August 22, 2025

Blue Origin, Anduril Win Cargo Transport Study Contracts (Source: TechCrunch)
Blue Origin and Anduril have secured study contracts from the US Air Force under the Rocket Cargo program to explore using rockets for global military cargo transport. Blue Origin has received $1.37 million to analyze point-to-point material transportation, while Anduril has received $1 million to develop a reentry container for five to 10 tons of payloads. The initiative, part of the Rocket Experimentation for Global Agile Logistics program, aims to deliver cargo to remote locations within an hour. (8/21)   

X-37B Launches on Latest Mission (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX has launched the US Space Force's X-37B space plane on its eighth mission, carrying next-generation technologies such as laser communications and a quantum inertial sensor. Launched aboard a Falcon-9 from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, the mission aims to enhance navigation in areas without GPS coverage and improve satellite communications. (8/22)

RGNext Drops Protest Over Amentum Launch Range Contract (Source: Space News)
Government services contractor Amentum has started work at the nation’s space launch ranges after a rival dropped its legal challenge. Amentum won the Space Force Range Contract in May, worth up to $4 billion over 10 years, but incumbent company Range Generation Next (RGNext) protested the award in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. RGNext dropped its protest last week, allowing Amentum to start work. Beyond providing day-to-day sustainment and launch support, the company is tasked with modernizing the ranges to handle higher launch rates. While Amentum is the newcomer for this Space Force range contract, it has extensive experience working with NASA through Jacobs Technology, which it acquired in 2024. (8/22)

Industry Concerns About UK Space Agency Move (Source: Space News)
Britain’s space industry has some concerns about plans to move the U.K. Space Agency (UKSA) inside another government department. Under the plan announced earlier this week, UKSA will become part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology next April. British companies said the move “seems to have come out of nowhere” and could reduce visibility into spending on space activities. However, the change could also provide more government oversight into the agency’s activities. About three-quarters of UKSA’s budget goes to the European Space Agency, and ESA’s director general, Josef Aschbacher, said he was reassured the change would not hurt British contributions to his agency. (8/22)

New Chinese Rockets Under Development (Source: Space News)
Even more new launch vehicles are under development in China. China Rocket, nominally a commercial spin-off from state-owned space giant China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, said a variant of the Long March 10 called the Long March 10B had been approved for development. With its first stage recovered, it would be capable of carrying 16,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit. New Beijing-based company Arktech announced Thursday that it had secured tens of millions of yuan for development of its Bingchuan-1 (Glacier-1) rocket, capable of placing up to 40,000 kilograms into LEO. Those and other rockets are emerging despite an already competitive field and imminent test flights of vehicles already in development. (8/22)

JAXA and ESA to Collaborate on Asteroid Mission (Source: Reuters)
The Japanese space agency JAXA said it will collaborate with ESA on an asteroid mission. The vice president of JAXA, Masaki Fujimoto, said Friday that JAXA will provide an H3 rocket to launch the Ramses mission being developed by ESA to study the asteroid Apophis, which will make a close approach to Earth in April 2029. JAXA would also offer spacecraft components for Ramses and fly its own asteroid mission, DESTINY+, as a rideshare payload on that launch. Fujimoto said that “JAXA must increasingly support Ramses to study Apophis through Japan-Europe collaboration, on behalf of humanity worldwide” given that a NASA mission to Apophis, OSIRIS-APEX, faces termination in NASA’s 2026 budget request. (8/22)

India's Gaganyaan Spacecraft Set for December Launch (Source: Times of India)
The first launch of India’s Gaganyaan crewed spacecraft is set for December. The G1 mission will place a Gaganyaan spacecraft, with no people on board, into orbit to test spacecraft life support and other systems. While Gaganyaan will be uncrewed, the spacecraft will carry Vyommitra, described as a “half-humanoid robot” to monitor operations. (8/22)

