June 26, 2024

Falcon Heavy Launches NOAA Weather Satellite (Source: Space News)
A Falcon Heavy rocket successfully launched a NOAA weather satellite Tuesday. The Falcon Heavy lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 5:26 p.m. Eastern and deployed the GOES-U satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit four and a half hour later, after three burns by the upper stage. GOES-U, which will be renamed GOES-19 after reaching GEO, is the fourth and final satellite in the GOES-R series of advanced geostationary orbit weather satellites.

It will replace GOES-16 at the GOES-East location at 75 degrees west longitude in GEO. GOES-U carries the same instruments as the earlier GOES-R satellites as well as a new compact coronagraph instrument for monitoring the sun. The launch was the 10th for the Falcon Heavy and the second for NASA, which managed the development and launch of the satellite for NOAA. (6/26)

Space Force Moves Forward with GPS Alternative (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force is moving forward with plans to deploy smaller, cheaper GPS satellites based on commercial designs. The Space Systems Command earlier this month issued a solicitation through the Space Enterprise Consortium for the Resilient Global Positioning System (R-GPS) program, seeking innovative design concepts. Space Systems Command will pick five concepts for further study. The program seeks to augment the existing GPS constellation in medium Earth orbit with smallsats that will provide a subset of the primary GPS signals. The goal of R-GPS is to provide an additional layer of resilience for military, allied and civilian users. (6/26)

Collins Pulls Back on NASA Spacesuit Work (Source: Space News)
Collins Aerospace says it is "descoping" work for NASA on a new spacesuit for the ISS. The company won a NASA task order in late 2022 to develop a spacesuit for ISS spacewalks that would be offered to the agency under a services contract. However, the company said Tuesday the company and NASA mutually agreed to descope that work, but did not elaborate on the reasons why. Industry sources believe the company has run into cost and schedule problems with the suit's development that make the fixed-price contract no longer acceptable to the company. NASA has a separate contract with Axiom Space focused on lunar spacesuits, but with an option to develop one for the space station as well. (6/26)

Sift Raises $17.5 Million for Sensor Tech (Source: Space News)
Sift, a startup working on ways to better manage telemetry data, has raised $17.5 million. The company says the Series A funding, led by Google Ventures, will allow it to expand its staff and accelerate work on a platform intended to make it easier for engineers to handle hardware sensor data. Sift, founded by former SpaceX engineers, is working with aerospace companies as well as those in defense, energy and transportation. (6/26)

ISRO's NewSpace India Signs to Launch Australian Satellite (Source: Mint)
The commercial arm of India's space agency ISRO has signed a deal to launch an Australian satellite. NewSpace India Ltd. said Wednesday that it will launch the 450-kilogram Optimus spacecraft built by Space Machines Company, an Australian startup developing satellite servicing technologies. The spacecraft will launch on a Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) in 2026 under a contract valued at $18 million. The contract was announced at the Indian Space Congress conference where the head of ISRO, S. Somanath, said he sought to launch SSLV 20 to 30 times a year. (6/26)

Astra Shareholders Sue Over Plan to Take Company Private (Source: Bloomberg)
Shareholders of Astra Space are filing suit over a deal to take the company private. The suit, filed in a Delaware court this week, seeks access to company documents about the deal finalized in March where the company's co-founders would take the company private at $0.50 per share. Shareholders believe the deal may undervalue the company. (6/26)

Virgin Galactic's Chief Pilot Retiring (Source: Virgin Galactic)
Virgin Galactic's chief pilot is retiring. The company announced Wednesday that Dave Mackay is stepping down after 19 years at the company, including three suborbital spaceflights on the company's VSS Unity vehicle. He will be succeeded by CJ Sturckow, a former NASA astronaut who flew on four shuttle missions and joined Virgin Galactic in 2013, flying several suborbital missions on Unity. The company retired Unity earlier this month to focus its development on the new Delta class of suborbital spaceplanes, scheduled to enter service in 2026. (6/26)

Space for All: Seats Open on SERA-Blue Origin Rocket Ride (Source: Deccan Herald)
The possibilities in space exploration, increasingly equated with soft power and nationalist expression, are inspiring private missions to usher space enthusiasts into the crew capsule. Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA) is building its pitch for democratised space travel around the idea of citizen astronauts. The US-based agency is offering the global public six seats in its next mission on a New Shepard, Blue Origin’s reusable suborbital rocket. An Indian on board is a distinct possibility. (6/18)

2024 Spaceport America Cup Comes To A Close (Source: Los Alamos Daily Post)
The latest edition of the world’s largest intercollegiate rocketry competition is in the books. Concluding with the closing ceremony Saturday, June 22, 2024, at the Pan America Center on the campus of New Mexico State University, the 2024 Spaceport America Cup again featured the technical prowess of thousands of the world’s most intellectually gifted college students centered around the field of intercollegiate rocketry.

