August 15, 2025

Space Media Pioneer Jim Lewis Featured on Barrett and Baxa (Source; Barrett and Baxa)
Award-winning producer Jim Lewis, founder of Communications Concepts, Inc. in Cape Canaveral, has spent nearly five decades capturing the space program from Apollo to SpaceX. In this episode, Steve Barrett talks with Jim about the evolution of space media, his early break in TV production, and his work on projects ranging from One Giant Leap to America’s Animal Astronaut Heroes. Click here. (8/15)

TRAPPIST 1d Maybe Not Earth-Like (Source: Space.com)
A potentially Earth-like exoplanet turns out not to be much like the Earth. The planet, TRAPPIST-1d, is one of several orbiting the red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 in its habitable zone, where liquid water could exist on its surface. Data from the James Webb Space Telescope, though, found no evidence for water, methane or carbon dioxide in any atmosphere the planet has. Scientists said that while there is no evidence of an atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1d, it may be possible that other planets, more distant from the star, could be habitable. (8/15)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Mission From Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX launched a set of Starlink satellites Thursday morning. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 8:29 a.m. Eastern, placing 28 Starlink satellites into orbit. The booster landed on a droneship to complete its 10th flight. (8/15)

California Coastal Commission Rejects SpaceX Launch Increase (Source: Noozhawk)
A California commission has, as expected, voted to block an increase in SpaceX launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The California Coastal Commission voted unanimously to oppose a proposal to increase the number of Falcon 9 launches from 50 to 95 per year, plus five Falcon Heavy launches annually. Members said they opposed the increase because of a lack of data on environmental impacts. They acknowledged, though, that their opposition is unlikely to block the increase because the military can override it, as it did last year when the commission opposed an increase to 50 launches. [Noozhawk]

China Conducts Static-Fire Test of Long-March 10 (Source: Space News)
China has performed the first static-fire test of the Long March 10 rocket. A shortened first stage test article with seven YF-100K ignited at 3 a.m. Eastern Friday from a pad at the Wenchang spaceport. The test lasted about 30 seconds. The China Manned Space Engineering Office suggested additional tests may follow. The successful test is a key step in the development of the Long March 10, a three-core, three-stage launcher designed for China’s crewed lunar landing program. A single-core version, Long March 10A, could start launching as soon as next year. (8/15)

SpaceX Slams Virginia for Favoring Fiber Broadband for BEAD Funding (Source: Space News)
SpaceX says it is being shut out of a program in Virginia to provide rural broadband services. Virginia picked SpaceX’s Starlink for around 4% of the roughly 127,000 locations under consideration for subsidized installations under BEAD, or Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment, despite Trump administration efforts to give satellites equal footing with fiber. The company claims it was unfairly denied the ability to serve more users, noting that 95% of BEAD locations in the state already have a Starlink subscriber within one mile. Amazon’s proposed Project Kuiper LEO constellation, still in early phases of deployment, is in line for $4.5 million of the subsidies for 6,957 locations, more than the $3.3 million SpaceX would get for 5,579 sites. (8/15)

SpaceX Applies "Losses" to Reduce or Eliminate Tax Payments (Source: New York Times)
Despite rapidly growing revenues, SpaceX is paying little or no taxes. An analysis of internal company documents found that SpaceX has nearly $3 billion in losses in previous years that can be applied against taxes it owes in future years, known as a net operating loss carryforward. SpaceX has told investors that “more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized,” meaning that the company thinks it may never need to pay federal taxes. Financial analysts say the size of that carryforward is unusually large, particularly for a company that does large amounts of business with the government. The documents show that nearly 84% of the company’s revenue in 2020 came from federal contracts. (8/15)

Space Force Taking Control of Air National Guard Space Missions (Source: Space News)
The Space Force will assume control of all space missions currently handled by Air National Guard units by Oct. 1. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink ordered the shift in a recent memo, directing that space missions handled by Guard units shift to the Space Force. About 578 Guard positions are affected. The move undercuts proposals to create a Space National Guard. Instead, the Space Force is rolling out a single-component personnel model combining both full-time and part-time service. (8/15)

Sidus Space Reports Financial Loss for Quarter (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025, and provided a business update. Highlights include: Revenue: $1.3 million, up 36% compared to $928,000 in Q2 2024; Cost of Revenue: $2.3 million, up 29% from Q2 2024 due to increased satellite and software depreciation and an increase of material and labor costs; Gross Profit (Loss): $(1.0) million, compared to $(841,000) loss in Q2 2024; Adjusted EBITDA: Loss of $3.9 million (non-GAAP), compared to a $3.2 million loss in Q2 2024; Net Loss: $5.6 million, versus $4.1 million in Q2 2024; Cash Position: $3.6 million as of June 30, 2025, versus $1.4 million a year earlier. (8/14)

1,000 FAA-Licensed Commercial Space Operations (Source: FAA)
This week, the FAA reached the historic milestone of  1,000 FAA-licensed commercial space operations. It’s taken more than 35 years to reach this number, and it’s only expected to take five years for 1,000 more operations. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford explains the importance of this milestone.

“The FAA is dedicated to providing safe, efficient, and timely access to space, helping ensure the U.S. remains the global leader in space transportation, innovation, and safety,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “This milestone wouldn’t be possible without our dedicated commercial space team, whose work makes every launch and reentry possible. At this pace, we’ll reach the next 1,000 missions in less than five years.” (8/15)

Chinese Launch Startup Landspace Suffers Zhuque-2 Failure (Source: Space News)
A Chinese commercial Zhuque-2 rocket failed to reach orbit in a launch Thursday. The Zhuque-2E methane-liquid oxygen rocket, built by Landspace, lifted off at around 9:17 p.m. Eastern from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Video of the launch showed a white plume coming from the vehicle less than two minutes after liftoff. Landspace confirmed the loss of the mission more than eight hours after liftoff but did not disclose details about the failure. Landspace did not identify the payloads on board. The launch was the sixth launch of the Zhuque-2 series and ended a run of four successful flights after the failure of its inaugural launch in late 2022. (8/15)

China's Landspace Going Public (Source: Space News)
Landspace is among the Chinese launch companies proposing to go public. Landspace filed preliminary documents with the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s tech-focused STAR Market in late y, potentially eyeing an IPO in early 2026. Separately, CAS Space has completed IPO counseling with regulators, a first step towards going public on the STAR Market. CAS Space flies solid rockets and is developing its first reusable liquid propellant rockets, as well as working on suborbital rockets for science payloads and space tourism. The company reported $34 million in revenue but $105 million in losses in 2024, with an additional $43 million in losses in the first half of 2025. (8/15)

FAA Disbands COMSTAC Space Advisory Group (Source: Space News)
The FAA has dismissed the entire membership of a commercial space advisory group. Members of the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) received letters this week informing them that their membership on the committee had been terminated. The letters did not explain why the members were being removed from COMSTAC. A Department of Transportation spokesperson said it was part of a broader effort by the department to “reconstitute” membership of its advisory boards, including COMSTAC. The committee, with more than 20 members, last met in September 2024, discussing regulatory and other issues related to commercial space transportation. (8/15)

Ignoring Congress, NASA Leadership Forced to Follow President's Budget Request (Source: NASA Watch)
If there is no FY 2026 budget by 30 Sep, a CR will be in place until there is. Yet major decisions are already being implemented per the devastating President’s FY 2026 Budget Request (PBR). So ignore official statements from NASA to the contrary. Even if a budget is approved, the actions taken by NASA may be hard or impossible to reverse. NASA HQ simply does not care what Congress thinks. Senior management across NASA has been told to “implement the PBR to the letter” on October 1. (8/14)