September 20, 2024

Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Awarded $775,000 Tourism Grant for New Attractions (Source: Florida Today)
Brevard County commissioners on Tuesday approved a $775,000 grant to the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation to build new facilities at the property. With the approved grant money, the foundation will add two light-keeper's cottages, including one intended to be an immersive-experience historical cottage. With the new approvals, groundbreaking on the project is expected to begin within a year.

Funding for the lighthouse project grant will come from money generated by Brevard County's 5% tourist development tax on hotel rooms, vacation rentals and other short-term rentals. Brevard County commissioners approved the grant funding in a 3-2 vote Tuesday. (9/19)

Space Force, Air Force Collaborate on Battle Network (Source: National Defense)
The US Air Force and Space Force are closely collaborating on the development of the Department of the Air Force Battle Network, which supports Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control program to enable seamless battlefield communications across services and allies. Leaders from both services emphasized their close cooperation to ensure unified progress. (9/19)

RTX Tech Connects Commercial Satellites, Military Planes (Source: Military & Aerospace Electronics Online)
RTX Corp. is advancing a project to help the US Air Force leverage commercial space internet satellites by developing communication terminals for military aircraft, after receiving a follow-on contract under the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet program. Raytheon is also a contractor on the program which aims to establish satellite communication systems that integrate easily onto aircraft using commercial space internet constellations. (9/19)

Entire Swarm of Black Holes Detected Moving Through The Milky Way (Source: Science Alert)
A fluffy cluster of stars spilling across the sky may have a secret hidden in its heart: a swarm of over 100 stellar-mass black holes. The star cluster in question is called Palomar 5. It's a stellar stream that stretches out across 30,000 light-years, and is located around 80,000 light-years away. Such globular clusters are often considered 'fossils' of the early Universe. They're very dense and spherical, typically containing roughly 100,000 to 1 million very old stars; some, like NGC 6397, are nearly as old as the Universe itself. (9/20)

ESA Taps Pangea Aerospace to Design Very High Thrust Engine (Source: European Spaceflight)
The European Space Agency has awarded Spain’s Pangea Aerospace a contract to design a very high thrust rocket engine, which could be used to power future European heavy and super-heavy rockets. ESA published a call for its Very High Thrust rocket engine initiative in late 2023 under its Future Launchers Preparatory Program. On 19 September, Pangea Aerospace announced that it had been awarded a contract to begin preparatory work for the project. (9/19)

UCF‘s Latest Space-Themed Football Uniforms Honor NASA’s Artemis Program (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Entitled “Mission VIII,” the new uniforms — to be worn against Arizona on Nov. 2 — will have a definitive lunar feel and lean heavily on the Artemis program, which plans to return to the moon for scientific research. UCF’s Exolith Lab is the home to the world’s largest simulated lunar surface and a vital component of the Artemis program. The jerseys feature a black and grey texture, representing the lunar dirt simulants created at the Exolith Lab.

The numbers feature the Canaveral blue seen in the school’s most recent space uniforms. The arm cuffs will have a Pegasus Constellation to represent the school and its vision of limitless possibilities. The grey pants will feature a visual of the boosters from the SLS rocket featured in the Artemis program and a mission patch representing the Artemis program. The helmet will feature a new Canaveral blue stack logo containing speckles representing the lunar dust and has the school’s motto: Reach for the Stars.

Editor's Note: With its new "Space U" motif, UCF is leaning into its role as a space industry partner, supporting a growing portfolio of space research and producing a growing number of space industry workers. They've also re-adopted the "Citronaut" moniker, harkening back to the institution's early days when the region's citrus industry gave way to a new role in the historic Space Race to the moon. (9/18)

China Set to Unveil Long-Term Vision for Space Science (Source: Space News)
The Chinese Academy of Sciences is aiming to accelerate its progress in space science with a newly developed medium- and long-term roadmap for future missions. The plan will see China’s space science efforts—marked in recent years by successful dark matter, quantum and space physics missions—transitioning into an accelerated development phase. The long-term plan aims to solidify the country’s role in global space science. (9/20)

Belgium's VEOWARE Secures €2,5 Million to Empower Spacecraft with Next-Generation Agility (Source: VEOWARE)
VEOWARE has raised €2.5 million to fuel the company’s ambitious growth strategies, including the enhancement of its groundbreaking Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) technology, facilitate expansion into the U.S and grow as a leader in motion control solutions. (9/19)

