June 17, 2024

SASC Breaks Spending Cap by $25 Billion in FY25 Defense Policy Bill (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved a $911.8 billion topline for the National Defense Authorization Act, a move that would shatter spending limits imposed by last year’s debt ceiling deal.

The bill greenlights a total of $878.4 billion for the Defense Department and $33.4 billion for defense-related activities in the Department of Energy. When combined with an estimated $11.5 billion in non-NDAA defense activities, the total national defense topline sought by the SASC is $923.3 billion — blowing past the $895 billion defense spending cap imposed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) by a significant margin that staffers put in the range of $25 billion. (6/14)

SASC Passes Defense Authorization with Space-Related National Guard Compromise (Source: Space News)
The Senate Armed Services Committee passed its version of a defense policy bill that offers a compromise on space-related Air National Guard units. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2025, approved by the committee Friday, would allow the Air Force to transfer certain space functions of the Air National Guard to the Space Force, but not change the overall strength of affected state Air National Guard organizations.

The bill would also formally authorize a Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve program and directs the Defense Department to identify poor-performing contractors and require approval for additional contracts. The Senate committee advanced its bill the same day that the full House passed its version of the NDAA after approving on party-line votes a number of controversial social policy amendments. (6/17)

Redwire Picked to Provide VLEO Satellite Platform for DARPA (Source: Space News)
Redwire has won the first contract for its very low Earth orbit (VLEO) spacecraft platform. The company announced Monday it will be the prime mission integrator for a DARPA satellite with a novel propulsion system. The mission will use Redwire's new SabreSat bus, designed to operate in very low orbits, equipped with an "air-breathing" electric propulsion systems being developed through DARPA's Otter program. Redwire did not disclose the value of the multi-year DARPA Otter contract, which includes pricing for design through on-orbit operations. (6/17)

China Tests Long March 10 Engines (Source: Space News)
China has tested engines for its Long March 10 moon rocket. A Long March 10 first stage test article performed a static-fire test Friday, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) announced. The test article had three YF-100K kerosene-liquid oxygen engines installed across its 5.0-meter diameter; the full vehicle will have seven engines in the stage, along with two side boosters. CALT said the test was a complete success. The Long March 10 is a key element of China's lunar architecture, with two launches of the vehicle planned to send a crew spacecraft and lunar lander to the moon, where they will dock in lunar orbit. (6/17)

Satellogic Announces More Layoffs (Source: Space News)
Satellogic announced a new round of layoffs Friday, three weeks after an earlier round. The company said it was laying off about 70 employees, but did not describe what positions were affected. The company announced in late May it was laying off 34 people, 13% of its workforce at the time. Satellogic also said it would slow growth of its imaging satellite constellation, citing the success of its new Mark V satellites. The layoffs and reduced satellite investment are intended to cut costs at the company, which reported a net loss of $61 million last year. (6/17)

Researchers Question Presence of Lunar Water Ice (Source: Space News)
It is still unclear if water ice at the lunar poles will be a useful resource for astronauts. At a conference earlier this month, researchers said there are still many questions about the amount of ice at the poles and what form it is in. Data from an instrument on South Korea's Danuri orbiter suggests there is little ice in "cold traps" in permanently shadowed portions of craters, but there may be abundant ice below the surface. How that could be extracted will depend on how deep the ice is. (6/17)

Cosmonaut Zudov Passes at 82 (Source: CollectSpace)
A Russian cosmonaut who was on the only Soyuz mission to end with a splashdown has died. Roscosmos reported the death last week of Vyacheslav Zudov at the age of 82. He was on the Soyuz 23 mission to the Salyut 5 space station that launched in 1976. The spacecraft was unable to dock with the station because of the failure of its automated docking system, and the spacecraft instead returned to Earth. Weather caused the spacecraft to land in Lake Tengiz in Kazakhstan. Zudov and fellow cosmonaut Valery Rozhdestvensky remained inside the capsule for several hours as waterlogged parachutes dragged the spacecraft into the lake before they were rescued. (6/17)

