October 29, 2025

Colorado Chamber Foundation Launches New Aerospace & Defense Alliance (Source: Colorado Chamber)
The Colorado Chamber of Commerce Foundation today announced the formation of the Aerospace & Defense Alliance, an initiative of Vision 2033, the Colorado Chamber’s 10-year action plan to foster long-term economic growth and resiliency in Colorado. The alliance will be chaired by Christie Lee, director of state and local affairs at United Launch Alliance, and Chad Vorthmann, government relations representative at Lockheed Martin Space. (10/27)

Space Foundation and Space Force Association Announce New Partnership (Source: CBS42)
The Space Foundation and the Space Force Association [both based in Colorado] signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on critical initiatives that strengthen the national and global space community. The strategic partnership will focus on bolstering education, workforce development, and public awareness of the space domain. The agreement aligns Space Foundation's global convening and educational platforms with the SFA’s professional and policy network to explore opportunities that support shared goals. (10/28)

Japan Company Eyes Offering 1-Hour Japan-U.S. Travel Via Space (Source: Kyodo News)
A Japanese travel agency said Tuesday it will launch a point-to-point transport service in the 2030s that would connect Tokyo and U.S. cities like New York in 60 minutes via outer space. The service, which Nippon Travel Agency Co. plans to offer in partnership with a reusable rocket development startup, would cost a customer 100 million yen ($657,000) for a round trip. The transport vehicle would be launched from an offshore spot and could connect any two points on Earth within 60 minutes, according to the companies. They hope to link Tokyo and the United States. (10/29)

Berkowitz: Closer Coordination Needed Between NRO and Space Force (Source: Space News)
The nominee to lead space policy at the Pentagon said closer coordination between the Space Force and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) should be considered. At a Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, Marc Berkowitz, a veteran space policy strategist nominated to be assistant secretary of defense for space policy, said options to unify elements of the defense and intelligence space communities “should be worth considering.” He said that closer integration of the NRO and the Space Force could improve efficiency in acquisition and operations. Berkowitz, who previously served as assistant deputy undersecretary of defense for space policy and later as vice president for strategic planning at Lockheed Martin, has written extensively on the subject, arguing that inefficiencies persist despite the 2019 creation of the Space Force. (10/29)

FCC Backs Assembly Line Approach for Satellite Licensing (Source: Space News)
The FCC has backed a proposal to create an “assembly line” for satellite licensing. Commissioners voted Tuesday to advance the Space Modernization for the 21st Century Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), with a 45-day public comment period once officially published. The NPRM would replace the FCC’s long-standing Part 25 satellite regulations with a Part 100 written from the ground up for today’s commercial space environment. The intent is to accelerate reviews and cut red tape. In a separate vote, the FCC also advanced a proposal to revise siting rules for Earth stations operating in high-frequency upper microwave bands, aiming to make it easier for companies to build and license new satellite ground infrastructure. (10/29)

Satellite Servicing Demand Spikes (Source: Space News)
The era of satellite servicing may finally be arriving. Companies said at the Satellite Innovation conference Tuesday that the success Northrop Grumman demonstrated extending the life of GEO satellites “broke the suspension of disbelief” about the feasibility of servicing. Companies in the satellite servicing sector say they are seeing increased demand for services as costs for those capabilities decline. (10/29)

Cosmonauts Perform Second ISS Spacewalk (Source: Space.com)
Two Russian cosmonauts performed the second spacewalk outside the International Space Station in two weeks Tuesday. Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky spent nearly seven hours outside the station in the spacewalk, attaching one experiment to the exterior of the Nauka module and then performing maintenance on another. The two also conducted a spacewalk outside the station Oct. 16, installing and removing equipment. (10/29)

US and South Korea Agree on Space Cooperation (Source: Yonhap)
The United States and South Korea signed an agreement to cooperate on space, among other technology topics. The “Technology Prosperity” deal signed Wednesday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting covers cooperation between the countries in topics from space to artificial intelligence and quantum computing. In space, the countries agreed on general civil space cooperation as well as ensuring interoperability between GPS and South Korea’s planned regional navigation system. (10/29)