Of the 152 teams who signed up to take part in the event, a record 122 of them made the trek to southern New Mexico for the week-long competition featuring some of the brightest minds and most dedicated college and university students from around the globe. A strong partnership between Spaceport America and the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) made the event, which has been held at the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport since 2017, possible. (6/24)

North Korean Test of Likely Hypersonic Missile Fails (Source: Space Daily)
North Korea test-fired what appeared to be a hypersonic missile on Wednesday, but the launch ended in a mid-air explosion, an official from Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The early morning launch came just hours after Pyongyang sent another flurry of trash-bearing balloons southward, this time forcing a three-hour halt to flights in and out of South Korea's Incheon airport. (6/26)

Astrobotic Reveals Lunar Surface Proving Ground at Mojave Spaceport (Source: Space Daily)
Astrobotic has unveiled its Lunar Surface Proving Ground (LSPG) at its Mojave, CA facility. The 100mx100m high-fidelity 3D test field replicates the Moon's surface topography and optical properties. The LSPG's terrain is based on a map of the Moon's South Pole, scanned by Astrobotic's LunaRay system. This site will support various test campaigns, including precise lunar landing technologies like LiDAR scanners and navigation algorithms, as well as lunar rovers and robotic systems.

"Our Lunar Surface Proving Ground stands out as the most realistic test field of this scale, modeled directly from a lunar surface map, anywhere in the world," said Sean Bedford, Director of Business Development at Astrobotic. "We're excited to simulate the lunar landscape for high-fidelity testing here on Earth as industry, government, and academia develop Moon to Mars capabilities." (6/26)

Artificial Greenhouse Gases May Indicate Alien Terraforming (Source: Space Daily)
If extraterrestrials modified a planet in their solar system to increase its temperature, we might be able to detect it. A new study identified specific artificial greenhouse gases that could reveal a terraformed planet. A terraformed planet is one that has been artificially altered to be suitable for life. According to the study, these gases could be detected even at low concentrations in the atmospheres of planets outside our solar system using current technology, including the James Webb Space Telescope or a future European-led space telescope concept. (6/26)

ispace-U.S. to use Swedish Space Corp.’s Lunar Ground Station Network for its M3 Lunar Mission (Source: SSC)
Swedish Space Corp. (SSC Space US) has signed an agreement with the U.S. lunar exploration company ispace technologies U.S. (ispace-U.S.) to support their upcoming Mission 3 with the APEX 1.0 lunar lander. SSC will provide critical communication links to the mission through its advanced SSC Connect lunar ground station network capabilities.

ispace-U.S.’s Mission 3 will provide lunar lander services to Schrodinger Basin on the far side of the Moon as part of the Draper-led NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. For the mission, scheduled for 2026, ispace-U.S. will transport and operate government and commercial payload instruments for lunar surface science. While the lander communicates directly with Earth during transit, ispace-U.S. will later use relay satellites for communication during surface operations. (6/25)

General Atomics Supports India's Space Sector (Source: Breaking Defense)
As part of the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology, General Atomics-Aeronautical Systems has signed partnership agreements with two Indian AI startups, 114AI and 3rd ITECH, to enhance space domain awareness. These agreements, part of the broader effort to deepen defense innovation and industrial cooperation, were facilitated through the India-US Defense Acceleration Ecosystem and include cooperation agreements with the Air Force Research Laboratory. (6/24)

When Will Asteroid Mining Become Viable? (Source: Launchpad)
The two foremost leaders in the field, Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries, sold out in 2019 to owners that had nothing to do with asteroid mining. The “bubble,” if there ever was one in a field that’s more research domain than true industry, had popped. The usual suspects were blamed: commodities markets were too volatile, the technology was too nascent, and operations too expensive.

But that was then, and this is now. How does 2024 fare in the age of rising metal values, Starship and other heavy-lift rockets surging space accessibility, and advanced robotic manufacturing? Better than you might imagine, but still a far cry from the promised dreams of would-be space prospectors. The field is almost entirely comprised of post-pandemic startups like the US-based AstroForge, and China’s Origin Space. There’s no denying that the industry is still incredibly nascent, and operating on decades-long horizons. (6/25)

Space Force, NASA Deals Power Parabilis (Source: San Diego Business Journal)
Parabilis Space Technologies Inc. is on a growth trajectory. Built on decades of space program history in San Diego’s North County, the company is poised to double its engineering staff so it can support clients such as NASA and the U.S. Space Force. In the months ahead, the 14-person firm hopes to hire 10 engineers to support existing and future contracts, said Dave Streich, the company’s CEO.

Parabilis’ key employees took part in notable projects such as CHIPSat and the record-setting SpaceShipOne. Parabilis team members participated in both while at a Poway company called SpaceDev. Another aerospace contractor, Sierra Nevada Corp. bought SpaceDev in 2009. Nine space program veterans pooled their money to form Parabilis in 2014. The firm’s selling point is indicated by the company name. Parabilis translates from Latin as “affordable.” (6/24)

Space Command Preparing Data Fusion Pilot Program (Sources: Aviation Week, Defense Scoop)
U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM) wants to launch a pilot program that can parse out and fuse together data coming off of commercial and government remote sensing assets. Still in its planning phase, Spacecom expects to announce the specific mission area it will use as a test case in the coming weeks or months. (6/24)

Space Command Renews Call for Ways to Refuel Satellites in Orbit (Source: Defense One)
Service officials have been pushing in the last year for the need to “maneuver without regret” in space, because satellites with short lifespans and fixed fuel tanks can constrain operations. But recent comments suggest some leaders are not sold on refueling—and the service may need to look to other, less costly ways to achieve dynamic space operations.

For now, the Space Force has included some funds in its 2025 budget request to continue analysis and do initial demonstrations of dynamic space operations. The service also recently awarded Starfish Space a $37.5 million contract to demonstrate on-orbit maneuver and maintenance in 2026. (6/23)