South Korean Cubesats to Use SteamJet Thrusters (Source: Space News)
A novel spacecraft propulsion system will be put to the test on a cubesat mission launching next year. South Korea’s K-RadCube spacecraft is one of four cubesats hitching a ride on the Artemis 2 mission, and will be placed into a highly elliptical orbit with a perigee of effectively zero. That means it must have its own propulsion system to raise its perigee in a matter of hours to avoid reentry. K-RadCube is carrying a thruster from British company SteamJet Space Systems that generates steam from water to produce thrust. The company said at the recent Small Satellite Conference that ground tests gave them confidence that the thruster can produce enough thrust within 14 hours to raise the perigee to more than 180 kilometers, enough to avoid reentry. (8/22)

Avio to Launch Vega C From Kourou (Source: European Spaceflight)
Avio has secured a license to operate Vega launches from French Guiana. The license from the French government, issued this week, will allow Avio to serve as the launch operator for Vega C launches from Kourou for 10 years. Those launches have been handled by Arianespace, but it is transferring that responsibility to Avio, the prime contractor for Vega, as part of a 2023 agreement. (8/22)

Space Machines Finalizes Scintilla Propulsion Engine for Optimus Viper (Source: Space Daily)
Space Machines Company has announced the completion of its in-house Scintilla propulsion engine, designed to power the Optimus Viper platform for rapid orbital maneuvering and space domain awareness. The engine has achieved 65-second sustained burns, more than 1,200 seconds of cumulative testing, and 40 restarts to date.

The metal 3D-printed thruster delivers 50 Newtons of thrust at 92 percent efficiency, surpassing the firm's initial 90 percent target. Engineers expect future versions to approach near-perfect efficiency. The system emphasizes reliability and scalability, allowing thrust output to increase tenfold with only minimal design modifications. (8/21)

Space Force Establishes Systems Delta 85 to Strengthen Space Defense Integration (Source: Space Daily)
Space Systems Command has officially activated Systems Delta 85, a new organization designed to unify acquisition and operational support for space defense missions. The new SYD 85 brings together functions in Space Domain Awareness, missile warning and tracking, missile defense, Command and Control, Battle Management, and Space Intelligence. (8/21)

Blue Origin Targets Sep. 29 for Next New Glenn Launch (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket will launch a pair of identical spacecraft on NASA’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (EscaPADE) mission, no earlier than Sep. 29 at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The two satellites, named Blue and Gold, will make a roughly 11-month journey to Mars where they will perform an ~11-month science mission while orbiting the planet. Blue and Gold were manufactured by Rocket Lab over about 3.5 years and carry science experiments from the University of California, Berkeley. This launch of the New Glenn rocket will also feature a landing attempt on its landing barge in the Atlantic Ocean. (8/21)

Why the Next Solar Superstorm Could Hit Satellites Even Harder (Source: SciTech Daily)
As carbon dioxide continues to rise in Earth’s upper atmosphere, the way solar storms interact with it may shift dramatically. New modeling suggests that future geomagnetic storms will occur in a colder, thinner atmosphere, causing a sharper spike in density despite the overall reduction. This change could increase satellite drag and disrupt critical services like GPS and communications. (8/20)

Rogue Planets Floating in Space Appear to Be Forming Their Own Moons (Source: Science Alert)
Free-floating, planetary-mass objects that are just drifting carefree through the galaxy, untethered and starless, appear to be able to generate their own systems of moons, like a planetary system on a miniature scale. An analysis of new JWST observations on a number of rogue planets – each weighing between five and 10 Jupiters – has revealed the presence of disks with a significant proportion of crystalline silicate, just like those surrounding some baby stars right before their planets start to form. (8/20)

FAA Proposal Could Limit Beach Access for Starship Launches (Source: WESH)
The FAA has submitted a draft proposal for Starship launches and landings from Launch Complex 39A at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. Part of the proposal would establish restricted zones for launches, limiting public access to nearby beaches. One of the beaches in question is Playalinda Beach. According to the documents, it could be closed for 60 days or more per year to accommodate the launches.

