Power Lifting: Cold War Satellite
Reconnaissance and the Buran Space Shuttle (Source: Space Review)
In the 1980s, the Soviet Union developed Buran, its version of the
space shuttle. Dwayne Day and Harry Stranger examine how the CIA was
likely able to track its development using satellite imagery. Click here.
(2/17)
Czars Versus Councils: Organizing
Space in the New Administration (Source: Space Review)
The new Trump Administration appears unlikely to continue the National
Space Council that it revived in its first term. Jeff Foust reports on
what alternatives might be considered to provide a
“whole-of-government” approach to space. Click here.
(2/17)
A Bold Frontier: Advancing America’s
Space Leadership and Economic Power (Source: Space Review)
The space community is waiting to see what the new administration will
do differently in space and what will stay the same. Karlton Johnson
argues the administration should embrace innovation and regulatory
reform in space. Click here.
(2/17)
Blue Origin Announces Crew for New
Shepard’s 30th Mission (Source: Blue Origin)
Blue Origin today revealed the six people flying on its NS-30 mission.
The crew includes: Lane Bess, Jesús Calleja, Elaine Chia Hyde, Dr.
Richard Scott, Tushar Shah, and an undisclosed sixth crew member. Lane
is flying on New Shepard for the second time, the fourth astronaut to
do so. This mission is the 10th human flight for the New Shepard
program and the 30th in its history. To date, the program has flown 47
humans above the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary
of space. (2/18)
Under Trump, NASA Meetings are On Hold
and Missions are Up in the Air (Source: Washington Post)
NASA is a methodical institution that plans its missions years or even
decades in advance, enjoys a famously loyal workforce and carries out
its tasks with the kind of precision required to hurl humans into
orbit, drive rovers on Mars or build telescopes that can see nearly to
the dawn of time. But at the moment, NASA employees and contractors
don’t know what tomorrow will bring — or even if they’ll have jobs.
With President Donald Trump’s return to power and the billionaire space
entrepreneur Elon Musk patrolling government agencies, the world’s
premier space agency has entered a murky realm.
In the days ahead, the agency’s expensive moon rocket, the Space Launch
System, could be shelved. NASA’s ambitious plan to send astronauts back
to the moon on multiple missions could be scaled back if Trump and Musk
push for a rapid pivot to Mars. Even the long-term location of NASA
headquarters is up in the air: The agency’s lease in Washington expires
in three years, and the headquarters could soon be relocated, possibly
to Florida or Texas.
Much of NASA’s immediate future may be in the hands of Musk’s U.S. DOGE
Service. On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order saying a DOGE team
lead will be installed at agencies, with authority over hiring
decisions. Members of the space community have expressed fear that the
administration could ask for deep cuts to the $25 billion agency when
the president submits his budget request to Congress. “Our immensely
successful research enterprise is under attack,” said Garth
Illingworth. (2/16)
Indoors and in Cars: How Globalstar
Plans to Upgrade iPhone Satellite Features (Source: PC Magazine)
Satellite connectivity on smartphones typically requires a clear view
of the sky, but future iPhones may work from inside a car or even
buildings, according to Apple partner Globalstar. In October,
Globalstar revealed it had received $1.1 billion from Apple to develop
a next-generation satellite network. In a new filing with the FCC, the
company discloses more details, including how the so-called “C-3”
constellation will span 48 satellites designed to operate at low-Earth
orbit, with another six satellites to function as spares.
“The C-3 System, representing a more than $1 billion total investment
in state-of-the-art satellites and associated ground infrastructure,
will expand Globalstar’s ability to provide connectivity,” Globalstar
says. Importantly, the satellites can beam a stronger radio signal to
devices on the ground, according to the filing. "Given this greater
signal strength and the availability of multiple satellites overhead,
users will have access to much-improved in-building and in-vehicle
connectivity with less dependency on antenna orientation," the company
adds. (2/18)
New Mexico's Future in Space
(Source: Albuquerque Journal)
Every industry—from green energy to quantum computing—has a stake in
the new space domain. And yet, many of our leaders view space as a
singular industry run by DOD, billionaires, and NASA. That mindset is
outdated, and, frankly, dangerous. If New Mexico fails to shift its
mindset and get behind this, we’ll watch other states and nations cash
in while we’re left behind. New Mexico has an edge of which most states
can only dream. From prehistoric observatories to the first rocket
propulsion systems, its history is rooted in astronomical advancements
and scientific breakthroughs. Its infrastructure is defined by leading
research institutions.
Its landscape inspires bold ideas. Its culture fosters creative
solutions. It has the potential to lead innovations in space
exploration in a unique and unprecedented way, but this won’t happen
without a vision, without a strategy, and without support. The problem?
The state’s current nine-sector economic strategy—while logical when
only the sky’s the limit— is missing the unique opportunity to declare
to the world that space is rapidly becoming the connective tissue
linking these industries.
Biosciences, cybersecurity, energy, and agriculture, among many others,
all have massive stakes in space-related innovation. Yet without clear
alignment and investment, New Mexico is leaving one of its strongest
competitive advantages on the table. If we don’t make space a top
priority now, we’ll lose our competitive advantage. The clock is
running out. States with no significant relationship to space are
already taking action on this potential. (2/18)
February 18, 2025
The Dream of Offshore Rocket Launches
is Finally Blasting Off (Source: MIT Technology Review)
To relieve the congestion, some mission planners are looking to the ocean as the next big gateway to space. China has sent more than a dozen space missions from ocean platforms since 2019, most recently in January 2025. Italy’s space program has announced it will reopen its ocean launchpad off the coast of Kenya, while German space insiders envision an offshore spaceport in the North Sea. In the US, the idea of sea launches has attracted attention from heavyweights like SpaceX and inspired a new startup called the Spaceport Company.
“The best way to build a future where we have dozens, hundreds, or maybe thousands of spaceports is to build them at sea,” says Tom Marotta, CEO and founder of the Spaceport Company, which is working to establish offshore launch hubs. “It’s very hard to find a thousand acres on the coast over and over again to build spaceports. It’s very easy to build the same ship over and over again.”
"If the US imposes strict oversight on launches, other nations might apply different standards to licensing agreements with launch providers. “I can imagine that some unauthorized projects may become possible simply because they are on the seas and there is no real authority—by contrast to land-based space launches—to supervise those kinds of launches,” Alla Pozdnakova says. (2/11)
Hundreds of FAA Employees are Let Go as Trump's Mass Layoffs Continue (Source: NBC News)
The Trump administration fired hundreds of employees with the FAA over the weekend, just weeks after a fatal crash over Washington, D.C., exposed understaffing at the agency. The union representing the employees called the firings a “hastily made decision” that would increase the workload of a workforce already stretched thin. The union statement referred to the Washington crash as well as two others in recent weeks across the country as evidence that it was not the time to cut personnel at the agency. (2/17)
NOAA, NASA Brace for Major Job Cuts (Source: Axios)
The layoffs of thousands of government workers are likely to expand — possibly as soon as Tuesday — to two key climate science and extreme weather agencies: NOAA and NASA. These are two agencies where Musk has conflicts of interest given the activities of his company SpaceX. The agencies keep tabs on the planet's weather and climate and are considered to be in the top tier of such government departments worldwide. In keeping with the size of cuts to other government departments, NOAA is thought to be in line for as much as a 10% reduction in staff, which would amount to about 1,000 workers.
NOAA is a small organization, with only about 12,000 employees spread across functions from climate and weather forecasting to oceans research and fisheries regulation. Deep cuts could imperil some of its work, particularly that of the National Weather Service, which has been short-staffed in recent years. Editor's Note: A colleague at NASA KSC tells me they expect serious difficulty completing their tasks after key personnel are driven from the agency. I think the full effects of the DOGE purge across the government will manifest after the next two months, when public services are seriously curtailed and the administration of existing contracts becomes chaotic. Expect a lot of churn among contractors as their services are sought to backfill capabilities eviscerated by DOGE. (2/18)
Ursa Major Rocket Engine Could Support US Iron Dome (Source: Space News)
Ursa Major is accelerating work on a rocket engine it believes could play a role in the proposed "Iron Dome for America" missile defense system. The company argues the Draper liquid-propulsion engine it is developing fits the need for the kind of better propulsion technology required for high-performance interceptor missiles, ones that can operate from the ground or from space. Draper relies on kerosene and hydrogen peroxide propellants, allowing it to be used in missiles that are stored for long periods. Ursa Major performed ground tests of the 4,000-pound-force engine last year and is planning a flight-testing campaign to further mature the design and explore military applications, as well as commercial uses in space tugs and in-space transportation. (2/18)
AAC Clyde Space Begins Developing INFLECION Maritime Awareness Constellation (Source: Space News)
Smallsat manufacturer AAC Clyde Space is starting work on a constellation for maritime domain awareness. Satellites in the INFLECION constellation will be equipped with signals intelligence and synthetic aperture radar payloads to track shipping. The company plans to operate the constellation, expected to be deployed by 2028, as part of efforts to grow its services business. Initial work on INFLECION is supported by an 850,000 euro ($890,000) contract from ESA, while the total constellation is estimated to cost 30.7 million euros. (2/18)
US and India Explore More Space Collaboration (Source: Space News)
The United States and India are expanding a technology innovation partnership to include space. The two countries announced last week the creation of INDUS Innovation, an "innovation bridge" between the two countries to support work on space, energy and other emerging technologies. It is based on INDUS-X, which has assisted cooperation between American and Indian companies in the defense sector, including some space applications. INDUS Innovation was announced as part of a joint statement between the two countries that also highlighted continued cooperation in civil and commercial space. (2/18)
China Scales Up Commercial Space Support (Source: Space News)
Beijing is scaling up its commercial space ambitions with new policies, infrastructure investments and potentially record-setting launch targets. A conference last week announced the creation of eight labs for space-related research in the city, part of efforts to bolster the commercial space ecosystem in the region. Beijing hosts the headquarters of companies such as Landspace, Galactic Energy, iSpace and Space Pioneer and has the highest concentration of commercial internet satellite companies in China. These efforts are part of a wider range of local and provincial-level initiatives across China to help spur the growth of the commercial space sector. (2/18)
Vietnam Changes Rules to Allow Starlink Service (Source: Reuters)
The government of Vietnam is changing its rules to allow Starlink to operate in the country. Discussions between SpaceX and Vietnam broke down in late 2023 because of restrictions on foreign control of satellite internet providers in the country. However, revisions to those rules set to be adopted this week would allow foreign companies to maintain control of operations in the country as part of a pilot program that would run through 2030. That would open the door for Starlink to provide services in the country without giving up control to local interests. (2/18)
India's Privatized PSLV Heading Toward 2025 Launch (Source: Times of India)
The first privately built Indian PSLV rocket is scheduled to launch later this year. The rocket, scheduled to launch in the third quarter, will carry an experimental spacecraft called TDS-1 to test 35 satellite technologies, from propulsion to quantum payloads. A consortium that includes Indian companies HAL and L&T is building PSLV vehicles as part of efforts by Indian to privatize elements of its space program. (2/18)
Malaysia Moves Forward on Remote Sensing, Outer Space Treaty Ratification (Source: The Vibes)
Malaysia is moving ahead with a remote sensing satellite program. A government minister said Tuesday that the National Remote Sensing Satellite Development Program is scheduled to begin operations in 2028, reducing the country's reliance on data from foreign satellites. The government also stated it plans to ratify the Outer Space Treaty and the Registration Convention. (2/18)
Long March 8A Rocket Successfully Completes Maiden Flight (Source: Space Daily)
China has successfully launched its Long March 8A carrier rocket for the first time, sending a group of satellites into orbit, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC) announced. The rocket lifted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site, delivering the second batch of low-orbit satellites for China's State-owned internet network into their designated trajectory. This mission marks the 559th launch in the Long March rocket series. With this flight, Long March 8A becomes the latest operational member in the Long March family, which plays a crucial role in China's space missions. (2/16)
Jumping Workouts Could Help Astronauts on the Moon and Mars (Source: Space Daily)
Jumping workouts could help astronauts prevent the type of cartilage damage they are likely to endure during lengthy missions to Mars and the Moon, a new Johns Hopkins University study suggests. The research adds to ongoing efforts by space agencies to protect astronauts against deconditioning/getting out of shape due to low gravity, a crucial aspect of their ability to perform spacewalks, handle equipment and repairs, and carry out other physically demanding tasks. The study, which shows knee cartilage in mice grew healthier following jumping exercises, appears in the journal npj Microgravity. (2/16)
K2 Space Secures $110M and Achieves First in-Space Demonstration (Source: Space Daily)
K2 Space has announced the successful completion of a $110 million Series B funding round aimed at scaling up production of its advanced, high-power satellite platform. The investment, co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Altimeter Capital, also included participation from existing stakeholders such as Alpine Space Ventures and First Round Capital.
This achievement coincides with the company's expansion into a new 180,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Torrance, California, and the success of its inaugural in-space demonstration, which tested key in-house-developed components. To date, K2 Space has raised $180 million in equity and secured over $50 million in contracts from government and commercial entities. (2/16)
New Research Explores CubeSat Swarms for Spacecraft Servicing and Repair (Source: Space Daily)
As space agencies and private companies design satellites and telescopes with repairability in mind, the need for efficient servicing trajectories becomes crucial. Researchers have developed a new method enabling multiple CubeSats to coordinate in servicing and assembling space telescopes. Their approach optimizes fuel use, maintains a minimum separation of five meters between spacecraft, and has potential applications beyond space missions. (2/16)
Public Offerings Take the Stage as the Space Industry Learns From the SPAC Boom and Bust (Source: Space News)
The space industry is preparing for an uptick in stock listings, even as the sour legacy of SPAC deals in the sector continues to leave a bad taste in public investors’ mouths. While this once-booming trend offered a faster and less scrutinized path to the public markets, many space SPACs ultimately underperformed, weighed down by missed targets and overinflated projections.
Of the dozen or so space companies that went public via SPAC in recent years, four are currently trading above their initial $10-a-share offer price, and another two or three are showing promise. Now that SPACs have fallen out of favor, IPOs are taking center stage as a wave of growth-oriented space firms enters the spotlight.
U.S.-based space and defense companies Voyager and Karman announced separate plans to go public. More IPO announcements will likely follow, given declining interest rates, strong equity markets, and expectations of a more business-friendly regulatory environment under the Trump administration. Among the many reasons to be optimistic about the space sector in 2025 is increasing access to launch services and technological advances that are driving down costs. (2/17)
Orbex Betting the Farm on Its European Launcher Challenge Bid (Source: European Spaceflight)
UK-based rocket builder Orbex has revealed that it is counting on a positive outcome from its European Launch Challenge bid to fund the development of its medium-lift rocket, Proxima, citing a “challenging investment climate.” The European Space Agency initiated the European Launcher Challenge in November 2023 to support the development of sovereign launch capabilities and, ultimately, a successor to the Ariane 6.
While the exact format of the challenge has not yet been confirmed, initial reports have indicated that it will include multiple awards of €150 million each. Orbex CEO Phil Chambers said the company’s abrupt decision to pause work on its own spaceport at Sutherland and move the initial operation of its Prime rocket to SaxaVord would allow it to “direct more funding to the development of a new, medium-sized launch vehicle called Proxima.”
When asked how the company could justify dedicating resources to a larger, second launcher while walking away from its commitments to Sutherland, Chambers explained that the development of Proxima was “targeted” at the ESA European Launcher Challenge. He cited the potential €150 million award as a key factor and added that, if successful, the bid would “positively affect the business moving forward.” (2/17)
'Remarkable' Cosmic Explosion Discovered in Decades-Old X-Ray Data (Source: Phys.org)
The "needle in the haystack" discovery of a powerful explosion from a mysterious unknown object outside our galaxy has excited astronomers. It went unnoticed for years within a vast, two decade-long archive of observations by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, before being unearthed.
On 15 May 2020, while Chandra was observing the remains of an exploded star in the LMC (a small galaxy neighboring our Milky Way), it accidentally captured a bright and extremely fast X-ray flash of unknown origin. This flash appeared and disappeared within a few seconds, went unnoticed during the initial observation, and so was stored in the large Chandra archive. (2/17)
To relieve the congestion, some mission planners are looking to the ocean as the next big gateway to space. China has sent more than a dozen space missions from ocean platforms since 2019, most recently in January 2025. Italy’s space program has announced it will reopen its ocean launchpad off the coast of Kenya, while German space insiders envision an offshore spaceport in the North Sea. In the US, the idea of sea launches has attracted attention from heavyweights like SpaceX and inspired a new startup called the Spaceport Company.
“The best way to build a future where we have dozens, hundreds, or maybe thousands of spaceports is to build them at sea,” says Tom Marotta, CEO and founder of the Spaceport Company, which is working to establish offshore launch hubs. “It’s very hard to find a thousand acres on the coast over and over again to build spaceports. It’s very easy to build the same ship over and over again.”
"If the US imposes strict oversight on launches, other nations might apply different standards to licensing agreements with launch providers. “I can imagine that some unauthorized projects may become possible simply because they are on the seas and there is no real authority—by contrast to land-based space launches—to supervise those kinds of launches,” Alla Pozdnakova says. (2/11)
Hundreds of FAA Employees are Let Go as Trump's Mass Layoffs Continue (Source: NBC News)
The Trump administration fired hundreds of employees with the FAA over the weekend, just weeks after a fatal crash over Washington, D.C., exposed understaffing at the agency. The union representing the employees called the firings a “hastily made decision” that would increase the workload of a workforce already stretched thin. The union statement referred to the Washington crash as well as two others in recent weeks across the country as evidence that it was not the time to cut personnel at the agency. (2/17)
NOAA, NASA Brace for Major Job Cuts (Source: Axios)
The layoffs of thousands of government workers are likely to expand — possibly as soon as Tuesday — to two key climate science and extreme weather agencies: NOAA and NASA. These are two agencies where Musk has conflicts of interest given the activities of his company SpaceX. The agencies keep tabs on the planet's weather and climate and are considered to be in the top tier of such government departments worldwide. In keeping with the size of cuts to other government departments, NOAA is thought to be in line for as much as a 10% reduction in staff, which would amount to about 1,000 workers.