Leanspace Secures €10.5 Million to Champion Next-Gen Satellite Constellation Operations (Source: Leanspace)
Leanspace has won the France 2030 “UMBRELLA” Project, valued at €10.5 million, along with partners CySec and Constellation Technologies & Operations (CTO). This significant investment, backed by the French government, positions Leanspace as critical infrastructure to manage large-scale, dynamic, and highly secure satellite constellations, boosting France’s role as a major supplier of space technology. (9/20)

ImageSat International (ISI) Announces $54.5 Million Contract to Provide Space-Based Analytics Services (Source: Space News)
ImageSat International (ISI) has been awarded a $54.5 million agreement to provide space-based intelligence analytics services for an International Defense Customer, for a period of three years. The service will be provided through GeoImpact – a cloud-based platform designed for analyzing space intelligence products and data using AI-based analytical capabilities. (9/16)

Saudi Arabia Plans Space Industry Transformation (Source: Space News)
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund-backed Neo Space Group (NSG) is looking to lease multi-orbit capacity to bolster its foothold in the satellite market, ahead of likely owning and operating its own constellation. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, created NSG in May as part of plans to become a major force in space and further diversify its economy from oil. (9/19)

Earth Observation Companies Wary of Starshield (Source: Space News)
After seeing the disruption that Starlink has had on the satellite communications market, companies in the Earth observation sector are closely following the development of a related SpaceX system. Executives with several Earth observation companies said they are keeping tabs on SpaceX’s Starshield system, with some seeing competitive concerns and others opportunities for partnerships.

SpaceX announced the Starshield program in late 2022, billing it as a version of its Starlink satellites designed for national security applications. The company said that included Earth observation in addition to communications and hosted payloads. “Starshield launches satellites with sensing payloads and delivers processed data directly to the user,” the company says on its website. The company has provided little other information about Starshield and its capabilities. (9/19)

Sidus Space Enhances LizzieSat Constellation Operations via Agreement with Neuraspace (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space announced the signing of an agreement with Neuraspace. Under the agreement, Neuraspace will provide Space Traffic Management and LEOP (Launch and Early Operations) support services to Sidus Space, thereby enhancing the Company’s constellation operation capabilities. (9/19)

Novaspace Forecasts Dramatic Surge in Satellite Demand (Source: Novaspace)
Novaspace forecasts a record-breaking surge in satellite demand through 2033, with an average of over 3,700 satellites launched annually between 2024 and 2033 – equivalent to 10 satellites per day and totaling a mass of 7 tons. This reflects the growth of satellite-driven connectivity and data services amid sustained demand, changes of end users habits, and the seismic shifts caused by vertical integration of selected players and a particular focus on the issues experienced by vendors.

Starlink, Kuiper, G60, and GuoWang constellations alone will account for 65% of the demand in number of satellites but only 14% to the overall manufacturing and launch value as their vertical integration will enable massive economies at scale. In contrast, 2,900 satellites weighing more than 500 kg each and operated by 170 satellite operators, will represent 70% of the satellite manufacturing and launch market value but only 7% of the total number of satellites. This reflects the diversity of use cases, orbits, performance needs, mass, and form factors. (9/18)

Space Perspective Welcomes Support Vessel MS Voyager to Port Canaveral (Source: Space Coast Daily)
On the heels of the first inaugural flight of the fully operational Spaceship Neptune Excelsior, Space Perspective welcomed their support vessel MS Voyager, back to the Space Coast on Sep. 19 at the North Cargo Berth 8, Port Canaveral. The first luxury space capsule to launch to over 100,000 feet, Space Perspective will host a Voyager and Neptune Welcome Party replete with firehoses shooting water, alongside the MS Voyager with the capsule on board. (9/18)

Space Futures Command Could Still Be a Year Away (Source: Air and Space Forces)
The Space Force has established a task force to envision its forthcoming Space Futures Command, but plans are still murky and the new command is still months from standing up. A day after the Air Force announced a provisional Integrated Capabilities Command, Space Force leaders said they are still in the midst of their analysis on how to structure its forward-looking Space Futures Command, which in many ways will be a counterpart to ICC.