“I can see maybe a couple of days out of the year, but not 60 days,” Patty Velez said. “That’s a lot.” Many other beachgoers expressed mixed feelings. “I’m not happy about the beach being shut down, but I’m happy about more launches,” David Ashcraft said. “I hate it. I absolutely hate it,” Michael Logan said. “There’s nothing that we can do about it besides just say how we feel,” Velez said. Several meetings are scheduled to allow the public to voice concerns and learn more. (8/20)

China’s Guowang Megaconstellation is More Than Another Version of Starlink (Source: Ars Technica)
US defense officials have long worried that China's Guowang satellite network might give the Chinese military access to the kind of ubiquitous connectivity US forces now enjoy with SpaceX's Starlink network. It turns out the Guowang constellation could offer a lot more than a homemade Chinese alternative to Starlink's high-speed consumer-grade broadband service.

The megaconstellation is managed by a secretive company called China SatNet, which was established by the Chinese government in 2021. Unlike Starlink, the Guowang network consists of satellites manufactured by multiple companies, and they launch on several types of rockets. Guowang, or "national network," may also bear similarities to something the US military calls MILNET.

Proposed in the Trump administration's budget request for next year, MILNET will be a partnership between the Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). One of the design alternatives under review at the Pentagon is to use SpaceX's Starshield satellites to create a "hybrid mesh network" that the military can rely on for a wide range of applications. US officials believe Guowang is a step toward integrating satellites into China's own kill web. (8/20)

India's AgniKul Develops 3D Printed Rocket Engine (Source: 3D Printing Industry)
Indian space startup AgniKul Cosmos has 3D printed what it claims to be the world’s largest single-piece 3D printed Inconel rocket engine, which has also received a US patent. Measuring about one meter in length, the engine is printed as a single integrated structure that runs from fuel inlet to exhaust without welds, joints, or fasteners. The approach is intended to lower manufacturing complexity, reduce points of failure, and cut production time by more than 60%.

The electric motor-driven engine is intended to power Agnibaan, which can be configured to carry between 30 kg and 300 kg  into low Earth orbits of about 700 km. AgniKul highlighted that the engine could be printed in under four days and at roughly a tenth of the cost of conventional assembly, demonstrating the potential of additive manufacturing in rocketry. (8/21)

SpaceX Starship Has Built New Grid fins for the Version 3 Super Heavy Booster (Source: Next Big Future)
SpaceX has redesigned the grid fin for the next generation Super Heavy booster. The new fins are 50% larger and higher strength, moving from four fins to three for vehicle control while enabling the booster to descend at higher angles of attack. The fins are positioned lower on the booster to align with the tower’s catch as, with the fin shaft, actuators, and fixed structure now placed inside the booster’s main fuel tank. This also includes a new catch point addition for vehicle lift and catch operations. (8/13)

Stronger, 30% Cheaper Next-Gen 3D-Printed Titanium Alloy Developed for Aerospace (Source: Interesting Engineering)
Engineers at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) have developed a new type of 3D-printed titanium alloy that is significantly cheaper and stronger than the current industry standard. “By developing a more cost-effective formula that avoids this columnar microstructure, we have solved two key challenges preventing widespread adoption of 3D printing,” said Ryan Brooke. (8/17)

FAA Chief Aims to Restructure (Source: The Air Current)
Recently confirmed FAA chief Bryan Bedford is planning to restructure the sprawling 46,000-strong agency in a bid to fix what he sees as a siloed organization without a clear goal or mission. He is initially focused on the agency's leadership structure, which is currently split into five "lines of business" and nine staff offices. (8/19)

Picking a Spot for NASA’s Lunar Nuclear Reactor Is Trickier Than It Sounds (Source: Gizmodo)
A source of nuclear energy will be necessary for visiting Mars, because solar energy is weaker there. It could also help establish a lunar base and potentially even a permanent human presence on the Moon, as it delivers consistent power through the cold lunar night.