NOAA is a small organization, with only about 12,000 employees spread across functions from climate and weather forecasting to oceans research and fisheries regulation. Deep cuts could imperil some of its work, particularly that of the National Weather Service, which has been short-staffed in recent years. Editor's Note: A colleague at NASA KSC tells me they expect serious difficulty completing their tasks after key personnel are driven from the agency. I think the full effects of the DOGE purge across the government will manifest after the next two months, when public services are seriously curtailed and the administration of existing contracts becomes chaotic. Expect a lot of churn among contractors as their services are sought to backfill capabilities eviscerated by DOGE. (2/18)
Ursa Major Rocket Engine Could Support US Iron Dome (Source: Space News)
Ursa Major is accelerating work on a rocket engine it believes could play a role in the proposed "Iron Dome for America" missile defense system. The company argues the Draper liquid-propulsion engine it is developing fits the need for the kind of better propulsion technology required for high-performance interceptor missiles, ones that can operate from the ground or from space. Draper relies on kerosene and hydrogen peroxide propellants, allowing it to be used in missiles that are stored for long periods. Ursa Major performed ground tests of the 4,000-pound-force engine last year and is planning a flight-testing campaign to further mature the design and explore military applications, as well as commercial uses in space tugs and in-space transportation. (2/18)
AAC Clyde Space Begins Developing INFLECION Maritime Awareness Constellation (Source: Space News)
Smallsat manufacturer AAC Clyde Space is starting work on a constellation for maritime domain awareness. Satellites in the INFLECION constellation will be equipped with signals intelligence and synthetic aperture radar payloads to track shipping. The company plans to operate the constellation, expected to be deployed by 2028, as part of efforts to grow its services business. Initial work on INFLECION is supported by an 850,000 euro ($890,000) contract from ESA, while the total constellation is estimated to cost 30.7 million euros. (2/18)
US and India Explore More Space Collaboration (Source: Space News)
The United States and India are expanding a technology innovation partnership to include space. The two countries announced last week the creation of INDUS Innovation, an "innovation bridge" between the two countries to support work on space, energy and other emerging technologies. It is based on INDUS-X, which has assisted cooperation between American and Indian companies in the defense sector, including some space applications. INDUS Innovation was announced as part of a joint statement between the two countries that also highlighted continued cooperation in civil and commercial space. (2/18)
China Scales Up Commercial Space Support (Source: Space News)
Beijing is scaling up its commercial space ambitions with new policies, infrastructure investments and potentially record-setting launch targets. A conference last week announced the creation of eight labs for space-related research in the city, part of efforts to bolster the commercial space ecosystem in the region. Beijing hosts the headquarters of companies such as Landspace, Galactic Energy, iSpace and Space Pioneer and has the highest concentration of commercial internet satellite companies in China. These efforts are part of a wider range of local and provincial-level initiatives across China to help spur the growth of the commercial space sector. (2/18)
Vietnam Changes Rules to Allow Starlink Service (Source: Reuters)
The government of Vietnam is changing its rules to allow Starlink to operate in the country. Discussions between SpaceX and Vietnam broke down in late 2023 because of restrictions on foreign control of satellite internet providers in the country. However, revisions to those rules set to be adopted this week would allow foreign companies to maintain control of operations in the country as part of a pilot program that would run through 2030. That would open the door for Starlink to provide services in the country without giving up control to local interests. (2/18)
India's Privatized PSLV Heading Toward 2025 Launch (Source: Times of India)
The first privately built Indian PSLV rocket is scheduled to launch later this year. The rocket, scheduled to launch in the third quarter, will carry an experimental spacecraft called TDS-1 to test 35 satellite technologies, from propulsion to quantum payloads. A consortium that includes Indian companies HAL and L&T is building PSLV vehicles as part of efforts by Indian to privatize elements of its space program. (2/18)
Malaysia Moves Forward on Remote Sensing, Outer Space Treaty Ratification (Source: The Vibes)
Malaysia is moving ahead with a remote sensing satellite program. A government minister said Tuesday that the National Remote Sensing Satellite Development Program is scheduled to begin operations in 2028, reducing the country's reliance on data from foreign satellites. The government also stated it plans to ratify the Outer Space Treaty and the Registration Convention. (2/18)
Long March 8A Rocket Successfully Completes Maiden Flight (Source: Space Daily)
China has successfully launched its Long March 8A carrier rocket for the first time, sending a group of satellites into orbit, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC) announced. The rocket lifted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site, delivering the second batch of low-orbit satellites for China's State-owned internet network into their designated trajectory. This mission marks the 559th launch in the Long March rocket series. With this flight, Long March 8A becomes the latest operational member in the Long March family, which plays a crucial role in China's space missions. (2/16)
Jumping Workouts Could Help Astronauts on the Moon and Mars (Source: Space Daily)
Jumping workouts could help astronauts prevent the type of cartilage damage they are likely to endure during lengthy missions to Mars and the Moon, a new Johns Hopkins University study suggests. The research adds to ongoing efforts by space agencies to protect astronauts against deconditioning/getting out of shape due to low gravity, a crucial aspect of their ability to perform spacewalks, handle equipment and repairs, and carry out other physically demanding tasks. The study, which shows knee cartilage in mice grew healthier following jumping exercises, appears in the journal npj Microgravity. (2/16)
K2 Space Secures $110M and Achieves First in-Space Demonstration (Source: Space Daily)
K2 Space has announced the successful completion of a $110 million Series B funding round aimed at scaling up production of its advanced, high-power satellite platform. The investment, co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Altimeter Capital, also included participation from existing stakeholders such as Alpine Space Ventures and First Round Capital.
This achievement coincides with the company's expansion into a new 180,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Torrance, California, and the success of its inaugural in-space demonstration, which tested key in-house-developed components. To date, K2 Space has raised $180 million in equity and secured over $50 million in contracts from government and commercial entities. (2/16)
New Research Explores CubeSat Swarms for Spacecraft Servicing and Repair (Source: Space Daily)
As space agencies and private companies design satellites and telescopes with repairability in mind, the need for efficient servicing trajectories becomes crucial. Researchers have developed a new method enabling multiple CubeSats to coordinate in servicing and assembling space telescopes. Their approach optimizes fuel use, maintains a minimum separation of five meters between spacecraft, and has potential applications beyond space missions. (2/16)
Public Offerings Take the Stage as the Space Industry Learns From the SPAC Boom and Bust (Source: Space News)
The space industry is preparing for an uptick in stock listings, even as the sour legacy of SPAC deals in the sector continues to leave a bad taste in public investors’ mouths. While this once-booming trend offered a faster and less scrutinized path to the public markets, many space SPACs ultimately underperformed, weighed down by missed targets and overinflated projections.
Of the dozen or so space companies that went public via SPAC in recent years, four are currently trading above their initial $10-a-share offer price, and another two or three are showing promise. Now that SPACs have fallen out of favor, IPOs are taking center stage as a wave of growth-oriented space firms enters the spotlight.
U.S.-based space and defense companies Voyager and Karman announced separate plans to go public. More IPO announcements will likely follow, given declining interest rates, strong equity markets, and expectations of a more business-friendly regulatory environment under the Trump administration. Among the many reasons to be optimistic about the space sector in 2025 is increasing access to launch services and technological advances that are driving down costs. (2/17)
Orbex Betting the Farm on Its European Launcher Challenge Bid (Source: European Spaceflight)
UK-based rocket builder Orbex has revealed that it is counting on a positive outcome from its European Launch Challenge bid to fund the development of its medium-lift rocket, Proxima, citing a “challenging investment climate.” The European Space Agency initiated the European Launcher Challenge in November 2023 to support the development of sovereign launch capabilities and, ultimately, a successor to the Ariane 6.
While the exact format of the challenge has not yet been confirmed, initial reports have indicated that it will include multiple awards of €150 million each. Orbex CEO Phil Chambers said the company’s abrupt decision to pause work on its own spaceport at Sutherland and move the initial operation of its Prime rocket to SaxaVord would allow it to “direct more funding to the development of a new, medium-sized launch vehicle called Proxima.”
When asked how the company could justify dedicating resources to a larger, second launcher while walking away from its commitments to Sutherland, Chambers explained that the development of Proxima was “targeted” at the ESA European Launcher Challenge. He cited the potential €150 million award as a key factor and added that, if successful, the bid would “positively affect the business moving forward.” (2/17)
'Remarkable' Cosmic Explosion Discovered in Decades-Old X-Ray Data (Source: Phys.org)
The "needle in the haystack" discovery of a powerful explosion from a mysterious unknown object outside our galaxy has excited astronomers. It went unnoticed for years within a vast, two decade-long archive of observations by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, before being unearthed.
On 15 May 2020, while Chandra was observing the remains of an exploded star in the LMC (a small galaxy neighboring our Milky Way), it accidentally captured a bright and extremely fast X-ray flash of unknown origin. This flash appeared and disappeared within a few seconds, went unnoticed during the initial observation, and so was stored in the large Chandra archive. (2/17)
February 17, 2025
SpaceX Team Visits FAA to Offer Air
Traffic Improvements (Source: AOL)
Officials from Elon Musk’s SpaceX are visiting the FAA, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced. In a lengthy post on the social platform X, Duffy said the country deserves top-of-the-line air travel, and he will comply with President Trump’s order to revamp the industry. “To do that, I need advice from the brightest minds in America. I’m asking for help from any high-tech American developer or company that is willing to give back to our country,” Duffy said.
Duffy then said employees from SpaceX, Musk’s space technology company, will be visiting the FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Virginia to “get a firsthand look at the current system, learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike about their current roles, and envision how we can make a new, better, modern and safer system.” (2/17)
Eutelsat Pivots Away From Consumer Broadband (Source: Space News)
Eutelsat is moving away from consumer broadband as Starlink's dominance in that sector grows. Eutelsat announced Friday it is repurposing Konnect VHTS, the 500-gigabit-per-second satellite launched to GEO in 2022 for consumer broadband over Europe and Africa, to serve higher-paying mobility customers in other markets. Eutelsat is closely reviewing future GEO investment needs amid a general shift in the market toward LEO for connectivity. Eutelsat owns OneWeb, the only meaningful competitor today for Starlink in LEO, but a global rollout of OneWeb services continues to be delayed by ground infrastructure and regulatory issues. (2/17)
Firefly's Blue Ghost Enters Lunar Orbit (Source: Space News)
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander has entered orbit around the moon. The lander performed a maneuver late last week to enter an elliptical orbit around the moon and will maneuver in the coming days to move into a circular orbit. The lander is scheduled to touch down early March 2 near Mare Crisium on the near side of the moon. Blue Ghost 1 launched last month on the same Falcon 9 as ispace's Resilience lander, which made a flyby of the moon on Friday. Resilience is following a low-energy trajectory and the flyby put it on course to return and enter lunar orbit in early May. (2/17)
China Seeks Bids for Lunar Imager Satellite (Source: Space News)
China is seeking bids for a lunar imaging satellite. The China Manned Space Engineering Office released a call for proposals Friday for what it described as a "lunar remote sensing satellite" that would provide high-resolution images of the moon, map mineral distributions and support future crewed landings. The mission will focus on low-latitude regions of the moon, suggesting that China's first crewed mission to the moon will go to equatorial regions and not the poles as NASA is targeting with Artemis. (2/17)
Disabled Astronaut Cleared for ISS Missions (Source: Space News)
A European astronaut with a physical disability has been medically cleared for long-duration missions to the International Space Station. A multinational medical board has certified John McFall, an ESA reserve astronaut who lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident at the age of 19 and wears a prosthesis. ESA selected McFall in its 2022 astronaut class as part of an effort to see if people who have certain disabilities but who would otherwise qualify to be astronauts could fly in space. ESA officials said Friday that while McFall is approved medically for a flight, the agency has not assigned him to a mission yet and he will have to compete for limited opportunities to send ESA astronauts to the station. (2/17)
Ravyn Aims to Distrupt Missile Sector (Source: Space News)
Startup Ravyn Technology is trying to enter the market for hypersonic vehicles and solid rocket motors. The company aims to bring down the cost of missiles tenfold with its Mobile Mass Missile System. Ravyn missiles are designed to travel 1,600 kilometers in space, reaching speeds of Mach 10 or higher, before gliding on reentry for extended range. It wants to cut the cost of missiles through design simplification, economies of scale and vertical integration. (2/17)
Redwire Wins ESA Study Contract for Astrophysics Mission (Source: Redwire)
Redwire has won a study contract for an ESA astrophysics mission. The company's Belgian subsidiary received a contract from ESA for initial work on the Analysis of Resolved Remnants for Accreted galaxies as a Key Instrument for Halo Surveys (ARRAKIHS) spacecraft, which would study dark matter. Another company, AVS, also received a study contract from ESA for the ARRAKIHS mission, and the agency will later pick one of the companies to build the spacecraft. (2/17)
Apollo Film Offers Immersive Experience (Source: CollectSpace)
A film that offers an immersive experience about the Apollo missions is now screening in Houston. The Moonwalkers, narrated by Tom Hanks, premiered in London in late 2023 and started playing earlier this month at Space Center Houston, the visitors' center for the Johnson Space Center. The film uses not just a single screen in front but also screens on the side and extending onto the floor to tell the story of Apollo. Houston The movie will also be screened this spring at the Kennedy Center's Earth to Space Festival in Washington. (2/17)
Officials from Elon Musk’s SpaceX are visiting the FAA, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced. In a lengthy post on the social platform X, Duffy said the country deserves top-of-the-line air travel, and he will comply with President Trump’s order to revamp the industry. “To do that, I need advice from the brightest minds in America. I’m asking for help from any high-tech American developer or company that is willing to give back to our country,” Duffy said.
Duffy then said employees from SpaceX, Musk’s space technology company, will be visiting the FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Virginia to “get a firsthand look at the current system, learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike about their current roles, and envision how we can make a new, better, modern and safer system.” (2/17)
Eutelsat Pivots Away From Consumer Broadband (Source: Space News)
Eutelsat is moving away from consumer broadband as Starlink's dominance in that sector grows. Eutelsat announced Friday it is repurposing Konnect VHTS, the 500-gigabit-per-second satellite launched to GEO in 2022 for consumer broadband over Europe and Africa, to serve higher-paying mobility customers in other markets. Eutelsat is closely reviewing future GEO investment needs amid a general shift in the market toward LEO for connectivity. Eutelsat owns OneWeb, the only meaningful competitor today for Starlink in LEO, but a global rollout of OneWeb services continues to be delayed by ground infrastructure and regulatory issues. (2/17)
Firefly's Blue Ghost Enters Lunar Orbit (Source: Space News)
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander has entered orbit around the moon. The lander performed a maneuver late last week to enter an elliptical orbit around the moon and will maneuver in the coming days to move into a circular orbit. The lander is scheduled to touch down early March 2 near Mare Crisium on the near side of the moon. Blue Ghost 1 launched last month on the same Falcon 9 as ispace's Resilience lander, which made a flyby of the moon on Friday. Resilience is following a low-energy trajectory and the flyby put it on course to return and enter lunar orbit in early May. (2/17)
China Seeks Bids for Lunar Imager Satellite (Source: Space News)
China is seeking bids for a lunar imaging satellite. The China Manned Space Engineering Office released a call for proposals Friday for what it described as a "lunar remote sensing satellite" that would provide high-resolution images of the moon, map mineral distributions and support future crewed landings. The mission will focus on low-latitude regions of the moon, suggesting that China's first crewed mission to the moon will go to equatorial regions and not the poles as NASA is targeting with Artemis. (2/17)
Disabled Astronaut Cleared for ISS Missions (Source: Space News)
A European astronaut with a physical disability has been medically cleared for long-duration missions to the International Space Station. A multinational medical board has certified John McFall, an ESA reserve astronaut who lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident at the age of 19 and wears a prosthesis. ESA selected McFall in its 2022 astronaut class as part of an effort to see if people who have certain disabilities but who would otherwise qualify to be astronauts could fly in space. ESA officials said Friday that while McFall is approved medically for a flight, the agency has not assigned him to a mission yet and he will have to compete for limited opportunities to send ESA astronauts to the station. (2/17)
Ravyn Aims to Distrupt Missile Sector (Source: Space News)
Startup Ravyn Technology is trying to enter the market for hypersonic vehicles and solid rocket motors. The company aims to bring down the cost of missiles tenfold with its Mobile Mass Missile System. Ravyn missiles are designed to travel 1,600 kilometers in space, reaching speeds of Mach 10 or higher, before gliding on reentry for extended range. It wants to cut the cost of missiles through design simplification, economies of scale and vertical integration. (2/17)
Redwire Wins ESA Study Contract for Astrophysics Mission (Source: Redwire)
Redwire has won a study contract for an ESA astrophysics mission. The company's Belgian subsidiary received a contract from ESA for initial work on the Analysis of Resolved Remnants for Accreted galaxies as a Key Instrument for Halo Surveys (ARRAKIHS) spacecraft, which would study dark matter. Another company, AVS, also received a study contract from ESA for the ARRAKIHS mission, and the agency will later pick one of the companies to build the spacecraft. (2/17)
Apollo Film Offers Immersive Experience (Source: CollectSpace)
A film that offers an immersive experience about the Apollo missions is now screening in Houston. The Moonwalkers, narrated by Tom Hanks, premiered in London in late 2023 and started playing earlier this month at Space Center Houston, the visitors' center for the Johnson Space Center. The film uses not just a single screen in front but also screens on the side and extending onto the floor to tell the story of Apollo. Houston The movie will also be screened this spring at the Kennedy Center's Earth to Space Festival in Washington. (2/17)
February 16, 2025
Chinese Developer Delivers Liqing-2
Rocket Engine (Source: Space Daily)
China's CAS Space has successfully completed the delivery of its Liqing-2 liquid oxygen kerosene engine, the company announced. The Liqing-2, a first-stage engine for the Lijian series rockets, features a 110-tonne thrust capacity utilizing pin injection technology in both its gas generator and thrust chamber. CAS Space noted that the engine's thrust ratio can be adjusted between 50 to 100 percent, with a maximum ground thrust of 110 tons. (2/12)
COMSAT Backs Astranis From-One-Many Mission with TT&C Services (Source: Space Daily)
COMSAT, a leading satellite ground station service provider, has announced its instrumental role in supporting the Astranis: From One Many mission, which aims to enhance global broadband connectivity. The mission, spearheaded by San Francisco-based satellite company Astranis, is designed to deliver broadband services to key customers such as inflight connectivity provider Anuvu and Philippine internet provider HTechCorp. (2/6)
NASA Awards SpaceX Launch Contract for Pandora Mission (Source: Space Daily)
NASA has awarded a launch service contract to SpaceX of Starbase, Texas, for the upcoming Pandora mission. Pandora is set to investigate at least 20 known exoplanets and their respective host stars, focusing on how stellar variations impact the analysis of exoplanetary atmospheres. The selection falls under NASA's Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract. This agreement allows the agency to issue fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity task orders over a five-year period, with an overall contract ceiling of $300 million. (2/6)
Probationary Employee Firings Across NASA (Source: NASA Watch)
Multiple NASA centers will be announcing probationary employee “terminations” on Tuesday. A quick look at the news will show that this is happening across the entire Federal government. And this is just the pre-game show, folks. There is still a RIF to look forward to. As for the contractor community – things will probably suck even more. (2/15)
Scientists Just Found a Hidden Planet That’s Absolutely Massive (Source: SciTech Daily)
Astronomers have confirmed the existence of exoplanet Gaia-4b, one of the most massive planets known to orbit a low-mass star. This discovery was made in part using the NEID spectrograph, which is mounted on the WIYN 3.5-meter Telescope at the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Kitt Peak National Observatory. (2/15)
VIPER Moon Rover’s Commercial Revival Signals a New Era (Source: The Hill)
Last year, NASA canceled the VIPER (“Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover”) in a move that scandalized proponents of a return to the moon. The agency is now requesting comprehensive plans from industry to fly VIPER to the moon. NASA will make a final decision in the summer. The selected company would be required to accept VIPER as is and not dismantle the rover and incorporate its instruments into another vehicle. It would bear the cost of transporting it to the lunar surface and operating it. (2/16)
Evolving Intelligent Life Took Billions of Years − But it May Not Have Been as Unlikely as Many Scientists Think (Source: The Conversation)
A popular model of evolution concludes that it was incredibly unlikely for humanity to evolve on Earth, and that extraterrestrial intelligence is vanishingly rare. But as experts on the entangled history of life and our planet, we propose that the coevolution of life and Earth’s surface environment may have unfolded in a way that makes the evolutionary origin of humanlike intelligence a more foreseeable or expected outcome than generally thought. Click here. (2/14)
China's CAS Space has successfully completed the delivery of its Liqing-2 liquid oxygen kerosene engine, the company announced. The Liqing-2, a first-stage engine for the Lijian series rockets, features a 110-tonne thrust capacity utilizing pin injection technology in both its gas generator and thrust chamber. CAS Space noted that the engine's thrust ratio can be adjusted between 50 to 100 percent, with a maximum ground thrust of 110 tons. (2/12)
COMSAT Backs Astranis From-One-Many Mission with TT&C Services (Source: Space Daily)
COMSAT, a leading satellite ground station service provider, has announced its instrumental role in supporting the Astranis: From One Many mission, which aims to enhance global broadband connectivity. The mission, spearheaded by San Francisco-based satellite company Astranis, is designed to deliver broadband services to key customers such as inflight connectivity provider Anuvu and Philippine internet provider HTechCorp. (2/6)
NASA Awards SpaceX Launch Contract for Pandora Mission (Source: Space Daily)
NASA has awarded a launch service contract to SpaceX of Starbase, Texas, for the upcoming Pandora mission. Pandora is set to investigate at least 20 known exoplanets and their respective host stars, focusing on how stellar variations impact the analysis of exoplanetary atmospheres. The selection falls under NASA's Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract. This agreement allows the agency to issue fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity task orders over a five-year period, with an overall contract ceiling of $300 million. (2/6)
Probationary Employee Firings Across NASA (Source: NASA Watch)
Multiple NASA centers will be announcing probationary employee “terminations” on Tuesday. A quick look at the news will show that this is happening across the entire Federal government. And this is just the pre-game show, folks. There is still a RIF to look forward to. As for the contractor community – things will probably suck even more. (2/15)
Scientists Just Found a Hidden Planet That’s Absolutely Massive (Source: SciTech Daily)
Astronomers have confirmed the existence of exoplanet Gaia-4b, one of the most massive planets known to orbit a low-mass star. This discovery was made in part using the NEID spectrograph, which is mounted on the WIYN 3.5-meter Telescope at the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Kitt Peak National Observatory. (2/15)
VIPER Moon Rover’s Commercial Revival Signals a New Era (Source: The Hill)
Last year, NASA canceled the VIPER (“Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover”) in a move that scandalized proponents of a return to the moon. The agency is now requesting comprehensive plans from industry to fly VIPER to the moon. NASA will make a final decision in the summer. The selected company would be required to accept VIPER as is and not dismantle the rover and incorporate its instruments into another vehicle. It would bear the cost of transporting it to the lunar surface and operating it. (2/16)
Evolving Intelligent Life Took Billions of Years − But it May Not Have Been as Unlikely as Many Scientists Think (Source: The Conversation)
A popular model of evolution concludes that it was incredibly unlikely for humanity to evolve on Earth, and that extraterrestrial intelligence is vanishingly rare. But as experts on the entangled history of life and our planet, we propose that the coevolution of life and Earth’s surface environment may have unfolded in a way that makes the evolutionary origin of humanlike intelligence a more foreseeable or expected outcome than generally thought. Click here. (2/14)
February 15, 2025
SpaceX Launches Falcon 9 Rocket for
Record Time Saturday From Florida (Source: Florida Today)
SpaceX launched a record-setting rocket early Saturday. This rocket was flying for the 26th time, as SpaceX continues to push reusability to new records. The first-stage booster landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship. This shattered the record this particular booster set back in January for launches and landings. As SpaceX continues to push the reusability of its boosters, it remains to be seen just how many refights its Falcon 9 booster can reach. (2/15)
Former SpaceX Engineer Files to Challenge Sen. Susan Collins (Source: WMTW)
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is up for reelection in 2026, and there is already someone making moves to challenge her. Phillip Rench filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission this week to run as an independent for Collins' seat. As an independent, he would not face a primary.
