October 1, 2024

FAA to Investigate Falcon 9 Anomaly (Source: Reuters)
The FAA confirmed Monday that it will require an investigation into a Falcon 9 anomaly over the weekend.  On that Saturday launch of the rocket on NASA's Crew-9 mission, a problem with a deorbit burn for the upper stage meant that the stage landed outside of its designated target in the South Pacific. SpaceX has not disclosed additional details about the issue, and the FAA said only that it will require an investigation, which is standard for an incident like this. The FAA could allow launches to resume before the investigation is complete through a public safety determination where the FAA concludes the issue does not pose a hazard to the uninvolved public. (10/1)

ULA Preps Next Vulcan for Florida Launch (Source: Spaceflight Now)
United Launch Alliance rolled out its second Vulcan Centaur rocket ahead of a launch late this week. The rocket rolled out Monday morning to the pad at Cape Canaveral, where the company plans to perform a tanking test today. Launch of the rocket on the Cert-2 test flight is scheduled for a three-hour window that opens at 6 a.m. Eastern Friday. The launch, carrying an inert payload, is the second of two launches required for the rocket to be certified by the Space Force to carry national security payloads. (10/1)

NASA RFI Seeks to Repurpose Asteroid Smallsat Mission (Source: Space News)
NASA reposted a request for information (RFI) seeking ideas on how to repurpose a pair of smallsats for an asteroid mission after a four-week hiatus. NASA originally published the RFI Aug. 30 for concepts on how to use the twin Janus spacecraft, currently in storage, to visit the asteroid Apophis ahead of the asteroid's close flyby of Earth in 2029. NASA withdrew the RFI later the same day, though, saying it needed to be "corrected" but did not elaborate. NASA republished the RFI only last Friday but did not note what had changed. A comparison of the original and revised RFI document shows that many technical details about the Janus spacecraft in the original RFI are no longer in the new version. (10/1)

Starfish Space Raising Funds in New Round (Source: GeekWire)
Starfish Space is raising a new funding round. The satelite servicing company has raised $21 million in a round that could reach $30 million, according to documents filed last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company declined to comment on the funding round. Starfish Space won a $15 million NASA contract last week to develop a satellite inspection mission called SSPICY scheduled for launch in late 2026. (10/1)

Australian space Companies Partner to Deliver Mobility Enabled Satellite Platforms (Source: Neumann Space)
Neumann Space, a technology leader of in-space electric propulsion, and Inovor Technologies a South Australian based advanced small sat mission’s solutions provider, will work together on the development of the Neumann Drive for Inovor’s growing range of bus platforms. The Neumann Drive is a novel electric propulsion system based on solid metal propellants.

The companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that expresses their intent to build upon the successful demonstration of the Neumann Drive aboard the SpIRIT (Space Industry – Responsive – Intelligent – Thermal) nanosatellite which is hosted on an Inovor 6U Bus platform. This project was led by the University of Melbourne and supported by the Australian Space Agency’s International Space Investment – Expand Capability scheme. (9/30)

Gogo Acquiring Satcom Direct to Compete Against Starlink (Source: Space News)
Gogo is acquiring inflight connectivity rival Satcom Direct to better compete against Starlink. Satcom Direct would get $375 million in cash and five million shares from Gogo under a deal announced Monday, and up to $225 million in extra payments tied to performance targets over the next four years. Gogo has traditionally dominated the inflight connectivity market for small and midsized business aviation while Satcom Direct has been a leader in long-haul aviation, using a mix of terrestrial and satellite services. Both, though, are facing stiff competition from Starlink, which recently announced deals with Air France and United Airlines. (10/1)

Apex to Provide Satellite Buses for Anduril (Source: Space News)
Smallsat manufacturer Apex will provide satellite buses for Anduril Industries. The companies announced a collaboration Tuesday where Apex will sell buses to Anduril, a defense technology firm making inroads into the space market. Anduril is planning to launch a self-funded mission in 2025 using Apex's Aries bus to host data processing and infrared imaging payloads. (10/1)

Commerce Begins Beta Tests of Space Traffic Coordination System (Source: Space News)
The Office of Space Commerce turned on its space traffic coordination system for a set of beta users Monday. Nine satellite operators will use phase 1.0 of the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS), getting conjunction data messages from TraCSS. Those operators include a mix of companies that have satellites in low Earth orbit and geostationary orbit, with about 1,000 satellites overall included in this phase of TraCSS. The Office of Space Commerce will use feedback from those beta users to guide later phases of TraCSS, with upgrades planned on a quarterly basis through next September. TraCSS will ultimately replace the Defense Department's Space-Track system to provide space traffic coordination services to civil and commercial users. (10/1)

Momentus Encounters Potential Nasdaq Delisting (Source: Space News)
In-space transportation company Momentus is in danger of being delisted from Nasdaq. The company announced last week that it had been informed by Nasdaq that it would be delisted from the exchange on Oct. 3 because of a share price that remains below $1 and other issues, including delayed filings of quarterly and annual reports. Momentus said it intends to appeal that decision and seek a hearing from a Nasdaq panel, which would delay the delisting until after the panel makes a ruling. The company has indefinitely delayed launches of its Vigoride tug and sought other business, such as building satellite buses. (10/1)

Planet Spotted Orbiting Barnard's Star Just 6 Light Years Away (Source: New Scientist)
One of the sun’s closest neighbors, Barnard’s star, appears to have at least one planet orbiting it, as well as another three possible planets that need further confirmation. Astronomers have been looking for planets around Barnard’s star, which at 5.96 light years away is the next-closest star to us after the three stars in the Alpha Centauri system, since the 1960s.

