Boeing Claims Virgin Galactic Owes $26
Million and Retained Proprietary Information (Source: Space News)
Boeing and a subsidiary have filed suit against Virgin Galactic over
work on a new "mothership" aircraft project. In the suit, Boeing and
Aurora Flight Sciences allege that Virgin Galactic has failed to pay
more than $26 million in invoices under a contract announced in 2022 to
develop an aircraft that would serve as the air-launch platform for
Virgin's suborbital spaceplanes, replacing the current aircraft called
VMS Eve. Boeing and Aurora also claim that Virgin has failed to destroy
proprietary documents linked to that project that include trade
secrets, some of which were provided inadvertently. Virgin Galactic
denies the allegations. (3/26)
Ingersoll Rand to Acquire ILC Dover
(Source: Space News)
Ingersoll Rand is acquiring spacesuit developer ILC Dover. The
companies announced Monday that Ingersoll Rand would acquire ILC Dover
for $2.325 billion in a deal expected to close in the second quarter.
Most of ILC Dover's business is in pharmaceutical and life sciences,
but the company is known in the space business for developing
spacesuits going back to the Apollo program as well as inflatable
structures. The announcement did not disclose what changes, if any,
would come to ILC Dover's space work. (3/26)
AIA Untangles DoD Space Acquisition
(Source: Space News)
The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) is trying to demystify
military space acquisitions. AIA released an infographic Monday
describing the roles played by 15 organizations in the Space Force,
Defense Department and intelligence community in acquiring space
capabilities. AIA said it developed the infographic because it
regularly receives inquiries from people struggling to understand the
bureaucratic labyrinth of military space acquisition. (3/26)
Boeing Corporate Shakeup Unlikely to
Impact Space Business (Source: Boeing)
A Boeing corporate leadership shakeup is not likely to have near-term
effects on its space business. Boeing announced Monday that its current
CEO, Dave Calhoun, will retire at the end of the year. The chair of the
company's board, Larry Kellner, is also stepping down and will be
replaced by Steve Mollenkopf, who will lead the effort to hire a new
CEO. The moves were prompted by continued difficulties with the
company's commercial aviation business, with the head of Boeing
Commercial Airplanes, Stan Deal, also retiring. None of the changes
appear to have an immediate impact on the company's defense and space
unit. (3/26)
SpaceX Launches More Starlink
Satellites From Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: SpaceFlight
Now)
SpaceX launched — you guessed it — another set of Starlink satellites
Monday evening. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 7:42 p.m.
Eastern and placed 23 Starlink satellites into orbit. Nineteen of
SpaceX's 29 Falcon 9 launches so far this year have been Starlink
missions. (3/26)
Apex Aries Satellite Commissioned
After Transporter Launch (Source: Space News)
Apex says it has successfully commissioned the first payload on its
inaugural Aries satellite and has the pics to prove it. The company
released Monday an image taken by the spacecraft, showing part of the
spacecraft with the Earth in the background. Apex launched the
spacecraft three weeks ago on the Transporter-10 rideshare mission to
demonstrate its capabilities, with payloads from several undisclosed
customers on board.
Apex was one of several companies to fly their first spacecraft on
Transporter-10, with others still working through the commissioning
process. One, True Anomaly, said last week it ran into problems with
its first two Jackal spacecraft that will prevent the company from
testing rendezvous and proximity operations as intended. (3/26)
ExLabs Plans to Send a Mission to a
Near Earth Asteroid (Source: Space News)
ExLabs said it is planning to launch a mission to the asteroid Apophis
in 2028, a year before that asteroid makes a very close, but safe,
flyby of Earth. The mission would place three cubesats into orbit
around the asteroid to demonstrate technologies for future space
resources and other in-space missions. ExLabs did not disclose the cost
of the mission or how it would be funded. (3/26)
George Abbey Passes Away at 91
(Source: Houston Chronicle)
George Abbey, former director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, has died
at the age of 91. Abbey joined NASA in the mid-1960s and later became
director of flight operations, selecting astronauts for shuttle
missions. After a stint at NASA Headquarters, he returned to JSC,
serving as director from 1996 to 2001. He retired from NASA in 2003 and
worked on space policy issues at Rice University. (3/26)
Early Adopters of NASA's PACE Data to
Study Air Quality, Ocean Health (Source: Space Daily)
From the atmosphere down to the surface of the ocean, data from NASA's
PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) satellite benefits
ecosystems, human health, and underrepresented communities. Years
before the launch in February 2024, mission leaders from NASA teamed
with dozens of applied scientists and environmental professionals to
prepare for the many practical uses that could be informed by PACE
data. PACE's Early Adopter program integrates science data into
business, environmental management, and decision-making activities to
benefit society. Click here.
