April 1, 2024

Unveiling China's Reusable Rocket Revolution: The Long March 10's Journey to Lunar Dominance (Source: NSS Mumbai)
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) plans to launch their first-ever reusable rockets in 2025 and 2026. The rockets, unspecified by CASC, consist of a 13-foot (4-meter) diameter model and a 16-foot (5-meter) diameter variant. The larger rocket could potentially be a version of the proposed Long March 10, a launch vehicle measuring 302 feet (92 meters) in length, with the capability to transport 27 tons into translunar orbit. (4/1)

France Expected to Commit €400M to Support Four Launch Startups (Source: European Spaceflight)
The French government is expected to announce that it will commit to purchasing the first flights aboard the rockets of four of the country’s launch startups. According to reporting from French news outlet Les Echos, the announcement will be made by President Emmanuel Macron this week during his visit to the Guiana Space Centre to see the progress towards the maiden flight of Ariane 6.

The four launch startups that will receive a combined €400 million in subsidies are HyPrSpace, Latitude, Sirius Space Services, and the ArianeGroup subsidiary MaiaSpace.

The HyPrSpace OB-1 and Latitude Zephyr rockets will be the smallest of the lot and will be capable of delivering between 100 and 200 kilograms to low Earth orbit. The Sirius 1, Sirius 13, and Sirius 15 rockets will be capable of delivering between 175 and 1,100 kilograms to orbit. The Prometheus-powered Maia rocket is expected to be the most powerful, with a payload capacity of up to three tonnes when launched in its expendable configuration. (3/25)

Russia Launces Remote Sensing Satellite (Source: TASS)
Russia launched a remote sensing satellite Sunday. A Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 5:37 a.m. Eastern and placed the Resurs-P No. 4 satellite into orbit. The spacecraft is the latest in a series of satellites capable of high-resolution imaging for civil applications. (4/1)

Toy Japanese Rover is a Transformer (Source: CollectSpace)
A toy version of a proposed Japanese lunar rover is more than meets the eye. A Japanese toy company, Takara Tomy, is starting to ship a scale model version of the Lunar Cruiser rover that is a Transformer, turning into Optimus Prime. The Japanese space agency JAXA is working with Toyota on the real Lunar Cruiser, a pressurized rover that could be used on later Artemis missions. Takara Tomy has already flown its own transforming lunar rover: the baseball-sized Sora-Q was included on the SLIM lunar lander, its halves designed to split open to reveal a camera. (4/1)

Plumb Departing DoD (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon's head of space policy will be stepping down next month. The Defense Department said Friday that Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb will leave in May but did not provide further details. Plumb is leaving his post two years after being confirmed as the first assistant secretary of defense for space policy, a position that Congress established in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. Plumb has overseen the drafting of a commercial space integration strategy. (4/1)

Japan's SKY Perfect JSAT Investing in Space Startups (Source: Space News)
Japanese satellite operator SKY Perfect JSAT plans to invest in space startups and venture funds. The company said last week it would invest $66 million over the next six years, part of nearly $1 billion of investment through the end of the decade on new technologies and expanding its presence in the space industry. Sky Perfect JSAT previously invested in iQPS, a Japanese venture developing a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) constellation, and announced plans earlier this year to establish a startup to remove space debris using lasers. (4/1)

Boeing Leveraging Military Satellite Projects to Win More (Source: Space News)
Boeing hopes to use one long-running military satellite program to help it win two new contracts. The Space Force is expected to seek bids this coming year for highly specialized, jam-resistant satellite systems that the military deems "no fail" assets. One is Protected Tactical Satcom, a future constellation of encrypted communications satellites, while the other is Evolved Strategic Satcom, a critical component of the U.S. military's nuclear command, control, and communications network. Boeing says it will leverage its work on the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) series of satellites, including work on an integrated payload array it developed for the WGS-11 satellite. (4/1)

Parsons Selected for Space Traffic System Integration (Source: Space News)
Parsons will be the system integrator for the Office of Space Commerce's space traffic coordination system. Parsons won a $15.5 million contract in March to provide system integration services for the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS), the civil space traffic coordination system being created by the office. An initial version of TraCSS is scheduled to enter service by the end of September. It is part of broader efforts at space sustainability by the Office of Space Commerce and other agencies, with NASA expected to roll out its own space sustainability strategy at Space Symposium next week. (4/1)

16 Largest Satellite Companies (Source: Insider Monkey)
According to a report by Allied Market Research, the global satellite market was worth $286 billion in 2022. It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.1% from 2023 to 2032 and reach $615.7 billion by the end of the forecasted period. The growth is driven by the rise in space exploration missions, an increase in satellite-based warfare, and the growing trend of small satellites. Click here. (3/31)

Blue Origin Gears Up for Next New Shepard Flight as Anniversaries Loom (Source: Douglas's Substack)
It looks like Blue Origin will start flying people on its New Shepard suborbital vehicle soon after a gap that has stretched for nearly 20 months. The flight comes as the anniversaries of four flights — three successful, one fatal — approach that were pivotal in the development of the slow-moving suborbital space tourism industry, whose goal is to open up space to non-professional space travelers.

Amanda Nguyen announced on social media that she will be flying to suborbital space aboard New Shepard. The Vietnamese refugee and Nobel Peace Prize nominee is best known for leading Rise, a group that advocates for victims of sexual abuse. The self-described “civil rights astronaut” will become the first Vietnamese woman to fly to space. Neither Blue Origin nor a non-profit group that is paying for her flight has announced a date for the launch or identified who else will be aboard. New Shepard can carry six passengers at a time. (3/30)

Scientists Reveal the Best Possible Route to Exit Our Solar System (Source: Interesting Engineering)
All the planets in our solar system are enveloped by a giant bubble made of charged particles constantly released by the Sun. This bubble is called the heliosphere and its boundary serves as the boundary of our solar system. So if we ever wish to leave our solar system and travel to other stars, we first need to find a way to cross the heliosphere. Surprisingly, a team of researchers claims to have discovered the best possible exit route through this giant bubble. Click here. (3/31)