The South Texas county that’s home to Elon Musk’s SpaceX said the new city of Starbase — not the county — is duty-bound to deliver water to the area’s residents. For decades, Cameron County trucked in non-potable water to about 40 properties along the state highway between Brownsville and Boca Chica Beach. The desolate stretch where the $400 billion company and its Starship program are headquartered doesn’t have running water.
Water deliveries were cut off without notice early this month. Since then, company-hired trucks have kept the tanks topped off but the goodwill is fading. Last week, a Starbase leader asked the county to restart water deliveries, saying the abrupt cutoff posed “safety and public health risks.” The county responded that the responsibility belongs to Starbase because it’s in a better position to supply water to its neighbors. (7/28)
Navy Set to Unplug Critical Hurricane Satellites this Week (Source: Eye on the Tropics)
The U.S. Navy will permanently cut its stream of data from three weather satellites essential to hurricane forecasters this Thursday, with the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season just weeks away. The Navy earlier said it would be shut off at the end of June. After swift pushback from other government agencies, including from NASA’s Earth Science Division Director, for what amounted to a no-notice announcement, the Navy postponed the decommission date until the end of July.
Navy officials say they are restricting data access to these three juggernaut weather satellites – some in operation since 2005 – to mitigate a significant cybersecurity risk to the their High-Performance Computing environment. Update: NBC's John Morales on July 29 posted: "Just got off the phone with a NOAA spokesperson. DOD has stated that SSMIS microwave scans will be made available to NOAA through the end of the satellites’ lifespan and until the replacement instrument’s data comes online." (7/28)
How SpaceX's Rocket Diplomacy Backfired in the Bahamas (Source: Reuters)
When SpaceX was negotiating a deal with the Bahamas last year to allow its Falcon 9 rocket boosters to land within the island nation's territory, the company offered a sweetener: complimentary Starlink internet terminals for the country's defense vessels, according to people familiar with the matter. The rocket landing deal was then signed in February last year by Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, who allegedly bypassed consultation with other key government ministers.
Reuters could not determine the dollar value of the Starlink arrangement or the number of vessels outfitted with Starlink terminals. Reuters found no evidence that Cooper broke any laws or regulations in striking the deal with SpaceX, but the people said the quick approval created tension within the Bahamian government.
By this April, two months after the first and only Falcon 9 booster landed off the nation's Exuma coast, the Bahamas announced it had put the landing agreement on hold. The government said publicly it wanted a post-launch investigation after the explosion in March of a SpaceX Starship, whose mid-flight failure sent hundreds of pieces of debris washing ashore on Bahamian islands. But the suspension was the result of the blindsided officials' frustration as well, two of the people said. (7/29)
Space Traffic Coordination’s Threat of Derailment (Source: Space Review)
The Office of Space Commerce has been making steady progress on a civil space traffic management system ahead of a full release of the system early next year. Jeff Foust reports that is threatened by proposed budget cuts to the program that industry is fighting to stop. Click here. (7/29)
The Value of Space Studies Programs in Higher Education (Source: Space Review)
The growth of the space industry is putting demands on academia to find new ways to prepare studies to participate in it. Nathan Tat and Vivian Tat make the case for universities to develop interdisciplinary space studies programs as one way to do so. Click here. (7/29)
Mission Gaganyaan: Optimism and Criticism (Source: Space Review)
An Indian astronaut has just returned from a mission to the International Space Staton as a prelude to the flight of an Indian-built crewed spacecraft. Martand Jha argues that criticism of the Gaganyaan program within India is misplaced. Click here. (7/29)
Inspiring Star Trek and NASA (Source: Space Review)
There were many ties between the young space agency and the new television series Star Trek. Dwayne Day discusses a new book that explores those connections in detail. Click here. (7/29)
‘A Never-Ending Nightmare': Federal Workers Detail Mental Health Toll of Government Downsizing (Source: FNN)
Amid a wave of changes and constant fear of potential job loss as layoffs loom, many federal workers found themselves struggling with high levels of anxiety, seeking therapy and medication for the first time in their lives, experiencing chronic insomnia, depression, aggressive outbursts, isolation and even self-harming thoughts, Federal News Network found in a new online survey.
Said one respondent: “I could get RIF’d at any moment. I am forced to compete for my job with my friend and co-worker. I never thought I’d like Mondays more than Fridays. Because the RIF notices go out on Friday afternoons.”