As humans travel out into the solar system, learning to use the local resources is critical for sustaining life off Earth, starting at the nearby Moon. NASA plans to prioritize the fission reactor as power necessary to extract and refine lunar resources. First, where is the best place to put an initial nuclear reactor on the Moon to set up for future lunar bases? Second, how will NASA protect the reactor from plumes of regolith—or loosely fragmented lunar rocks—kicked up by spacecraft landing near it? These are two key questions the agency will have to answer as it develops this technology.

In order to be useful, the reactor must be close to accessible, extractable, and refinable water ice deposits. The issue is we currently do not have the detailed information needed to define such a location. As for regolith plumes, they will sandblast anything close to the landing site, unless the items are placed behind large boulders or beyond the horizon, which is more than 1.5 miles away on the Moon. (8/18)

Post-Shuttle Recovery Money in Dispute Between County and City Governments (Source: Florida Today)
Titusville is disputing Brevard County's handling of the remaining money still left with the recently disbanded North Brevard Economic Zone. The zone was established in 2011 as a way of helping the Titusville area weather the economic fallout following the end of the space shuttle program. Zone officials used property tax revenue from new commercial and industrial construction in North Brevard County to help provide economic incentives for projects within the zone.

In April, the County Commission voted to end the program. Even though the remaining money was generated by properties in Titusville, the county will collect the interest. City attorneys for Titusville are currently researching whether the city or county have any statutory or other legal obligation to keep the money parked in one entity's account over the other's. Meanwhile, Titusville is exploring options on how they can bring back their own version of NBEDZ to spur growth in the city. (8/21)

The Destruction of NASA Would Be a Blow to Our Collective Imagination (Source: WIRED)
After decades working on projects like the Space Shuttle and ISS, Steve Rader had, since 2021, been leading an office on open innovation, tasked with bringing outside ideas and talent into NASA. But in the early days of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Affairs (DOGE), the atmosphere inside the agency was heavy with sadness and paranoia. Everyone was thinking of leaving, afraid they were going to be fired, or both.

No one was really talking at work about their own plans. “I think leaders especially didn't want to influence other people into leaving,” Rader said. That’s what made what happened next so shocking. There were 10 people at Rader’s apartment. They were, in his description, “the hardcore NASA people”—the kind of ultra-qualified, hyper-driven leaders who could work anywhere, for just about any salary, but still chose the federal government.

Right at the start of the meeting, half of them announced they were leaving. Some of them, like Rader, were near retirement. Others were much younger, members of what should have been the next generation of NASA leadership. “One of them, her and her family are moving to Costa Rica,” Rader says. “That's how scared she is of what's going on.” (8/21)

SpaceX Partners with Astronomers to Protect Radio Astronomy from Satellite Interference (Source: Space.com)
An automated data-sharing system co-developed by SpaceX and American radio astronomers promises to protect radio telescopes around the world from disruptive interference from satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO).

Big constellations such as SpaceX's Starlink bring high-speed internet to people in remote, under-connected areas. But they also stain optical telescope images with streaks and disrupt observations by radio telescopes — highly sensitive antennas designed to detect weak radio waves emitted by distant galactic cores, black holes and neutron stars.

A team of researchers from the U.S. National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) has spent three years working on a solution. Together with SpaceX, the scientists developed a complex data-sharing system that in real time informs the Starlink system about scheduled telescope observations, including the frequencies in which astronomers plan to observe. When the satellites fly over the telescopes, the system orders them to redirect their beams away from the sensitive antennas or to mute their electronics. (8/20)

SpaceX has Built an Impressive Production Site in Texas. Will Starship Success Follow? (Source: Ars Technica)
Over the years, as the company began assembling its Starship rockets on site, SpaceX first erected small tents, then much larger tents, and then towering high bays in which the vehicles were stacked. Starbase grew and evolved to meet the company's needs. All of this was merely a prelude to the end game: Starfactory. SpaceX opened this truly massive facility earlier this year. The sleek rocket factory is emblematic of the new Starbase: modern, gargantuan, spaceship-like.