In 2018, researchers claimed to have found a planet that was at least three times larger than Earth, which they called Barnard’s star b, but a follow-up analysis showed that the signals of the apparent planet were actually caused by higher than expected stellar activity. Now, scientists say they have found a new Barnard’s star b, which is around 40 per cent as massive as Earth. The planet is much closer to its star than any planets in our solar system, completing an orbit in just over three Earth days. This also means its surface is too hot for liquid water or life, with a temperature of around 125°C. (10/1)

Telescopes Capture Black Hole in Unprecedented Color Photo Using Triple-Frequency (Source: Good News Network)
For generations, humanity has had to be content with artistic illustrations of black holes as a means to imagine these difficult-to-imagine cosmic objects. Now, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration which gave the world its first real image of a black hole in 2019, has imaged the same object with different frequencies and at the highest resolution ever—creating a real-life picture that looks delightfully similar to these impressions. (9/29)

Musk Resumes Slamming FCC's Decision To Deny Starlink $885M Subsidy After FEMA Sends Its Terminals To Help Hurricane Helene Victims (Source: Benzinga)
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Monday termed the denial of about $900 million in subsidies to its satellite internet segment Starlink as “contemptible political lawfare” on the heels of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) turning to Starlink to provide connectivity in regions devastated by Hurricane Helene. FEMA Turns To Starlink: FEMA is currently using multiple Starlink satellite systems to help with responder communication and more are being shipped to assist with restoring communication infrastructure, the agency said. (10/1)

India Announces Launch Date of Ambitious Venus Orbiter Mission (Source: India Today)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is gearing up for its mission to Venus, with the Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM). The Indian space agency has announced that the spacecraft will take a total of 112 days to travel to Earth's mysterious twin. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch on March 29, 2028. Shukrayaan-1, will mark India's first foray into exploring the inner planet. (10/1)

Asteroid Ceres is a Former Ocean World That Slowly Formed Into a Giant, Murky Icy Orb (Source: Space Daily)
Since the first sighting of the first-discovered and largest asteroid in our solar system was made in 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi, astronomers and planetary scientists have pondered the make-up of this asteroid/dwarf planet. Its heavily battered and dimpled surface is covered in impact craters. Scientists have long argued that visible craters on the surface meant that Ceres could not be very icy.

Researchers at Purdue University and the NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) now believe Ceres is a very icy object that possibly was once a muddy ocean world. This discovery that Ceres has a dirty ice crust is led by Ian Pamerleau, PhD student, and Mike Sori, assistant professor in Purdue's Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences who published their findings in Nature Astronomy. The duo along with Jennifer Scully, research scientist with JPL, used computer simulations of how craters on Ceres deform over billions of years. (9/30)

Voyager Space Executes Key Bishop Airlock Operations in Starlab Mission Prep (Source: Space Daily)
Voyager Space (Voyager) has announced the successful completion of commercial payload operations using the Bishop Airlock on the International Space Station (ISS). This operation, done in partnership with Airbus, represents a critical step in preparing for joint operations on the upcoming Starlab commercial space station.

During this mission, Voyager transferred two ArgUS multi-payload carriers, along with customer payloads, to Airbus's Bartolomeo platform. The transfer utilized the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator ("Dextre"), both built by MDA Space. The ArgUS platform, designed by Airbus US Space and Defense in Houston, can host up to 10 smaller payloads on a single Bartolomeo payload slot. (9/26)

Leaf Space Signs with Maritime Launch Services for Nova Scotia Ground Station (Source: Space Daily)
Leaf Space announced a new contract to install and manage a cutting-edge ground station at Spaceport Nova Scotia in Canada. This launch facility is owned and operated by Maritime Launch Services. The agreement is a significant step in Leaf Space's expansion of its global ground station network, supporting satellite operators worldwide. Spaceport Nova Scotia, Canada's first commercial spaceport, will accommodate multiple launch vehicle operators, boosting the site's role in North American commercial space launches. (9/26)

Chinese Startup Anticipates Improved Performance in Upcoming Rocket Recovery Tests (Source: Space Daily)
Chinese rocket startup Deep Blue Aerospace (Deep Blue) has announced plans for another high-altitude vertical recovery test in November, following a recent setback with its reusable rocket, Nebula-1. The vehicle encountered an issue during the final landing phase of a test flight, resulting in damage to its structure. Nebula-1, powered by a liquid oxygen and kerosene engine, completed 10 of its 11 critical verification tasks during the flight. However, an anomaly in the final landing phase led to a fracture in the rocket body. (9/26)

Space ISAC Operational Watch Center to Keep Pace with Proliferating Threats to Space Systems (Source: Space ISAC)
Funded through a Grant with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Space ISAC Operational Watch Center Enters Phase II Planning to Keep Pace with Proliferating Threats to Space Systems.  The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Space ISAC) Watch Center will build a Cyber Space Data Fusion Cell, a technology buildout adding new datasets, AI/ML and other fusion tools to the Space ISAC Watch Center. (9/25)

Can NASA Win the Mars Space Race? (Source: CSIS)
While the world mostly focuses on the Moon Race 2.0, China stands on the precipice of becoming the first country to successfully return material from another planet to Earth. Without a significant redirection of effort and resources by the United States, China will beat all other nations to this tremendously momentous space milestone. But the United States still has a chance to win. Click here. (9/24)