March 31, 2024

Ecuador's Space Ambitions (Source: This Week in Space)
Spaceflight is no longer just for superpowers—there are now 37 countries signed to NASA's Artemis Accords for the return to the Moon, and previously non-spacefaring nations are getting into the spaceflight trade, Ecuador among them. Robert Aillon, who started a National Space Society chapter in Ecuador after attending a graduate program at the University of Arizona's Thunderbird School, was a prime mover in getting Ecuador to sign on to the accords. He is also pushing for a spaceport in the country, which has the advantage of an equatorial location. Join us as we discuss the ever-increasing opportunities for new players to enter the coming space age! Click here. (3/29)

Astronomers Discover 49 New Galaxies in Under Three Hours (Source: ICRAR)
An international team of astronomers has discovered 49 new gas-rich galaxies using the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa. The observation aimed to study the star-forming gas in a single radio galaxy.  Although the team didn’t find any star-forming gas in the galaxy they were studying, they instead discovered other galaxies while inspecting the data. The observations, which lasted less than three hours and were facilitated by IDIA (Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy), made this discovery possible. (3/25)

Portugal and the UN Discuss the Future of Space Sustainability in Lisbon (Source: PT Space)
Preparations for the conference included a diplomat meeting organised by the Permanent Mission of Portugal to the United Nations in New York, in conjunction with the Portuguese Space Agency, which brought together more than two dozen embassies. “Portugal is playing a crucial role at the United Nations level where, by organising the Management and Sustainability of Space Activities Conference, in Lisbon, it allows member states to freely debate the main issues for the future of space activities”, underlines Hugo André Costa, executive director of the Portuguese Space Agency. (3/29)

Aerostar Acquires Near Space Corp. (Source: Aerostar)
Aerostar International and TCOM Holdings are excited to announce the acquisition of Near Space Corporation of Tillamook, Oregon. Near Space Corporation has operated since 1996 as an expert in high-altitude flight testing and complex Aerospace soft goods designs. Examples include drop testing the Boeing Starliner parachute systems from altitude, prototyping planetary balloon systems with NASA JPL to explore the atmosphere of Venus, and fabricating the air barrier for the Bigelow BEAM inflatable module on the ISS. In addition, Near Space manages the Tillamook Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Test Range, one of seven FAA-designated UAS Testing locations in the United States. (3/25)

GomSpace Provides Update on Maritime Monitoring Program in Indonesia (Source: GomSpace)
On March 6, 2024, Indonesia unveiled their plan to launch a satellite network for maritime monitoring, with the satellites from Denmark and the first satellite flying in July 2024. Link: Indonesia unveils plan to launch a satellite network for maritime monitoring (mongabay.com). In anticipation of this timeframe, GomSpace is concurrently undertaking essential satellite and launch preparations. Concerning a contract for 20 satellites for Indonesia's Ministry of Marine Affairs & Fisheries, with a value of approx. 650 MSEK, discussions on government-to-government financing are still pending. (3/26)

Shey Sabripour, CesiumAstro Founder and CEO, Tapped for Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium (Source: CesiumAstro)
Governor Greg Abbott announced that CesiumAstro Founder and CEO, Shey Sabripour, has been named to the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium (TARSEC) executive committee. As part of an ambitious effort to solidify Texas’s position as a global aerospace hub, Governor Abbott signed House Bill 3447 last summer, creating TARSEC and the Texas Space Commission. HB 3447 will strengthen the state’s position in all aspects of aerospace activity, including civil, commercial, and military aviation, as well as research and development, space exploration, and infrastructure. (3/27)

Space Lab LEAF Experiment Selected for Artemis III Lunar Mission (Source: Space Lab)
Space Lab announced that the company has been selected to develop LEAF, a plant science experiment for NASA’s Artemis III Lunar mission. LEAF, which stands for Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora, will study how the Lunar environment affects the germination and growth of plants that may be used to feed astronauts of the future. Human nutrition and life support (carbon dioxide removal, oxygen production, and water purification) provided by space agriculture will enable long-duration human exploration of the moon and beyond. (3/26)

SpaceX Double-Header Rocket Launches from Florida are Successful (Source: WESH)
SpaceX is planning for a double-header of rocket launches from Florida's Space Coast Saturday. First up was the EUTELSAT 36D mission which lifted off at 5:52 p.m. from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. The Falcon 9 rocket sent the satellite to a geosynchronous orbit. SpaceX successfully landed the first-stage booster on a drone ship after separation from the rocket's upper stages.

