May 6, 2025

ULA and Amazon Playing Catchup (Source: Space Review)
Last week, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V launched the first operational batch of Project Kuiper satellites for Amazon. Jeff Foust reports that both companies are playing from behind as they work to introduce new vehicles and satellite networks, both competing against SpaceX. Click here. (5/6)
 
Some Doubts About Jared Isaacman (Source: Space Review)
Jared Isaacman’s nomination to be NASA administrator cleared the Senate Commerce Committee last week, putting him one step away from being confirmed by the full Senate. A.J. Mackenzie argues that, while his confirmation is likely secure, there are questions about just how effective an administrator he can be. Click here. (5/6)

Texas Leaders, Residents React to Incorporation of SpaceX's Starbase (Source: Houston Chronicle)
212 people voted in favor of turning the home of Elon Musk's SpaceX into a city, as opposed to 6 folks who went against it. A swath of South Texas near Brownsville and inside the Boca Chica area is now known as Starbase, Texas. Starbase is now a Type-C municipality, a designation reserved for cities with between 201 and 4,999 residents and less than 2 square miles of territory. Bobby Pedden, a SpaceX employee, will be its first mayor.

"Starbase, Texas—a new city in Texas. The new front door to the next frontier," wrote Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on X. Then there were critics, including Christopher Basladu of the South Texas Environmental Network. Talking to KVEO in Brownsville, Basladu called state officials "cowards" and "weaklings" for letting the vote take place. "They'd rather get paid under the table, anything that SpaceX wants to give them, just so they can have an excuse to give SpaceX what they want," Basladu told KVEO. (5/4)

Stratolaunch Flies Reusable Hypersonic Vehicle (Source: Space News)
Stratolaunch announced Monday it completed the first flights of its reusable hypersonic vehicle. The company said its Talon A2 vehicle performed two flights, one in December 2024 and the other in March, exceeding speeds of Mach 5. Talon was launched from the company's giant Roc aircraft, landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The flights were conducted under the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) program, a DoD initiative aimed at accelerating hypersonic weapons development by tapping into commercially available testing platforms. Stratolaunch said Talon-A2 is the first U.S. reusable hypersonic test vehicle since the X-15, which last flew in 1968. (5/6)

Criticism Over Trump's Proposed NASA Cuts (Sources: Space News, Fox News)
The White House's proposal to cut NASA's budget by nearly 25% is facing strong criticism and international concern. Several Democratic members of Congress have spoken out against the proposed budget, released Friday, saying it puts American leadership in space at risk. Industry groups have also criticized the proposal, noting its plans to cancel several major exploration programs and make sharp cuts to space science and technology.

On Monday, Josef Aschbacher, head of the European Space Agency, said ESA will evaluate "potential actions and alternative scenarios for impacted ESA programs and related European industry" caused by the budget, which would cancel joint NASA-ESA programs such as Orion, Gateway and Mars Sample Return. The Canadian Space Agency said it, too, was reviewing the implications of the budget proposal given its role on Gateway. However, one NASA official defended the cuts, saying the reductions "counterintuitively represent an opportunity to truly innovate in how we conduct our space missions." (5/6)

Eutelsat Shares Rise with CEO Change (Source: Space News)
The stock market reacted favorably to Eutelsat's move to change CEOs. Shares in the French satellite operator closed up 13% Monday, the day the company announced it hired telecom executive Jean-François Fallacher as its new CEO, effective June 1. Fallacher will be charged with raising money for a new generation of OneWeb satellites as well as Eutelsat's stake in the IRIS² constellation. Fallacher succeeds Eva Berneke, who said in a social media post Monday that the change is part of Eutelsat's efforts "to adjust our governance and shareholder structure" and keeping the company "strongly aligned with the telecom connectivity ecosystem." (5/6)

Space Force Skepticism About Satellite Refueling (Source: Space News)
Space Force officials remain skeptical about the benefits of satellite refueling. Lt. Gen. Shawn Bratton, the Space Force’s deputy chief of operations for strategy, plans, programs and requirements, said at a conference last week that he did not see a "clear military advantage" for in-space refueling of satellites, echoing comments he first made more than a year ago. The debate reflects uncertainty about whether in-space refueling services offer better value than simply replacing fuel-depleted satellites. Bratton noted that while refueling extends the life of satellites, in many cases those satellites would be retired anyway because of other issues. (5/6)

India Plans Uncrewed Gaganyaan Capsule Flight (Source: CNBC)
India is targeting the fourth quarter of this year for the first uncrewed flight of its Gaganyaan spacecraft. ISRO Chairman V Narayanan said Tuesday that two more uncrewed flights would follow in 2026 before Gaganyaan carries astronauts for the first time in early 2027. The Gaganyaan program has suffered significant delays. Its first crewed flight was originally planned for 2022, while its budget has more than doubled. (5/6)

Gilmour Space Plans First Australian Launch NET May 15 (Sources: Space Connect)
Gilmour Space is planning its first launch next week. The Australian launch vehicle startup said the inaugural launch of its Eris rocket from Queensland is now scheduled for no earlier than May 15. The launch was previously scheduled for March but postponed after a tropical cyclone hit Queensland. (5/6)

