Space Florida and other Space Coast organizations have been working hard to improve wastewater treatment capabilities that are impacted by increased launch operations at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The wastewater efforts have been a crucial component of a broader campaign to save the Indian River Lagoon, a natural resource that surrounds the spaceport and has been held up as an example for how launch operations can thrive within an ecologically sensitive wildlife preserve.
But now the regulations that have helped to maintain that ecological balance may be scrapped as federal agencies respond to President Trump's Aug. 13 executive order to "streamline" the regulatory oversight. The order directs the departments of Commerce, Defense, Transportation (with FAA), and NASA, to "evaluate State compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) and whether States are hindering spaceport infrastructure development under the CZMA, or otherwise placing limitations on spaceport development that are inconsistent with Federal law."
Groups like the Indian River Lagoon Roundtable hope to enlist Florida's new Lt. Governor and the Space Florida board of directors to support the lagoon's protection as the federal agencies move to implement the executive order. With the spaceport already benefiting from sustained launch industry expansion, they fear that unrestrained growth will come at expense of a major national ecological resource that also has been a driver non-aerospace economic development, ecotourism, and quality-of-life. (8/19)
Will Starship At LC-39A Shut Down Playalinda Beach Permanently? (Source: Talk of Titusville)
Best we can tell, SpaceX and NASA are not permanently closing Playalinda Beach, but proposed launch‐related safety protocols could result in lockdowns of the area for 60-85 days yearly, raising resident concerns over tourism and the local economy. That is in the EIS Draft provided by the FAA, but nowhere in that document does it say that beach access will be permanently ended. Still, effectively, the public could be shut out of Playalinda for 20-25% of the year once you figure in the inevitable weather scrubs that come with Florida launches.
That will have some effect on Titusville businesses and also its residents. How much remains to be seen. Playalinda and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge are a critical component of Titusville’s economy. Playalinda draws approximately 1.16 million of Canaveral National Seashore 2.1 million annual visitors, contributing significantly to businesses and jobs in jobs in Titusville. Visitor spending in the area totaled $62.5 million, supporting over 800 jobs and channeling an $83 million economic benefit to gateway communities like Titusville, according to numbers compiled by the National Park Service.
Local residents have been increasingly vocal about Starship, with their chief complaints being noise, sonic booms and reduced access to MINWR and Playalinda. There are numerous online chats, threads and even groups on social media. A new Change.org Petition started by Robyn Memphis lists their concerns about Playalinda’s future, namely that in Texas, where SpaceX is testing Starship, there is a smaller area of exclusion than the one being planned for LC-39A and Playalinda thereby. (8/19)
Spaceport Evolution: Rapid Changes Need Smart Planning (Source: SPACErePORT)
The Cape Canaveral Spaceport seems poised for accelerated change. The "new normal" features multiple launches per week, several new launch providers, regulatory 'streamlining', ongoing studies of alternative spaceport management approaches (featuring a national spaceport authority with NASA and the Space Force as tenants), a multi-state compact for regulatory management, tax-exempt spaceport bond financing, and relentless commercial launch demand.
Says one concerned local: "I'm reminded of the transformation that occurred when McCoy AFB became Orlando International Airport. That may seem like a stretch, but I think it could happen here, and sooner than anyone expects. Just imagine what that would look like and how it should be managed." (8/19)
Globalstar Seeks Military Business
(Source: Space News)
Satellite communications provider Globalstar is pursuing partnerships with defense contractors to establish a foothold in the military market. The company, which operates a constellation of communications satellites in low Earth orbit for voice calls and low-bandwidth data services, is working to demonstrate more advanced military applications through collaborations with defense contractor Parsons and with the U.S. Army. This represents a shift for Globalstar, which has primarily focused on commercial markets while competitor Iridium has dominated military narrowband communications over the past two decades. Globalstar CEO Paul Jacobs said in a recent interview that the defense market was now a priority for the company. (8/20)
UK Space Agency Folded Into Science Department (Source: BBC)