Rench is a former senior engineer at SpaceX and played a key role in the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Commercial Crew programs. He is currently a member of the Maine Space Commission Board of Directors and is owner of the Ossipee Hill Farm & Observatory in Waterboro. (2/14)
Future of U.S. Space Policy Unclear as National Space Council Might Close (Source: Washington Times)
Rumors are circulating that President Trump might shutter the National Space Council as his administration moves to slash federal spending, a move that could have wide-ranging effects on U.S. policy toward the stars. The council helps craft space policy directives and has been significantly involved in U.S. space activities in national security and commercial space. The council is chaired by the vice president. (2/4)
Alabama Poised to Gain as Spy Satellite Launches Ramp Up, but Questions Remain (Source: AL.com)
With the Defense Department moving to put more satellites into orbit this year, the stakes are rising for two space launch companies with millions invested in north Alabama. One of them, United Launch Alliance, has a long history of carrying satellites into orbit under the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, which funds the launch of high-value military and intelligence satellites. The company assembles some of its rockets in a 2-million-square-foot facility in Decatur.
The other, Blue Origin, is a relative newcomer, but one that has built a large and growing footprint in Huntsville. In the past month, Blue Origin has launched the 29th mission of its suborbital New Shepard rocket and completed the first successful orbit of its New Glenn heavy-lift platform. (2/15)
Whitesides/Begich Aims to Advance NASA Missions to Mars, Beyond (Source: Alaska Watchman)
Alaska Congressman Nick Begich, a member on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, introduced The Dept. of Energy and NASA Interagency Research Coordination Act, a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by California Congressman George Whitesides, to formally strengthen collaboration between the DOE and NASA.
The bill aims to ensure continued U.S. leadership in space exploration and energy innovation by codifying a long-standing partnership between the two agencies with the ultimate aim of long-term exploration of the Moon and a future mission to Mars. (2/14)
Musk and Space Travel Skewered in S. Korean Director Bong's Latest (Source: Hindustan Times)
Interplanetary space travel and the vanities of tech billionaires like Elon Musk are the subject of acclaimed South Korean director Bong Joon Ho's satirical new film "Mickey 17" which will be shown at the Berlin film festival on Saturday. The writer and director of the Oscar-winning 2019 hit "Parasite" returns to screens with a darkly comic take on the sci-fi genre starring British actor Robert Pattinson as Mickey, an intrepid but accident-prone space explorer.
The plot revolves around a megalomaniac billionaire with a resemblance to Musk played with brio by "Avengers" star Mark Ruffalo who boards a spaceship travelling to colonise an icy planet in a not-too-distant future. Mickey is a struggling working-class passenger known as an "expendable" who is chosen to undertake all the most dangerous missions aboard the vessel.
Blue Origin Wants Fewer Middle Managers (Source: Business Insider)
Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin, said on Thursday that it was laying off about 10% of its workers and thinning out management layers. "We grew and hired incredibly fast in the last few years, and with that growth came more bureaucracy and less focus than we needed," CEO David Limp said. "Sadly, this resulted in eliminating some positions in engineering, R&D, and program/project management and thinning out our layers of management," Limp added. (2/14)
Firefly Aerospace Picked to Launch Space Force VICTUS SOL Tactically Responsive Space Mission (Source: Firefly)
Firefly Aerospace, Inc., the leader in responsive space launch services, today announced the company was awarded a $21.81 million contract to launch the U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command’s (SSC) VICTUS SOL Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) mission. VICTUS SOL is an early operational capability to enable the United States to rapidly respond to on-orbit needs and provide flexibility to Combatant Commanders. (2/14)
Eutelsat Logs $560M Impairment on GEO Assets in First Half of 2024-25 (Source: Via Satellite)
Eutelsat’s total revenue grew by nearly 6% in the first half of its 2024-25 fiscal year with growth in Connectivity, but the operator also took a 535 million euro ($560 million) goodwill impairment on its Geostationary Orbit (GEO) assets, expecting lower future cashflow from GEO. (2/14)
British-Backed Challenger to Musk’s Starlink Plunged Into Turmoil (Source: The Telegraph)
A venture backed by British taxpayers that is attempting to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink has been plunged into turmoil after a €873m (£728m) loss triggered a collapse in its share price. Eutelsat, a Paris-listed satellite business which includes the British state as a key shareholder, has turned to the French government for support as it hunts for fresh funding.
Shares in the company plunged by more than 19pc on Friday after Eutelsat reported steep losses, including a €535m impairment. The British state owns around 10pc of Eutelsat following a merger with OneWeb, a UK satellite company rescued under Boris Johnson’s government in 2020. (2/14)
Texas Approves Wastewater Permit for SpaceX at Starbase (Source: San Antonio Express-News)
Texas’ environmental regulator has closed a chapter in the saga of the industrial wastewater permit SpaceX needed for its South Texas launch site. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Thursday denied requests from a dozen area residents and several groups to reconsider the commercial space company’s permit to dump as much as 358,000 gallons of water into wetlands during tests and launches of its Starship rocket from its Starbase east of Brownsville. (2/14)
SpaceX’s First International Rocket Landing Will Be in The Bahamas (Source: Caribbean Journal)
SpaceX is making history next week with the first-ever international landing of one of its rockets. The Falcon 9 rocket will be launching from Cape Canaveral on Feb. 18, before taking an eight-minute trip over Atlantic to the Bahamas, where its first phase will be landing on SpaceX’s autonomous drone ship. The drone ship will be stationed off the coast of the Exuma archipelago of the Bahamas.
Aisha Bowe, a Bahamian-American former NASA scientist, worked with SpaceX to help develop space protocols in the Bahamas. The Bahamas has approved 18 more landings throughout 2025, subject to regulatory approval. It’s not just a rocket, though. SpaceX will also be holding quarterly STEM and space-focused seminars in the Bahamas, along with giving a $1 million donation to the University of the Bahamas for STEM education. (2/13)
Improving Spaceport Infrastructure Could Ease Strain at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg (Source: Space News)
“Amateurs talk strategy while professionals talk logistics.” The phrase, often attributed to U.S. Army Gen. Omar Bradley, highlights how newcomers to a field will promote big plans while those with more experience will focus on the nitty-gritty details needed to turn any plan into reality. That was on display at the annual Spaceport Summit, where members were given the opportunity to take two minutes to discuss what was happening at their spaceports.
Proposed spaceports in places ranging from Paso Robles, California, and Yuma, Arizona, to Nigeria and Uruguay outlined their visions to develop launch sites, offering visions of economic windfalls from capturing a portion of the growing space industry, someday. Then Dale Ketcham of Space Florida stepped up to talk about Cape Canaveral. “We’re going to do well over 100 launches to orbit this year,” he projected, a safe bet given there were 93 launches from the Cape in 2024. “Our priority is on basic meat-and-potatoes, blocking-and-tackling infrastructure.”
By infrastructure he did not mean launch pads or other facilities associated with spaceports but far more mundane, yet essential, items: “everything from wastewater and power to liquified natural gas.” Also on his list were roads, bridges and additional wharf space at Port Canaveral, a port where space companies compete with cruise lines for access. Click here. (2/14)
Musk Pulled Several SpaceX HR People Into DOGE (Source: Washington Post)
Elon Musk appeared in the Oval Office to defend DOGE, which has ricocheted across Washington identifying spending cuts, accessing public data and screening federal workers in a chaotic blitz that critics have blasted as illegal. “We are moving fast, so we will make mistakes,” Musk said Tuesday, adding that “we will fix the mistakes very quickly.” But who is “we?”
Musk asserted that no “organization has been more transparent than the DOGE organization,” but neither Musk nor Trump officials have provided much public information about DOGE’s structure, operations or workforce. DOGE staff member Katie Miller referred questions to the White House. White House spokesman Harrison Fields said its work falls under the Presidential Records Act, which shields presidential records from public disclosure until five years after the president leaves office. She declined to respond to detailed questions.
Among over a dozen DOGE employees identified through paperwork reviews, at least six have worked for SpaceX. Four of those six held human-resources roles at SpaceX: Brian Bjelde, Stephen Duarte, Christina Hanna, and Bryanne-Michelle Mlodzianowski. Mark Elez and Christopher Stanley worked in engineering at SpaceX. (2/24)
How Elon Musk Plans to Upend NASA (Source: Disconnect)
It should come as no surprise that there are concerns about what Elon Musk plans to do with NASA given the power he’s seized over the US federal government. The ranking members of the Congressional committees dealing with space and science have already sent a letter to Petro expressing concern about Musk’s conflicts of interests and the potential for sensitive NASA data to be accessed by people who run SpaceX, but that’s unlikely to stop DOGE. Despite relying so much on NASA for SpaceX contracts, Musk wants to transform the agency and better align it with his own priorities.
Jared Isaacman is poised to help Musk achieve his vision and make sure the US space program becomes more dependent on his company. NASA has long understood that to maintain its funding, it needed to keep lawmakers happy. For that reason, it has facilities in many parts of the United States and its contractors ensure production is widely distributed as well. For example, the Space Launch System (SLS) is responsible for 28,000 jobs across 44 US states, making it so many Congresspeople will defend the agency and its funding to avoid the risk of losing the work being done in their jurisdictions.
Last year, venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz called for the government to stop favoring large incumbents for contracts in favor of those associated with the modern tech industry. Musk does not want to see the United States turn its ambitions away from the stars; he just wants to see his own priorities adopted as those of the entire nation. (2/14)
Spaceport Puerto Rico: The New Exploration Frontier in the Caribbean (Source: LinkedIn)
Puerto Rico is emerging as the next pivotal hub for commercial space launches in the Caribbean. Thanks to its strategic location, robust aerospace heritage, and recent initiatives by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority (PRPA), the Island is positioning itself to host a state‐of‐the‐art spaceport at the José Aponte de la Torre Airport in Ceiba.
It is a project that promises not only to unlock new economic opportunities but also to forge a transformative partnership between public and private sectors in the realm of space exploration. Situated just off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico, the José Aponte de la Torre Airport in Ceiba benefits from proximity to the equator—a critical asset that enables efficient access to a wide range of orbital inclinations. This geographical advantage is coupled with the Island’s status as a U.S. jurisdiction, which guarantees a stable legal and financial framework and streamlined access to American markets. (2/14)
SpaceX launched a record-setting rocket early Saturday. This rocket was flying for the 26th time, as SpaceX continues to push reusability to new records. The first-stage booster landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship. This shattered the record this particular booster set back in January for launches and landings. As SpaceX continues to push the reusability of its boosters, it remains to be seen just how many refights its Falcon 9 booster can reach. (2/15)
Former SpaceX Engineer Files to Challenge Sen. Susan Collins (Source: WMTW)
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is up for reelection in 2026, and there is already someone making moves to challenge her. Phillip Rench filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission this week to run as an independent for Collins' seat. As an independent, he would not face a primary.
Rench is a former senior engineer at SpaceX and played a key role in the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Commercial Crew programs. He is currently a member of the Maine Space Commission Board of Directors and is owner of the Ossipee Hill Farm & Observatory in Waterboro. (2/14)
Future of U.S. Space Policy Unclear as National Space Council Might Close (Source: Washington Times)
Rumors are circulating that President Trump might shutter the National Space Council as his administration moves to slash federal spending, a move that could have wide-ranging effects on U.S. policy toward the stars. The council helps craft space policy directives and has been significantly involved in U.S. space activities in national security and commercial space. The council is chaired by the vice president. (2/4)
Alabama Poised to Gain as Spy Satellite Launches Ramp Up, but Questions Remain (Source: AL.com)
With the Defense Department moving to put more satellites into orbit this year, the stakes are rising for two space launch companies with millions invested in north Alabama. One of them, United Launch Alliance, has a long history of carrying satellites into orbit under the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, which funds the launch of high-value military and intelligence satellites. The company assembles some of its rockets in a 2-million-square-foot facility in Decatur.
The other, Blue Origin, is a relative newcomer, but one that has built a large and growing footprint in Huntsville. In the past month, Blue Origin has launched the 29th mission of its suborbital New Shepard rocket and completed the first successful orbit of its New Glenn heavy-lift platform. (2/15)
Whitesides/Begich Aims to Advance NASA Missions to Mars, Beyond (Source: Alaska Watchman)
Alaska Congressman Nick Begich, a member on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, introduced The Dept. of Energy and NASA Interagency Research Coordination Act, a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by California Congressman George Whitesides, to formally strengthen collaboration between the DOE and NASA.
The bill aims to ensure continued U.S. leadership in space exploration and energy innovation by codifying a long-standing partnership between the two agencies with the ultimate aim of long-term exploration of the Moon and a future mission to Mars. (2/14)
Musk and Space Travel Skewered in S. Korean Director Bong's Latest (Source: Hindustan Times)
Interplanetary space travel and the vanities of tech billionaires like Elon Musk are the subject of acclaimed South Korean director Bong Joon Ho's satirical new film "Mickey 17" which will be shown at the Berlin film festival on Saturday. The writer and director of the Oscar-winning 2019 hit "Parasite" returns to screens with a darkly comic take on the sci-fi genre starring British actor Robert Pattinson as Mickey, an intrepid but accident-prone space explorer.
The plot revolves around a megalomaniac billionaire with a resemblance to Musk played with brio by "Avengers" star Mark Ruffalo who boards a spaceship travelling to colonise an icy planet in a not-too-distant future. Mickey is a struggling working-class passenger known as an "expendable" who is chosen to undertake all the most dangerous missions aboard the vessel.
Blue Origin Wants Fewer Middle Managers (Source: Business Insider)
Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin, said on Thursday that it was laying off about 10% of its workers and thinning out management layers. "We grew and hired incredibly fast in the last few years, and with that growth came more bureaucracy and less focus than we needed," CEO David Limp said. "Sadly, this resulted in eliminating some positions in engineering, R&D, and program/project management and thinning out our layers of management," Limp added. (2/14)
Firefly Aerospace Picked to Launch Space Force VICTUS SOL Tactically Responsive Space Mission (Source: Firefly)
Firefly Aerospace, Inc., the leader in responsive space launch services, today announced the company was awarded a $21.81 million contract to launch the U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command’s (SSC) VICTUS SOL Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) mission. VICTUS SOL is an early operational capability to enable the United States to rapidly respond to on-orbit needs and provide flexibility to Combatant Commanders. (2/14)
Eutelsat Logs $560M Impairment on GEO Assets in First Half of 2024-25 (Source: Via Satellite)
Eutelsat’s total revenue grew by nearly 6% in the first half of its 2024-25 fiscal year with growth in Connectivity, but the operator also took a 535 million euro ($560 million) goodwill impairment on its Geostationary Orbit (GEO) assets, expecting lower future cashflow from GEO. (2/14)
British-Backed Challenger to Musk’s Starlink Plunged Into Turmoil (Source: The Telegraph)
A venture backed by British taxpayers that is attempting to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink has been plunged into turmoil after a €873m (£728m) loss triggered a collapse in its share price. Eutelsat, a Paris-listed satellite business which includes the British state as a key shareholder, has turned to the French government for support as it hunts for fresh funding.
Shares in the company plunged by more than 19pc on Friday after Eutelsat reported steep losses, including a €535m impairment. The British state owns around 10pc of Eutelsat following a merger with OneWeb, a UK satellite company rescued under Boris Johnson’s government in 2020. (2/14)
Texas Approves Wastewater Permit for SpaceX at Starbase (Source: San Antonio Express-News)
Texas’ environmental regulator has closed a chapter in the saga of the industrial wastewater permit SpaceX needed for its South Texas launch site. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Thursday denied requests from a dozen area residents and several groups to reconsider the commercial space company’s permit to dump as much as 358,000 gallons of water into wetlands during tests and launches of its Starship rocket from its Starbase east of Brownsville. (2/14)
SpaceX’s First International Rocket Landing Will Be in The Bahamas (Source: Caribbean Journal)
SpaceX is making history next week with the first-ever international landing of one of its rockets. The Falcon 9 rocket will be launching from Cape Canaveral on Feb. 18, before taking an eight-minute trip over Atlantic to the Bahamas, where its first phase will be landing on SpaceX’s autonomous drone ship. The drone ship will be stationed off the coast of the Exuma archipelago of the Bahamas.
Aisha Bowe, a Bahamian-American former NASA scientist, worked with SpaceX to help develop space protocols in the Bahamas. The Bahamas has approved 18 more landings throughout 2025, subject to regulatory approval. It’s not just a rocket, though. SpaceX will also be holding quarterly STEM and space-focused seminars in the Bahamas, along with giving a $1 million donation to the University of the Bahamas for STEM education. (2/13)
Improving Spaceport Infrastructure Could Ease Strain at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg (Source: Space News)
“Amateurs talk strategy while professionals talk logistics.” The phrase, often attributed to U.S. Army Gen. Omar Bradley, highlights how newcomers to a field will promote big plans while those with more experience will focus on the nitty-gritty details needed to turn any plan into reality. That was on display at the annual Spaceport Summit, where members were given the opportunity to take two minutes to discuss what was happening at their spaceports.
Proposed spaceports in places ranging from Paso Robles, California, and Yuma, Arizona, to Nigeria and Uruguay outlined their visions to develop launch sites, offering visions of economic windfalls from capturing a portion of the growing space industry, someday. Then Dale Ketcham of Space Florida stepped up to talk about Cape Canaveral. “We’re going to do well over 100 launches to orbit this year,” he projected, a safe bet given there were 93 launches from the Cape in 2024. “Our priority is on basic meat-and-potatoes, blocking-and-tackling infrastructure.”
By infrastructure he did not mean launch pads or other facilities associated with spaceports but far more mundane, yet essential, items: “everything from wastewater and power to liquified natural gas.” Also on his list were roads, bridges and additional wharf space at Port Canaveral, a port where space companies compete with cruise lines for access. Click here. (2/14)
Musk Pulled Several SpaceX HR People Into DOGE (Source: Washington Post)
Elon Musk appeared in the Oval Office to defend DOGE, which has ricocheted across Washington identifying spending cuts, accessing public data and screening federal workers in a chaotic blitz that critics have blasted as illegal. “We are moving fast, so we will make mistakes,” Musk said Tuesday, adding that “we will fix the mistakes very quickly.” But who is “we?”
Musk asserted that no “organization has been more transparent than the DOGE organization,” but neither Musk nor Trump officials have provided much public information about DOGE’s structure, operations or workforce. DOGE staff member Katie Miller referred questions to the White House. White House spokesman Harrison Fields said its work falls under the Presidential Records Act, which shields presidential records from public disclosure until five years after the president leaves office. She declined to respond to detailed questions.
Among over a dozen DOGE employees identified through paperwork reviews, at least six have worked for SpaceX. Four of those six held human-resources roles at SpaceX: Brian Bjelde, Stephen Duarte, Christina Hanna, and Bryanne-Michelle Mlodzianowski. Mark Elez and Christopher Stanley worked in engineering at SpaceX. (2/24)
How Elon Musk Plans to Upend NASA (Source: Disconnect)
It should come as no surprise that there are concerns about what Elon Musk plans to do with NASA given the power he’s seized over the US federal government. The ranking members of the Congressional committees dealing with space and science have already sent a letter to Petro expressing concern about Musk’s conflicts of interests and the potential for sensitive NASA data to be accessed by people who run SpaceX, but that’s unlikely to stop DOGE. Despite relying so much on NASA for SpaceX contracts, Musk wants to transform the agency and better align it with his own priorities.
