December 5, 2025

China's Replacement Shenzhou Deployment Creates Gap in TSS Rescue Capabilities (Source: Space News)
Sending a replacement Shenzhou spacecraft to the Tiangong space station has created a gap in Chinese rescue capabilities that could last for months. China launched the uncrewed Shenzhou-22 spacecraft to Tiangong last week to replace Shenzhou-20, which has a crack in a window caused by a micrometeoroid or orbital debris impact. China’s human spaceflight agency, CMSEO, operates a “one launch, one on standby” protocol that keeps a spare Shenzhou spacecraft and Long March 2F rocket on standby for emergencies.

With that spare used for Shenzhou-22, China faces a gap in emergency capabilities until Shenzhou-23 can be delivered and readied at the Jiuquan launch site. China is accelerating completion of the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft, now expected to be delivered to Jiuquan in January, although it will still then need to be integrated with the rocket.

Editor's Note: Can Russian or US spacecraft be used to rescue TSS astronauts? Maybe. The TSS docking mechanism is based on Russia's Androgynous Peripheral Attach System (APAS-89 / APAS-95) design. ISS APAS-95 adapters have been updated with the International Docking Adapter (IDA) to the now-official International Docking System Standard (IDSS). China has not publicly announced whether its APAS-derived docking systems have been designed to comply with the IDSS standard. (12/5)

Leo and Starlink Will Get Fraction of Rural Broadband Subsidies (Source: Space News)
Amazon Leo and SpaceX’s Starlink will get on a small fraction of rural broadband subsidies. The two companies stand to get about 4% of the nearly $20 billion that states have proposed for rural broadband buildouts through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. Fiber players such as Comcast and AT&T won 86% of funding across all the states in the program. SpaceX has previously sent letters to protest state decisions that sidelined satellites in favor of terrestrial technologies, after the National Telecommunications and Information Administration said in June it would apply a technology-neutral approach for the $42.5 billion Biden-era program that previously favored fiber. (12/5)

Orbex Gets Smaller Share of European Launcher Funding (Source: Space News)
Small launch vehicle developer Orbex got far less funding than the other four companies in the European Launcher Challenge. The European Space Agency announced last week that member states agreed to provide more than 900 million euros ($1.05 billion) to the five companies in the program, designed to provide launch contracts and vehicle development funding for new entrants.

Financial data released earlier this week by ESA, though, showed members agreed to provide just under 35 million euros to Orbex, while the other four received between 169 million and 205 million euros each. The United Kingdom, where Orbex is headquartered, decided not to immediately allocate 112 million of its 144 million euro subscription to the program. The U.K. Space Agency said this week that it is working with multiple partners and will allocate the funds “in due course.” (12/5)

Trusted Space Raises Funding for AI Satellite Tools (Source: Space News)
Trusted Space, a government contractor focused on mission engineering and analysis tools for satellite operations, has raised funding from Washington Harbour Partners. The investment firm said Thursday it made a strategic investment of undisclosed size into Trusted Space, part of a new cohort of mission-software engineering firms applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to applications ranging from battle management to space domain awareness, space exploration and mission data processing. Washington Harbour focuses on technology companies serving government and national-security markets, and has recently invested in space startups Turion Space and Quindar. (12/5)

Surprisingly, This Space Economy Isn’t for Everyone (Source: Space News)
While the overall space industry is growing, that growth is not evenly distributed. Manufacturing satellites represents a $316 billion revenue opportunity over the next decade, research by Analysys Mason has concluded, including $179 billion for communications satellites. However, for communications satellites, roughly $153 billion is already earmarked for Starlink, Amazon Leo, and China’s Qianfan and Guowang constellations, leaving $26 billion open for competition. Similarly, launch is dominated by SpaceX, while efforts by major companies to vertically integrate rocket and spacecraft development limit opportunities for many suppliers. (12/5)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Mission on Thursday From California (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites Thursday. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and placed 28 Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch was the fourth Falcon 9 mission in as many days, all carrying Starlink satellites. (12/5)

Northrop Grumman Tests New Solid Rocket Motor (Source: Space News)
Northrop Grumman tested a solid rocket motor as part of a company effort to demonstrate new technologies. The 22-inch Solid Motor Adaptable, Scalable, Half Time/Cost, or SMASH!22, motor, completed a static-fire test at a company facility in Utah on Thursday. The motor tested new manufacturing technologies and approaches as part of the company’s Solid Motor Annual Rocket Technology Demonstrator, or SMART Demo, program. That program develops and tests solid rocket motors annually to support work on missile and space systems. (12/5)