ESA Seeks to Build Up Europe's Space Security (Source: Space News)
The European Space Agency offered more details Tuesday about an initiative to build up space security capabilities in Europe. ESA is seeking 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) for the various elements of the European Resilience from Space (ERS) program focused on Earth observation, navigation and communications. The proposal includes 750 million euros to start work on an Earth observation constellation with optical, radar and potentially other sensors for rapid revisits of key locations. A low Earth orbit navigation satellite system would get 250 million euros, while elements of the IRIS² communications constellation would get 200 million euros. The goal of ERS is to build up European space capabilities given growing security threats and concerns that the continent can no longer primarily rely on the United States for defense. The funding sought at the ministerial is the first step of a long-term program that will involve the European Commission. (10/29)

Concerns Increase That Shutdown Will Affect Artemis 2 (Source: Space News)
Industry officials are concerned that preparations for the Artemis 2 mission may soon feel the effects of the government shutdown. NASA exempted work on the mission, scheduled for launch as soon as February, from the furloughs affecting most agency civil servants since the shutdown started nearly a month ago. At a conference Tuesday, though, Lockheed Martin’s Orion program manager said work may soon slow down because of suppliers no longer able to work without being paid as well as secondary effects, such as potential air traffic slowdowns. (10/29)

Slingshot Focuses on International Customers (Source: Space News)
Slingshot Aerospace is working to sell space-tracking systems to other countries. The company announced Tuesday a contract with the U.K. Space Agency covering the deployment of 13 sensors across five global sites, installed in partnership with German astronomical equipment specialist Baader Planetarium. The data from the sensors will be used by the U.K. to support its own space situational awareness capabilities, building on existing systems. Slingshot says it is seeing a “huge increase” in interest from governments to build up their own SSA systems rather than rely on data from other sources, like the U.S. military. (10/29)

UCF Space Medicine Initiatives Are Taking Off (Source: UCF)
CF’s College of Medicine is charting a new frontier in healthcare as humans prepare for longer missions to moon, Mars and beyond. The goal: explore how factors such as microgravity, radiation and isolation impact the human body in space and how that knowledge can drive innovation into diagnostics, treatment and disease prevention for patients on Earth.

As part of that effort, two internationally known aerospace medicine experts recently joined the medical school’s faculty as part of a new UCF center that will lead research and technology development for improving health in extreme environments such as space. (10/27)

Hidden 5-Mile Wide Asteroid Crater Beneath the Atlantic Revealed (Source: Science Daily)
A massive crater hidden beneath the Atlantic seafloor has been confirmed as the result of an asteroid strike from 66 million years ago. The new 3D seismic data reveals astonishing details about the violent minutes following impact—towering tsunamis, liquefied rock, and shifting seabeds. Researchers call it a once-in-a-lifetime look at how oceanic impacts unfold. (10/27)

Proposal for Carbon-Neutral Data Centers in Space (Source: NTU)
An out-of-this-world idea: placing data centers in space could pave the way for sustainable computing with unlimited solar energy and free cooling, says scientists from NTU Singapore. The researchers outline a practical path to building carbon-neutral data centers in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), a concept particularly relevant to land-scarce cities like Singapore, where limited land and high real estate costs make conventional data centers increasingly expensive. (10/27)

Haridopolos Said NASA’s Artemis II Mission Hasn’t Been Delayed by Shutdown — Yet (Source: Florida Politics)
U.S. Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL) said a federal shutdown hasn’t impacted the timeline for major NASA missions to date. But he worries the longer workers go without pay, the more the U.S. could be slowed down in the modern space race. Haridopolos said NASA, like many federal agencies, has seen many workers decline to come into work without a paycheck. Oct. 24 marked the first day workers missed out on an entire pay period.

The Congressman expressed hope that most NASA workers will stay on the job even as Congress remains at a stalemate on a budget resolution. He noted that private contractors are involved in the Artemis II mission, which helps preserve the timetable at the Kennedy Space Center. NASA has said workers on Artemis missions working with SpaceX and Blue Origin, private space companies, must continue work through the shutdown. (10/27)

Orion: The Spaceship That Will Carry Astronauts Back to the Moon (Sources: Payload, Lockheed Martin)
When four astronauts climb into NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission, they will be doing something no one has done in more than half a century: leaving Earth for a journey to the Moon. Behind this historic flight is a spacecraft designed and built with one unmistakable priority—safeguarding its crew every step of the way.