Jared Isaacman is poised to help Musk achieve his vision and make sure the US space program becomes more dependent on his company. NASA has long understood that to maintain its funding, it needed to keep lawmakers happy. For that reason, it has facilities in many parts of the United States and its contractors ensure production is widely distributed as well. For example, the Space Launch System (SLS) is responsible for 28,000 jobs across 44 US states, making it so many Congresspeople will defend the agency and its funding to avoid the risk of losing the work being done in their jurisdictions.
Last year, venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz called for the government to stop favoring large incumbents for contracts in favor of those associated with the modern tech industry. Musk does not want to see the United States turn its ambitions away from the stars; he just wants to see his own priorities adopted as those of the entire nation. (2/14)
Spaceport Puerto Rico: The New Exploration Frontier in the Caribbean (Source: LinkedIn)
Puerto Rico is emerging as the next pivotal hub for commercial space launches in the Caribbean. Thanks to its strategic location, robust aerospace heritage, and recent initiatives by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority (PRPA), the Island is positioning itself to host a state‐of‐the‐art spaceport at the José Aponte de la Torre Airport in Ceiba.
It is a project that promises not only to unlock new economic opportunities but also to forge a transformative partnership between public and private sectors in the realm of space exploration. Situated just off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico, the José Aponte de la Torre Airport in Ceiba benefits from proximity to the equator—a critical asset that enables efficient access to a wide range of orbital inclinations. This geographical advantage is coupled with the Island’s status as a U.S. jurisdiction, which guarantees a stable legal and financial framework and streamlined access to American markets. (2/14)
February 14, 2025
Space Force Aims for Stricter
Acquisition Accountability (Source: Air & Space Forces)
Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy is intensifying acquisition reforms initiated by Frank Calvelli, emphasizing accountability for contractors and program managers. Purdy supports buying smaller satellites and using fixed-price contracts but acknowledges industry resistance, particularly from legacy space companies. "From May 2022 to today, we're at about 14 major acquisition programs that have had contracts or entire programs restructured or canceled," Purdy says. (2/13)
Cruz Creates List of "Woke" Science (Source: NPR)
Corinne Brevik, a physicist at Southern Illinois University, used money from a National Science Foundation grant to help middle schoolers host a live, interactive broadcast that brought together kids within a solar eclipse path of totality with those around the country outside the path. It meant thousands of students could share the experience. On Tuesday, Brevik was surprised to learn that her grant was one of over 3,400 NSF grants labeled by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, as "woke DEI" research that may be advancing "neo-Marxist class warfare propaganda."
A database released by Cruz this week formed the basis of an October report claiming over $2 billion of NSF's $9 billion budget went to "left-wing ideological crusades masked as 'academic research.'" The report also includes an appendix containing hundreds of DEI-related words. Parts of that appendix are currently being used by NSF staff to screen thousands of their active grants for compliance with President Trump's executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion measures across the government. (2/13)
KSC-Led Polar Ice Experiment Paves Way for Future Moon Missions (Source: NASA)
NASA’s Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) is preparing to explore the Moon’s subsurface and analyze where lunar resources may reside. The experiment’s two key instruments will demonstrate our ability to extract and analyze lunar soil to better understand the lunar environment and subsurface resources, paving the way for sustainable human exploration under the agency’s Artemis campaign for the benefit of all.
Its two instruments will work in tandem: The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrains (TRIDENT) will drill into the Moon’s surface to collect samples, while the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) will analyze these samples to determine the gas composition released across the sampling depth. The PRIME-1 technology will provide valuable data to help us better understand the Moon’s surface and how to work with and on it.
“The ability to drill and analyze samples at the same time allows us to gather insights that will shape the future of lunar resource utilization,” said Jackie Quinn, PRIME-1 project manager at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “Human exploration of the Moon and deep space will depend on making good use of local resources to produce life-sustaining supplies necessary to live and work on another planetary body.” (2/12)
Blue Origin Bracing for Job Cuts After Years of Expansion (Sources: Bloomberg, Space News)
Blue Origin is bracing for a large reduction in its workforce, in a sign the Jeff Bezos-backed space company is looking to cut costs and focus resources on ramping up rocket launches after years of R&D work. Blue Origin is laying off 10% of its workforce, or more than 1,000 employees.
Dave Limp, chief executive of Blue Origin, notified employees Feb. 13 the layoffs, which he said would be spread across the company, including management. “We grew and hired incredibly fast in the last few years, and with that growth came more bureaucracy and less focus than we needed,” he wrote in an email to employees, sent after a meeting where he announced the layoffs. (2/13)
Outrage After Elon Musk's SpaceX Awarded $38M Government Contract (Source: Daily Mail)
The federal government awarded Elon Musk's company a $38.85 million contract on Monday as the billionaire works to slash other contracts. Critics were not happy to find out that Space Exploration Technologies Corporation – otherwise known as SpaceX – got a multi-million-dollar NASA contract at the same time Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is slashing billions in other government contracts.
'If you see any contract where it was awarded to SpaceX and it wasn't by far the best value for the taxpayer, let me know – because every one of them was,' Musk challenged. One X user wrote: 'This is a cartoonishly stupid answer.' 'So let me get this straight, he wants contracts for cancer research cancelled but says let keep contracts for his company Spacex to do research,' Rep. Ilhan Omar posted. (2/12)
Trump Should Patch the Holes in US-Africa Space Cooperation (Source: Atlantic Council)
As US President Donald Trump gets settled in Washington, he has a pivotal opportunity to strengthen space cooperation between the United States and Africa. Africa’s space sector presents significant opportunities for the United States. The sector is projected to generate over twenty billion dollars in direct revenue annually. Meanwhile, it serves as a platform to advance broader US foreign policy objectives related to national security, space diplomacy, sustainability, and global influence.
Uncertainty lingers among African leaders about which US institution would lead this charge: NASA, the Office of Space Commerce under NOAA, or the National Space Council (if the second Trump administration keeps it). Much of the implementation has been thus far led by the Office of Space Commerce. The Trump administration can help address this uncertainty by establishing a dedicated task force within an appropriate US space entity to oversee US-Africa space collaboration. (2/12)
Could This Space Oven Allow Astronauts to Finally Cook in Space? (Source: Smithsonian)
Without gravity, natural convection cooking cannot occur. Food served on the International Space Station is heat-treated to be shelf stable. Freeze-dried and dehydrated foods warmed with water are standard fare. Breakfast might look like cereal flakes with dried milk that can be rehydrated with water along with dried strawberries. For dinner, astronauts might warm a packet of chicken and veggies in a tortilla to create a fajita wrap. The availability of water and storage, as well as flammability concerns, seriously limit the length of space missions.
“It would change everything if they just had a way to cook,” says aerospace engineer Jim Sears. Sears, of Boulder, Colorado, has developed a solution with his new space oven, SATED. An acronym for “safe appliance, tidy, efficient and delicious,” his invention can whip up a savory quiche in minutes or cook a perfectly crisp pizza in a low- to no-gravity environment. Just slightly larger than a toaster, the appliance uses a cylinder, spinning at several hundred rotations per minute, to create its own artificial gravity through centrifugal force. (2/12)
Laser Lab Stashed Beneath the University of Texas Could Power Future Space Travel (Source: KXAN)
Deep beneath the surface in a quiet corner of the basement of the Physics, Math and Astronomy building of the University of Texas at Austin, lasers blast electronics with simulated cosmic rays. TAU Systems builds laser-plasma accelerators, capable of stripping atoms of their electrons. Across the lab they share with UT Professor Mike Downer, a laser system takes a beam of light and alters it.
“You start with a really, really short laser pulse, something like 25 femtoseconds, which is 25 times 10 to the minus 15 seconds,” team lead Philip Franke said. It is his job to get this pulse across the room and to a target. After bouncing across mirrors, being split apart, put back together and growing the beam from a hair’s width to a couple of inches – the laser strikes a puff of gas and is stripped of its electrons. Carried like a wave, the electrons strike a piece of electronics. If fried, the electronics will likely not survive a trip to space.
By testing electronics, engineers can determine if their shielding is working. Testing can also help guide construction of microchips, to prevent damage on a smaller level. They’ll soon open a service center in Carlsbad, California, where companies like Space X can send their electronics for testing. Eventually, they plan to sell their accelerator to companies, giving them the option to build their own laser system and strip atoms of electrons themselves. (2/12)
Arizona Competes for $160 million Grant to Launch Inland Spaceport (Source: KYMA)
Several local Arizona state lawmakers sent a letter asking for Yuma to be the next U.S. commercial spaceport. Local Arizona State Representatives Michele Peña and Tim Dunn from Yuma support this collaboration and encourage its selection, and the City of Yuma says the project could bring jobs, businesses, and innovation to the area.
The City of Yuma is competing for a $160 million federal grant to build Arizona's first commercial spaceport. Representative Justin Wilmeth says this project aligns with the nations priorities for space exploration and economic growth. (2/12)
Democrat Calls On NASA Administrator to Revoke Musk’s Access to Headquarters (Source: The Hill)
Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) on Tuesday urged the acting head of NASA to revoke tech billionaire Elon Musk’s access to the space agency’s headquarters, citing an extreme conflict of interest. “Providing such access to Mr. Musk at NASA would create a blatant, multi-billion-dollar conflict of interest — exactly the kind of coziness between government and industry and corruption that my constituents fear happens in Washington,” she wrote. (2/12)
KARI Develops Solar Sail Technology to Enhance Korea's Deep Space Navigation Capabilities (Source: Chosun)
Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) has developed a solar sail deployment device that can be applied to a spacecraft traveling with solar wind as its power source. KARI noted that it successfully developed a prototype of the solar sail deployment device through its research on 'solar diffraction propulsion technology' that began in June last year.
The solar sail is a technology that allows a spacecraft to navigate in outer space for an extended period without fuel, using the principle of reflecting photons emitted by the sun off the sail, much like how a sailboat navigates using the wind. (2/13)
Rocket Lab Delivers Third In-Orbit Manufacturing Spacecraft for Varda Space Industries (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab has delivered another Pioneer spacecraft for Varda Space Industries to Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in preparation for launch. It’s Rocket Lab’s third Pioneer spacecraft produced for Varda, and the second the Company has delivered for launch within a month. (2/12)
UK MOD Taps Airbus to Build £127M Spy Satellite Constellation (Source: European Spaceflight)
The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence has awarded Airbus a £127 million contract to develop two reconnaissance satellites. The two satellites will make up the country’s Oberon Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite constellation, which is a small part of the country’s larger ISTARI reconnaissance constellation. (2/12)
Chinese Space Firm Showcases Mobile-to-Satellite Communication Tech (Source: Xinhua)
Chinese space firm GalaxySpace successfully demonstrated mobile-to-satellite communication technology based on the country's first low-Earth orbit broadband communication test constellation at a commercial space conference held in Beijing.
At 10:28 a.m., a satellite from the constellation passed over the conference venue in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. On-site staff used their mobile phones to connect to the satellite via a terminal device installed on the rooftop. Through a gateway station in Beijing, they established a connection with personnel in Beijing and Thailand. (2/12)
Detector on Sea Floor Spots Highest Energy Neutrino (Source: Cosmos)
A detector sitting on the sea floor off the coast of Italy has made a remarkable discovery: the first observation of an ultra-high energy neutrino. The kilometer cubic neutrino telescope (KM3NeT) spotted the neutrino in 2023. The event, dubbed KM3-230213A, was subject to meticulous analysis before being confirmed as the highest energy neutrino observed. (2/13)
After Putin Sacked Russia’s Space Chief, the Rumor Mill is Running Red-Hot (Source: Ars Technica)
After a relatively short period of just two and a half years, the chief of the Russian space corporation Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, was dismissed from his position last week. In the wake of Borisov's seemingly sudden removal—there was no readily apparent public controversy, and he was still fairly early into his tenure—the real question is why Borisov was dismissed.
After combing through Russian news reports and Telegram channels to try to determine what happened. Although we don't have absolute answers, there is plenty of intrigue. One of the most common theories is that Borisov was fired after a recent test of the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile failed. A wilder theory involves Borisov's son. There is unverified information that suggest Borisov's son had begun selling off the family-owned business (NTTs-Module), which made space components for the Russian government, to move funds abroad.
It is also possible that Borisov was simply fired because of the generally poor state of affairs at Roscosmos, which is saddled with myriad problems, including: corruption, a lack of investment, low wages and poor employee morale, Russia's war against Ukraine draining talent, a reliance on technology half a century old, and shrinking commercial markets. The bottom line is that Russia simply does not have the state budget to support significant investments in its space programs. (2/12)
Cutting Moon Rocket Would Test Musk's Power to Slash Jobs in Republican States (Source: Bloomberg)
Six space industry representatives advising Elon Musk, the billionaire SpaceX CEO with a tight grip on U.S. space policy, and Trump have told Reuters they want NASA's $24 billion Space Launch System (SLS) program canceled or at least phased out over several years, eyeing what has long been a major cost burden on the agency - but a crucial pillar of its moon program.
Scaling back the SLS, which is being developed by Boeing and Northrop Grumman, could offer a boost to Musk's SpaceX, which is developing its own cheaper rocket. Employing 28,000 workers across roughly 44 U.S. states, SLS, which launched for the first time in 2022 after years of development delays, is one of a few space programs Musk and Trump's pick to head NASA, Jared Isaacman, have criticized as an overpriced vestige of outdated rocket technology.
Canceling SLS could be a major litmus test for Trump and Musk's effort to streamline government. DOGE representatives have entered NASA headquarters in Washington and are examining its contracts, two sources said. If SLS ends up on the chopping block, Musk will struggle to overcome political hurdles, since canceling large projects has ripple effects across other areas of the federal bureaucracy including widespread job cuts. SLS, whose workforce is most concentrated in the Republican strongholds of Alabama and Texas, is a prime example. (2/13)
Boeing Scales Back Plans for Artemis/SLS Layoffs (Source: Bloomberg)
Boeing managed to preserve half of the 400 jobs it previously considered eliminating at its moon-rocket program following talks with NASA, potentially pointing to greater certainty over future funding despite concerns over a potential shake-up by Donald Trump. Boeing is “working hard to finalize contract actions” that directly impact its work, Space Launch System Vice President and Program Manager David Dutcher told employees. Dutcher said the company will issue 60-day layoff notices to fewer than 200 teammates.
'It Was a Miracle.' Amazing Tales of Dead Spacecraft That Came Back to Life (Source: Space.com)
CIRBE (Colorado Inner Radiation Belt Electron Experiment) was a 3-unit cubesat that launched in April 2023 to monitor charged particles in the inner Van Allen radiation belt. It was so successful that NASA granted it an extension after its nominal 4-month mission ended, but on April 15 something happened to the little satellite as it circled 316 miles (509 kilometers) above our heads.
Despite the last vestiges of its battery having been drained, suddenly, from somewhere, there was a spark of life. As a failsafe, its computer was tasked with rebooting the spacecraft once the battery was empty — there was always more energy to garner from its solar arrays. Suddenly, the small satellite's various sub-systems began waking up. The flight computer reactivated, reaction wheels began spinning, instruments began sensing and its radio antenna began broadcasting once more. (2/13)
York Space Expands Into Satellite Services for U.S. Government (Source: Space News)
York Space Systems, a rising player in satellite manufacturing, is making a strategic move to expand beyond hardware production into satellite-based services for the U.S. government. The Denver-based company on Feb. 13 announced a new commercial services program aimed at delivering “critical national security capabilities as a service.”
With the capacity to manufacture up to 1,000 satellite buses annually, York has been supplying hardware to government agencies, including the U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency (SDA). Now the company is looking to move further up the value chain, offering fully integrated satellites and services such as rendezvous and proximity operations, space domain awareness, communications and Earth observation. (2/13)
K2 Space Raises $110 Million for Large Satellites (Source: Space News)
Satellite manufacturing startup K2 Space has raised $110 million. K2 is developing large satellite buses intended to take full advantage of heavy-lift, low-cost launch options, betting that as launch costs continue to decline, the industry will move toward larger satellites, countering the recent trend favoring small satellite constellations. K2 Space is developing its first government mission, dubbed Gravitas, under a $60 million Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) agreement, with the Space Force and venture investors each contributing $30 million. (2/14)
Lynk Global Raises $85 Million for Direct-to-Device Constellation (Source: Space News)
Lynk Global has raised more than $85 million to help develop its direct-to-device satellite constellation. The venture disclosed the Series B funding in a regulatory filing this week that showed plans to raise a total of $215 million, more than double the amount sought last year. Lynk needs additional capital to scale a constellation that uses cellular spectrum to extend the reach of partner mobile operators in areas terrestrial infrastructure doesn't reach. The company has five satellites in orbit but plans a constellation of 5,000 satellites. Lynk is still in the process of going public through a SPAC merger, but most of the funds of the SPAC have been redeemed by shareholders, with only $23 million remaining. (2/14)
BlackSky and Thales Alenia to Develop Indian Remote Sensing Constellation (Source: Space News)
BlackSky is working with Thales Alenia Space to develop a remote sensing satellite constellation for an Indian company. Thales Alenia will produce a high-resolution optical satellite, the first of what is expected to be a larger constellation designed to provide critical intelligence for India's national security and defense agencies, for Nibe Ltd., a growing player in the country's aerospace and defense industry. BlackSky will supply satellite imagery, analytics services, and a high-resolution optical satellite as part of the venture. The BlackSky-Thales Alenia collaboration in India mirrors a similar agreement the two companies forged last year with the Republic of Indonesia. (2/14)
NASA Authorization, Commercial Space Legislation Top Senate Committee Priorities (Source: Space News)
A NASA authorization bill and commercial space legislation are priorities for the leaders of two key congressional committees. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX), chairman of the House Science Committee, outlined their plans for legislation at a conference Wednesday. They are both interested in a NASA authorization that would ensure no gaps in human presence in low Earth orbit for the U.S. as NASA moves from the International Space Station to commercial stations. They are also interested in legislation that would address "mission authorization" for commercial space activities not currently licensed by other agencies. (2/14)
House Committee Asks GAO to Examine FAA Launch Licensing (Source: Space News)
The House Science Committee is asking the GAO to examine the FAA's implementation of launch licensing regulations. In a letter this week, Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), ranking member of the committee, requested the GAO examine if regulations known as Part 450 are "effectively and efficiently accommodating United States commercial launch and reentry operations." Many in the launch industry have criticized Part 450, intended to streamline the licensing process, stating that the rules have instead made it more difficult to get approvals for launches and reentries. The FAA noted it was able to approve licenses for some recent launches well ahead of need and that a rule-making committee is studying ways to improve the regulations. (2/14)
Greenland Plays Key Space Role in Arctic Security (Source: Space News)
President Trump's interest in acquiring Greenland comes as the Arctic region is playing a growing role in space. The cornerstone of U.S. space operations in the region is Pituffik Space Base, a critical node in its space infrastructure and missile defense network in northern Greenland. Climate change has transformed the Arctic from an impenetrable barrier into a new frontier of great power competition, and recent reports argue Western nations are lagging Russia and China in establishing a presence in a region that has strategic value in areas ranging from missile warning to satellite ground stations. (2/14)
Karman Shares Rise in Public Offering (Source: Reuters)
Shares in Karman Space and Defense rose in its public debut Thursday. Shares in the company closed up more than 36% in its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. That IPO raised $506 million for the company, which works on missile systems and space components. Investors had previously said the performance of Karman's IPO could influence plans by other space companies to go public or improve their ability to raise larger private rounds. (2/14)
NEO Surveyor Passes Design Review (Source: NASA)
NASA's Near Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission has passed its critical design review. The review, completed last week, allows the mission to proceed into construction and testing. NEO Surveyor is an infrared space telescope designed to search for near Earth objects that could pose a potential impact risk for the Earth. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch as soon as late 2027. (2/14)
Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy is intensifying acquisition reforms initiated by Frank Calvelli, emphasizing accountability for contractors and program managers. Purdy supports buying smaller satellites and using fixed-price contracts but acknowledges industry resistance, particularly from legacy space companies. "From May 2022 to today, we're at about 14 major acquisition programs that have had contracts or entire programs restructured or canceled," Purdy says. (2/13)
Cruz Creates List of "Woke" Science (Source: NPR)
Corinne Brevik, a physicist at Southern Illinois University, used money from a National Science Foundation grant to help middle schoolers host a live, interactive broadcast that brought together kids within a solar eclipse path of totality with those around the country outside the path. It meant thousands of students could share the experience. On Tuesday, Brevik was surprised to learn that her grant was one of over 3,400 NSF grants labeled by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, as "woke DEI" research that may be advancing "neo-Marxist class warfare propaganda."