The ultimate goal of this factory is to build one Starship rocket a day. This sounds utterly mad. For the entire Apollo program in the 1960s and 1970s, NASA built 15 Saturn V rockets. Over the course of more than three decades, NASA built and flew only five different iconic Space Shuttles. SpaceX aims to build 365 vehicles, which are larger, per year.

The interior was super impressive, of course. Yet it could not quell some of the concerns I have about the future of SpaceX's grand plans to send a fleet of Starships into the Solar System. There can be no question that the Starship rocket, with its unprecedentedly large first stage and potentially reusable upper stage, is the most advanced and ambitious rocket humans have ever conceived, built, and flown. The failures this year, however, have led some space industry insiders to ask whether Starship is too ambitious. (8/21)

This Hypersonic Space Plane Will Fly From London to N.Y.C. in an Hour (Source: Robb Report)
After the NASA space shuttle was retired in 2011, it seemed like space planes might become relics. But they are on a comeback. U.S. companies Sierra Space Corp., Dawn Aerospace, and Radian Aerospace have all introduced their own versions of an aircraft that takes off like a plane, but soars like a rocket. Virgin Galactic soon plans to introduce the Delta version of its space plane. Among militaries, the U.S. Air Force operates a robotic orbital space plane called the X-37B, while China has a similar aircraft called Shelong.

The European Space Agency (ESA) recently jumped into the burgeoning space-plane sector, announcing funding for a new research program called Invictus, which will develop a hypersonic space plane capable of Mach 5 (3,386 mph). The aircraft could fly from London to New York in an hour. If plans stay on track, it could be operational by 2031. U.K. consulting firm Frazer-Nash will lead the project, which will use technology developed by Reaction Engines Ltd., a private firm launched in 1989 that previously designed a space plane called Skylon. (8/21)

Meet Wukong, the AI Chatbot China Has Installed on Its Space Station (Source: WIRED)
The latest addition to China’s Tiangong space station is an AI chatbot with expertise in navigation and tactical planning. Named Wukong AI—after the protagonist of the “Monkey King” legend in Chinese mythology, Sun Wukong—the chatbot was introduced on the TSS in mid-July, and has already completed its first mission: supporting three taikonauts during a spacewalk. (8/21)

Space Force Unveils New Dress and Appearance Policy as It Preps for Fresh Uniforms (Source: Air & Space Forces)
Five and a half years in, the Space Force officially has its own dress and appearance policy. But a big revamp is likely coming soon. The new policy, Space Force Instruction 36-2903, officially went into effect Aug. 14 after years of issuing interim guidance while the service largely continued following the Air Force’s rules. The 114-page document largely mirrors the Air Force’s own regulations, with a few key differences.

In years past, the Space Force approved grooming and appearance standards different from the Air Force to allow neck tattoos and slightly wider mustaches. But the Air Force has since updated its policy to allow those things, and the Space Force did not expand them any further. Meanwhile, the Space Force policy matches a recent change to Air Force policy that limits which colors of nail polish female service members can wear and how long eyelash extensions may be.

One of the few significant differences between the new Space Force policy and the Air Force instruction is their approach to patches. Starting Feb. 1, the Air Force cracked down on duty identifier patches, also known as career field identifier patches—such as “SF” for security forces, “MUNS” for munitions or “PA” for public affairs—leaving only a dozen approved arch-shaped tabs signifying a special, unique qualification or training. The Space Force instruction authorizes new “mission tabs” for Guardians to showcase what field they work in—though given the service’s small size, options are few. (8/19)

Appeals court says NLRB structure unconstitutional, in a win for SpaceX (Source: Tech Crunch)
A federal appeals court handed SpaceX a win on Tuesday, in a ruling that prevents the National Labor Relations Board from prosecuting unfair labor practices against the company. The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which suggests the structure of the NLRB is likely unconstitutional, could have far-reaching effects.