The U.K. Space Agency will no longer be an independent agency in a British government reshuffling. In a plan announced Wednesday, UKSA will be folded into the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology next April. It will retain its name but its budget and activities will be incorporated into the department. The government said the move is intended to save money and streamline operations, but critics say it sends the wrong signal to the country’s space sector. (8/20)
BlackSky Gets Australian Contract for Imagery of Orbiting Satellites (Source: BlackSky)
BlackSky has signed a new contract to provide non-Earth imaging of satellites. The company said Tuesday it signed a “seven-figure” contract with Australian company HEO to provide it with imagery of spacecraft. The companies say they have automated processes where HEO identifies opportunities for BlackSky satellites to take images of spacecraft of interest to HEO. (8/20)
Blue Origin Plans Uncrewed Research Flight for New Shepard (Source: Blue Origin)
The next flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital vehicle will be an uncrewed research flight. The NS-35 mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than Saturday from the company’s West Texas site. The vehicle will carry more than 40 payloads, including 24 from a NASA student competition. It will be the seventh flight of New Shepard this year and the second payload-only mission in 2025. (8/20)
Smallsat Missions Planned to Apophis Asteroid (Source: Space News)
Organizations are proposing smallsat missions to study, and even collide with, a near Earth asteroid. A team from the University of Maryland discussed TERP RAPTOR, a cubesat mission they are developing that would fly by the asteroid Apophis when it makes a close pass of Earth in April 2029. The $10 million cubesat would take closeup images of the asteroid. A separate mission proposed by the Southwest Research Institute and Advanced Space, the Apophis Cratering Experiment, would deliberately collide with the asteroid after the close approach to study cratering science and improve the understanding of “rubble pile” asteroids. (8/20)
Alaska Airlines Adds Starlink Service to Fleet (Source: Alaska Airlines)
Alaska Airlines is the latest to adopt Starlink for in-flight connectivity services. The airline announced Wednesday it will outfit its entire fleet with Starlink terminals by 2027, providing free wi-fi for members of its frequent flyer club. Alaska recently acquired Hawaiian Airlines, which was one of the first to install Starlink. (8/20)
Another Moon Found Orbiting Uranus (Source: Space.com)
Astronomers have discovered a very small moon orbiting Uranus. Astronomers said Tuesday they spotted the moon images in from the James Webb Space Telescope. The moon, provisionally designated S/2025 U1, is about 10 kilometers in diameter, and is the 29th moon known to orbit Uranus. (8/20)
Top Air Force General to Exit in Hegseth’s Latest Shake-Up of Pentagon (Source: Washington Post)
The chief of staff of the Air Force, Gen. David Allvin, will retire two years into a four-year term, officials said Monday, marking the latest early ouster of a senior military officer under President Donald Trump.
(8/9)
Orbital Data Center Launching to ISS to Advance Space Computing (Source: CASIS)
A cutting-edge orbital data center is set to launch to the International Space Station (ISS), marking an important step forward in advancing space-based computing. The project, sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory®, will test the system’s ability to provide increased data storage and real-time data processing in space—crucial capabilities for future commercial space stations.
The investigation, launching on SpaceX’s 33rd commercial resupply services mission for NASA, is a collaboration between ISS National Lab Commercial Service Provider Axiom Space and open-source software leader Red Hat. (8/19)
After Recent Tests, China Appears Likely to Beat the United States Back to the Moon (Source: Ars Technica)
In recent weeks, the secretive Chinese space program has reported some significant milestones in developing its program to land astronauts on the lunar surface by the year 2030. On August 6, the China Manned Space Agency successfully tested a high-fidelity mockup of its 26-ton "Lanyue" lunar lander. The test, conducted outside of Beijing, used giant tethers to simulate lunar gravity as the vehicle fired main engines and fine control thrusters to land on a cratered surface and take off from there.
The space agency reconfirmed that it plans to land its astronauts on the Moon "before" 2030. Then, last Friday, the space agency and its state-operated rocket developer, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, successfully conducted a 30-second test firing of the Long March 10 rocket's center core with its seven YF-100K engines that burn kerosene and liquid oxygen. The primary variant of the rocket will combine three of these cores to lift about 70 metric tons to low-Earth orbit.