A database released by Cruz this week formed the basis of an October report claiming over $2 billion of NSF's $9 billion budget went to "left-wing ideological crusades masked as 'academic research.'" The report also includes an appendix containing hundreds of DEI-related words. Parts of that appendix are currently being used by NSF staff to screen thousands of their active grants for compliance with President Trump's executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion measures across the government. (2/13)
KSC-Led Polar Ice Experiment Paves Way for Future Moon Missions (Source: NASA)
NASA’s Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) is preparing to explore the Moon’s subsurface and analyze where lunar resources may reside. The experiment’s two key instruments will demonstrate our ability to extract and analyze lunar soil to better understand the lunar environment and subsurface resources, paving the way for sustainable human exploration under the agency’s Artemis campaign for the benefit of all.
Its two instruments will work in tandem: The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrains (TRIDENT) will drill into the Moon’s surface to collect samples, while the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) will analyze these samples to determine the gas composition released across the sampling depth. The PRIME-1 technology will provide valuable data to help us better understand the Moon’s surface and how to work with and on it.
“The ability to drill and analyze samples at the same time allows us to gather insights that will shape the future of lunar resource utilization,” said Jackie Quinn, PRIME-1 project manager at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “Human exploration of the Moon and deep space will depend on making good use of local resources to produce life-sustaining supplies necessary to live and work on another planetary body.” (2/12)
Blue Origin Bracing for Job Cuts After Years of Expansion (Sources: Bloomberg, Space News)
Blue Origin is bracing for a large reduction in its workforce, in a sign the Jeff Bezos-backed space company is looking to cut costs and focus resources on ramping up rocket launches after years of R&D work. Blue Origin is laying off 10% of its workforce, or more than 1,000 employees.
Dave Limp, chief executive of Blue Origin, notified employees Feb. 13 the layoffs, which he said would be spread across the company, including management. “We grew and hired incredibly fast in the last few years, and with that growth came more bureaucracy and less focus than we needed,” he wrote in an email to employees, sent after a meeting where he announced the layoffs. (2/13)
Outrage After Elon Musk's SpaceX Awarded $38M Government Contract (Source: Daily Mail)
The federal government awarded Elon Musk's company a $38.85 million contract on Monday as the billionaire works to slash other contracts. Critics were not happy to find out that Space Exploration Technologies Corporation – otherwise known as SpaceX – got a multi-million-dollar NASA contract at the same time Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is slashing billions in other government contracts.
'If you see any contract where it was awarded to SpaceX and it wasn't by far the best value for the taxpayer, let me know – because every one of them was,' Musk challenged. One X user wrote: 'This is a cartoonishly stupid answer.' 'So let me get this straight, he wants contracts for cancer research cancelled but says let keep contracts for his company Spacex to do research,' Rep. Ilhan Omar posted. (2/12)
Trump Should Patch the Holes in US-Africa Space Cooperation (Source: Atlantic Council)
As US President Donald Trump gets settled in Washington, he has a pivotal opportunity to strengthen space cooperation between the United States and Africa. Africa’s space sector presents significant opportunities for the United States. The sector is projected to generate over twenty billion dollars in direct revenue annually. Meanwhile, it serves as a platform to advance broader US foreign policy objectives related to national security, space diplomacy, sustainability, and global influence.
Uncertainty lingers among African leaders about which US institution would lead this charge: NASA, the Office of Space Commerce under NOAA, or the National Space Council (if the second Trump administration keeps it). Much of the implementation has been thus far led by the Office of Space Commerce. The Trump administration can help address this uncertainty by establishing a dedicated task force within an appropriate US space entity to oversee US-Africa space collaboration. (2/12)
Could This Space Oven Allow Astronauts to Finally Cook in Space? (Source: Smithsonian)
Without gravity, natural convection cooking cannot occur. Food served on the International Space Station is heat-treated to be shelf stable. Freeze-dried and dehydrated foods warmed with water are standard fare. Breakfast might look like cereal flakes with dried milk that can be rehydrated with water along with dried strawberries. For dinner, astronauts might warm a packet of chicken and veggies in a tortilla to create a fajita wrap. The availability of water and storage, as well as flammability concerns, seriously limit the length of space missions.
“It would change everything if they just had a way to cook,” says aerospace engineer Jim Sears. Sears, of Boulder, Colorado, has developed a solution with his new space oven, SATED. An acronym for “safe appliance, tidy, efficient and delicious,” his invention can whip up a savory quiche in minutes or cook a perfectly crisp pizza in a low- to no-gravity environment. Just slightly larger than a toaster, the appliance uses a cylinder, spinning at several hundred rotations per minute, to create its own artificial gravity through centrifugal force. (2/12)
Laser Lab Stashed Beneath the University of Texas Could Power Future Space Travel (Source: KXAN)
Deep beneath the surface in a quiet corner of the basement of the Physics, Math and Astronomy building of the University of Texas at Austin, lasers blast electronics with simulated cosmic rays. TAU Systems builds laser-plasma accelerators, capable of stripping atoms of their electrons. Across the lab they share with UT Professor Mike Downer, a laser system takes a beam of light and alters it.
“You start with a really, really short laser pulse, something like 25 femtoseconds, which is 25 times 10 to the minus 15 seconds,” team lead Philip Franke said. It is his job to get this pulse across the room and to a target. After bouncing across mirrors, being split apart, put back together and growing the beam from a hair’s width to a couple of inches – the laser strikes a puff of gas and is stripped of its electrons. Carried like a wave, the electrons strike a piece of electronics. If fried, the electronics will likely not survive a trip to space.
By testing electronics, engineers can determine if their shielding is working. Testing can also help guide construction of microchips, to prevent damage on a smaller level. They’ll soon open a service center in Carlsbad, California, where companies like Space X can send their electronics for testing. Eventually, they plan to sell their accelerator to companies, giving them the option to build their own laser system and strip atoms of electrons themselves. (2/12)
Arizona Competes for $160 million Grant to Launch Inland Spaceport (Source: KYMA)
Several local Arizona state lawmakers sent a letter asking for Yuma to be the next U.S. commercial spaceport. Local Arizona State Representatives Michele Peña and Tim Dunn from Yuma support this collaboration and encourage its selection, and the City of Yuma says the project could bring jobs, businesses, and innovation to the area.
The City of Yuma is competing for a $160 million federal grant to build Arizona's first commercial spaceport. Representative Justin Wilmeth says this project aligns with the nations priorities for space exploration and economic growth. (2/12)
Democrat Calls On NASA Administrator to Revoke Musk’s Access to Headquarters (Source: The Hill)
Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) on Tuesday urged the acting head of NASA to revoke tech billionaire Elon Musk’s access to the space agency’s headquarters, citing an extreme conflict of interest. “Providing such access to Mr. Musk at NASA would create a blatant, multi-billion-dollar conflict of interest — exactly the kind of coziness between government and industry and corruption that my constituents fear happens in Washington,” she wrote. (2/12)
KARI Develops Solar Sail Technology to Enhance Korea's Deep Space Navigation Capabilities (Source: Chosun)
Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) has developed a solar sail deployment device that can be applied to a spacecraft traveling with solar wind as its power source. KARI noted that it successfully developed a prototype of the solar sail deployment device through its research on 'solar diffraction propulsion technology' that began in June last year.
The solar sail is a technology that allows a spacecraft to navigate in outer space for an extended period without fuel, using the principle of reflecting photons emitted by the sun off the sail, much like how a sailboat navigates using the wind. (2/13)
Rocket Lab Delivers Third In-Orbit Manufacturing Spacecraft for Varda Space Industries (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab has delivered another Pioneer spacecraft for Varda Space Industries to Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in preparation for launch. It’s Rocket Lab’s third Pioneer spacecraft produced for Varda, and the second the Company has delivered for launch within a month. (2/12)
UK MOD Taps Airbus to Build £127M Spy Satellite Constellation (Source: European Spaceflight)
The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence has awarded Airbus a £127 million contract to develop two reconnaissance satellites. The two satellites will make up the country’s Oberon Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite constellation, which is a small part of the country’s larger ISTARI reconnaissance constellation. (2/12)
Chinese Space Firm Showcases Mobile-to-Satellite Communication Tech (Source: Xinhua)
Chinese space firm GalaxySpace successfully demonstrated mobile-to-satellite communication technology based on the country's first low-Earth orbit broadband communication test constellation at a commercial space conference held in Beijing.
At 10:28 a.m., a satellite from the constellation passed over the conference venue in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. On-site staff used their mobile phones to connect to the satellite via a terminal device installed on the rooftop. Through a gateway station in Beijing, they established a connection with personnel in Beijing and Thailand. (2/12)
Detector on Sea Floor Spots Highest Energy Neutrino (Source: Cosmos)
A detector sitting on the sea floor off the coast of Italy has made a remarkable discovery: the first observation of an ultra-high energy neutrino. The kilometer cubic neutrino telescope (KM3NeT) spotted the neutrino in 2023. The event, dubbed KM3-230213A, was subject to meticulous analysis before being confirmed as the highest energy neutrino observed. (2/13)
After Putin Sacked Russia’s Space Chief, the Rumor Mill is Running Red-Hot (Source: Ars Technica)
After a relatively short period of just two and a half years, the chief of the Russian space corporation Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, was dismissed from his position last week. In the wake of Borisov's seemingly sudden removal—there was no readily apparent public controversy, and he was still fairly early into his tenure—the real question is why Borisov was dismissed.
After combing through Russian news reports and Telegram channels to try to determine what happened. Although we don't have absolute answers, there is plenty of intrigue. One of the most common theories is that Borisov was fired after a recent test of the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile failed. A wilder theory involves Borisov's son. There is unverified information that suggest Borisov's son had begun selling off the family-owned business (NTTs-Module), which made space components for the Russian government, to move funds abroad.
It is also possible that Borisov was simply fired because of the generally poor state of affairs at Roscosmos, which is saddled with myriad problems, including: corruption, a lack of investment, low wages and poor employee morale, Russia's war against Ukraine draining talent, a reliance on technology half a century old, and shrinking commercial markets. The bottom line is that Russia simply does not have the state budget to support significant investments in its space programs. (2/12)
Cutting Moon Rocket Would Test Musk's Power to Slash Jobs in Republican States (Source: Bloomberg)
Six space industry representatives advising Elon Musk, the billionaire SpaceX CEO with a tight grip on U.S. space policy, and Trump have told Reuters they want NASA's $24 billion Space Launch System (SLS) program canceled or at least phased out over several years, eyeing what has long been a major cost burden on the agency - but a crucial pillar of its moon program.
Scaling back the SLS, which is being developed by Boeing and Northrop Grumman, could offer a boost to Musk's SpaceX, which is developing its own cheaper rocket. Employing 28,000 workers across roughly 44 U.S. states, SLS, which launched for the first time in 2022 after years of development delays, is one of a few space programs Musk and Trump's pick to head NASA, Jared Isaacman, have criticized as an overpriced vestige of outdated rocket technology.
Canceling SLS could be a major litmus test for Trump and Musk's effort to streamline government. DOGE representatives have entered NASA headquarters in Washington and are examining its contracts, two sources said. If SLS ends up on the chopping block, Musk will struggle to overcome political hurdles, since canceling large projects has ripple effects across other areas of the federal bureaucracy including widespread job cuts. SLS, whose workforce is most concentrated in the Republican strongholds of Alabama and Texas, is a prime example. (2/13)
Boeing Scales Back Plans for Artemis/SLS Layoffs (Source: Bloomberg)
Boeing managed to preserve half of the 400 jobs it previously considered eliminating at its moon-rocket program following talks with NASA, potentially pointing to greater certainty over future funding despite concerns over a potential shake-up by Donald Trump. Boeing is “working hard to finalize contract actions” that directly impact its work, Space Launch System Vice President and Program Manager David Dutcher told employees. Dutcher said the company will issue 60-day layoff notices to fewer than 200 teammates.
'It Was a Miracle.' Amazing Tales of Dead Spacecraft That Came Back to Life (Source: Space.com)
CIRBE (Colorado Inner Radiation Belt Electron Experiment) was a 3-unit cubesat that launched in April 2023 to monitor charged particles in the inner Van Allen radiation belt. It was so successful that NASA granted it an extension after its nominal 4-month mission ended, but on April 15 something happened to the little satellite as it circled 316 miles (509 kilometers) above our heads.
Despite the last vestiges of its battery having been drained, suddenly, from somewhere, there was a spark of life. As a failsafe, its computer was tasked with rebooting the spacecraft once the battery was empty — there was always more energy to garner from its solar arrays. Suddenly, the small satellite's various sub-systems began waking up. The flight computer reactivated, reaction wheels began spinning, instruments began sensing and its radio antenna began broadcasting once more. (2/13)
York Space Expands Into Satellite Services for U.S. Government (Source: Space News)
York Space Systems, a rising player in satellite manufacturing, is making a strategic move to expand beyond hardware production into satellite-based services for the U.S. government. The Denver-based company on Feb. 13 announced a new commercial services program aimed at delivering “critical national security capabilities as a service.”
With the capacity to manufacture up to 1,000 satellite buses annually, York has been supplying hardware to government agencies, including the U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency (SDA). Now the company is looking to move further up the value chain, offering fully integrated satellites and services such as rendezvous and proximity operations, space domain awareness, communications and Earth observation. (2/13)
K2 Space Raises $110 Million for Large Satellites (Source: Space News)
Satellite manufacturing startup K2 Space has raised $110 million. K2 is developing large satellite buses intended to take full advantage of heavy-lift, low-cost launch options, betting that as launch costs continue to decline, the industry will move toward larger satellites, countering the recent trend favoring small satellite constellations. K2 Space is developing its first government mission, dubbed Gravitas, under a $60 million Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) agreement, with the Space Force and venture investors each contributing $30 million. (2/14)
Lynk Global Raises $85 Million for Direct-to-Device Constellation (Source: Space News)
Lynk Global has raised more than $85 million to help develop its direct-to-device satellite constellation. The venture disclosed the Series B funding in a regulatory filing this week that showed plans to raise a total of $215 million, more than double the amount sought last year. Lynk needs additional capital to scale a constellation that uses cellular spectrum to extend the reach of partner mobile operators in areas terrestrial infrastructure doesn't reach. The company has five satellites in orbit but plans a constellation of 5,000 satellites. Lynk is still in the process of going public through a SPAC merger, but most of the funds of the SPAC have been redeemed by shareholders, with only $23 million remaining. (2/14)
BlackSky and Thales Alenia to Develop Indian Remote Sensing Constellation (Source: Space News)
BlackSky is working with Thales Alenia Space to develop a remote sensing satellite constellation for an Indian company. Thales Alenia will produce a high-resolution optical satellite, the first of what is expected to be a larger constellation designed to provide critical intelligence for India's national security and defense agencies, for Nibe Ltd., a growing player in the country's aerospace and defense industry. BlackSky will supply satellite imagery, analytics services, and a high-resolution optical satellite as part of the venture. The BlackSky-Thales Alenia collaboration in India mirrors a similar agreement the two companies forged last year with the Republic of Indonesia. (2/14)
NASA Authorization, Commercial Space Legislation Top Senate Committee Priorities (Source: Space News)
A NASA authorization bill and commercial space legislation are priorities for the leaders of two key congressional committees. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX), chairman of the House Science Committee, outlined their plans for legislation at a conference Wednesday. They are both interested in a NASA authorization that would ensure no gaps in human presence in low Earth orbit for the U.S. as NASA moves from the International Space Station to commercial stations. They are also interested in legislation that would address "mission authorization" for commercial space activities not currently licensed by other agencies. (2/14)
House Committee Asks GAO to Examine FAA Launch Licensing (Source: Space News)
The House Science Committee is asking the GAO to examine the FAA's implementation of launch licensing regulations. In a letter this week, Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), ranking member of the committee, requested the GAO examine if regulations known as Part 450 are "effectively and efficiently accommodating United States commercial launch and reentry operations." Many in the launch industry have criticized Part 450, intended to streamline the licensing process, stating that the rules have instead made it more difficult to get approvals for launches and reentries. The FAA noted it was able to approve licenses for some recent launches well ahead of need and that a rule-making committee is studying ways to improve the regulations. (2/14)
Greenland Plays Key Space Role in Arctic Security (Source: Space News)
President Trump's interest in acquiring Greenland comes as the Arctic region is playing a growing role in space. The cornerstone of U.S. space operations in the region is Pituffik Space Base, a critical node in its space infrastructure and missile defense network in northern Greenland. Climate change has transformed the Arctic from an impenetrable barrier into a new frontier of great power competition, and recent reports argue Western nations are lagging Russia and China in establishing a presence in a region that has strategic value in areas ranging from missile warning to satellite ground stations. (2/14)
Karman Shares Rise in Public Offering (Source: Reuters)
Shares in Karman Space and Defense rose in its public debut Thursday. Shares in the company closed up more than 36% in its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. That IPO raised $506 million for the company, which works on missile systems and space components. Investors had previously said the performance of Karman's IPO could influence plans by other space companies to go public or improve their ability to raise larger private rounds. (2/14)
NEO Surveyor Passes Design Review (Source: NASA)
NASA's Near Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission has passed its critical design review. The review, completed last week, allows the mission to proceed into construction and testing. NEO Surveyor is an infrared space telescope designed to search for near Earth objects that could pose a potential impact risk for the Earth. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch as soon as late 2027. (2/14)
February 13, 2025
Experts Warn of China Threatening U.S.
Military Satellites in Orbit (Source: Florida Today)
Space Force officials warn Earth's orbit could become a dynamic spacefighting domain featuring satellite-vs.-satellite attacks and ground-based rockets and lasers targeting spacecraft — and China is aggressively pursuing such futuristic technology. In fact, America's military satellites that were built using decades-old architectural norms make for "fat, juicy targets in geosynchronous orbit" that lie vulnerable to attack by China and other adversaries, warned retired Space Force Lt. Gen. John Shaw. "They're these large, nonmoving, positional structures. Easy to target. Easy to see. Easy to predict where they're going to be. And not the ability to really maneuver a whole lot," Shaw said. (2/12)
Cruz: Isaacman Confirmation Awaits Paperwork (Source: Space News)
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said his committee had not yet scheduled a confirmation hearing for Jared Isaacman, the White House's nominee to be NASA administrator, as the committee had not yet received completed paperwork for the nomination. (2/13)
Spire Takes Belgium's Kpler to Court Over Acquisition (Source: Space News)
Spire Global is going to court to force Belgian analytics provider Kpler to complete a deal for its commercial ship-tracking business. Spire said in a regulatory filing it filed a complaint in the Delaware Court of Chancery against Kpler after that company declined to close a $233.5 million purchase announced in November. Spire had planned to use the proceeds to clear approximately $100 million in outstanding debt, strengthening its financial position for investing across its weather, aviation and radio frequency geolocation data businesses, as well as hosted payload services. Kpler did not disclose why it has failed to complete the acquisition, which was set to close in the first quarter. (2/13)
SDA Seeks Input From Industry on Iron Dome Space Segment (Source: Space News)
The Space Development Agency is looking for input on how to incorporate its satellite systems into a "Iron Dome for America" missile-defense program. The agency published a call to industry this week, seeking perspectives on integrating its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) of missile-tracking and communications satellites into a broader missile defense system. The agency plans to award one or more contracts for 60-day studies focused on several areas, including digital simulation modeling of the proposed architecture and the integration of the Missile Defense Agency’s Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor satellites into the PWSA’s tracking layer. (2/13)
Apex Wins $45.9 Million Space Force Contract for Satellites (Source: Space News)
Satellite manufacturing startup Apex has won a $45.9 million Space Force contract. The Space Systems Command contract, announced Wednesday, calls for an unspecified number of satellites to be delivered by 2032 to support missions across multiple orbits. The California-based company specializes in manufacturing standardized small satellite buses and this contract is its largest with the government to date. (2/13)
Spain's Arkadia Space to Provide Thrusters for France's MaiaSpace Reusable Launcher (Source: Space News)
Spanish propulsion startup Arkadia Space won a contract to provide thrusters for a launch vehicle being developed by French company MaiaSpace. Arkadia Space will supply 250-newton thrusters to be used on the reaction control system of MaiaSpace's planned reusable small launch vehicle. The first on-orbit testing of an Arkadia Space propulsion system is scheduled to launch in March on a D-Orbit ION vehicle flying on the SpaceX Transporter-13 rideshare mission. (2/13)
Blue Origin Targets Spring for Second New Glenn Launch (Source: Space News)
Blue Origin is targeting late spring for the second New Glenn launch. Company CEO Dave Limp said at the Commercial Space Conference Wednesday that the investigation into the failed booster landing on its first launch last month should not delay a second launch. Limp said a propulsion problem of some kind meant they weren't able "to get everything right" on the reentry burn of the booster, but he did not elaborate. Blue Origin is considering a couple of options for the payload for the second launch, and would be willing to fly a mass simulator if needed. He said the company also hopes to launch its Blue Moon Mark 1 robotic lunar lander before the end of the year, and argued that the technologies the company is developing for lunar missions can also be applied to Mars. (2/13)
China's Names Lunar Spacesuit and Rover (Source: Xinhua)
China has announced the names of a new lunar spacesuit and rover. The China Manned Space Agency said Wednesday that the spacesuit it is developing for future lunar missions will be called Wangyu, or "gazing into the cosmos," while a lunar rover intended for use by those astronauts will be called Tansuo, or "explore the unknown." The agency said it selected the names from 9,000 submissions by the public. (2/13)
Texas County Approves Holding Election to Make SpaceX's Starbase its Own City (Source: AP)
Residents near SpaceX's Starbase facility in South Texas will vote in May on whether to incorporate as a city. Officials in Cameron County, where Starbase is located, said Wednesday they scheduled a vote for May 3 on a petition to incorporate Starbase as a city. SpaceX argued that the incorporation would streamline processes for building in the area. Most of the people living in the area that would be incorporated are SpaceX employees. (2/13)
Researchers Confirm an Exoplanet Potentially Capable of Sustaining Life (Source: Phys.org)
An international team has confirmed the discovery of a super-Earth orbiting in the habitable zone of a nearby sun-like star. The planet was originally detected two years ago. This result, drawing on more than two decades of observations, opens a window to future studies of Earth-like exoplanets that may have conditions suitable for life.
