July 17, 2025

France Aims for Space Race’s Upper Crust with Baguette One Rocket (Source: The Times)
Some space project names have their foundations in mythology and astrology, some in legend and folklore. Others are more straightforward, a simple description of the mission — see the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. However, it did not take a rocket scientist to guess that the French would do things differently in the space race.

Blasting off at some point next year, joining SpaceX’s Falcon and Starship, China’s Long March and Britain’s Orbex rocket, will be the effort backed by President Macron: Baguette One. The small reusable launcher is being developed by HyPrSpace, a start-up based in the Bordeaux area in the southwest promising a cheap, environmentally friendly satellite transportation service. (7/17)

NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Aircraft Begins Taxi Tests (Source: NASA)
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft has officially begun taxi tests, marking the first time this one-of-a-kind experimental aircraft has moved under its own power. NASA test pilot Nils Larson and the X-59 team, made up of NASA and contractor Lockheed Martin personnel, completed the aircraft’s first low-speed taxi test at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, on July 10, 2025. The taxiing represents the X-59’s last series of ground tests before first flight. (7/17)

Rocket for Mars Sample Return Passes Static Fire Test (Source: ExtremeTech)
Northrop Grumman successfully tested a rocket designed for the Mars Sample Return mission, confirming the viability of a new propellant. The propellant, previously used in Northrop's STAR motors, demonstrated its suitability for the harsh environments of space and planetary launches. The rocket is part of the Mars Ascent Propulsion System, a collaborative effort with NASA and the European Space Agency. (7/14)

Airbus to Develop Advanced PAZ-2 Radar Satellites for Spanish Defense and Civil Operations (Source: Space Daily)
Airbus Defense and Space has secured a contract from Hisdesat to develop and manufacture two next-generation PAZ-2 radar satellites for the Spanish Ministry of Defense. The project aims to ensure continuity of service following the original PAZ satellite, operational since 2018, while significantly enhancing national space capabilities. The PAZ-2 system will deliver major technological upgrades over its predecessor, offering sub-25 centimeter resolution and expanded daily coverage of up to 6.7 million square kilometers per satellite. (7/14)

ICEYE Satellite Data Accelerates Flood Relief in Southern Brazil (Source: Space Daily)
ICEYE has provided critical satellite-based flood mapping and intelligence to assist the government of Rio Grande do Sul in its rapid humanitarian response to widespread flooding in June. Leveraging its Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology, ICEYE delivered high-resolution imagery capable of penetrating cloud cover, alongside its Flood Solutions service, which combines near real-time observations with analytical insights. This enabled the government to assess both the extent and depth of flooding with speed and precision. (7/14)

Spire Unveils Analytics to Assess Aircraft Weather Exposure (Source: Space Daily)
Spire Global has introduced Aircraft Exposure Analytics, a new aviation-focused tool that calculates aircraft-specific exposure to adverse weather by integrating flight trajectory data with global weather alerts. The solution merges Spire's global multi-source ADS-B flight tracking data-sourced from both ground and satellite-with Significant Meteorological Information (SIGMET) alerts. This combination allows the platform to pinpoint exactly when and where an aircraft has encountered conditions such as turbulence, icing, thunderstorms, tropical cyclones, or volcanic ash. (7/14)

ISS National Lab Accelerator Program Selects Six Startups (Source: CASIS)
The ISS National Laboratory, in collaboration with global investors, is pleased to announce the six innovative startups that will join the inaugural Orbital Edge Accelerator program: Kall Morris, Inc., Magma Space, Melagen Labs, Olfera, Quantum Qool, and Raptor Dynamix. These pioneering teams will receive up to $500,000 each, along with mentorship and the opportunity to launch an ISS National Lab-sponsored investigation. (7/16)

SES Plans Expansion in MEO (Source: Space News)
With its acquisition of Intelsat complete, SES plans to scale up a constellation of medium Earth orbit (MEO) communications satellites. SES completed Thursday its acquisition of Intelsat, creating an operator with about 90 GEO satellites, a third more than three of its biggest rivals — Eutelsat, Telesat and Viasat — combined. SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh said while he expects the GEO communications market to stabilize soon after years of decline, he sees a major growth opportunity in MEO, where SES already has nearly 30 O3b satellites.

