September 17, 2024

Space Force Reshapes Small-Launch Program (Source: Aviation Week)
The U.S. Space Force is reverting the 1970s-era Rocket Systems Launch Program back to its customer-funded roots. But Congress is concerned that the shift will affect the small-launch market. Lawmakers used the Senate Appropriations Committee’s fiscal 2025 defense markup, released on Aug. 1, to express concerns that although the Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office have small-launch service contracts in place, “they are rarely used.”

“In a threat environment that requires tactical responsiveness, small-launch providers are most likely to provide this capability,” the markup states. Senate appropriators also criticized the fact that the Space Force will launch only one payload through the fiscal 2024 Orbital Services Program (OSP) and requested no funds for the program’s fiscal 2025 budget. Lawmakers called the program “critical to having a rapidly responsive launch capability and to maintaining a competitive and innovative industrial base.”

Space Force officials say that this funding shift is by design and that the OSP, which sits under the Rocket Systems Launch Program (RSLP), is not intended to maintain a steady funding stream. (9/3)

Google Backs Privately Funded Satellite Constellation for Wildfire Detection (Source: Ars Technica)
Space is more accessible than ever thanks to the proliferation of small satellites and more affordable launch prices, which opened the door to bespoke applications like global pollution monitoring, crop observations, and new ways of collecting weather and climate data. Now you can add wildfire detection to the list.

Satellites have observed wildfires from space for decades, but a new initiative partially funded by Google's philanthropic arm aims to deploy more than 50 small satellites in low-Earth orbit to pinpoint flare-ups as small as a classroom anywhere in the world. The FireSat constellation, managed by a nonprofit called Earth Fire Alliance (EFA), will be the first satellite fleet dedicated to detecting and tracking wildfires. Google announced a fresh investment of $13 million in the FireSat constellation Monday, building on the tech giant's previous contributions to support the development of custom infrared sensors for the FireSat satellites. (9/16)

Navigating New Frontiers: Assessing the Opportunity for US Entities to Launch and Return Space Missions in Australia (Source: Space Review)
A recently concluded agreement makes it easier for American companies to launch from Australia. Four experts describe the benefits of that agreement but also the obstacles Australia faces to host American launches. Click here. (9/17)
 
Still Waiting for Liftoff in the UK (Source: Space Review)
Six years ago, the UK government kicked off an effort to create a domestic launch capability. Today, reports Jeff Foust, that capability is struggling to emerge as companies suffer technical and financial setbacks. Click here. (9/17)

Framing the Success of the Polaris Dawn Mission (Source: Space Review)
The Polaris Dawn private astronaut mission successfully returned to Earth Sunday after five days in space, carrying out the first commercial spacewalk. Ajey Lele examines its advance in space commercialization versus challenges in other areas. Click here. (9/17)

Mercantilism in Outer space: discussing a Political-Economic Approach for the Global South (Source: Space Review)
As major space powers accelerate their activities, developing countries worry about being left behind. Aritra Ghosh argues that such emerging space nations need to take care of their own interests in space. Click here. (9/17)

XB-1 Achieves Third Flight as Boom Prepares for Supersonic Tests (Source: Aerospace Testing International)
Last week, Boom’s XB-1 supersonic demonstrator aircraft completed its third flight, focusing on testing key systems such as the environmental control system and landing gear at higher speeds. It reached an altitude of 15,000 feet and speeds of 232 knots. Boom aims to conduct a supersonic test flight by year-end, advancing the development of the Overture airliner and the revival of supersonic travel. (9/16)

Ex-Im Bank Doubles Space Finance Deals (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Ex-Im Bank has seen its backlog of potential space deals more than double in the last year. In a session at the World Space Business Week (WSBW) conference Monday, Ex-Im first vice president and vice chair Judith Pryor said the pipeline of deals under consideration by the bank is now $9.5 billion, compared to $4 billion a year ago.