The new planet, named HD 20794 d, has a mass six times that of Earth and orbits a star similar to our sun, located just 20 light years away. Its orbit places it within the habitable zone of the system, meaning it is at the right distance from its star to sustain liquid water on its surface, a key ingredient for life as we know it. (2/8)
Is Trump the President Who Will Truly Set a Course for Mars? (Source: NPR)
Over the decades, as administrations have come and gone, presidents have repeatedly promised future missions to Mars, holding this up as a key goal for human space exploration. Never before, though, has a president had such a close relationship with a would-be Mars colonizer, one who has transformed the world of rocketry.
Elon Musk, President Trump's ally who is shaking up government agencies, founded the company SpaceX with the goal of making humans a multiplanetary species. In addition to ferrying astronauts to orbit for NASA, this company is currently building and test flying a new space vehicle, Starship, that's designed to transport massive amounts of cargo—including people—and land on Mars. (2/13)
Can We Deflect ‘City-Killer’ Asteroid? (Source: New York Post)
Ready or not, 2024 YR4 is coming to an orbit near you. If YR4 is indeed on a collision course with Earth, we might not be able to stop it. 2024 YR4 — which is around the size of the Leaning Tower Of Pisa — would have around a one in 48 chance of striking the Earth on December 22, 2032.
UK volcanologist Robin George Andrews noted there might not be enough time to redirect it using DART (the Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft — which was successfully used to knock the 580-foot-wide asteroid Dimorphos off course in 2022. “With only a few years down the line, we could accidentally deflect it — but not enough to make it avoid the planet,” he theorized. “Then, it still hits Earth, just somewhere else that wasn’t going to be hit.” (2/13)
Trump Climate Crackdown: NOAA Restricts Scientist Interactions (Source: Guardian)
Last week NOAA’s office of research sent a message to all staff saying that “effective immediately”, the agency’s headquarters will implement a new layer of oversight over its scientists’ email and “virtual meetings” with foreign nationals. The new restrictions also require all NOAA employees and affiliates to document “all international engagements” in an internal spreadsheet for approval by a Trump political appointee on a case-by-case basis.
People within the agency say this could hamper the quality and availability of the world’s weather forecasts, among other key services. They have created a sense of unease within the agency, according to current and former high-level NOAA scientists and officials, and alarmed partners at European agencies. “My expectation is that it’s going to be a crackdown on climate,” said a senior NOAA scientist. (2/12)
Why New Glenn Booster Landing Failed (Source: Great SpaceX)
While the launch was a triumph, the booster’s status quickly became unknown, and it was later confirmed to have been lost. Recently, a detailed analysis has provided a plausible explanation for the failure. According to the findings, the booster failed to execute a successful landing burn, which impacted both deceleration and navigation. As a result, the booster collided with the ocean at high speed. This breakdown likely involved multiple systems, including the engine, the control system, and operational procedures during landing. Click here. (1/22)
Air Force Extends Sierra Space Contract for Upper Stage Rocket Engine (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Air Force awarded Sierra Space a $16 million contract extension to further develop and test its VR35K-A upper stage rocket engine, the Colorado-based aerospace company announced Feb. 12. The extension follows the successful completion of the engine’s integrated test campaign and builds upon a previous $22.6 million contract awarded in July 2023 to mature the engine design.
Sierra Space’s VR35K-A, a liquid-propellant engine that generates 35,000 pounds-force (LBF) of thrust, is aimed at military and commercial launch applications. The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Rocket Propulsion Division at Edwards Air Force Base, California, is overseeing the project as part of ongoing efforts to advance upper stage propulsion capabilities. (2/12)
Acting NASA Chief Says DOGE Reviewing Agency Spending as Hundreds Take Buyout (Source: Reuters)
NASA's acting administrator Janet Petro said on Wednesday that Elon Musk's government efficiency panel planned to examine the space agency's spending, and noted hundreds of agency employees had accepted a government buyout proposal. "We are going to have DOGE come. They're going to look - similarly what they've done in other agencies - at our payments and what money has gone out," Petro, who was previously the head of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, told reporters.
Asked how many NASA employees accepted the Trump administration's buyout plan, Petro said it was "hundreds." Asked whether Musk's leadership of DOGE presents conflicts of interest at NASA, Petro said "we have very strict conflict of interest policies," adding the agency's legal office would vet any DOGE employee for such conflicts. (Editor's Note: How well has that worked at other agencies?)
A small group of Trump administration officials have already begun to examine NASA's various science and space mission programs that make up the agency's roughly $24 billion annual budget, while Petro has been tasked with executing Trump's flurry of executive orders aimed at eliminating government diversity programs. (1/12)
New NASA RIF Directive Is Now Online (Source: NASA Watch)
A new Reduction In Force (RIF) directive has appeared online at NASA. It "implements regulations to conduct Reduction in Force (RIF), Transfer of Functions (TOF), and Furlough of more than 30 days in a manner that minimizes adverse impact on employees and limits disruption to critical Agency missions, programs, operations, and organizations, consistent with employees’ assignment and displacement rights." Click here. (2/12) https://nasawatch.com/personnel-news/the-new-nasa-rif-directive-is-now-online/
Mars Is Rocked by Epic Quakes, And They Don't All Come From Within (Source: Science Alert)
Incredibly powerful marsquakes that violently shake the red planet don't always begin under the surface, research shows. A new study using artificial intelligence to analyze seismic data reveals just how strongly and deeply quakes rattle around the red planet's interior – a finding that has implications for our understanding of the gooey Martian core, and how worlds like Earth, Mars, and Venus form.
The research also shows that many more rocks smack into Mars than previously thought, which changes how we must think about what Mars has going on beneath its dusty surface. (2/13)
Solar Flares in May 2024 Revealed Earth’s Vulnerability to Space Weather (Source: Space News)
The May 2024 event, the largest geomagnetic event to strike Earth in two decades, has come to be known as the Gannon storm in memory of Jennifer Gannon, a NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center research scientist. For such geomagnetic storms, a complicating factor creating potentially far-reaching impact is the terrestrial economy’s increasing reliance on space-based infrastructure.
Now, researchers are examining the impact on the fields of precision agriculture, satellite operations, aviation and the electric grid. While the analysis is not yet complete, reports presented at the AMS meeting revealed a particularly striking impact on agriculture.
The Gannon storm also revealed vulnerabilities in space traffic management. During a 2003 Halloween storm, roughly 1,000 satellites were in Earth’s orbit. As the altitudes of the satellites decreased due to enhanced atmospheric drag, operators sent instructions to each satellite to fire thrusters and raise its orbit. About 10 satellites at a time were moving to higher altitudes. (2/12)
ISS STEM Education and Workforce Development Research Announcement (Source: CASIS)
Is your organization focused on preparing the next generation of scientists, researchers, and explorers? The ISS National Laboratory has opened a funding opportunity for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce development to engage and equip the space workforce of tomorrow. Click here. (2/12)
Scientists Discover Massive Underwater Crater That is 3x Larger Than the Grand Canyon (Source: Brighter Side)
About 35 million years ago, an asteroid struck the ocean off the East Coast of North America, leaving behind a massive impact crater now buried beneath the Chesapeake Bay. The collision unleashed devastating effects, including widespread fires, powerful earthquakes, molten glass droplets, an immense air blast, and a tsunami that reshaped the landscape of what is now Virginia and Maryland.
The impact created a crater approximately 25 miles in diameter, which has since been completely concealed by sediment. Though hidden, its existence was confirmed in the early 1990s through scientific drilling. (2/11)
Space Force officials warn Earth's orbit could become a dynamic spacefighting domain featuring satellite-vs.-satellite attacks and ground-based rockets and lasers targeting spacecraft — and China is aggressively pursuing such futuristic technology. In fact, America's military satellites that were built using decades-old architectural norms make for "fat, juicy targets in geosynchronous orbit" that lie vulnerable to attack by China and other adversaries, warned retired Space Force Lt. Gen. John Shaw. "They're these large, nonmoving, positional structures. Easy to target. Easy to see. Easy to predict where they're going to be. And not the ability to really maneuver a whole lot," Shaw said. (2/12)
Cruz: Isaacman Confirmation Awaits Paperwork (Source: Space News)
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said his committee had not yet scheduled a confirmation hearing for Jared Isaacman, the White House's nominee to be NASA administrator, as the committee had not yet received completed paperwork for the nomination. (2/13)
Spire Takes Belgium's Kpler to Court Over Acquisition (Source: Space News)
Spire Global is going to court to force Belgian analytics provider Kpler to complete a deal for its commercial ship-tracking business. Spire said in a regulatory filing it filed a complaint in the Delaware Court of Chancery against Kpler after that company declined to close a $233.5 million purchase announced in November. Spire had planned to use the proceeds to clear approximately $100 million in outstanding debt, strengthening its financial position for investing across its weather, aviation and radio frequency geolocation data businesses, as well as hosted payload services. Kpler did not disclose why it has failed to complete the acquisition, which was set to close in the first quarter. (2/13)
SDA Seeks Input From Industry on Iron Dome Space Segment (Source: Space News)
The Space Development Agency is looking for input on how to incorporate its satellite systems into a "Iron Dome for America" missile-defense program. The agency published a call to industry this week, seeking perspectives on integrating its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) of missile-tracking and communications satellites into a broader missile defense system. The agency plans to award one or more contracts for 60-day studies focused on several areas, including digital simulation modeling of the proposed architecture and the integration of the Missile Defense Agency’s Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor satellites into the PWSA’s tracking layer. (2/13)
Apex Wins $45.9 Million Space Force Contract for Satellites (Source: Space News)
Satellite manufacturing startup Apex has won a $45.9 million Space Force contract. The Space Systems Command contract, announced Wednesday, calls for an unspecified number of satellites to be delivered by 2032 to support missions across multiple orbits. The California-based company specializes in manufacturing standardized small satellite buses and this contract is its largest with the government to date. (2/13)
Spain's Arkadia Space to Provide Thrusters for France's MaiaSpace Reusable Launcher (Source: Space News)
Spanish propulsion startup Arkadia Space won a contract to provide thrusters for a launch vehicle being developed by French company MaiaSpace. Arkadia Space will supply 250-newton thrusters to be used on the reaction control system of MaiaSpace's planned reusable small launch vehicle. The first on-orbit testing of an Arkadia Space propulsion system is scheduled to launch in March on a D-Orbit ION vehicle flying on the SpaceX Transporter-13 rideshare mission. (2/13)
Blue Origin Targets Spring for Second New Glenn Launch (Source: Space News)
Blue Origin is targeting late spring for the second New Glenn launch. Company CEO Dave Limp said at the Commercial Space Conference Wednesday that the investigation into the failed booster landing on its first launch last month should not delay a second launch. Limp said a propulsion problem of some kind meant they weren't able "to get everything right" on the reentry burn of the booster, but he did not elaborate. Blue Origin is considering a couple of options for the payload for the second launch, and would be willing to fly a mass simulator if needed. He said the company also hopes to launch its Blue Moon Mark 1 robotic lunar lander before the end of the year, and argued that the technologies the company is developing for lunar missions can also be applied to Mars. (2/13)
China's Names Lunar Spacesuit and Rover (Source: Xinhua)
China has announced the names of a new lunar spacesuit and rover. The China Manned Space Agency said Wednesday that the spacesuit it is developing for future lunar missions will be called Wangyu, or "gazing into the cosmos," while a lunar rover intended for use by those astronauts will be called Tansuo, or "explore the unknown." The agency said it selected the names from 9,000 submissions by the public. (2/13)
Texas County Approves Holding Election to Make SpaceX's Starbase its Own City (Source: AP)
Residents near SpaceX's Starbase facility in South Texas will vote in May on whether to incorporate as a city. Officials in Cameron County, where Starbase is located, said Wednesday they scheduled a vote for May 3 on a petition to incorporate Starbase as a city. SpaceX argued that the incorporation would streamline processes for building in the area. Most of the people living in the area that would be incorporated are SpaceX employees. (2/13)
Researchers Confirm an Exoplanet Potentially Capable of Sustaining Life (Source: Phys.org)
An international team has confirmed the discovery of a super-Earth orbiting in the habitable zone of a nearby sun-like star. The planet was originally detected two years ago. This result, drawing on more than two decades of observations, opens a window to future studies of Earth-like exoplanets that may have conditions suitable for life.
The new planet, named HD 20794 d, has a mass six times that of Earth and orbits a star similar to our sun, located just 20 light years away. Its orbit places it within the habitable zone of the system, meaning it is at the right distance from its star to sustain liquid water on its surface, a key ingredient for life as we know it. (2/8)
Is Trump the President Who Will Truly Set a Course for Mars? (Source: NPR)
Over the decades, as administrations have come and gone, presidents have repeatedly promised future missions to Mars, holding this up as a key goal for human space exploration. Never before, though, has a president had such a close relationship with a would-be Mars colonizer, one who has transformed the world of rocketry.
Elon Musk, President Trump's ally who is shaking up government agencies, founded the company SpaceX with the goal of making humans a multiplanetary species. In addition to ferrying astronauts to orbit for NASA, this company is currently building and test flying a new space vehicle, Starship, that's designed to transport massive amounts of cargo—including people—and land on Mars. (2/13)
Can We Deflect ‘City-Killer’ Asteroid? (Source: New York Post)
Ready or not, 2024 YR4 is coming to an orbit near you. If YR4 is indeed on a collision course with Earth, we might not be able to stop it. 2024 YR4 — which is around the size of the Leaning Tower Of Pisa — would have around a one in 48 chance of striking the Earth on December 22, 2032.
UK volcanologist Robin George Andrews noted there might not be enough time to redirect it using DART (the Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft — which was successfully used to knock the 580-foot-wide asteroid Dimorphos off course in 2022. “With only a few years down the line, we could accidentally deflect it — but not enough to make it avoid the planet,” he theorized. “Then, it still hits Earth, just somewhere else that wasn’t going to be hit.” (2/13)
Trump Climate Crackdown: NOAA Restricts Scientist Interactions (Source: Guardian)
Last week NOAA’s office of research sent a message to all staff saying that “effective immediately”, the agency’s headquarters will implement a new layer of oversight over its scientists’ email and “virtual meetings” with foreign nationals. The new restrictions also require all NOAA employees and affiliates to document “all international engagements” in an internal spreadsheet for approval by a Trump political appointee on a case-by-case basis.
People within the agency say this could hamper the quality and availability of the world’s weather forecasts, among other key services. They have created a sense of unease within the agency, according to current and former high-level NOAA scientists and officials, and alarmed partners at European agencies. “My expectation is that it’s going to be a crackdown on climate,” said a senior NOAA scientist. (2/12)
Why New Glenn Booster Landing Failed (Source: Great SpaceX)
While the launch was a triumph, the booster’s status quickly became unknown, and it was later confirmed to have been lost. Recently, a detailed analysis has provided a plausible explanation for the failure. According to the findings, the booster failed to execute a successful landing burn, which impacted both deceleration and navigation. As a result, the booster collided with the ocean at high speed. This breakdown likely involved multiple systems, including the engine, the control system, and operational procedures during landing. Click here. (1/22)
Air Force Extends Sierra Space Contract for Upper Stage Rocket Engine (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Air Force awarded Sierra Space a $16 million contract extension to further develop and test its VR35K-A upper stage rocket engine, the Colorado-based aerospace company announced Feb. 12. The extension follows the successful completion of the engine’s integrated test campaign and builds upon a previous $22.6 million contract awarded in July 2023 to mature the engine design.
Sierra Space’s VR35K-A, a liquid-propellant engine that generates 35,000 pounds-force (LBF) of thrust, is aimed at military and commercial launch applications. The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Rocket Propulsion Division at Edwards Air Force Base, California, is overseeing the project as part of ongoing efforts to advance upper stage propulsion capabilities. (2/12)
Acting NASA Chief Says DOGE Reviewing Agency Spending as Hundreds Take Buyout (Source: Reuters)
NASA's acting administrator Janet Petro said on Wednesday that Elon Musk's government efficiency panel planned to examine the space agency's spending, and noted hundreds of agency employees had accepted a government buyout proposal. "We are going to have DOGE come. They're going to look - similarly what they've done in other agencies - at our payments and what money has gone out," Petro, who was previously the head of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, told reporters.
Asked how many NASA employees accepted the Trump administration's buyout plan, Petro said it was "hundreds." Asked whether Musk's leadership of DOGE presents conflicts of interest at NASA, Petro said "we have very strict conflict of interest policies," adding the agency's legal office would vet any DOGE employee for such conflicts. (Editor's Note: How well has that worked at other agencies?)
A small group of Trump administration officials have already begun to examine NASA's various science and space mission programs that make up the agency's roughly $24 billion annual budget, while Petro has been tasked with executing Trump's flurry of executive orders aimed at eliminating government diversity programs. (1/12)
New NASA RIF Directive Is Now Online (Source: NASA Watch)
A new Reduction In Force (RIF) directive has appeared online at NASA. It "implements regulations to conduct Reduction in Force (RIF), Transfer of Functions (TOF), and Furlough of more than 30 days in a manner that minimizes adverse impact on employees and limits disruption to critical Agency missions, programs, operations, and organizations, consistent with employees’ assignment and displacement rights." Click here. (2/12) https://nasawatch.com/personnel-news/the-new-nasa-rif-directive-is-now-online/
Mars Is Rocked by Epic Quakes, And They Don't All Come From Within (Source: Science Alert)
Incredibly powerful marsquakes that violently shake the red planet don't always begin under the surface, research shows. A new study using artificial intelligence to analyze seismic data reveals just how strongly and deeply quakes rattle around the red planet's interior – a finding that has implications for our understanding of the gooey Martian core, and how worlds like Earth, Mars, and Venus form.
The research also shows that many more rocks smack into Mars than previously thought, which changes how we must think about what Mars has going on beneath its dusty surface. (2/13)
Solar Flares in May 2024 Revealed Earth’s Vulnerability to Space Weather (Source: Space News)
The May 2024 event, the largest geomagnetic event to strike Earth in two decades, has come to be known as the Gannon storm in memory of Jennifer Gannon, a NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center research scientist. For such geomagnetic storms, a complicating factor creating potentially far-reaching impact is the terrestrial economy’s increasing reliance on space-based infrastructure.
Now, researchers are examining the impact on the fields of precision agriculture, satellite operations, aviation and the electric grid. While the analysis is not yet complete, reports presented at the AMS meeting revealed a particularly striking impact on agriculture.