SES is preparing to shift from launching one next-generation constellation at a time to building a continuously expanding fleet, envisioning “hundreds” of MEO satellites. SES plans to spend close to $700 million annually on capital expenditures over the next three years, excluding commitments to Europe’s IRIS² sovereign broadband constellation. (7/17)

Duffy Gets to Work at NASA (Source: Space News)
A week after being named NASA’s acting administrator, Sean Duffy is now starting to get to work at the agency. President Trump last week named Duffy the new acting head of the agency, a role he has in addition to serving as secretary of transportation. Neither NASA nor Duffy had said anything publicly since then, and the agency’s website continued to list Janet Petro as acting administrator, raising questions about who was in charge.

A NASA spokesperson said late Wednesday that Duffy is working as acting administrator and would address the agency’s workforce by video on Friday. Testifying before the House Transportation Committee on Wednesday, Duffy said it was just “my first full day at NASA” even though he spent much of it at the hearing. He added that leading NASA “is not going to impact my ability to do the important work of the DOT.” (7/17)

Part Time NASA Administrator Update (Source: NASA Watch)
Apparently Janet Petro did not ‘Embrace The Challenge’ hard enough when it came to getting people at NASA to quit – thus leading to her replacement – even thought the NASA website says she is still in charge. At least that is what senior NASA leadership tells me. Interim (i.e part time) NASA Administrator (and also Secretary of Transportation) Sean Duffy is a 100% Administration loyalist so he can be expected to carry out (or delegate) whatever actions the White House tells NASA to do – without question.

Since Duffy already has a day job, this means that NASA Chief of Staff Brian Hughes is the de facto Administrator. As such NASA is a managerial subsidiary of DOT for the time being. There are plans for Secretary-Administrator Duffy and NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Casey Swails to make some sort of fireside chat video on Friday that will be available to all NASA employees. As such you can expect the budget cutting and personnel deletion to continue at Warp 9. (7/16)

Space Force Issues Guidelines for Accessing Range Services and Spaceport Infrastructure (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force released new guidelines for how it will allocate finite launch infrastructure and range resources as commercial demand surges. In a policy document Wednesday, the Space Force reaffirmed its support of the commercial industry to help maintain U.S. space access and industrial capacity but cautioned that government resources are finite and will be prioritized so that national security concerns take priority. A surge in commercial launch activity at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg has strained resources and infrastructure capacity at those launch sites. (7/17)

Lyles Worried About Trump Upending Advisory Groups (Source: Space News)
A longtime adviser on space issues says he is concerned about changes to advisory committees by the Trump administration. Retired Air Force Gen. Lester Lyles said efforts by the administration to suspend or terminate advisory committees, or make sweeping changes to their memberships, was “very worrisome.” He said that the roles of advisory committees are often misunderstood, and such committees can play a critical role now with widespread layoffs or retirements at agencies. Lyles has chaired the NASA Advisory Council for several years as well as the National Space Council’s advisory group. He said the future of both in the current administration was uncertain. (7/17)

Solestial Wins $1.2 Million Space Force Contract for Solar Array Development (Source: Space News)
Solar energy startup Solestial won a $1.2 million Space Force contract to develop novel arrays for small satellites. The company said Wednesday it won a SpaceWERX award to optimize silicon solar cells and power modules for speedy integration and assembly. The project will culminate in Solestial manufacturing one kilowatt of solar cells and modules in two weeks, followed by a two-week sprint to assemble and integrate the solar array. (7/17)

Bratton Nominated to Space Force Post (Source: Breaking Defense)
The White House has nominated a new vice chief of the Space Force. The administration announced Wednesday that it was nominating Lt. Gen. Shawn Bratton to be the next vice chief of space operations. Bratton, the deputy chief of space operations for strategy, plans, programs and requirements, would replace Gen. Michael Guetlein, selected to lead the Golden Dome missile defense initiative. (7/17)

DoD Space Policy Nominee Advocated Merger of NRO and SSC (Source: Air & Space Forces)
The nominee to lead space policy in the Defense Department has advocated for combining the National Reconnaissance Office with the Space Force’s Space Systems Command. Mark Berkowitz, nominated to be assistant secretary of defense for space policy, coauthored a paper included in a new book that recommended combining the two organizations. Doing so, co-author Chris Williams said at an event this week, would create a single, more agile organization that could result in improved acquisition and create “more integrated mission architectures.” An alternative would be to keep NRO and SSC separate but colocate them at NRO’s Virginia headquarters. (7/17)