For Lockheed Martin, NASA’s prime contractor for Orion, that responsibility has guided every decision across years of design, innovation, testing and assembly. It is a cutting-edge vehicle built for the most unforgiving environment and the only exploration-class spacecraft designed to take humans into deep space. Click here. (10/29)

Besxar Emerges From Stealth with SpaceX Launch Deal (Source: Payload)
Semiconductor manufacturing is big business, and a new startup from Washington DC has plans to take it out of this world. Besxar Space Industries emerged from stealth yesterday with the announcement of a launch deal with SpaceX. The launch giant will fly a total of 24 of Besxar’s reusable in-space manufacturing payloads aboard 12 upcoming Falcon 9 launches—with the first launch expected as soon as this year. (10/29)

What Happens When the US Stops Funding the Science Behind SpaceX? (Source: Bloomberg)
NASA’s shrinking budget threatens the public science behind SpaceX’s success, and it could weaken America’s ability to develop breakthrough technologies. Reduced public funding for the science behind SpaceX would hinder the company's innovation, diminish the broader U.S. aerospace ecosystem, and weaken America's long-term ability to develop new technologies. The private space industry, despite its successes, heavily relies on decades of foundational, government-funded research. (10/24)

Open Cosmos Details ‘Quiver’ Project With Panasonic for Connected Satellite Constellations (Source: Via Satellite)
Open Cosmos is working on a project with Japanese company Panasonic Operational Excellence Co. to advance optical inter-satellite communications. The companies will focus on faster and more autonomous ways for satellites to connect in orbit, bringing together Open Cosmos’ expertise in satellite constellations and Panasonic’s expertise in high-frequency telecommunications. (10/28)

Space Coast-Based Satcom Direct to Supply Multi-Orbit Airborne Satcom to a US Agency (Source: Via Satellite)
SD Government, recently acquired by Gogo, won a new contract to deliver multi-band, multi-orbit airborne global satellite communications to a U.S. government agency. The deal is worth $3 million and will run for five years.  The deal is a follow-on from Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III activity originally undertaken by SDG, prior to the merger with Gogo. (10/27)

Hughes Acquires Aerospace, Aviation Engineering Firm (Source: Via Satellite)
Hughes Network Systems (Hughes), an EchoStar company, announced it is acquiring Anderson Connectivity, an aerospace design, engineering and manufacturing services company. This acquisition aims to expand Hughes capabilities, adding key technology and engineering talent and product solutions while positioning the company for accelerated growth in the global aviation, space, and defense markets. (10/23)

Small-Business Owners Near Colorado Space Force Base Face Financial Losses Amid Shutdown (Source: 9News)
Small businesses near Buckley Space Force Base are experiencing significant financial losses as the federal government shutdown cuts off much of the customer base of military members and federal workers. Stacey Miller, owner of Milly's Cafe has seen a 52% drop in ticket sales since the shutdown began. The cafe typically serves government workers and military personnel two to four times per week during their morning commutes.

Michael Morales, owner of Senor Miguel's, reported a 20% loss in business. With military family connections dating back to World War I, the situation is particularly personal for Morales. "All those extra contractors ain't getting in there to do the extra work. That affects me because they drive right by here," Morales said. "Those are my customers." Miller said she is concerned that the worst is yet to come, particularly with military members who may soon not receive pay. She said she worries about missing the critical holiday sales period in mid-November. (10/27)

Falcon Heavy Launch of Private Griffin Moon Lander Delayed to 2026 (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX's next mission to the moon, and the next launch of its triple-booster Falcon Heavy rocket, has slipped to no earlier than July 2026. Astrobotic's Griffin-1 lunar lander, carrying NASA and commercial payloads that include rovers from Astrobotic and Astrolab, will wait just a little longer before its planned excursion to the moon. The mission had previously targeted a launch at the end of 2025, but will apparently miss that deadline, according to an Astrobotic update. (10/28)