The Gannon storm also revealed vulnerabilities in space traffic management. During a 2003 Halloween storm, roughly 1,000 satellites were in Earth’s orbit. As the altitudes of the satellites decreased due to enhanced atmospheric drag, operators sent instructions to each satellite to fire thrusters and raise its orbit. About 10 satellites at a time were moving to higher altitudes. (2/12)
ISS STEM Education and Workforce Development Research Announcement (Source: CASIS)
Is your organization focused on preparing the next generation of scientists, researchers, and explorers? The ISS National Laboratory has opened a funding opportunity for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce development to engage and equip the space workforce of tomorrow. Click here. (2/12)
Scientists Discover Massive Underwater Crater That is 3x Larger Than the Grand Canyon (Source: Brighter Side)
About 35 million years ago, an asteroid struck the ocean off the East Coast of North America, leaving behind a massive impact crater now buried beneath the Chesapeake Bay. The collision unleashed devastating effects, including widespread fires, powerful earthquakes, molten glass droplets, an immense air blast, and a tsunami that reshaped the landscape of what is now Virginia and Maryland.
The impact created a crater approximately 25 miles in diameter, which has since been completely concealed by sediment. Though hidden, its existence was confirmed in the early 1990s through scientific drilling. (2/11)
February 12, 2025
Multinational Research Shows How Life
on Earth Can be Measured From Space (Source: Space Daily)
Measurements and data collected from space can be used to better understand life on Earth. An ambitious, multinational research project funded by NASA demonstrated that Earth's biodiversity can be monitored and measured from space, leading to a better understanding of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Erin Hestir led a team that collected data over six weeks in late 2024.
Two NASA aircraft and one South African aircraft flew over South Africa's Greater Cape Floristic Region -one of the most biodiverse places on the planet - to collect ultraviolet, visual, thermal and other images. That data, combined with field work by the large team of scientists from the United States and South Africa, provides a comprehensive look at the region's biodiversity, or life systems. (2/10)
Russian Ambassador Meets ISRO Chairman (Source: ISRO)
Ambassador of Russian Federation to India H.E. Denis Alipov, visited with ISRO Chairman/Secretary Dr. V. Narayanan. Narayanan highlighted the strong bilateral space cooperation right from the initial days of Indian space program to the current cooperation mainly in India’s Human Space flight program, Gaganyaan. Alipov emphasized the need for enhancing Russia’s engagement with various stakeholders of Indian space ecosystem. (2/11)
Astronaut for a Day' Contest to Give Students a Taste of Space Travel (Source: RTL Today)
The Luxembourg Space Agency has launched the second edition of its 'Astronaut for a Day' contest, offering secondary school students a chance to experience a zero-gravity flight and explore career opportunities in the country's growing space sector. The event aims to recruit young ambassadors and teach them about space travel, hone their talents, and promote the country's proliferating space sector.
Jointly organized with the European Space Agency (ESA), the program is available to secondary school students in Luxembourg from the age of 13. The most breathtaking aspect of the program is likely the zero-gravity test flight that the ten winners get to experience. Nevertheless, all candidates still have to pass physical and mental aptitude tests before embarking on this adventure, same as real astronauts. (2/12)
Space Experts Arrive in SaxaVord to Prepare for Blast-Off (Source: Shetland Times)
Space technicians visited SaxaVord to gather data ahead of their inaugural launch later this year. The team from Orbex, which recently announced its partnership with the Unst-based spaceport, also discussed the development of its dedicated launch complex.
Orbex, which has its headquarters in Forres, paused plans to develop its own spaceport in Sutherland, to focus its efforts on the development of its low-carbon micro-launcher – Orbex Prime. The company said it was gearing up for its first launch from Shetland later in 2025. It has the ability to launch 10 rockets a year. (2/12)
DARPA Demos Will Test Novel Tech for Building Future Large Structures in Space (Source: DARPA)
Based on outstanding technical progress by research teams to date, DARPA has pivoted the third and final phase of its NOM4D program from planned further laboratory testing to conducting a pair of small-scale orbital demonstrations to evaluate novel materials and assembly processes in space.
As commercial space companies continue to expand access to orbit for U.S. economic and national security needs, a major roadblock for building large-scale structures in orbit remains: the size and weight limits imposed by a rocket’s cargo fairing. In 2022, DARPA introduced NOM4D to break this cargo-constraint mold by exploring a new paradigm. Instead of folding or compacting structures to fit them into a rocket fairing to be unfurled or deployed in space, DARPA proposed stowing novel lightweight raw materials in the rocket fairing that don’t need to be hardened for launch.
The intent of this approach is to allow in-orbit construction of vastly larger and more mass-efficient structures than could ever fit in a rocket fairing. Additionally, this concept enables mass-efficient designs of structures that would sag under their own weight on Earth but are optimized for the low-gravity environment of space. Click here. (2/10)
Her Discovery Wasn’t Alien Life, but Science Has Never Been the Same (Source: New York Times)
With TV cameras pointed at her, Felisa Wolfe-Simon began speaking at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 2, 2010. “I’ve discovered — I’ve led a team that has discovered — something that I’ve been thinking about for many years,” Dr. Wolfe-Simon said. She was at that time a visiting researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey, speaking to a sizable audience of journalists and bloggers.
Speculation that NASA had discovered some kind of alien life bred exponentially across nascent social media platforms. Dr. Wolfe-Simon had, unfortunately, not found aliens, nor had she ever said she did. But she had found a terrestrial organism that was behaving unlike any life form known on Earth. The creature lived in water three times as salty as the Pacific Ocean, with the pH level of glass cleaner and, most importantly for her team’s discovery, is full of toxic arsenic.
All known living things use six major chemical elements to keep their bodies churning. One is phosphorus. But from Mono Lake, Dr. Wolfe-Simon’s team said they had isolated an organism that could replace phosphorus with arsenic. This discovery could have significant implications for astrobiology, as it suggests life may be able to adapt to environments with different chemical compositions than previously thought. (2/11)
SpaceX Keeps Pace with 14th Space Coast Launch of the Year (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
SpaceX lined up and knocked out the 14th launch from Florida's Space Coast on Tuesday afternoon. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 21 of the company's Starlink internet satellites lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. (2/11)
Feb. 26 Set for First 2025 Ariane 6 Launch (Source: Space News)
While Arianespace is preparing for its first Ariane 6 launch of the year, the company's manifest is backloaded to the second half of the year. An Ariane 6 is scheduled to launch the French CSO-3 reconnaissance satellite Feb. 26 on the first launch of the vehicle since its inaugural flight last July. The new CEO of Arianespace, David Cavaillolès, said at a recent conference that the company expects to perform five Ariane 6 launches this year, but after CSO-3 the next launch is not expected until August, when it will launch a Eumetsat weather satellite. Cavaillolès said Arianespace still planned to ramp up to its target launch rate of 9-10 Ariane 6 missions a year "as soon as possible." (2/12)
Tracking Satellites is Getting Harder (Source: Space News)
Military tracking systems are struggling to keep up with the growth in satellites in orbit. Military leaders and industry experts warn that Cold War-era tracking infrastructure and manual processes are ill-equipped to handle today's complex space environment, where adversaries' satellites can perform unpredictable maneuvers and new commercial launches happen almost daily. Experts say the U.S. can no longer rely on Cold War-era approaches to space domain awareness and are looking to new approaches and technologies, including artificial intelligence, to help. (2/12)
Port Canaveral Pinched Between Cruise and Cargo, Leisure and Space (Source: Florida Today)
Port Canaveral, the seaport adjacent to Cape Canaveral, is feeling the strain of both space and cruise ship activity. The head of the Canaveral Port Authority said there is now "a significant use of port facilities" to accommodate companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin and ULA, who use the port for delivering hardware and for recovery of boosters. The port expects more space companies to seek use of the port, creating a traffic jam at the port, which is also the second-busiest cruise line terminal worldwide. (2/12)
Vera Rubin Bio Revised in Trump Diversity Scrub (Source: Space.com)
Scientists are alarmed that the website for a new observatory named after a famous female astronomer has altered that astronomer's online biography. The Vera Rubin Observatory has revised a bio of Rubin, an astronomer credited for discovering evidence for dark matter, removing passages that mentioned her efforts to advocate for women in science given the challenges she faced in the field in the mid-20th century. The changes were made after the start of the Trump administration, which has issued executive orders to end diversity initiatives. The observatory is funded by the National Science Foundation. (2/12)
Did Covid Lockdowns Really Cause Temperatures on the Moon to Drop? (Source: Space.com)
Scientists have been arguing about a curious topic recently: Did temperatures on the moon dip due to the world's Covid-19 lockdown? Last year, a pair of researchers claimed that the shockwaves of the shutdown could be felt as far as the moon, causing a slight dip in lunar surface temperatures. Now, a new paper disputes that finding, saying that it's not possible to definitively attribute that drop to the reduction of global emissions associated with the lockdown. (2/10)
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Lunar Lander Departs Earth Orbit (Source: Aviation Week)
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander has completed a successful Trans Lunar Injection (TLI) maneuver to depart Earth orbit on a four-day transit to lunar orbit. The TLI was executed Feb. 8, according to a Feb. 10 NASA mission update. (2/10)
Space Force Plans Acquisition Reform, More Fixed-Price Contracts (Source: Space News)
The Space Force plans to reform its acquisition processes, including more use of fixed-price contracts. Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, the Space Force's acting acquisition executive, said Tuesday that the service is "more aggressively" pursuing reforms started by former space acquisition chief Frank Calvelli to streamline programs and control costs. That includes addressing underperformance by companies and government managers alike, he said. He added that Space Force officials were "big fans" of proposed legislation by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to drive efficiency and accountability in defense programs. (2/12)
Crew Dragon Swap to Advance Williams, Wilmore Return From ISS (Source: Space News)
NASA and SpaceX have agreed to swap Crew Dragon spacecraft to reduce the delay in the next mission to the International Space Station. NASA said Tuesday that the Crew-10 mission will use an existing Crew Dragon spacecraft, Endurance, that had been scheduled to fly the Ax-4 private astronaut mission this spring, rather than a new Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Delays in completing that new Crew Dragon had already pushed back the Crew-10 launch from February to late March with the risk of additional delays. The mission is now scheduled to launch no earlier than March 12, delivering astronauts from NASA, JAXA and Roscosmos to the station. That will allow the return shortly thereafter of the Crew-9 mission that will include NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who arrived on the station in June on the Starliner mission. (2/12)
The Efforts Bridging Space Sustainability, From Best Intentions to Real-World Actions (Source: Space News)
According to the Space Foundation, the total mass brought to orbit soared by 40% last year to 1.9 million kilograms. Currently, more than two-thirds of an estimated 9,000 active satellites in orbit are Starlink’s, but SpaceX isn’t the only megaconstellation in town. Amazon, China and others eager to join the fray are fast coming on the horizon.
Although multiple efforts are underway to help space sustainability keep pace with this rapid expansion, progress remains slow. Geopolitical tensions and the absence of enforcement mechanisms continue to hinder progress, while anti-satellite tests and other actions are also exacerbating the problem.
“If we don’t radically rethink how we approach our use of space, we’ll leave behind a permanent toxic trail of debris that chokes our future,” said Moriba Jah, an associate professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and chief scientific adviser at Privateer, a space situational awareness company. (2/10)
Pakistan Rover to Fly on China’s Chang’e-8 Lunar South Pole Mission (Source: Space News)
A Pakistan-developed rover will fly on China’s Chang’e-8 moon lander mission in 2028, following an agreement between respective agencies. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) and Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) agreed to allow Pakistan’s first rover to fly on Chang’e-8. An agreement in principle had been announced late last year and was formally finalized during Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to China last week. (2/10)
Does the Universe Behave the Same Way Everywhere? Gravitational Lenses Could Help Us Find Out (Source: JCAP)
Recent cosmological observations suggest that, on extremely large scales, there may be anisotropies—variations in the Universe’s structure that challenge the assumption of isotropy. These anomalies have been identified using different methods and include conflicting measurements of the Universe’s expansion rate, studies of the cosmic microwave background radiation, and various inconsistencies in cosmological data. (2/11)
Trump’s Anti-DEI Executive Orders Could Jeopardize Safety of NASA Crews (Source: Guardian)
A flurry of executive orders and internal directives from Donald Trump’s administration may be putting the safety of NASA’s crews in jeopardy, sources within the US space agency said. Top-down cuts to the US federal workforce – via buyouts – and staff shortages resulting from resignations due to Trump’s orders on diversity, gender and remote work are further compounding pre-existing staffing concerns about NASA’s ability to continue operating the ISS and execute Trump’s ambitious vision for Moon and Mars exploration, the sources said. (2/11)
Council Recommends Strategic Dialog with China on Space (Source: Space News)
A new report recommends that the United States pursue both deterrence and strategic dialogue with China in space. The report by the Council on Foreign Relations, released Tuesday, called on the U.S. to make space a "top national priority and commit to revitalizing U.S. leadership in space." That report recommended investment in resilient satellite networks but also maintaining lines of communications with China, such as a direct communication hotline to reduce the risk of miscalculation in orbit.
It also advises that the president should launch a vulnerability, remediation, and deterrence assessment that includes participation by the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, private sector space companies, and civil space organizations and academic institutions. (2/12)
Redwire to Build Another Space Force Orbital Refueling Craft (Source: Space News)
Redwire will build an additional satellite for a Space Force orbital refueling project. The company said Tuesday that the Space Force ordered a third Mako satellite bus for the Tetra-6 in-orbit refueling experiment scheduled for 2027. The prime contractor for the experiment, Arcfield, had previously ordered two Mako platforms for the Tetra-5 experiment, scheduled for later this year. Fuel delivery satellites from Orbit Fab or Northrop Grumman will attempt rendezvous, docking and propellant transfer operations with the Arcfield-built satellites in geostationary orbit. (2/12)
Astroscale and ClearSpace Complete Review of Satellite Deorbiting Tech (Source: Space News)
Astroscale and ClearSpace have passed the halfway mark in de-risking key technologies for potential satellite deorbiting missions for the U.K. Space Agency (UKSA). Astroscale's U.K. subsidiary announced Tuesday that it has successfully completed the Mid-Term Review of Phase 2 for UKSA's Active Debris Removal (ADR) mission, while ClearSpace said it completed its own Mid-Term Review of Phase 2 in December.
Once the companies complete the Phase 2 work, scheduled by the end of March, the agency is expected to select one company to lead a consortium for Phase 3. That period would cover manufacturing, assembly and testing of the spacecraft, which will attempt to remove multiple U.K.-licensed spacecraft from low Earth orbit. (2/12)
One Agency Tried to Regulate SpaceX. Now Its Fate Could Be in Elon Musk’s Hands (Source: Pro Publica)
“Safety drives everything we do at the FAA,” the agency’s chief counsel said in September, after proposing $633,000 in fines for alleged SpaceX violations related to two launches. “Failure of a company to comply with the safety requirements will result in consequences.” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s response was swift and caustic. He accused the agency of engaging in “lawfare” and threatened to sue it for “regulatory overreach.” “
The fundamental problem is that humanity will forever be confined to Earth unless there is radical reform at the FAA!” Musk wrote on X. Today, Musk is in a unique position to deliver that change. As one of President Donald Trump’s closest advisers and head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, he’s presiding over the administration’s effort to cut costs and slash regulation.
While it’s unclear what changes his panel has in store for the FAA, current and former employees are bracing for Musk to focus on the little-known part of the agency that regulates his rocket company: the Office of Commercial Space Transportation, known as AST. “People are nervous,” said a former employee who did not want to be quoted by name talking about Musk. (2/11)
South Korea, US Launch Next-Gen Space Telescope SPHEREx for 3D Universe Mapping (Source: Chosun)
The next-generation space telescope, in which Korea participated in its development, is heading to space. The researchers plan to use this telescope to create a three-dimensional infrared map of the universe and explore the origins of the universe and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) announced on the 12th that the space telescope SPHEREx, co-developed by KARI and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), will be launched at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Feb. 28. The mission period for SPHEREx is 2 years and 6 months, during which it will observe space four times. (2/12)
Putin Rages as Sanctions Hobble Russia in the New Space Race (Source: The Times)
Russia's once glorious space legacy received its latest blow as President Putin sacked Yuri Borisov, the head of Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos. The removal of Borisov after less than three years in the job underlined the Kremlin’s displeasure over recent setbacks in space exploration, traditionally a source of national pride.
Western sanctions triggered by the invasion of Ukraine have taken their toll, just as China sends astronauts to its Tiangong space station and India, a relative newcomer, plans a Venus orbiter mission.
Analysts say that the Russian spacefaring prowess is useful for Putin. “Space activity still legitimates authoritarian governance in Russia, just as it did decades ago,” said Pavel Luzin, a senior non-resident fellow at the Centre for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). “In this way it is highly important.” (2/11)
Russia Claims New Plasma-Based Engine Could Cut Mars Travel to Just 30 Days (Source: Gizmodo)
A trip to Mars may be in the books for future astronauts, but current propulsion technology will have them floating in a spacecraft bound for the Red Planet for roughly six to nine months. Considering how spaceflight affects the human body, that’s not ideal. A rocket company in Russia may have developed a solution to travel through the cosmos at much faster speeds using a new type of rocket engine.
Scientists at Russia’s state-owned Rosatom corporation have developed a prototype of a plasma electric rocket engine that could reach Mars in just 30 to 60 days, Russian media reported. The rocket, which uses hydrogen as fuel, has the potential to revolutionize spaceflight, but it is very early in its development phase and will likely take several years before it can be used for a human mission to Mars. (2/12)
ULA’s Vulcan Rocket Still Doesn’t Have the Space Force’s Seal of Approval (Source: Ars Technica)
Last October, ULA started stacking its third Vulcan rocket on a mobile launch platform in Florida in preparation for a mission for the Space Force by the end of the year. That didn't happen, and ULA is still awaiting the Space Force's formal certification of its new rocket, further pushing out delivery schedules for numerous military satellites booked to fly to orbit on the Vulcan launcher.
Now, several months after stacking the next Vulcan rocket, ULA has started taking it apart. The "de-stacking" will clear ULA's vertical hangar for assembly of an Atlas V rocket to launch satellites for Amazon's Kuiper constellation. ULA hoped to launch as many as 20 missions in 2025, with roughly an even split between its new Vulcan rocket and the Atlas V heading for retirement. That would require around one launch every two and a half weeks. Six weeks into 2025, ULA's first launch of the year is still a month or more away.
The laborious process of certifying a new rocket or spacecraft involves numerous reviews and metaphorical stacks of paperwork. The Space Force's objective with certifying the Vulcan rocket is ensuring it will provide a reliable ride to orbit for the military's most sensitive and expensive satellites. These include spy satellites, missile warning sentinels, and spacecraft for the Global Positioning System. (2/11)
Firefly Aerospace to Add 50 New Employees Thanks to $8.2M Texas Space Commission Grant (Source: Austin Business Journal)
Cedar Park-based Firefly Aerospace, which builds rockets and lunar landers, announced Feb. 11 that it received an $8.2 million grant from the Texas Space Commission that will enable it to increase its manufacturing capabilities, conduct educational outreach and add 50 jobs.
The company — which has 750 employees spread across more than 275,000 square feet of space in Cedar Park and Briggs — said in an announcement that the funding comes from the Space Exploration and Aeronautics Research Fund, which supports development of emerging spaceflight technologies, workforce training and infrastructure critical to Texas' growing aerospace sector. The Texas Space Commission was launched by the state Legislature in 2023 with $350 million to position Texas as a global industry leader. (2/11)
How Trump’s Air Force Picks Signal Blast-Off in the US-China Military Space Race (Source: South China Morning Post)
Competition in space between the US and China could be about to intensify, with US President Donald Trump’s picks to lead the United States Air Force notable for their strong backgrounds in the field, according to analysts. Trump has nominated space and air force veteran Troy Meink for the post of secretary, with Matthew Lohmeier, former commander of the space force – which is overseen by the airborne service – expected to serve as deputy.
