August 4, 2025

Europe's Big Three Continue Merger Talks (Source: Space News)
Three European companies are continuing to study a merger of their space businesses, having missed a deadline for a “go/no-go” decision. Roberto Cingolani, CEO of Leonardo, said at the Paris Air Show in June that he expected to make a decision in July on whether to proceed with a combination of his company’s space business with those of Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence and Space. But in an earnings call last week, he said the companies were still studying the proposed combination. The CEOs of Airbus and Thales offered similar views in their own companies’ recent earnings calls, saying they were making progress on how to stand up the joint venture but not disclosing a schedule for doing so. (8/4)

Starlink Mission Launched on Monday (Source: Spaceflight Now)
A Falcon 9 launched a set of Starlink satellites Monday morning. The Falcon 9 lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, putting 28 satellites into orbit. The launch featured the 450th flight of a reused Falcon booster, with this particular booster making its 21st flight. (8/4)

FBI Relocation Controversy Pushes NASA Out of Senate Spending Bill (Source: Politico)
An appropriations bill for NASA and NOAA was not included in spending packages passed by the Senate Friday. Senators passed one bill covering the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Agriculture and a separate bill for funding Congress. Senators had planned to include the Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) bill, which included NASA and NOAA, in that package, but dropped the CJS bill because of opposition from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) about funding for the new FBI headquarters.

The plan for that building to be built in Maryland but the Trump administration now plans to relocate. The Senate has now joined the House in August recess, and will return after Labor Day with limited time to either pass spending bills or a stopgap continuing resolution to fund the government after the 2026 fiscal year begins Oct. 1. (8/4)

LEGO Releases New Lunar Rover (Source: CollectSpace)
A lunar rover developer has partnered with LEGO on a new rover model. The Lunar Outpost Moon Rover Space Vehicle set was released by LEGO last week in cooperation with Lunar Outpost, a company that develops small lunar rovers and has a NASA award to design a larger rover for use by Artemis astronauts. While LEGO has worked with NASA on past sets, this is the first time it has collaborated with a commercial space venture on a model. (8/4)

Support for NASA Returning to the Moon and Going to Mars is Surging (Source: The Hill/0
A recent poll conducted by CBS News provides an encouraging look into public support for the Artemis program to return astronauts to the moon and eventually send humans to Mars. Sixty-seven percent of respondents favor a return to the moon and just 33 percent oppose one. On Mars, sixty-five percent favor sending astronauts to the red planet with 35 percent in opposition. (8/3)

A NASA Satellite That Scientists and Farmers Rely On May Be Destroyed on Purpose (Source: NPR)
It is unclear why the Trump administration seeks to end the missions. The equipment in space is state of the art and is expected to function for many more years, according to scientists who worked on the missions. An official review by NASA in 2023 found that "the data are of exceptionally high quality" and recommended continuing the mission for at least three years.

Both missions, known as the Orbiting Carbon Observatories, measure carbon dioxide and plant growth around the globe. They use identical measurement devices, but one device is attached to a stand-alone satellite while the other is attached to the International Space Station. The standalone satellite would burn up in the atmosphere if NASA pursued plans to terminate the mission. (8/4)

Cosmic Shield Breakthrough Could Extend Life of Space Solar Cells (Source: Space Daily)
A new radiation-resistant coating developed at the University of Surrey could significantly improve the durability of next-generation perovskite solar cells in space. The innovation promises to make satellite solar panels lighter, more efficient, and less costly than traditional alternatives. Engineers have created a protective layer using propane-1,3-diammonium iodide (PDAI2). This thin film shields perovskite solar cells from degradation in the space environment. (8/1)

Cascade Space Raises $5.9 Million (Source: Cascade Space)
Cascade Space, a Y Combinator-backed startup building an end-to-end platform for space communication system design, testing, and operations, has raised $5.9 million in seed funding. Cascade is tackling one of the most overlooked bottlenecks in space: communications infrastructure. Its core offering includes: Cascade Portal, an online platform to design and test RF systems and generate test plans, cutting weeks of iteration into hours; and Cascade Network, a purpose-built ground station network focused on supporting high-demand deep space and lunar missions. (8/1)

Worldship Design Winners Announced (Source: Universe Today)
On July 23, Project Hyperion announced the top three competition winners of their design competition for crewed interstellar travel. With a prize purse of $10,000, competitors were tasked with producing concepts for a Generation Ship (aka. Worldships) using current technologies and those that could be realized in the near future.