Rocket Lab Plans May 17 Launch for Japan's iQPS (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab announced Monday its next Electron launch from New Zealand is currently scheduled for May 17 and will carry a radar imaging satellite for Japanese company iQPS. That mission will be the 64th for Electron. (5/6)

UAE's Leap 71 Aims to 3D Print Rocket Engines (Source: The National)
A company in Dubai claims it can 3D print very large rocket engines. Leap 71 says it uses AI technologies, along with metal 3D printing, to produce rocket engines. The company has focused on small engines for in-space applications but says it can be scaled up to engines with thrust levels of as high as 2,000 kilonewtons (450,000 pounds-force). The company acknowledges it does not currently have the ability to test engines that large, and it is unclear where the demand for such large engines would come from. (5/6)

SpaceX Sought FBI Investigation Into Suspected Rocket Sabotage in 2016 (Source: Ars Technica)
Nearly a decade ago, SpaceX pursued a claim that a sniper caused the loss of a Falcon 9 further than previously known. A Falcon 9 upper stage exploded during a ground test in 2016, destroying the rocket and its payload. The company for a time suggested that a sniper, on the roof of a nearby building belonging to ULA, could have shot the upper stage. According to an FAA letter recently released by a FOIA request, SpaceX asked the to FBI look into the claim, a fact not previously reported. The FBI found no evidence to support the sniper theory; an investigation later traced the explosion to composite overwrapped pressure vessels inside the second stage. (5/6)

Northrop to Build US, UK Ground Stations for Space Force (Source: SatNews)
Northrop Grumman has secured a $244 million US Space Force to develop relay ground stations in the US and UK to support the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared program. The initiative aims to enhance missile warning and tracking capabilities. (5/5)

BYU Rocketry Club Reaches New Heights with Historic Launch, Recovery of Hybrid Rocket (Source: KSL.com)
The BYU Rocketry Club is soaring to new horizons after the first successful launch and recovery of a hybrid motor rocket — a first for the state. Each year, the club members build rockets to compete against other colleges, and the club has seen major success in the commercial, solid fuel motor category, winning in 2023 and placing second in 2024.

The 11-member capstone team built a 25-foot launch rail that can be taken apart and reassembled on site, a fluid system to fuel the rocket, and a trailer to transport and sustain the equipment during a launch. (5/5)

Artemis 2 Moon Rocket gets 2nd Stage Even as Trump Tries to Scrap Space Launch System (Source: Space.com)
The giant Space Launch System (SLS) rocket continues to grow inside the NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Technicians at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Florida, stacked the rocket's second stage onto the launch vehicle Thursday (May 1). The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) is responsible for carrying the Orion spacecraft and crew the rest of the way into orbit around the Earth, and then sending them on their way to the moon.

This SLS rocket will launch the Artemis 2 mission, with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The quartet are flying the second installment of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to establish a permanent presence on the moon as a technology springboard to one day send humans to Mars. (5/5)

SpaceX Alum Tapped as Interior CIO (Source: NextGov)
About a month after the department moved to dismiss several top executives at the Interior Department following their objections to giving the Department of Government Efficiency access to a federal personnel and payroll system, the Interior Department has tapped a SpaceX alum, Paul McInerny, to lead the department’s technology. The new chief information officer worked at SpaceX for several years, most recently as a senior manager for software automation tools, a role he left in 2020 to work at a lawn care startup. McInerny has never worked in the government before. (5/5)

ESA Director General Reaction to a Reduced Budget Proposal for NASA (Source: ESA)
NASA has briefed ESA about the Budget Request, and while some questions still remain about the full repercussions, follow-up meetings are already taking place with NASA. ESA remains open to cooperation with NASA on the programs earmarked for a reduction or termination but is nevertheless assessing the impact with our Member States in preparation for ESA’s June Council.

At ESA’s June Council, based on further developments, there will be an assessment with our Member States of potential actions and alternative scenarios for impacted ESA programs and related European industry. Later in the year, ESA will hold its Council at Ministerial level and is determined to raise Europe's potential in space – for the ultimate benefit of Europe, ESA’s Member States and their citizens. (5/5)

'Super-Earths' May Be Surprisingly Common, Scientists Reveal (Source: Science Alert)
Earth-like exoplanets might be more common throughout the Milky Way than previously believed, astronomers report in a new study. The researchers discovered an unusual super-Earth orbiting its star at a Jupiter-like distance, an orbital range for which only the frequency of larger planets – gas giants and ice giants – has been determined so far. In addition to finding this seemingly quirky world, the authors combined their discovery with a larger sample of exoplanet data from a microlensing survey. Their findings indicate this planet might not be quite so quirky after all. (5/5)

Telecoms Veteran to Lead Eutelsat Amid Europe’s Sovereign Broadband Push (Source: Space News)
Eutelsat shares closed up nearly 13% May 5 after the French operator said it would replace its CEO with Jean-François Fallacher, a telecoms veteran joining from a key partner in Europe’s planned sovereign broadband constellation. Fallacher, currently head of French telecoms giant Orange’s domestic operations, will succeed Eva Berneke June 1 at a pivotal moment for the multi-orbit IRIS² project, Europe’s answer to SpaceX’s U.S.-based Starlink broadband network in low Earth orbit (LEO). (5/5)