China's space program is making demonstrable progress in all three of the major elements of its lunar program: the large rocket to launch a crew spacecraft, which will carry humans to lunar orbit, plus the lander that will take astronauts down to the surface and back. This work suggests that China is on course to land on the Moon before the end of this decade. "It means the end of American exceptionalism. ... The constant American refrain of 'We've put a man on the Moon, we can do anything' will certainly no longer resonate. (8/18)
Satellite communications provider Globalstar is pursuing partnerships with defense contractors to establish a foothold in the military market. The company, which operates a constellation of communications satellites in low Earth orbit for voice calls and low-bandwidth data services, is working to demonstrate more advanced military applications through collaborations with defense contractor Parsons and with the U.S. Army. This represents a shift for Globalstar, which has primarily focused on commercial markets while competitor Iridium has dominated military narrowband communications over the past two decades. Globalstar CEO Paul Jacobs said in a recent interview that the defense market was now a priority for the company. (8/20)
UK Space Agency Folded Into Science Department (Source: BBC)
The U.K. Space Agency will no longer be an independent agency in a British government reshuffling. In a plan announced Wednesday, UKSA will be folded into the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology next April. It will retain its name but its budget and activities will be incorporated into the department. The government said the move is intended to save money and streamline operations, but critics say it sends the wrong signal to the country’s space sector. (8/20)
BlackSky Gets Australian Contract for Imagery of Orbiting Satellites (Source: BlackSky)
BlackSky has signed a new contract to provide non-Earth imaging of satellites. The company said Tuesday it signed a “seven-figure” contract with Australian company HEO to provide it with imagery of spacecraft. The companies say they have automated processes where HEO identifies opportunities for BlackSky satellites to take images of spacecraft of interest to HEO. (8/20)
Blue Origin Plans Uncrewed Research Flight for New Shepard (Source: Blue Origin)
The next flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital vehicle will be an uncrewed research flight. The NS-35 mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than Saturday from the company’s West Texas site. The vehicle will carry more than 40 payloads, including 24 from a NASA student competition. It will be the seventh flight of New Shepard this year and the second payload-only mission in 2025. (8/20)
Smallsat Missions Planned to Apophis Asteroid (Source: Space News)
Organizations are proposing smallsat missions to study, and even collide with, a near Earth asteroid. A team from the University of Maryland discussed TERP RAPTOR, a cubesat mission they are developing that would fly by the asteroid Apophis when it makes a close pass of Earth in April 2029. The $10 million cubesat would take closeup images of the asteroid. A separate mission proposed by the Southwest Research Institute and Advanced Space, the Apophis Cratering Experiment, would deliberately collide with the asteroid after the close approach to study cratering science and improve the understanding of “rubble pile” asteroids. (8/20)
Alaska Airlines Adds Starlink Service to Fleet (Source: Alaska Airlines)
Alaska Airlines is the latest to adopt Starlink for in-flight connectivity services. The airline announced Wednesday it will outfit its entire fleet with Starlink terminals by 2027, providing free wi-fi for members of its frequent flyer club. Alaska recently acquired Hawaiian Airlines, which was one of the first to install Starlink. (8/20)
Another Moon Found Orbiting Uranus (Source: Space.com)
Astronomers have discovered a very small moon orbiting Uranus. Astronomers said Tuesday they spotted the moon images in from the James Webb Space Telescope. The moon, provisionally designated S/2025 U1, is about 10 kilometers in diameter, and is the 29th moon known to orbit Uranus. (8/20)
Top Air Force General to Exit in Hegseth’s Latest Shake-Up of Pentagon (Source: Washington Post)
The chief of staff of the Air Force, Gen. David Allvin, will retire two years into a four-year term, officials said Monday, marking the latest early ouster of a senior military officer under President Donald Trump.
(8/9)
Orbital Data Center Launching to ISS to Advance Space Computing (Source: CASIS)
A cutting-edge orbital data center is set to launch to the International Space Station (ISS), marking an important step forward in advancing space-based computing. The project, sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory®, will test the system’s ability to provide increased data storage and real-time data processing in space—crucial capabilities for future commercial space stations.
The investigation, launching on SpaceX’s 33rd commercial resupply services mission for NASA, is a collaboration between ISS National Lab Commercial Service Provider Axiom Space and open-source software leader Red Hat. (8/19)
After Recent Tests, China Appears Likely to Beat the United States Back to the Moon (Source: Ars Technica)
In recent weeks, the secretive Chinese space program has reported some significant milestones in developing its program to land astronauts on the lunar surface by the year 2030. On August 6, the China Manned Space Agency successfully tested a high-fidelity mockup of its 26-ton "Lanyue" lunar lander. The test, conducted outside of Beijing, used giant tethers to simulate lunar gravity as the vehicle fired main engines and fine control thrusters to land on a cratered surface and take off from there.
The space agency reconfirmed that it plans to land its astronauts on the Moon "before" 2030. Then, last Friday, the space agency and its state-operated rocket developer, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, successfully conducted a 30-second test firing of the Long March 10 rocket's center core with its seven YF-100K engines that burn kerosene and liquid oxygen. The primary variant of the rocket will combine three of these cores to lift about 70 metric tons to low-Earth orbit.
China's space program is making demonstrable progress in all three of the major elements of its lunar program: the large rocket to launch a crew spacecraft, which will carry humans to lunar orbit, plus the lander that will take astronauts down to the surface and back. This work suggests that China is on course to land on the Moon before the end of this decade. "It means the end of American exceptionalism. ... The constant American refrain of 'We've put a man on the Moon, we can do anything' will certainly no longer resonate. (8/18)
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