Experts say the appointments will add to the already-tense US-China military competition in space. Both men have said space should be prioritized, a position also held by Frank Kendall, who was air force secretary in the Joe Biden administration. (2/12)
Satellites and Space Races: The Role of Europe in the Space Economy (Source: Bruegel)
Reinhilde Veugelers and Hermann Ludwig Moeller, Director of the European Space Policy Institute discuss the financial landscape of space exploration, the role of private and public sectors, and the critical intersection of space with security and defense. They also explore the growing demand for space services and the funding mechanisms needed to support Europe’s ambitions in space. Click here for their expert insights and recommendations on how Europe can move forward in this rapidly evolving field. (2/5)
Exoplanet System May Be the Fastest Ever Discovered (Souce: KXAN)
A star flying through the night sky may be the fastest-moving solar system in our galaxy. Possibly a planet a little larger than Neptune orbiting a small star, the system could be moving at least 1.2 million miles per hour, according to NASA. First discovered in 2011, the system was included in a research project led by Sean Terry with the University of Maryland and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Terry said it could be traveling faster than 1.2 million miles per hour. They were only able to track the system’s movement from left to right. It could be moving relatively further or closer to Earth, meaning it could be moving even faster. (2/11)
Measurements and data collected from space can be used to better understand life on Earth. An ambitious, multinational research project funded by NASA demonstrated that Earth's biodiversity can be monitored and measured from space, leading to a better understanding of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Erin Hestir led a team that collected data over six weeks in late 2024.
Two NASA aircraft and one South African aircraft flew over South Africa's Greater Cape Floristic Region -one of the most biodiverse places on the planet - to collect ultraviolet, visual, thermal and other images. That data, combined with field work by the large team of scientists from the United States and South Africa, provides a comprehensive look at the region's biodiversity, or life systems. (2/10)
Russian Ambassador Meets ISRO Chairman (Source: ISRO)
Ambassador of Russian Federation to India H.E. Denis Alipov, visited with ISRO Chairman/Secretary Dr. V. Narayanan. Narayanan highlighted the strong bilateral space cooperation right from the initial days of Indian space program to the current cooperation mainly in India’s Human Space flight program, Gaganyaan. Alipov emphasized the need for enhancing Russia’s engagement with various stakeholders of Indian space ecosystem. (2/11)
Astronaut for a Day' Contest to Give Students a Taste of Space Travel (Source: RTL Today)
The Luxembourg Space Agency has launched the second edition of its 'Astronaut for a Day' contest, offering secondary school students a chance to experience a zero-gravity flight and explore career opportunities in the country's growing space sector. The event aims to recruit young ambassadors and teach them about space travel, hone their talents, and promote the country's proliferating space sector.
Jointly organized with the European Space Agency (ESA), the program is available to secondary school students in Luxembourg from the age of 13. The most breathtaking aspect of the program is likely the zero-gravity test flight that the ten winners get to experience. Nevertheless, all candidates still have to pass physical and mental aptitude tests before embarking on this adventure, same as real astronauts. (2/12)
Space Experts Arrive in SaxaVord to Prepare for Blast-Off (Source: Shetland Times)
Space technicians visited SaxaVord to gather data ahead of their inaugural launch later this year. The team from Orbex, which recently announced its partnership with the Unst-based spaceport, also discussed the development of its dedicated launch complex.
Orbex, which has its headquarters in Forres, paused plans to develop its own spaceport in Sutherland, to focus its efforts on the development of its low-carbon micro-launcher – Orbex Prime. The company said it was gearing up for its first launch from Shetland later in 2025. It has the ability to launch 10 rockets a year. (2/12)
DARPA Demos Will Test Novel Tech for Building Future Large Structures in Space (Source: DARPA)
Based on outstanding technical progress by research teams to date, DARPA has pivoted the third and final phase of its NOM4D program from planned further laboratory testing to conducting a pair of small-scale orbital demonstrations to evaluate novel materials and assembly processes in space.
As commercial space companies continue to expand access to orbit for U.S. economic and national security needs, a major roadblock for building large-scale structures in orbit remains: the size and weight limits imposed by a rocket’s cargo fairing. In 2022, DARPA introduced NOM4D to break this cargo-constraint mold by exploring a new paradigm. Instead of folding or compacting structures to fit them into a rocket fairing to be unfurled or deployed in space, DARPA proposed stowing novel lightweight raw materials in the rocket fairing that don’t need to be hardened for launch.
The intent of this approach is to allow in-orbit construction of vastly larger and more mass-efficient structures than could ever fit in a rocket fairing. Additionally, this concept enables mass-efficient designs of structures that would sag under their own weight on Earth but are optimized for the low-gravity environment of space. Click here. (2/10)
Her Discovery Wasn’t Alien Life, but Science Has Never Been the Same (Source: New York Times)
With TV cameras pointed at her, Felisa Wolfe-Simon began speaking at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 2, 2010. “I’ve discovered — I’ve led a team that has discovered — something that I’ve been thinking about for many years,” Dr. Wolfe-Simon said. She was at that time a visiting researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey, speaking to a sizable audience of journalists and bloggers.
Speculation that NASA had discovered some kind of alien life bred exponentially across nascent social media platforms. Dr. Wolfe-Simon had, unfortunately, not found aliens, nor had she ever said she did. But she had found a terrestrial organism that was behaving unlike any life form known on Earth. The creature lived in water three times as salty as the Pacific Ocean, with the pH level of glass cleaner and, most importantly for her team’s discovery, is full of toxic arsenic.
All known living things use six major chemical elements to keep their bodies churning. One is phosphorus. But from Mono Lake, Dr. Wolfe-Simon’s team said they had isolated an organism that could replace phosphorus with arsenic. This discovery could have significant implications for astrobiology, as it suggests life may be able to adapt to environments with different chemical compositions than previously thought. (2/11)
SpaceX Keeps Pace with 14th Space Coast Launch of the Year (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
SpaceX lined up and knocked out the 14th launch from Florida's Space Coast on Tuesday afternoon. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 21 of the company's Starlink internet satellites lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. (2/11)
Feb. 26 Set for First 2025 Ariane 6 Launch (Source: Space News)
While Arianespace is preparing for its first Ariane 6 launch of the year, the company's manifest is backloaded to the second half of the year. An Ariane 6 is scheduled to launch the French CSO-3 reconnaissance satellite Feb. 26 on the first launch of the vehicle since its inaugural flight last July. The new CEO of Arianespace, David Cavaillolès, said at a recent conference that the company expects to perform five Ariane 6 launches this year, but after CSO-3 the next launch is not expected until August, when it will launch a Eumetsat weather satellite. Cavaillolès said Arianespace still planned to ramp up to its target launch rate of 9-10 Ariane 6 missions a year "as soon as possible." (2/12)
Tracking Satellites is Getting Harder (Source: Space News)
Military tracking systems are struggling to keep up with the growth in satellites in orbit. Military leaders and industry experts warn that Cold War-era tracking infrastructure and manual processes are ill-equipped to handle today's complex space environment, where adversaries' satellites can perform unpredictable maneuvers and new commercial launches happen almost daily. Experts say the U.S. can no longer rely on Cold War-era approaches to space domain awareness and are looking to new approaches and technologies, including artificial intelligence, to help. (2/12)
Port Canaveral Pinched Between Cruise and Cargo, Leisure and Space (Source: Florida Today)
Port Canaveral, the seaport adjacent to Cape Canaveral, is feeling the strain of both space and cruise ship activity. The head of the Canaveral Port Authority said there is now "a significant use of port facilities" to accommodate companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin and ULA, who use the port for delivering hardware and for recovery of boosters. The port expects more space companies to seek use of the port, creating a traffic jam at the port, which is also the second-busiest cruise line terminal worldwide. (2/12)
Vera Rubin Bio Revised in Trump Diversity Scrub (Source: Space.com)
Scientists are alarmed that the website for a new observatory named after a famous female astronomer has altered that astronomer's online biography. The Vera Rubin Observatory has revised a bio of Rubin, an astronomer credited for discovering evidence for dark matter, removing passages that mentioned her efforts to advocate for women in science given the challenges she faced in the field in the mid-20th century. The changes were made after the start of the Trump administration, which has issued executive orders to end diversity initiatives. The observatory is funded by the National Science Foundation. (2/12)
Did Covid Lockdowns Really Cause Temperatures on the Moon to Drop? (Source: Space.com)
Scientists have been arguing about a curious topic recently: Did temperatures on the moon dip due to the world's Covid-19 lockdown? Last year, a pair of researchers claimed that the shockwaves of the shutdown could be felt as far as the moon, causing a slight dip in lunar surface temperatures. Now, a new paper disputes that finding, saying that it's not possible to definitively attribute that drop to the reduction of global emissions associated with the lockdown. (2/10)
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Lunar Lander Departs Earth Orbit (Source: Aviation Week)
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander has completed a successful Trans Lunar Injection (TLI) maneuver to depart Earth orbit on a four-day transit to lunar orbit. The TLI was executed Feb. 8, according to a Feb. 10 NASA mission update. (2/10)
Space Force Plans Acquisition Reform, More Fixed-Price Contracts (Source: Space News)
The Space Force plans to reform its acquisition processes, including more use of fixed-price contracts. Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, the Space Force's acting acquisition executive, said Tuesday that the service is "more aggressively" pursuing reforms started by former space acquisition chief Frank Calvelli to streamline programs and control costs. That includes addressing underperformance by companies and government managers alike, he said. He added that Space Force officials were "big fans" of proposed legislation by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to drive efficiency and accountability in defense programs. (2/12)
Crew Dragon Swap to Advance Williams, Wilmore Return From ISS (Source: Space News)
NASA and SpaceX have agreed to swap Crew Dragon spacecraft to reduce the delay in the next mission to the International Space Station. NASA said Tuesday that the Crew-10 mission will use an existing Crew Dragon spacecraft, Endurance, that had been scheduled to fly the Ax-4 private astronaut mission this spring, rather than a new Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Delays in completing that new Crew Dragon had already pushed back the Crew-10 launch from February to late March with the risk of additional delays. The mission is now scheduled to launch no earlier than March 12, delivering astronauts from NASA, JAXA and Roscosmos to the station. That will allow the return shortly thereafter of the Crew-9 mission that will include NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who arrived on the station in June on the Starliner mission. (2/12)
The Efforts Bridging Space Sustainability, From Best Intentions to Real-World Actions (Source: Space News)
According to the Space Foundation, the total mass brought to orbit soared by 40% last year to 1.9 million kilograms. Currently, more than two-thirds of an estimated 9,000 active satellites in orbit are Starlink’s, but SpaceX isn’t the only megaconstellation in town. Amazon, China and others eager to join the fray are fast coming on the horizon.
Although multiple efforts are underway to help space sustainability keep pace with this rapid expansion, progress remains slow. Geopolitical tensions and the absence of enforcement mechanisms continue to hinder progress, while anti-satellite tests and other actions are also exacerbating the problem.
“If we don’t radically rethink how we approach our use of space, we’ll leave behind a permanent toxic trail of debris that chokes our future,” said Moriba Jah, an associate professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and chief scientific adviser at Privateer, a space situational awareness company. (2/10)
Pakistan Rover to Fly on China’s Chang’e-8 Lunar South Pole Mission (Source: Space News)
A Pakistan-developed rover will fly on China’s Chang’e-8 moon lander mission in 2028, following an agreement between respective agencies. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) and Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) agreed to allow Pakistan’s first rover to fly on Chang’e-8. An agreement in principle had been announced late last year and was formally finalized during Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to China last week. (2/10)
Does the Universe Behave the Same Way Everywhere? Gravitational Lenses Could Help Us Find Out (Source: JCAP)
Recent cosmological observations suggest that, on extremely large scales, there may be anisotropies—variations in the Universe’s structure that challenge the assumption of isotropy. These anomalies have been identified using different methods and include conflicting measurements of the Universe’s expansion rate, studies of the cosmic microwave background radiation, and various inconsistencies in cosmological data. (2/11)
Trump’s Anti-DEI Executive Orders Could Jeopardize Safety of NASA Crews (Source: Guardian)
A flurry of executive orders and internal directives from Donald Trump’s administration may be putting the safety of NASA’s crews in jeopardy, sources within the US space agency said. Top-down cuts to the US federal workforce – via buyouts – and staff shortages resulting from resignations due to Trump’s orders on diversity, gender and remote work are further compounding pre-existing staffing concerns about NASA’s ability to continue operating the ISS and execute Trump’s ambitious vision for Moon and Mars exploration, the sources said. (2/11)
Council Recommends Strategic Dialog with China on Space (Source: Space News)
A new report recommends that the United States pursue both deterrence and strategic dialogue with China in space. The report by the Council on Foreign Relations, released Tuesday, called on the U.S. to make space a "top national priority and commit to revitalizing U.S. leadership in space." That report recommended investment in resilient satellite networks but also maintaining lines of communications with China, such as a direct communication hotline to reduce the risk of miscalculation in orbit.
It also advises that the president should launch a vulnerability, remediation, and deterrence assessment that includes participation by the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, private sector space companies, and civil space organizations and academic institutions. (2/12)
Redwire to Build Another Space Force Orbital Refueling Craft (Source: Space News)
Redwire will build an additional satellite for a Space Force orbital refueling project. The company said Tuesday that the Space Force ordered a third Mako satellite bus for the Tetra-6 in-orbit refueling experiment scheduled for 2027. The prime contractor for the experiment, Arcfield, had previously ordered two Mako platforms for the Tetra-5 experiment, scheduled for later this year. Fuel delivery satellites from Orbit Fab or Northrop Grumman will attempt rendezvous, docking and propellant transfer operations with the Arcfield-built satellites in geostationary orbit. (2/12)
Astroscale and ClearSpace Complete Review of Satellite Deorbiting Tech (Source: Space News)
Astroscale and ClearSpace have passed the halfway mark in de-risking key technologies for potential satellite deorbiting missions for the U.K. Space Agency (UKSA). Astroscale's U.K. subsidiary announced Tuesday that it has successfully completed the Mid-Term Review of Phase 2 for UKSA's Active Debris Removal (ADR) mission, while ClearSpace said it completed its own Mid-Term Review of Phase 2 in December.
Once the companies complete the Phase 2 work, scheduled by the end of March, the agency is expected to select one company to lead a consortium for Phase 3. That period would cover manufacturing, assembly and testing of the spacecraft, which will attempt to remove multiple U.K.-licensed spacecraft from low Earth orbit. (2/12)
One Agency Tried to Regulate SpaceX. Now Its Fate Could Be in Elon Musk’s Hands (Source: Pro Publica)
“Safety drives everything we do at the FAA,” the agency’s chief counsel said in September, after proposing $633,000 in fines for alleged SpaceX violations related to two launches. “Failure of a company to comply with the safety requirements will result in consequences.” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s response was swift and caustic. He accused the agency of engaging in “lawfare” and threatened to sue it for “regulatory overreach.” “
The fundamental problem is that humanity will forever be confined to Earth unless there is radical reform at the FAA!” Musk wrote on X. Today, Musk is in a unique position to deliver that change. As one of President Donald Trump’s closest advisers and head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, he’s presiding over the administration’s effort to cut costs and slash regulation.
While it’s unclear what changes his panel has in store for the FAA, current and former employees are bracing for Musk to focus on the little-known part of the agency that regulates his rocket company: the Office of Commercial Space Transportation, known as AST. “People are nervous,” said a former employee who did not want to be quoted by name talking about Musk. (2/11)
South Korea, US Launch Next-Gen Space Telescope SPHEREx for 3D Universe Mapping (Source: Chosun)
The next-generation space telescope, in which Korea participated in its development, is heading to space. The researchers plan to use this telescope to create a three-dimensional infrared map of the universe and explore the origins of the universe and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) announced on the 12th that the space telescope SPHEREx, co-developed by KARI and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), will be launched at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Feb. 28. The mission period for SPHEREx is 2 years and 6 months, during which it will observe space four times. (2/12)
Putin Rages as Sanctions Hobble Russia in the New Space Race (Source: The Times)
Russia's once glorious space legacy received its latest blow as President Putin sacked Yuri Borisov, the head of Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos. The removal of Borisov after less than three years in the job underlined the Kremlin’s displeasure over recent setbacks in space exploration, traditionally a source of national pride.
Western sanctions triggered by the invasion of Ukraine have taken their toll, just as China sends astronauts to its Tiangong space station and India, a relative newcomer, plans a Venus orbiter mission.
Analysts say that the Russian spacefaring prowess is useful for Putin. “Space activity still legitimates authoritarian governance in Russia, just as it did decades ago,” said Pavel Luzin, a senior non-resident fellow at the Centre for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). “In this way it is highly important.” (2/11)
Russia Claims New Plasma-Based Engine Could Cut Mars Travel to Just 30 Days (Source: Gizmodo)
A trip to Mars may be in the books for future astronauts, but current propulsion technology will have them floating in a spacecraft bound for the Red Planet for roughly six to nine months. Considering how spaceflight affects the human body, that’s not ideal. A rocket company in Russia may have developed a solution to travel through the cosmos at much faster speeds using a new type of rocket engine.
Scientists at Russia’s state-owned Rosatom corporation have developed a prototype of a plasma electric rocket engine that could reach Mars in just 30 to 60 days, Russian media reported. The rocket, which uses hydrogen as fuel, has the potential to revolutionize spaceflight, but it is very early in its development phase and will likely take several years before it can be used for a human mission to Mars. (2/12)
ULA’s Vulcan Rocket Still Doesn’t Have the Space Force’s Seal of Approval (Source: Ars Technica)
Last October, ULA started stacking its third Vulcan rocket on a mobile launch platform in Florida in preparation for a mission for the Space Force by the end of the year. That didn't happen, and ULA is still awaiting the Space Force's formal certification of its new rocket, further pushing out delivery schedules for numerous military satellites booked to fly to orbit on the Vulcan launcher.
Now, several months after stacking the next Vulcan rocket, ULA has started taking it apart. The "de-stacking" will clear ULA's vertical hangar for assembly of an Atlas V rocket to launch satellites for Amazon's Kuiper constellation. ULA hoped to launch as many as 20 missions in 2025, with roughly an even split between its new Vulcan rocket and the Atlas V heading for retirement. That would require around one launch every two and a half weeks. Six weeks into 2025, ULA's first launch of the year is still a month or more away.
The laborious process of certifying a new rocket or spacecraft involves numerous reviews and metaphorical stacks of paperwork. The Space Force's objective with certifying the Vulcan rocket is ensuring it will provide a reliable ride to orbit for the military's most sensitive and expensive satellites. These include spy satellites, missile warning sentinels, and spacecraft for the Global Positioning System. (2/11)
Firefly Aerospace to Add 50 New Employees Thanks to $8.2M Texas Space Commission Grant (Source: Austin Business Journal)
Cedar Park-based Firefly Aerospace, which builds rockets and lunar landers, announced Feb. 11 that it received an $8.2 million grant from the Texas Space Commission that will enable it to increase its manufacturing capabilities, conduct educational outreach and add 50 jobs.
The company — which has 750 employees spread across more than 275,000 square feet of space in Cedar Park and Briggs — said in an announcement that the funding comes from the Space Exploration and Aeronautics Research Fund, which supports development of emerging spaceflight technologies, workforce training and infrastructure critical to Texas' growing aerospace sector. The Texas Space Commission was launched by the state Legislature in 2023 with $350 million to position Texas as a global industry leader. (2/11)
How Trump’s Air Force Picks Signal Blast-Off in the US-China Military Space Race (Source: South China Morning Post)
Competition in space between the US and China could be about to intensify, with US President Donald Trump’s picks to lead the United States Air Force notable for their strong backgrounds in the field, according to analysts. Trump has nominated space and air force veteran Troy Meink for the post of secretary, with Matthew Lohmeier, former commander of the space force – which is overseen by the airborne service – expected to serve as deputy.
Experts say the appointments will add to the already-tense US-China military competition in space. Both men have said space should be prioritized, a position also held by Frank Kendall, who was air force secretary in the Joe Biden administration. (2/12)
Satellites and Space Races: The Role of Europe in the Space Economy (Source: Bruegel)
Reinhilde Veugelers and Hermann Ludwig Moeller, Director of the European Space Policy Institute discuss the financial landscape of space exploration, the role of private and public sectors, and the critical intersection of space with security and defense. They also explore the growing demand for space services and the funding mechanisms needed to support Europe’s ambitions in space. Click here for their expert insights and recommendations on how Europe can move forward in this rapidly evolving field. (2/5)
Exoplanet System May Be the Fastest Ever Discovered (Souce: KXAN)
A star flying through the night sky may be the fastest-moving solar system in our galaxy. Possibly a planet a little larger than Neptune orbiting a small star, the system could be moving at least 1.2 million miles per hour, according to NASA. First discovered in 2011, the system was included in a research project led by Sean Terry with the University of Maryland and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Terry said it could be traveling faster than 1.2 million miles per hour. They were only able to track the system’s movement from left to right. It could be moving relatively further or closer to Earth, meaning it could be moving even faster. (2/11)
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