NASA's X-59 'Quiet' Supersonic Jet Makes Historic 1st Flight (Source: Space.com)
NASA's X-59 has finally taken flight. It appears the X-plane flew [subsonic] oval-shaped "racetrack" patterns over the Edwards Air Force Base for just over an hour before landing. The X-59 is NASA's experimental new jet built to break the sound barrier without generating the thunderous sonic booms typically associated with supersonic flight. The X-59 took off from the Palmdale Regional Airport in California on Oct. 28. The X-59 was designed by NASA and built by Lockheed Martin at the company's storied Skunk Works facility in Palmdale. (10/28)

Blue Origin Details Lunar Exploration Progress Amid Artemis 3 Contract Shakeup (Source: Spaceflight Now)
Blue Origin is still several years off from its currently contracted mission to bring astronauts to the Moon’s South Pole on the Artemis 5 mission. But it has a number of spacecraft in development with at least one set to fly to the lunar surface as soon as potentially later this year. The company is also developing plans that could expedite the Artemis 3 mission, which will be the first human landing on the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program.

Blue Origin’s first mission to the Moon will be an uncrewed Blue Moon Mark 1 lander is going through final stacking in Florida. The 8.1-meter-tall cargo lander will help with ongoing development of their crewed lander, named Blue Moon Mk. 2, which is 15.3 meters tall. Both are powered by Blue Origin’s BE-7 engines, which are being tested on stands in Alabama, Texas and Washington.

Both versions of the lander are powered by a combination of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. A key difference though is that Mk.1 can be launched to the Moon with a single launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket while Mk. 2 requires orbital refueling. The stacking work for the first Blue Moon Mk.1 lander is happening at a dedicated production plant for the spacecraft located at Port Canaveral. (10/28)

Pentagon Removes Key Protections for Civilian Workers, Moves to Fire with ‘Speed and Conviction’ (Source: The Hill)
The Pentagon has pulled key protections for its civilian personnel, directing managers to move with “speed and conviction” to fire underperforming workers, according to a memo issued one day before the U.S. government shut down. The new guidelines, which became public Tuesday, have sparked fears that they could be used to push out anyone at the Pentagon who doesn’t agree with or toe the line on the Trump administration’s programs.

Nearly half of the Defense civilian workforce — about 334,900 employees — have been furloughed for the shutdown, according to the department’s contingency plan released last month. Of those remaining, about 24 percent are paid through sources other than the annual appropriations bill Congress has been unable to pass. Another 30 percent are considered “excepted” employees who must continue to work jobs such as those involved in providing medical care, emergency response or protecting human life. (10/28)

Shutdown Jitters Highlight Potential Impact on Defense Programs (Source: Defense One)
General Dynamics CEO Phebe Novakovic is expressing her concerns about the potential impact of a long federal government shutdown, noting that it could disrupt contracting and funding for various defense programs. "The longer it lasts, the more it will impact us, particularly the shorter cycle businesses," Novakovic says. (10/28)

12-Year-Old Discovers 2 Possible New Asteroids (Source: Space.com)
An Ontario preteen may be one of the youngest Canadians to ever find an asteroid. Siddharth Patel, a 12-year-old who lives in London, Ontario (west of Toronto), spotted two possible asteroids in September as part of a citizen science program that partners with NASA. The two suspected space rocks are called 2024 RX69 and 2024 RH39 and are cataloged in the Minor Planet Center. (10/29)

Northern Hemisphere Is Losing Brightness Faster Than Scientists Expected (Source: Smithsonian)
Earth has been dimming for decades, reflecting less light back into space—and the amount of light reflected by the Northern Hemisphere is decreasing more quickly than that of the Southern Hemisphere, recent research suggests. The study throws a wrench in a longstanding hypothesis about the planet’s brightness, or albedo. That reflective power was previously thought to be balanced between the two hemispheres, with researchers suggesting that the Northern and Southern Hemispheres’ symmetrical albedo is a fundamental property of Earth. While both hemispheres are darkening, the Northern Hemisphere is darkening more quickly, the researchers note in the study. (10/28)