NASA Assembles Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Source: NASA)
NASA has completed assembly of its next large space telescope. The agency said Thursday that workers recently joined the inner and outer portions of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in a clean room at the Goddard Space Flight Center. The telescope is now ready for final testing before a launch planned for as soon as the fall of 2026. Roman features a wide-field camera to support studies of dark matter and dark energy, as well as a coronagraph instrument to block light from individual stars to observe exoplanets orbiting them. (12/5)

New LEGO Set Features SLS (Source: Collect Space)
The latest LEGO space-themed set features a Space Launch System rocket that will lift off. The NASA Artemis Space Launch System Rocket set, part of its Technic lines, includes gears that, when turned by a hand crank, will cause the SLS to rise. Its two solid rocket boosters will also separate, as will the Orion spacecraft on top. The set goes on sale in January for $59.99. (12/5)

Roadmap Sets Circular Economy Agenda for Space Hardware and Debris Mitigation (Source: Space Daily)
Most satellites and spacecraft are currently decommissioned by being moved into graveyard orbits or left as debris, meaning that their materials are almost never recovered or repurposed and instead contribute to a growing population of orbital junk that can interfere with operating satellites. Researchers describe these practices as unsustainable in the context of rapidly increasing private and public launches and argue for a shift toward systems that are designed for reuse, repair, and recycling to support long-term access to space.

Lessons from sectors such as consumer electronics and automotive manufacturing, where circular design concepts are already being tested, could inform space hardware architectures and materials choices. The roadmap centers on the 3 Rs of reduce, reuse, and recycle and applies them to both launch systems and on-orbit infrastructure.

To cut waste, they recommend designing satellites and spacecraft for higher durability and ease of repair, and using existing or future space stations as hubs where spacecraft can be refueled, serviced, or used to manufacture components, which could reduce the number of launches required for replacement hardware. To support reuse and recycling of spacecraft and station components, they propose investing in soft-landing technologies such as parachutes and airbags so hardware can be returned safely for inspection, refurbishment, or material recovery. (12/3)

NASA Extends ISS National Lab Management Contract Through 2030 (Source: Space Daily)
The Center for Advancement of Science in Space will continue to manage the ISS National Laboratory for at least another five years. CASIS has managed the ISS National Lab since 2011, after Congress created it to enable researchers to build a "robust market" in low Earth orbit by leveraging the unique environment that exists in space, CASIS officials said. "For nearly 14 years, NASA has entrusted CASIS with managing this incredible asset for our nation and for the benefit of humanity," said Ramon Lugo, principal investigator and chief executive officer of CASIS. (12/4)

UK Plasma Thruster Test Positions Pulsar Fusion for Larger Satellite Propulsion (Source: Space Daily)
Pulsar Fusion and partners have tested what they describe as the largest space plasma engine yet fired in Britain, designed to provide high-thrust in-space propulsion for heavier satellites. The engine, which the company reports is roughly ten times larger than its previous plasma thrusters, was demonstrated at the University of Southampton on 29 January in a large vacuum chamber to replicate on-orbit conditions. The project received partial funding from the UK Space Agency as part of a broader collaboration focused on advanced propulsion systems for future spacecraft. (12/5)

NASA Nominee Denies Conflict of Interest with Musk (Source: Roll Call)
Jared Isaacman, the on-off-on again nominee to lead NASA, on Wednesday denied allegations of a potential conflict of interest because of his friendship with billionaire Elon Musk, adding he doesn’t know why President Trump withdrew his nomination earlier this year only to renominate him last month. Isaacman made the comments at a second confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which previously had voted to advance his initial nomination to the floor in April. Trump withdrew the nomination in May. (12/4)

Starlink Launches in Korea with Focus on Ships, Planes (Source: The Investor)
SpaceX’s satellite internet service Starlink launched in South Korea on Thursday, opening nationwide residential and enterprise subscriptions and marking the country’s official entry into the low Earth orbit, or LEO, broadband era. Service sign-ups began through Starlink Korea’s website, with the residential plan priced at 87,000 won ($59) per month, offering unlimited data and expected speeds of 135 megabits per second for downloads and 40 Mbps for uploads. Hardware installation is priced at 550,000 won. (12/4)

Pawan Kumar Chandana – Boy Who Scored 51 in Maths Built India’s Largest Private Rocket Factory (Source: Financial Express)
People on social media have been taking inspiration from Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder and CEO at Skyroot Aerospace. Wondering why? Because this founder, who “launched India’s first private rocket to Space”, was once an average student who scored just 51 marks in mathematics. So how did he fall in love with the subject he struggled with? All thanks to his “ambitious” father, who didn’t give up after those low marks and instead got him enrolled in IIT JEE coaching.

