-time space-based intelligence company BlackSky. The mission, named ‘Full Stream Ahead, will launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand during a launch window that opens on May 28. The mission will launch the next of BlackSky’s Gen-3 satellites to a mid-inclination circular 470km orbit. (5/22)

Scientists Find Rare Double-Star System Where One Star Orbited Inside the Other (Source: Space.com)
These stars in this pair are currently only about 700,000 miles (1.12 million kilometers) apart, or about 50 times closer than Mercury is to the sun, study co-author Jin-Lan Han, chair of the radio astronomy division of the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, told Space.com. They complete an orbit around each other in just 3.6 hours. (5/22)

Reagan's StarWars Redux: Golden Dome is Hugely Expensive and Doomed to Failure (Source: SPACErePORT)
The Golden Dome is an ambitious but unrealistic attempt to create a technological shield against missile attacks. Just as Reagan's original StarWars missile shield plan was never fully realized due to its scientific and practical limitations, the current efforts rely on unproven or exaggerated capabilities, with a heavy dependence on advanced yet fallible technology.

Golden Dome requires vast sums of taxpayer money with little guarantee of success. Its critics say that adversaries can easily develop countermeasures that would render the system ineffective. Golden Dome is driven more by political theater and defense industry lobbying than by sound military strategy. Investing in such a flawed system not only drains resources from more effective security measures but also creates a false sense of invulnerability. Golden Dome is a modern echo of Reagan’s StarWars—fiscally irresponsible, strategically dubious, and doomed to fail. (5/23)

Dawn Aerospace Begins Sales of Aurora Suborbital Spaceplane (Source: Space News)
Dawn Aerospace announced May 22 that it has started taking orders for an uncrewed spaceplane capable of taking small payloads on suborbital flights. The New Zealand company said it is beginning sales of the Aurora spaceplane, a vehicle capable of carrying six kilograms of payload to an altitude of 100 kilometers. First deliveries of the vehicle are projected in 2027. (5/22)

Pentagon Boosts Budget for Palantir’s AI Software in Major Expansion of Project Maven (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon is dramatically increasing spending on artificial intelligence for military operations, raising the contract ceiling for Palantir Technologies’ Maven Smart System to nearly $1.3 billion through 2029. DoD announced May 21 it is upping the spending limit for software licenses under Maven by $795 million, compared to a ceiling of $480 million just a year ago. The new funding is specifically for U.S. combatant commands, which oversee military operations across geographic regions. (5/22)

SpaceWERX Selects Cambrian Works for a $1.25M Phase II Contract (Source: Space News)
Cambrian Works announces it has been selected by SpaceWERX for a SBIR Phase II in the amount of $1,249,906.00 focused on Tactical Space Payload for Inertial De-spin Efficient Effects. Cambrian Works provides real-time, resilient, multi-orbit, self-healing mesh networking solutions that expand the terrestrial Internet, network data flow visualizations and management across constellations and multi-orbit regimes, and revolutionary technologies for in-space attachment that enhance space manufacturing capabilities and in-space servicing missions. (5/6)

Economic Benefit From Space Command Won’t be Immediate, Huntsville Leaders Say (Source: AL.com)
It could take up to five years before Huntsville will fully benefit economically from U.S. Space Command should the headquarters be moved here, according to city officials. Should the headquarters be moved to the Rocket City as members of Alabama’s congressional delegation expect, the city is prepared, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and City Urban and Economic Director Shane Davis told the City Council on Thursday night. (5/22)

Possible Dwarf Planet Discovered at Solar System's Edge (Source: Phys.org)
A small team led by Sihao Cheng, Martin A. and Helen Chooljian Member in the Institute for Advanced Study's School of Natural Sciences, has discovered an extraordinary trans-Neptunian object (TNO), named 2017 OF201, at the edge of our solar system. The TNO is potentially large enough to qualify as a dwarf planet, the same category as the much more well-known Pluto. (5/22)

ESA Seeks Funding for ‘Security and Resilience’ Satellite Program (Source: Space News)
he European Space Agency will request funding from member states for an Earth observation satellite system for security applications, blurring the line between the agency’s traditional civil focus and new defense work. “I’ve been asked to build up a system that allows a much better intelligence of the situation around the world in the sense of observing what’s happening any place in the world within very short periods of time,” Josef Aschbacher said. (5/22)

Boeing Completes TPS Application to Artemis III Rocket (Source: Boeing)
Technicians at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility have applied the Thermal Protection System foam to the Artemis III core stage, marking a crucial step in preparing for the lunar mission. This foam gives the rocket its distinctive orange color and insulates it against extreme launch temperatures. (5/22)

A Rare Planet May Orbit brown Dwarf Pair at Right Angles (Source: Space Daily)
A newly identified planetary system, labeled 2M1510, may be home to one of the most unusual planetary orbits ever observed. A candidate planet appears to loop above and below the poles of a pair of brown dwarfs-celestial bodies too massive to be planets yet too light to ignite like stars. These two brown dwarfs orbit each other closely, while a third brown dwarf circles them at a much greater distance.

Most known planetary systems, including our own, share a common trait: planets orbit in a relatively flat, disk-like alignment around their parent star's equator. This alignment also tends to match the star's rotation, forming what astronomers call a coplanar configuration. However, 2M1510 b, a potential circumbinary planet, may defy this norm entirely. If its existence is confirmed, its orbit would be almost perfectly perpendicular to the orbital plane of the two central brown dwarfs-an orientation known as a polar orbit. (5/22)

Why Small Satellites Fail More Often Than Expected (Source: Space Daily)
Small satellites face a failure rate nearing 40% over the past two decades, according to NASA. While some of these failures stem from launch errors or hardware flaws, a growing portion is tied to software issues, incomplete systems integration, or unstable communication protocols once in orbit. These failures often prevent satellites from achieving mission objectives and reflect deeper issues in how smallsats are tested and validated before launch. (5/22)