The bank is currently underwriting $800 million in transactions. She said work at Ex-Im, which provides direct loans, debt guarantees and other financial support for U.S. exporters, has started gaining momentum since reopening in 2019 after being shut down for four years as Congress debated the bank's existence. Requests for financial support are coming in from a mix of satellite projects, including Earth observation and broadband constellations in LEO and GEO. (9/17)

York Space Systems to Develop SDA Laser-Link Satellites (Source: Space News)
York Space Systems is the second company developing satellites for the Space Development Agency (SDA) to demonstrate laser intersatellite links. Derek Tournear, director of SDA, announced the milestone Monday at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference. York satellites, using terminals from Tesat-Spacecom, were able to communicate over the weekend, he said. York is the second satellite provider for SDA to demonstrate in-space communications using Tesat terminals, following a previous demonstration by SpaceX.  He said the next step will be integrating communications between York and SpaceX's satellites to form a fully functional mesh network. (9/17)

Launch Companies Face Challenges in Scaling Up Production and Flight Rates (Source: Space News)
Launch companies introducing new rockets now face the challenge of scaling up flight rates. Company executives said on a WSBW panel Monday that they are working to scale up production and operations of the Ariane 6, H3, New Glenn and Vulcan Centaur rockets. Blue Origin, for example, is projecting as many as 12 launches in 2025 after an inaugural launch this November, doubling to 24 in 2026. Arianespace plans to get to 9-10 Ariane 6 launches by 2027, but does not expect further increases because of limitations in the production of the vehicle's solid rocket boosters. (9/17)

Northrop Grumman Wins $54.7 Million AFRL Contract for Satellite Terminals (Source: Space News)
Northrop Grumman won a $54.7 million contract from the Air Force Research Lab to produce satellite terminals for military aircraft. The three-year contract falls under the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) program, an effort to create military networks leveraging commercial space internet constellations like Starlink, OneWeb, SES's O3b and others. Northrop Grumman will develop multi-band, high-throughput  satellite communications antennas that can be integrated onto various military aircraft. A similar contract was awarded last month to Raytheon. (9/17)

Ursa Major Wins Navy Contract for Rocket Motor Production (Source: Space News)
Ursa Major won a Defense Department contract for work on solid rocket motors. The $12.5 million award from the U.S. Navy and the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital (OSC), to be matched by Ursa Major, will support the design, manufacture and testing of a solid rocket motor prototype for the U.S. Navy. The Pentagon's move comes as it seeks to diversify its supplier base amid concerns about overreliance on a shrinking pool of domestic suppliers for solid rocket motors. (9/17)

Competitors More Open Source Approach to Counter Starlink's Closed System Approach (Source: Space News)
The satellite industry is looking for its equivalent of Android to compete with Starlink's iPhone. In a presentation at WSBW Monday, Novaspace drew parallels between Starlink and the iPhone as one key player in the satellite broadband market, both known for closed systems. However, the company believes there is room for competitors that can harness more open approaches, like Android, using capabilities like software-defined satellites and virtual ground segments. Novaspace expects the satellite services market to grow from $19 billion in 2023 to $53 billion in 2033. (9/17)

Cyber Security a Top Priority for DoD Satellite Systems (Source: Space News)
Cybersecurity is a top priority for military satellite systems being acquired by SDA. The agency's director, Derek Tournear, said Monday that companies developing satellites for SDA have cybersecurity requirements integrated into their contracts from the beginning, a model other Space Force organizations are adopting. SDA will put the ground systems for Tranche 1 satellites through "white hat" hacking to probe for potential weaknesses. A former general now working for Deloitte said cyberattacks are expected to be the most frequent weapon used to disrupt U.S. space capabilities. (9/17)

Impulse Space to Deliver French Satellites in GEO Rideshare Deal (Source: Space News)
Impulse Space has won a contract to transport satellites from a French startup to GEO. Space Network Services plans to launch as many as six small geostationary satellites at a time through the Impulse rideshare service. The satellites, called Kaon, are designed for customers seeking sovereign satellite communications systems or increased capacity for congested areas. The deal is the first agreement announced for the GEO rideshare service Impulse Space unveiled in August. The service pairs Impulse's Helios high-energy kick stage with an upgraded version of its Mira vehicle. (9/17)

Proteus Plans AI-Designed Small Satellite (Source: Space News)
Proteus Space says it will launch the first "AI-designed" ESPA-class satellite next year. The satellite will carry four payloads, including from a university and an undisclosed government agency. Proteus Space plans to use Mercury, an intelligent software orchestration system for custom satellite buses, to design the satellite. The company claims that its software "can redesign that bus in the time that it takes you to add a calendar invite to get the engineers all together to discuss the engineering change proposal." (9/17)

Planet Wins German Earth Observation Contract (Source: Space News)
Planet's German business unit won a contract from the German space agency. The company did not disclose the value of the three-year contract from DLR to provide Earth observation data and services. Under the agreement, DLR and German researchers will have access to PlanetScope products, including nearly daily imagery of Earth's landmass at approximately three-meter resolution. The contract also covers the PlanetScope archive, which includes data from 2016 on, as well as RapidEye imagery dating back to 2009. (9/17)