The ruling keeps unfair labor practice cases against SpaceX and two other companies, Energy Transfer and Findhelp, on hold while the companies pursue their claim that the NLRB structure violates the U.S. Constitution. While the court did declare it unlawful, this is far from a settled issue and the NLRB is undoubtedly likely to challenge the ruling. (8/21)

SpaceX Says States Should Dump Fiber Plans, Give All Grant Money to Starlink (Source: Ars Technica)
Starlink operator SpaceX is continuing its fight against state plans to expand fiber broadband availability. After saying the Trump administration should deny a Virginia proposal, SpaceX is taking the same approach in a fight against Louisiana.

SpaceX made its view known to the Louisiana Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity in a filing, which was reported yesterday by PCMag. SpaceX complained that Louisiana proposed awarding 91.5 percent of funds to fiber Internet service providers instead of to the Starlink satellite system. SpaceX alleged that Louisiana was influenced by "a legion of fiber lobbyists and other hangers-on seeking to personally benefit from massive taxpayer spending." (8/19)

Starship Launches Could Delay Florida Flights Up To 2 Hours, FAA Says (Source: Tech Crunch)
As regulators weigh SpaceX’s plans to launch its massive Starship rocket from Florida, federal documents warn those flights could ripple through Florida airspace, forcing ground stops at multiple airports, reroutes, and delays of up to two hours. Even after launch, reentry of Starship’s two stages could require ground stops at some of the busiest airports in the country, according to a draft environmental impact statement (EIS).

Florida airports affected by the launches may include Orlando International, Miami International, Tampa International, and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International. Average delays could be as long as 40 minutes to 2 hours for launches and Super Heavy booster landings, and 40 minutes to one hour for Starship reentries. Diversions and cancellations are possible, the FAA said in a companion slide deck.

To manage risk, the FAA would establish Aircraft Hazard Areas (AHAs) over potentially impacted zones, as it does for commercial space launches today. Depending on the Starship flight trajectory, those zones could overlay routes above the Atlantic, parts of the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and airspace in several Central American countries. (8/20)

NASA’s Final Piece of Artemis II Rocket Hardware Leaves Marshall (Source: NASA)
The final piece of Artemis II flight hardware for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket departed NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Aug. 18, and will arrive at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida this week for integration with the rest of the rocket. (8/19)

Extreme Environments Of Latin America: Natural Laboratories For Astrobiology (Source: Astrobiology)
Extreme environments are places where sustaining life is considered challenging by human standarts due to harmful environmental conditions. In the last decades, these kinds of environments have awakened the interest of planetary scientists due to their similar conditions to extraplanetary bodies.

Most of the research done in extreme environments has been conducted in the North American and Eurasian regions, while in Latin America only the most outstanding places have been explored, even though the region hosts numerous and varied extreme environments. The primary aim of this review is to present an extensive catalogue of around 300 extreme environments in Latin America. (8/20)

NASA Pilot Program to Use Citizen Science to Improve Hurricane Response (Source: ABC)
A NASA pilot program will utilize citizen science to help expedite hurricane disaster recovery. The space agency -- along with the Globe Program, a global science and education program -- is spearheading its new Response Mapper program, which will use before-and-after photos submitted by the public to track conditions on the ground.

Through the summer and fall, NASA is inviting the public to participate in the program, especially for those who live in the Southeast, where many tropical cyclones can have an impact. (8/19)

GE Aerospace Expands Defense And Semiconductor Partnerships With Kratos, Axcelis (Source: Benzinga)
GE Aerospace advanced its portfolio this summer with a propulsion partnership with Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, a new labor agreement with IAM-represented workers in Ohio, and a semiconductor collaboration with Axcelis Technologies. In June, GE Aerospace’s Edison Works signed a teaming agreement with Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to develop turbofan propulsion systems for unmanned aircraft. (8/20)