US Space Force Is Getting More Eyes in Space (Source: National Interest)
The Space Force’s recent contract with Vantor to provide for better situational awareness in space highlights how the Space Force is coming around to the fact that its vital, but vulnerable, satellites are under increased threat from counterspace attacks. Notably, American satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO) are at risk of being attacked by co-orbital satellites belonging to enemy nations. To better resist this threat, Space Force has awarded a contract to Vantor—formerly Maxar Intelligence—to use its existing satellite constellation for space environment monitoring. (10/25)

Record-Breaking Gravitational Wave Detection Suggests These Black Holes Merged Before (Source: IFL Science)
The international LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration reports the observations of two record-breaking events in gravitational wave observations. GW241011 was detected on October 11, 2024. It was the collision between two black holes around 17 and seven times the mass of our Sun. The second, GW241110, had similar masses of black holes, around 16 and eight times the mass of our Sun. The peculiarity here was also the spin, but not how quickly it rotates: its direction. (10/28)

Can We Find Water Ice on the Moon? Only If We Know Where to Look (Source: Space.com)
Much is unknown about the availability of water ice on the moon, or even what data is missing that could help fine-tune lunar exploration by both robotic probes and human explorers. That's why an upcoming meeting of international experts will meet to discuss today's state of knowledge regarding volatiles in the lunar polar regions. The goal of the gathering is to help prepare for an onslaught of upcoming robotic and crewed expeditions by multiple nations to explore for, investigate and ultimately utilize lunar polar volatiles. (10/29)

Astronomers Discover Hidden 'Moon' Shadowing Earth (Source: BBC)
Astronomers have discovered a peculiar ‘moon’ shadowing Earth as it moves through space. Known as a quasi-moon, it doesn’t orbit our planet directly but stays nearby as both travel around the Sun. Known as 2025 PN7, it may have evaded previous observation because it’s so small. While its exact size isn’t yet known, researchers think it’s about 30m across. (10/25)

Brightest FRB Ever Seen Doesn’t Repeat, Baffling Astronomers (Source: SciTech Daily)
An international team of astronomers has detected the most luminous Fast Radio Burst (FRB) ever recorded. By combining data from a network of radio telescopes, the scientists successfully pinpointed the burst’s exact location in a nearby galaxy. The newly identified signal, designated FRB 20250316A and nicknamed RBFLOAT (“Radio Brightest Flash Of All Time”), was localized with remarkable precision using the CHIME/FRB Outrigger array.

Despite being the brightest ever seen by CHIME, astronomers have not detected repeat bursts from the source, even when looking back over the hundreds of hours of CHIME observations of its position over more than six years. “This burst doesn’t seem to repeat, which makes it different from most well-studied FRBs,” said Cook. “That challenges a major idea in the field, that all FRBs repeat, and opens the door to reconsidering more ‘explosive’ origins for at least some of them.” (10/26)

Textron Picks Kansas for Aircraft Assembly (Source: KWCH)
Textron Aviation Defense has announced plans to assemble the Beechcraft M-346N trainer in Wichita, Kan., if it secures a contract from the Navy. The project would create about 100 jobs and involve a $38 million investment to modernize manufacturing facilities. "We have the best and brightest in terms of aviation talent and skilled workforce right here in Wichita, Kansas and we think this positions us really well to continue to manufacture and build aircraft for the United States Military," Textron Aviation President and CEO Travis Tyler says. (10/28)

Here's How NASA Plans To Deorbit The ISS (Source: BGR)
When the International Space Station reaches the end of its mission life around 2030, NASA won't simply let it fall to Earth. That brings a potential risk of debris from the ISS hitting populated areas. Instead, the agency devised a multistep plan to guide the massive structure safely back into Earth's atmosphere. The ISS will gradually descend as natural atmospheric drag slowly lowers its orbit. Engineers on the ground will monitor and control this process, performing reboosts and orbital adjustments to ensure the station maintains stability and the correct orientation for the final maneuver.

Once the last crew has returned to Earth, a specifically designed spacecraft known as the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle (USDV) will approach the ISS. This vehicle, being developed by SpaceX under NASA's direction, will act as a space tug, likely aiming the ISS toward a remote region of the South Pacific Ocean known as Point Nemo, or the "spacecraft cemetery". It's where satellites and space debris have been safely deposited over the years. (10/27)