EU's Space Commissioner Resigns (Source: Politico)
The European Union commissioner who has been responsible for space abruptly resigned Monday. Thierry Breton served as commissioner whose portfolio included space in the previous government, and had been nominated by France to serve as commissioner in the new government. However, the French government was reportedly unhappy with the role that had been proposed for Breton and, rather than accept that role, Breton announced Monday he was resigning immediately. In his resignation letter posted online, Breton accused European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of asking the French government to withdraw his name from consideration "for personal reasons that in no instance you have discussed directly with me." (9/17)

Space Coast's CCT Wins Hypersonic Sensor Work From Air Force (Source: CCT)
Command and Control Technologies Corporation has been awarded a contract from the Air Force at Arnold Engineering Development Center for research into new techniques for measuring Mach numbers in Hypersonic flows. The contract will research new probe designs for measuring Mach numbers in very high temperature hypersonic flows. The new probe design will expand the state-of-the-art in hypersonic facility flow calibration by directly measuring the velocity profile, which is currently not possible with existing testing methods. (9/16)

10 New Tech Trends Transforming Earth Observation and Climate Intelligence (Source: World Economic Forum)
As climate-related disasters become more frequent, the need for actionable climate intelligence has never been greater. Earth observation technologies offer critical insights into our rapidly changing environment and the interconnected dynamics of Earth’s systems. By 2032, satellite Earth observation is expected to generate over 2 exabytes (2 billion gigabytes) of data cumulatively. The volume and complexity of this data has historically prevented it from being translated into actionable climate solutions.

Large volumes of data require sophisticated processing and analysis to create insights that can easily be integrated into operational decision-making processes. To turn Earth observation data into even more useful climate and weather information, efficient and effective data processing and analysis is essential. Click here. (9/16)

Space Industry Creating Opportunities Across the Country (Source: Area Development)
Florida has long been a historical epicenter of the space program, says Stephen Levine. “Things are happening pretty dramatically and quickly,” he says. Last year, the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station set a new launch record with 72 orbital missions. By the end of this year, the launch pace is expected to ramp up to as many as two a week, according to Orlando Sentinel tallies. Commercial space activity is taking off like a rocket.

The Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast claims it has seen manufacturing job growth two to three times the national rate and one of the biggest concentrations in high-tech gross domestic product. Tech-focused industrial developments are joined by stellar residential growth and nearly two dozen new hotels in the works. “An area once deemed a sleepy beach town has exploded with growth,” Levine says.

The business development space race is far from just a Florida phenomenon. Michael Mineiro, senior counsel with the legal and advisory firm Akin, notes that the space business is touching economies nationwide. The space industry originally developed in places chosen for their proximity to warm weather and good transportation. “We have to be very careful about doing things too far north because if it gets too cold it affects our technology. Access to ports is crucial because things we need to move around are big and heavy,” Mineiro explains. Click here. (9/15)

Emerging Markets in Aerospace: Navigating Federal Funding and Strategic Expansion (Source: Area Development)
Federal funding for the Aerospace/Defense sector has increased substantially, driven by the need to modernize military systems and address new geopolitical threats. Key trends include:

A shift from legacy markets is evident, with traditional hubs like Seattle and Los Angeles seeing less growth in federal funding compared to emerging markets such as Dallas. JLL Research has shown that in some instances, increases in federal funding are outpacing available talent in growing markets. This diversification of funding is spreading across commercial aviation, defense, and the commercialization of space, creating diverse opportunities for A&D firms. Click here. (9/15)

Burns & McDonnell’s Role in Intuitive Machines' Lunar Production and Operations Center (Source: Area Development)
A trip to the moon begins on Earth, and building the tools to get to outer space requires the right facilities. Recently, Intuitive Machines worked with NASA to build the Odysseus NOVA-C lander, which became the first U.S.-led moon mission in 50 years and the first commercially built lander to touch down on the South Pole of the moon. Burns & McDonnell partnered with Intuitive Machines to develop a headquarters and testing facility for its lunar missions. Click here. (9/15)

The War on Talent in Aerospace: Strategies for Attracting and Retaining a Skilled Workforce (Source: Area Development)
In the aerospace and defense (A&D) sector, we are witnessing a transformative period marked by increased federal funding and the emergence of new markets. This evolution has ignited fierce competition among companies to attract and retain the skilled workforce necessary to sustain growth and innovation. There’s a war on talent in our industry, and navigating this landscape requires a strategic and multifaceted approach. Click here. (9/15)