The second Falcon 9 rocket launch of the night sent up a number of Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. Liftoff for the Starlink Group 6-45 mission happened at 9:30 p.m. The first-stage booster successfully landed on a ship in the Atlantic several minutes after liftoff. (3/31)

Space Budget Experts Warn FY-2025 Could be Even Worse for NASA (Source: Space Policy Online)
Despite widespread, bipartisan support for NASA across Capitol Hill, NASA’s FY2024 budget was cut two percent below its FY2023 funding level because of spending caps set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Those caps remain in effect for FY2025, with total non-defense discretionary spending allowed to rise by only one percent. If approved, NASA’s $25.4 billion request for FY2025 would merely restore the agency to its FY2023 level with no adjustment for inflation. That’s a massive change from a year ago when President Biden requested a 7.1 percent increase for the agency.

NASA wasn’t the only agency to suffer cuts in FY2024. Total funding in the CJS bill was down four percent, Toal Eisen said, and FY2025 may be tougher. “Some of the tricks that they used to get [total funding] as high as that are now not available in FY25.” (3/30)

Why is ULA Retiring the Delta IV Heavy? (Source: Space Explored)
So why is ULA retiring a perfectly capable and rather exciting rocket to see launch? The short answer is that ULA is replacing it with Vulcan. In the early 2000s, because neither company was able to make a profit off of launching the military’s satellites, Boeing and Lockheed Martin joined their launch efforts into United Launch Alliance. This formed a defacto monopoly for both government and commercial launch services in the United States until SpaceX came along.

With the rise of SpaceX’s low cost and extremely reliable rockets, the Delta IV Heavy is no longer the most powerful and it’s why to expensive and long to build for commercial contracts. ULA hasn’t had a large share of yearly launches for many years and it’s in danger of losing the majority of Space Force allocated missions in the upcoming allotment of Phase 3 missions. So Vulcan was developed. (3/30)

SpaceX Scrubs Saturday Night Starlink Launch Due to Poor Weather in Southern California (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
As the month of March winds down, SpaceX hoped to squeeze in one more launch from California with a batch of 22 of its Starlink satellites on board. However, poor weather near Vandenberg Space Force Base forced them to stand down from launching Saturday night. SpaceX later also scuttled launch attempts on both Thursday and Friday as well. The company stated on social media that “we will announce a new launch date once confirmed on the Range.” (3/28)

We Asked Over 50 Women Space Leaders for Words of Inspiration. Here's What They Told Us (Source: Space.com)
The history of women's contributions to the space industry is significantly shorter than it is for men,  simply because women were dealt a delayed start in the race. For example, NASA's astronaut program began in 1959, but it wasn't until 1978 when the agency's lineup of astronaut candidates finally included women. Yet, thanks to many brave trailblazers who pushed against the unfair boundaries of equality in space exploration, the number of leading ladies writing their way into history books has risen rapidly. Click here. (3/31)

AAC Clyde Space Was Paid ~SEK 13.5 M for an Insurance Claim on the Kelpie-1 Satellite (Source: AAC Clyde Space)
AAC Clyde Space announced it received payment for an insurance claim on Kelpie-1 valued at approximately SEK 13.5 M. Kelpie-1 was launched in January 2023 to provide AIS data under a Space Data as a Service contract. The satellite has performed nominally since separation from the ION orbital maneuvering vehicle in March 2023 but an issue with the payload has limited data gathering, resulting in reduced data output from the satellite. (3/28)