During his preparation for the entrance exam, Chandana not only improved academically but also fell in love with both maths and science. In 2007, he joined IIT Kharagpur after clearing the coveted examination in his first attempt to study mechanical engineering. He has a dual BTech-MTech degree in Mechanical Engineering. While many of his classmates chased high-paying jobs and international careers, he chased rockets and space. (12/4)

Relm Insurance Brings More Insurance Products to Space (Source: Via Satellite)
Relm Insurance is bringing a new suite of insurance products designed for space economy customers. These products will aim to equip brokers and clients with coverage that strengthens business resilience from early-stage development through to established technologies. Relm Insurance announced the new product offerings Dec. 3.

The company is introducing two new specialized offerings: OMEGASPACE and NOVASPACE. OMEGA SPACE is a combined financial, professional, and cyber tech policy for enterprises using space-based signals, data, and analytics to provide services to their clients. NOVASPACE is a bespoke errors and omissions (E&O) policy for firms in the space supply chain. Relm has also opened its SIGMA product suite to the space economy. The NOVASPACE product from Relm Insurance is not associated with the European aerospace analysis firm, Novaspace. (12/4)

FCC Still Worried About EU Space Act’s Anti-Competitive Effects, But Hopeful that Dialogue Will Bring Consensus (Source: Space Intel Report)
The US government remains concerned that the proposed EU Space Act governing conduct in space has protectionist leanings but is hopeful that the ongoing US-EU dialogue will work through the issues, the head of the US Federal Communications Commission’s Space Bureau said. The US State Department and other US government agencies have been soliciting US industry comment on the proposed EU Space Act, which was published in June. (12/4)

Israel's Gilat wins $10 million Order for Transportable Direct Downlink Earth Observation System (Source: Space Daily)
Gilat Satellite Networks has secured an order of about $10 million for a customized Earth observation direct downlink solution to be delivered over the next 12 months. The contract was awarded to Gilat DataPath and broadens the role of Gilat Defense from satellite communications into Earth observation and geospatial intelligence. (12/4)

Celestis to Launch Cremains on Stoke Rocket in 2026 (Source: Space News)
For more than three decades, Celestis, Inc. has transformed remembrance into exploration, sending the names, ashes, and DNA of pioneers and visionaries into space. Today, the company announces the next chapter in that extraordinary story: Infinite Flight, a deep-space memorial mission to be carried aboard Stoke Space’s Nova rocket, a fully and rapidly reusable medium-lift launch vehicle. Targeted for Q4 2026, Infinite Flight is the second mission in Celestis’ Voyager Service, and will mark the second commercial deep-space memorial mission in history, both conceived and flown by Celestis. (12/3)

NASA Reveals 'America 250' Logo on Artemis SLS Rocket (Source: Collect Space)
NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, commander of the upcoming Artemis II mission to the moon, recently remarked that flying during the United States' 250th anniversary has definitely got him and his crew "fired up." Wiseman was referring to the excitement that their flight is adding to the already milestone year, but as it turns out, he could have been speaking literally. As NASA revealed this week, the two side-mounted motors that will provide the majority of the thrust during the Artemis II crew's launch have been adorned with the nation's logo marking the 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
(12/3)

A New Way to Harness More Energy for All Those Space Devices in Our Atmosphere (Source: Source: FNN)
Space may finally be getting its energy revolution. Star Catcher Industries, the company building the first orbital power grid, just set a new world record for wireless optical power transmission — surpassing DARPA’s benchmark — by delivering more than 1.1 kilowatts of energy to standard solar panels at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Click here. (12/4)

Lockheed Martin Opens $17 Million Hypersonic Facility in Huntsville (Source: AL.com)
Lockheed Martin has opened its $17 million, 17,000-square-foot Hypersonics System Integration Lab on its Huntsville campus. The integration facility will bring together advanced test equipment, simulation tools and an integration environment under one roof. The new facility will shorten development cycles and fielding higher performance systems for the U.S. Army. (12/4)