Small, Cool and Sulfurous Exoplanet May Help Write Recipe for Planetary Formation (Source: Space Daily)
A surprising yellow haze of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere of a gas "dwarf" exoplanet about 96 light years away from our own solar system makes the planet a prime target for scientists trying to understand how worlds are formed. Astronomers discovered the planet, GJ 3470 b, in 2012 when the planet's shadow crossed the star it orbits. GJ 3470 b is located in the constellation Cancer and is about half the size of Neptune, with a mass 10 times that of Earth. (6/11)

Immune System Changes During Space Travel Could Affect Aging on Earth (Source: Space Daily)
Using cells in simulated microgravity, combined with data from space flight from astronauts and mice on the International Space Station, the researchers created a complete picture of how the different cells of the immune system in the peripheral blood are shaped by reduced gravity. These cells include lymphocytes and monocytes, which are the main players in immunity.

The study has potential implications for immune aging on Earth since the changes observed during aging resemble those captured during space travel. The team additionally outlines a pathway for identifying compounds that can reverse the effects of near zero gravity, and demonstrates that one of the compounds, quercetin, shows promise for mitigating the damage caused by spaceflight and during normal aging on the ground. (6/12)

Frenchman Found Dead at Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome (Source: Space Daily)
A Frenchman has died apparently of dehydration after illegally entering the territory of Russia's Baikonur space base in Kazakhstan for "extreme" tourism, officials said this week. "Our embassy... has been informed of the death of a French tourist. It has been mobilised to offer support to his family," a diplomatic source told AFP on Thursday, two days after Russian authorities announced the death.

Russian investigators said earlier in a statement that they were looking into "the death of a 24-year-old French man on the territory of the cosmodrome". The man appeared to have died of "dehydration in extremely hot and dry temperatures, complicated by chronic illnesses," the statement continued. (6/13)

MDA Launches Hypersonic Testbed Article Atop Suborbital Rockets at Virginia Spaceport (Source: Aviation Week)
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) confirmed that a Kratos built HTB-1, was launched June 12 from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The testbed is the Erinyes flyer, a hypersonic vehicle that the company revealed two years ago. A three-stage Oriole-Terrier-Terrier stack of sounding rockets launched the Erinyes to a hypersonic speed, the Kratos spokesperson says. (6/14)

Aerojet Rocketdyne Reaches THAAD Motor Milestone (Source: ExecutiveBiz)
Aerojet Rocketdyne has completed delivery of a milestone 1,000 solid rocket boost motors for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. "The Aerojet Rocketdyne-powered THAAD serves a critical need for the military, safeguarding our nation, allies and infrastructure from would-be missile attacks from those who wish to do us harm," said Ross Niebergall, president of Aerojet Rocketdyne at L3Harris. (6/14)

SSC Taps L3Harris for Counter Communication Systems (Source: ExecutiveGov)
L3Harris Technologies has secured a three-year, $27 million contract from Space Systems Command to manufacture counter communication systems for the Department of Defense. These systems will enhance SSC's ground-based electronic warfare capabilities. (6/13)

Albedo Takes Earth Observation Up Close and Personal From Very Low Earth Orbit (Source: Tech Crunch)
Satellite imagery startup Albedo is preparing for its up-close-and-personal debut. Albedo’s first satellite will take to orbit next spring as the company looks to turn the commercial Earth observation industry upside down with its novel approach and ultra-high-resolution cameras.

The satellite, called Clarity, will hitch a ride to very low Earth orbit (VLEO) on SpaceX’s Transporter-13 ride-share mission. That mission is currently set to launch no earlier than February 2025, so Albedo should have its first satellite operating in orbit this time next year. Albedo additionally announced seven customers that reserved a portion of Clarity’s image tasking, including satellite imagery broker SkyFi and German energy company Open Grid Europe. (6/14)