Intuitive Machines to Expand at Houston Spaceport (Source: KHOU)
Intuitive Machines plans to expand its Houston headquarters. The company said Wednesday that it will add a spacecraft development and production space, along with a warehouse and storage facility, to its current 105,000-square-foot headquarters at Spaceport Houston, on the grounds of Ellington Airport. The $12 million project was approved this week by the Houston City Council, which oversees Ellington, with construction set to start later this summer. Intuitive Machines is best known for developing lunar landers and is also working on a lunar terrain vehicle and spacecraft projects. (7/17)

South Korea Adds Lunar and Mars Goals to Roadmap (Source: ChosunBiz)
South Korea has added a lunar base and a Mars lander to its long-term space exploration plans. The Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA), the country’s space agency, unveiled an updated version of its space exploration roadmap Thursday, calling for development of a lunar lander by 2040 and an “economic base” on the moon by 2045. The plan also includes a Mars orbiter mission by 2035 and Mars lander by 2045. (7/17)

Martian Meteorite Fetches $5.3 Million at Auction (Source: Washington Post)
A large Martian meteorite was auctioned off at a slightly higher price than expected. Sotheby’s had projected a 25-kilogram rock, the largest Martian meteorite found to date, would sell for between $2 million and $4 million at auction. The winning bid was $5.3 million, including fees, after what the auction house called a “dramatic 15-minute bidding battle.” Sotheby’s did not disclose the identity of the winning bidder. (7/17)

NASA Sees Key Progress on Starlab Commercial Space Station (Source: NASA)
As NASA continues its transition toward a commercial low Earth orbit marketplace, an agency-supported commercial space station, Starlab, recently completed five development and design milestones. Starlab’s planned design consists of a service module and a habitat that will be launched to orbit on a single flight. The milestones, part of a NASA Space Act Agreement awarded in 2021, focused on reviews of Starlab’s preliminary design and safety, as well as spacecraft mockup and procurement plans. Each milestone provides NASA insight into the company’s development progress. (7/17)

Astronomers Discover a Cosmic 'Fossil' at the Edge of Our Solar System. Is This Bad News for 'Planet 9'? (Source: Space.com)
Astronomers have discovered a massive new solar system body located beyond the orbit of Pluto. The weird elongated orbit of the object suggests that if "Planet Nine" exists, it is much further from the sun than thought, or it has been ejected from our planetary system altogether. The strange orbit of the object, designated 2023 KQ14 and nicknamed "Ammonite," classifies it as a "sednoid."

Sednoids are bodies beyond the orbit of the ice giant Neptune, characterized by a highly eccentric orbit and a distant closest approach to the sun. The closest distance that 2023 KQ14 ever comes to our star is equivalent to 71 times the distance between Earth and the sun. The sednoid is estimated to be between 136 and 236 miles (220 and 380 kilometers) wide. That makes it 45 times wider than the height of Mount Everest. (7/16)

Air Force Claims $10.4B in DOGE Savings, Most From Cutting Consultants and Contractors (Source: Air & Space Forces)
The Department of the Air Force is claiming more than $10 billion in savings as part of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Air Force Secretary Troy Meink. The department did not provide a full breakdown of the savings, but the bulk appear to be derived from cancelling contracts or planned contract pools for consultants and cutting civilian jobs. (7/16)

Is Connecticut One of the Top States for Jobs in Aerospace? (Source: CT Mirror)
Yes.  Connecticut ranks sixth in the nation for aerospace and defense jobs, employing over 113,000 people in 2023. That’s more than states like Georgia and New York. Connecticut ranks even higher in economic impact: the state generated $63.8 billion in industry revenue — the fifth highest in the country — and contributed more than $25 billion to the U.S. economy through aerospace alone.

Connecticut brought in nearly $2 billion in state and local tax revenue from aerospace activity, ranking third nationwide, behind only California and Arizona. So while larger states like Texas, Washington and California may lead in total employment, few states achieve as much economic return per job. With aerospace manufacturers Pratt & Whitney and Sikorsky headquartered in East Hartford and Stratford, respectively, Connecticut is positioned to remain a top state for the industry. (7/16)