Another said: “It’s been overwhelmingly stressful. I already have anxiety from being a veteran so adding this to my life, I mean … I wake up having panic attacks at least four times a week. It’s affecting my entire life. Which means my family. My husband is trying to help but I cannot keep dumping everything on him. We also just had our oldest daughter graduate, our youngest just finished kindergarten. My stress has affected all of us and I hate myself for this.” (7/29)
House: Commerce Dept. Should Rely on DoD for Space Traffic System Tech (Source: Space News)
House appropriators want the Office of Space Commerce to rely more on the Defense Department for its space traffic coordination system. A report accompanying an appropriations bill released last week would provide $50 million for the office, rejecting the administration’s proposal to cancel the office’s Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) project. However, the report called on the office to “prioritize the acquisition and integration of existing, government-proven technologies” from the Space Force rather than develop its own systems. The language appeared to clash with the original intent of establishing TraCSS of taking away the burden on Defense Department systems for civil space traffic coordination activities. (7/29)
NASA Pauses Puts Hold on Lunar Mission Ground Stations (Source: Space News)
NASA is pausing procurement of ground stations intended to support communications for lunar missions. NASA stated in a procurement notice Friday it was putting on hold plans to issue a request for proposals for the Lunar Exploration Ground Sites (LEGS) program, citing “the current uncertainty in our budgetary situation.” LEGS is part of NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program, whose funding would shrink by 25% in the administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal. LEGS would establish ground stations in New Mexico, South Africa and Australia to handle communications with missions on and around the moon as well as at the Earth-sun L1 and L2 Lagrange points, taking some of the load off the Deep Space Network. (7/29)
EraDrive Wins $1 Million From NASA for Space Object Tracking (Source: Space News)
EraDrive, a Stanford spinoff, won a $1 million NASA contract to detect, identify and track space objects. EraDrive will develop software and services to track satellites and orbital debris with star trackers on NASA’s Starling spacecraft swarm. It was the first contract for the Palo Alto, California, startup founded earlier this year by Stanford University’s Space Rendezvous Laboratory (SLAB) director Simone D’Amico and two others. (7/29)
Small Satellite Conference Coming to Salt Lake City Next Month (Source: Space News)
Next month’s Small Satellite Conference will be bigger than ever, but also in a new location. More than 4,000 people have registered for the conference, which moved from its longtime home at Utah State University to Salt Lake City. The move, organizers said, was necessary to accommodate the growth of the conference, and comes with benefits such as improved access to hotels and transportation and the ability to host everything in one building, rather than spread across a university campus. (7/29)
China's i-Space Launches Satellite on Hyperbola-1 Rocket (Source: Xinhua)
A Chinese commercial rocket launched a satellite early Tuesday. The Hyperbola-1 rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. It placed an undisclosed satellite into orbit on the successful launch. The launch was the first for the Hyperbola-1, also known as the SQX-1, since a failure a little more than a year ago. (7/29)
Crew-11 Pre-Launch Static-Fire Test Aborted (Source: Spaceflight Now)
A sensor issue caused the abort of a static-fire test of a Falcon 9 ahead of the Crew-11 launch. The static-fire test was auto-aborted 57 seconds before the scheduled ignition of the rocket’s first stage engines Monday afternoon. NASA and SpaceX said that an error with an indicator that gives the position of the transporter-erector’s cradle arms had triggered the abort, with the arms themselves in the proper position. SpaceX rescheduled the static-fire test for Tuesday but did not state if that would delay Thursday’s scheduled launch of Crew-11. (7/29)
Utah Considers Spaceport (Source: KUER)
A Utah committee has started work to determine if a spaceport is feasible in the state. The Spaceport Exploration Committee, established by a state law passed earlier this year, met for the first time Monday and directed the Utah Department of Transportation to begin feasibility studies of two potential spaceport locations. Committee members said such a facility could support development of the state’s space industry, but the effort faces difficulties from identifying users of an inland spaceport. (7/29)
Thales Alenia Picked to Develop GovSat Satellite (Source: Thales-Alenia)
Thales Alenia Space won an order for a military communications satellite. GovSat, a joint venture of satellite operator SES and the government of Luxembourg, announced last week it ordered the GovSat-2 satellite from Thales. The satellite, based on the Spacebus 4000B2 platform, will provide X-, Ka- and UHF- band secure communications from GEO. The announcement did not disclose a proposed launch date for GovSat-2. (7/29)
Port Canaveral Fishermen Worry About Increasing Rocket Launches, Debris (Source: Florida Today)
The fishing industry in Florida wants compensation from the space industry for disruptions caused by launches. Groups like the Southeastern Fisheries Association say that their businesses are being harmed by the increase in launches from Florida’s Space Coast, which result in maritime closures. They also claim that debris from launches damage fishing nets, although it was not clear how they determined the debris was from space activities. Fishing vessels based in Brevard County, home to Cape Canaveral, brought in 4.5 million pounds of seafood in 2022, second-most among counties on Florida’s Atlantic coast. (7/29)
Space Museum, Cape Lighthouse Proposed for Cultural/Tourism Grants (Source: Florida Today)
The Brevard County Tourist Development Council has unanimously recommended that 38 local arts, cultural and sports organizations and events receive county marketing support grants for the coming budget year. The grants for the 2025-26 budget year that begins Oct. 1 are funded by Brevard County's 5% tourist development tax on hotel rooms, vacation rentals and other short-term rentals. On the list are the US Space Walk of Fame/American Space Museum and the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse. Each would receive $12.5K grants, if approved. (7/29)
Russian Space Agency Head Visits US for First Talks with NASA Since 2018 (Source: Kyiv Independent)
Dmitry Bakanov, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, has arrived in the U.S. for the first direct talks with NASA leadership since 2018, Roscosmos announced on July 29. Bakanov will meet U.S. Transportation Secretary and acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy to discuss further operations and planned deorbiting of the ISS, as well as a cross-flight agreement between NASA and Roscosmos. NASA has yet to confirm the planned meeting. (7/29)
China Adds New Satellites to Guowang Constellation, Eyes Accelerated Launch Rate (Source: Space News)
China launched new Guowang satellites Sunday aboard a Long March 6A rocket from Taiyuan spaceport. The mission is expanding its LEO broadband network as part of a growing effort to build a sovereign space internet. (7/28)
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