Winners were selected from hundreds of ideas submitted by teams worldwide. The winning entries were selected based on how they met all the competition criteria, provided a depth of detail, and integrated the design aspects of architecture, engineering, and social sciences. In short, the top three prizes were awarded to proposals that would allow a society to sustain itself and flourish in a highly resource-constrained environment as they made a centuries-long journey to another habitable planet.

First place went to the Italian 'Chrysalis' team. Their ship design consisted of a modular cylindrical structure that minimizes the front section, thereby reducing the threat of Micrometeoroids and Orbital Debris (MMOD) collisions and reducing structural stresses during the acceleration and deceleration phases. Second place went to WFP Extreme of Poland. Third place went to Syztema Stellare Proximum. Click here. (8/3)

Core Systems Joins Lockheed Martin Golden Dome Team (Source: Defense Post)
Core Systems is teaming up with Lockheed Martin to support its bid for the Golden Dome missile project, an ambitious US initiative aimed at countering advanced aerial threats. As part of the partnership, the California-based firm will supply ruggedized rack infrastructure for the Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR), a core component of the proposed Golden Dome system. (7/31)

Dune Patterns in California Desert Hold Clues That Help Researchers Map Mars’ Shifting Sands (Source: Space.com)
Scientists already know about Earth’s weather patterns, sand grain size and wind data. By measuring different parts of bedforms on both planets – such as their height, shape and spacing – I can compare the similarities and differences of the bedforms to find clues to the wind patterns, grains and atmosphere on Mars.

Developing this database is essential to the proposed human mission to Mars. Dust storms are frequent, and some can encircle the entire planet. Understanding aeolian bedforms will help scientists know where to put bases so they don’t get buried by moving sand. (7/28)

China-Built Satellite Station a ‘Shining’ Example of Support for Namibian Space Program (Source: SCMP)
On the outskirts of the Namibian capital Windhoek, a Chinese-funded and built satellite data receiving ground station symbolizes China’s growing cooperation in Africa’s nascent space industry. The station was described by the Chinese embassy as “a shining example of China-Namibia cooperation” as they celebrated the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations. (8/2)

NASA’s Webb Traces Details of Complex Planetary Nebula (Source: NASA)
Since their discovery in the late 1700s, astronomers have learned that planetary nebulae, or the expanding shell of glowing gas expelled by a low-intermediate mass star late in its life, can come in all shapes and sizes. Most planetary nebula present as circular, elliptical, or bi-polar, but some stray from the norm, as seen in new high-resolution images of planetary nebulae by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

Webb’s newest look at planetary nebula NGC 6072 in the near- and mid-infrared shows what may appear as a very messy scene resembling splattered paint. However, the unusual, asymmetrical appearance hints at more complicated mechanisms underway, as the star central to the scene approaches the very final stages of its life and expels shells of material, losing up to 80 percent of its mass. (7/30)

Skyscraper-Size Spikes of Methane Ice May Surround Pluto's Equator (Source: Live Science)
Skyscraper-size spires of methane ice may cover around 60% of Pluto's equatorial region — a larger area than scientists previously estimated, new research finds. The study was based on data collected by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, which captured the first close-up images of the tiny world a decade ago. During that flyby, the spacecraft spotted spires of methane ice, each about 1,000 feet (300 meters) tall — about as tall as the Eiffel Tower. (8/2)

EchoStar Preps $5B Satellite Network for Phones to Do Battle With Cellular Starlink (Source: PC Mag)
Despite facing an FCC investigation, Boost Mobile’s parent company, EchoStar, is gearing up to develop its own satellite system to compete with SpaceX’s cellular Starlink service. On Friday, the company announced it had selected Canadian satellite developer MDA Space as the main contractor to build a low-Earth orbit constellation to power the satellite-to-phone service. Although the initial contract is valued at about $1.3 billion to manufacture over 100 MDA Aurora satellites, EchoStar expects the constellation to expand over time. (8/1)

Strong Support for NASA and Project Artemis Will Advance the U.S. (Source: Scientific American)
During President Trump’s first term in office, he signed Space Policy Directive 1, signaling the administration’s desire to bring American astronauts back to the moon. This directive, and similar ones, later became Project Artemis, the lunar campaign with broader ambition to get the U.S. on Mars. But will we get to the moon, not to mention Mars?