(3/26)
Japan Attempts to Revive Moon Lander
After Second Lunar Night (Source: Space Daily)
Japan's space agency said on Tuesday it will try to revive its Moon
lander after a second frigid, two-week lunar night, following a
surprising awakening last month. The unmanned Smart Lander for
Investigating Moon (SLIM) touched down in January at a wonky angle that
left its solar panels facing the wrong way. As the sun's angle shifted,
it came back to life for two days and carried out scientific
observations of a crater with a high-spec camera. (3/26)
China Elevates Atmospheric and Space
Monitoring Capabilities with New Satellite (Source: Space Daily)
the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation has deployed the
second batch of Yunhai 2-series satellites into orbit, further
bolstering China's capabilities in atmospheric monitoring and space
environment observation. The satellites, developed by the China Academy
of Space Technology, are multifunctional, with responsibilities ranging
from atmospheric condition surveillance to space environment
monitoring. These satellites will also contribute to disaster
prevention and mitigation initiatives and support a range of scientific
experiments. (3/22)
Aireon and Airbus Enhance Partnership
to Distribute Space-Based ADS-B Air Traffic Data to Wider Audience
(Source: Space Daily)
Aireon has broadened its partnership with Airbus through an expanded
distribution deal, facilitating greater accessibility to its
cutting-edge space-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast
(ADS-B) data. This strategic move will see Airbus incorporating
Aireon's comprehensive ADS-B data into its suite of advanced flight
analytics and digital solutions, offering unprecedented benefits to a
wide array of aviation stakeholders, including airlines, aircraft
lessors, and lessees. (3/22)
Barack Obama Says Jeff Bezos Should
Worry About Earth Before Space. But Bezos Says Going to Space is How
You Save Earth (Source: Busines Insider)
Barack Obama and Jeff Bezos are at loggerheads on how ambitious
goalposts to colonize the solar system will affect Earth's future. The
former US president recently chastised Silicon Valley tycoons for
investing in projects with an aim to send humans to live off-world.
Bezos, on the other hand, has said that going to space is the best way
to continue humanity's growth while preserving the planet's natural
resources. "In almost every way, life is better for almost everyone
today than it was, say, 50 years ago or 100 years ago," Bezos said.
Bezos cited literacy, poverty, and infant-mortality rates as examples
of humanity's progress. But he said that humanity's progress was to the
detriment of planet Earth. (3/20)
ISS National Lab-Sponsored Research
Aims to Grow Tumors in Microgravity to Test Chemotherapy Effectiveness
(Source: CASIS)
Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide, with nearly 10 million
people dying from the disease each year. Researchers from
Connecticut-based startup Encapsulate are turning to the microgravity
conditions available through the International Space Station (ISS)
National Laboratory to explore how to mitigate the effects of cancer
and improve the lives of patients on Earth.
For many living with cancer, treatment options can be a grueling
trial-and-error process, as there are multiple drugs available for many
types of cancer. Chemotherapy drugs work by killing the cancer cells
within the body, but research has shown that for certain cancer types,
nearly 80% of initial chemotherapy treatments do not work, which means
that individuals have to endure multiple rounds of treatments. (3/25)
Lessons From the First CLPS Lunar
Landing Missions (Source: Space Review)
With the first two commercial lunar lander missions by US companies in
the books, NASA and industry are taking stock of what worked and what
didn’t. Jeff Foust reports on those analyses as NASA charts the future
of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Click here.
(3/25)
Proposing a National Naming
Competition for Our Lunar Exploration Program (Source: Space
Review)
In the concluding portion of his two-part essay, Cody Knipfer examines
the potential benefits, and drawbacks, of a naming competition for
elements of NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration campaign. Click here.
(3/25)
Preventing a “Space Pearl Harbor”:
Rep. Turner Leads the Charge (Source: Space Review)
Comments last month by the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee
led to revelations that Russia was developing some kind of nuclear
antisatellite weapon. Brian Chow argues similar awareness is needed
among policymakers about growing Chinese antisatellite capabilities.
Click here.
(3/25)
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