Department leaders announced their intent to create a Space Futures Command in February, a fourth field-level command that would combine its Concepts and Technology Center, a Wargaming Center, and the the Space Warfighting Analysis Center, and tasked with tackling fundamental questions about the long-term needs and capabilities required of the U.S. Space Force. (9/17)

Space Force Sees Potential Capability Loss for MEO Missile-Tracking Program After RTX’s Exit (Source: Defense Scoop)
The Space Force’s acquisition arm is working to ensure there is “no loss of capability” in its space-based missile warning and missile-tracking program following the removal of RTX subsidiary Raytheon from the effort earlier this year, according to the program’s executive officer.

Space Systems Command (SSC) dropped Raytheon from the Resilient Missile Warning and Tracking — MEO (MEO MW/MT) program in May due to significant cost growth, slips in launch schedule and unresolved design challenges experienced by the company. Raytheon was originally contracted in 2021 to build three space vehicles for the missile-warning constellation’s first batch of satellites, known as Epoch 1. (9/18)

House Budget Drama Could Delay Pentagon’s Launch Contract Award (Source: Defense One)
The Pentagon’s new satellite launch competition between SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and Blue Origin could be delayed if Congress passes a long continuing resolution instead of a full budget for 2025, a space acquisitions official said Wednesday. Congress is scrambling to avert a government shutdown by Sep. 30 as House Republicans are poised to reject a proposed six-month continuing resolution funding bill for fiscal year 2025.

Source selection for “Lane 2” of the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 program is continuing despite budget concerns, with the intent to award later this year. But work may be delayed if there’s no permanent funding for 2025. (9/18)

Pakistan’s Space Program Hits Milestone With Successful PakSat MM-1 Test (Source: Pakistan Today)
Pakistan has marked a significant milestone in its space program with the successful test of the PakSat MM-1 satellite, announced by Chairman of SUPARCO, Muhammad Yousuf Khan. Chairman Khan noted that the project, which began with the launch of PakSat in 2001, is progressing with the development of the MM-1 satellite. He also revealed that plans are in place for the launch of PakSat MM-2 in the coming years. The recent approval of Pakistan’s Space Policy, he said, would further improve service delivery in the space sector. (9/18)

£17M of Spaceport Roads Investment Cut by Regional Council (Source: New Civil Engineer)
South Ayrshire Council has announced it is no longer funding Prestwick Spaceport, based at Prestwick International Airport, and the cut includes a £17M roads project. Existing airports can convert to spaceports via horizontal launch processes, where a large jet capable of flying at high altitude carries a rocket under its wing and the rocket ignites high in the atmosphere before entering orbit. (9/18)

ELA Unveils French Firm as ‘Resident Launcher’ at Australian Spaceport (Source: Space Connect)
Equatorial Launch Australia has signed up a French rocket company to become the second “resident launcher” at its spaceport in the Northern Territory. Sirius Space Services will launch its first rocket in 2026, followed by further launches the following year as part of a “multi-year, multi-launch” agreement. ELA also revealed it was in the “final stages of negotiations” with three more rocket firms to become long-term tenants, with announcements expected shortly. (9/19)

Next Generation Launch Vehicle Soorya to be Developed by ISRO (Source: India Today)
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given the green light for the development of India's Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), marking a significant milestone in the country's space exploration ambitions.

This advanced rocket system is designed to support India's vision of establishing and operating the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (Indian Space Station) and achieving a crewed lunar landing by 2040. The NGLV represents a major leap in India's launch capabilities, boasting a payload capacity three times that of the current LVM3 rocket while only increasing costs by 50%. (9/18)

AWS Launches Team to Develop Generative AI for Space (Source: Space News)
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has formed a Generative AI for Space team dedicated to applying AI technologies to the space industry. “We see so much value in generative AI that I set aside a specific part of our global team,” Clint Crosier said. “This new team is identifying use cases where Gen AI can solve problems specific to the space industry—whether it's on-orbit command and control, space operations, or human spaceflight.”

Crosier, a retired Air Force major general who led the creation of the U.S. Space Force, said AWS’s Generative AI for Space team is working with aerospace and geospatial customers to identify how AI can solve industry-specific challenges. AWS is targeting complex space operations where Gen AI could streamline processes and improve decision-making. This initiative could impact both commercial and government space projects by tailoring AI solutions to address unique operational needs in space. (9/18)