The dizzying back and forth regarding America’s moonshot project suggests a question: Are we committed to Artemis and the broader goal of understanding space? Or to put it another way: Do we want to win this new race to the moon? The current administration owes us an answer. There’s more than just a soft-power victory over China’s taikonauts at stake. This endeavor is about cementing the U.S. as a technological superpower, a center for understanding space and our solar system, and in due course, setting us up to be the first to live and work on the moon. (8/2)

NASA Astrophysicist: ‘If Scientists Can’t Speak the Truth, Society Really Isn’t in a Very Good Place’ (Source: El Pais)
Trump hasn’t just attacked NASA. He has also targeted the National Institutes of Health (NIH) — the world’s largest biomedical research organization — the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as some of the nation’s top universities. Hundreds of layoffs and budget cuts are expected, jeopardizing American dominance in global science.

According to a recent study, these cuts will ultimately lead to a decline in the nation’s wealth similar to that of the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Employees of the aforementioned organizations have also rebelled against these policies, signing open letters. Many of them, however, don’t dare to add their names or speak up publicly.

"[Our country] benefits tremendously from international participants who come to the U.S., get their graduate degrees and then stay on, becoming faculty members at our major universities. The number of [American] Nobel Prize winners who were born outside of the U.S. is very large. But now, [among our] postdoctoral scientists who are very promising, [many] are going back to Europe to pursue their careers because of the uncertainty." (8/3)

Starlink ‘Not Up to Task’ of Delivering Broadband (Source: The Observer)
Starlink aims to offer reliable and high-speed internet in locations traditional broadband struggles to reach, or where laying fibre-optic cable is not financially viable. It is in use in international shipping and in remoter reaches of the Amazon as well as being used extensively by Ukraine near the Russian frontline.

It is now set to get significant US government funding – money initially allocated by Joe Biden’s White House – to help rural communities link to broadband services. But analysis published last month by not-for-profit research institute X-Lab suggests the technology is not up to the task.

Its research suggests that at normal usage levels, the satellite service would become overloaded with as few as six or seven subscribers per square mile, and this would push its speeds well below the US legal minimum for broadband. This has raised broader questions about the viability of the technology. Even rural areas of the US are home on average to more than 20 people per square mile. (8/3)

Sen. Schiff, Colleagues Demand End to Illegal Cuts at NASA, Reassert Congress’ Sole Power to Authorize Science Funding (Source: Sen. Adam Schiff)
U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) and other Senators representing space and science innovation hubs across the nation demanded that the Trump administration halt any preemptive and illegal cuts to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science programs, justify impoundments of NASA funding from the past six months, and abide by Congress’ set funding levels for the current and future fiscal years to prevent irrevocable harm to America’s space innovation and scientific workforce.

“We cannot afford to prematurely gut funding for scientific excellence and technological innovation, which NASA has worked for decades to cultivate – especially when doing so would harm American jobs and progress,” the Senators wrote. (8/1)

Joint NASA-ESA Sea Level Mission Will Help Hurricane Forecasts (Source: NASA)
NASA has a long record of monitoring Earth’s sea surface height, information critical not only for tracking how the ocean changes over time but also for hurricane forecasting. These extreme storms can cost the United States billions of dollars each year, wreaking havoc on lives and property. Meteorologists have worked to improve forecasts for a hurricane’s path, or track, as well as its intensity, measured as surface wind speed. Sentinel-6B, the U.S.-European satellite launching later this year, will help in that effort. (8/1)

ispace and Bridgestone Sign Agreement to Develop Tires for Small-to-Medium-Sized Lunar Rovers (Source: ispace)
ispace has entered into an agreement with Bridgestone Corporation, which is  researching development of tires for lunar rovers, to advance the practical application of the tires.

Based on this agreement, ispace will collaborate with Bridgestone to enhance the performance of its small and medium-sized lunar rovers by equipping them with Bridgestone’s tires. ispace is currently developing prototypes of the rovers, featuring lunar surface exploration capabilities including high-resolution video and data-capture functions, as well as a design that prioritizes functionality, despite their compact size, for use in lunar water resource utilization. (7/31)

Scientists Just Launched the First Quantum Computer Into Space (Source: Futurism)
A tiny quantum computer housed in a satellite is now in orbit around Earth, residing some 330 miles above our planet after being launched aboard a SpaceX rocket last month. It's a trailblazing experiment intended to test how well these delicate devices can survive the extreme conditions of space, where they could allow satellites to quickly and efficiently perform intense calculations on their own. (8/1)