October 24, 2024

New Boeing CEO Sets Sights on ‘Leaner’ Future as Quarterly Loss Tops $6 Billion (Source: CNBC)
Boeing’s new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, said the company is reviewing its various businesses, laying out a vision for a leaner future at the troubled airplane manufacturer in his first quarterly call with analysts on Wednesday. At the same time, thousands of striking Boeing machinists will vote on a new labor contract, and Ortberg said he was hopeful for a deal.

“We’re going through a portfolio process right now to look at the overall portfolio and seeing what do we want to look like five years from now. That may include streamlining certain things,” Ortberg said in an interview with CNBC’s Squawk on the Street” on Wednesday. He added that no decisions have been made yet. “I think our core business of commercial aircraft and core defense products will always stay with the Boeing Co.”

“I would rather err on the side of doing less and better than doing more and not doing it well, and I think there are some cases where we can do less and do better,” he said. (10/23)

Boeing Subsidiary Millennium Space Secures $386 Million Contract for Missile-Defense Satellites (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force awarded a $386 million contract to Millennium Space Systems, a Boeing subsidiary, to build six satellites designed to detect and track missiles that could threaten the United States and allies. The contract, announced Oct. 23, marks the second major deal for Millennium Space in this program, following a $509 million agreement in December for an identical set of six satellites.

The California-based company will produce a total of 12 satellites to operate in medium Earth orbit (MEO) — an altitude range between low Earth orbit, where most commercial satellites operate, and the much higher geosynchronous orbit used by many weather and communications satellites. (10/23)

Where Do Boeing’s Starliner, Other Space Efforts Fit as Company Tries to Reinvent Itself? (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
New Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said he’s looking at the beleaguered company’s portfolio and everything outside of its core businesses of commercial aircraft and defense could face uncertain futures. “I think that that we’re better off being doing less and doing it better than doing more and not doing it well,” he said

“I don’t have a specific list of things that we’re going to keep and we’re not going to keep, that’s something for us to evaluate, and the process is underway to start that,” he said. Boeing’s figurative footprint in the space sector did get one shoutout in Ortberg’s speech, though. “This is a company that ushered in the new era of air travel and helped land the first man on the moon,” he said. “Getting back to the values that helped define this legacy is what will define our future.” (10/23)

A Supernova May Have Cleaned Up Our Solar System (Source: New Scientist)
The blast from a supernova should be enough to clear almost all the dust from the solar system, and this may have last happened 3 million years ago. But like the dust on furniture, these fine particles will gradually be replenished. Dust we see drifting through space consists of small grains, resulting from events such as asteroid collisions. (10/23)

Northrop Grumman to Develop Two Additional Early-Warning Satellites (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force awarded Northrop Grumman a $1.8 billion contract extension to begin production of two advanced early-warning satellites. These satellites are part of the military's Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) program, a defense initiative aimed at enhancing missile threat detection from space. This latest contract modification, announced Oct. 23, brings Northrop Grumman's total value for the project to $4.1 billion, following a $2.3 billion contract awarded in 2020 to develop the two satellites. The first of the two satellites is scheduled for launch in 2028. (10/24)

Boeing Takes Another Charge on Starliner (Source: Space News)
Boeing is taking another $250 million in losses on Starliner. The company disclosed the new charge in its fiscal third quarter financial results released Wednesday, bringing the total losses recorded by Boeing to date on the program to about $1.85 billion. New Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in an earnings call that Boeing did not plan to walk away from troubled fixed-price contracts like Starliner and would instead find ways to improve performance on them, including working with customers to "de-risk" issues on them. Ortberg also said Boeing is carrying out a review to see what "fringe" areas of the company, outside of its core of commercial airplanes and defense, it might seek to divest. (10/24)

Blue Origin Succeeds with Another New Shepard Suborbital Mission in Texas (Source: Space News)
Blue Origin successfully flew a new New Shepard suborbital vehicle Wednesday. The uncrewed vehicle lifted off from the company's West Texas site on the 10-minute NS-27 mission at 11:26 a.m. Eastern. The capsule reached a peak altitude of 102.4 kilometers, several kilometers lower than the apogee on other recent New Shepard flights, but Blue Origin said the flight was "nominal and on target." The uncrewed mission was a shakedown flight for a new capsule and booster, the second human-rated vehicle Blue Origin will operate for space tourism flights. This mission carried 12 payloads, including some Blue Origin technology demonstrations. (10/24)

SES/Intelsat Merger is Disrupting Supply Chains (Source: Space News)
The planned merger of satellite operators SES and Intelsat is having ripple effects throughout the space industry. Industry officials said the $3.1 billion deal is disrupting and delaying deals for suppliers and other companies further downstream. Suppliers risk being on the losing side when two large companies come together to seek synergies and find ways to consolidate their supply chains, they said, but the merger could create a healthier company that will be a stronger buyer of services down the road. (10/24)

SDA Picks 19 Companies (Source: Space News)
The Space Development Agency selected 19 companies from the space industry to participate in a program to accelerate the development of satellite technologies. Under the Hybrid Acquisition for Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (HALO) program, the companies will compete for contracts to carry out experimental space missions, providing the agency a testing ground for advanced technologies that may later be integrated into future satellite networks. The goal is to test and refine technologies before integrating them into the SDA's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), a large satellite network designed to enhance military communications and missile tracking capabilities. (10/24)

Report Recommends Increased DoD Support of Commercial Space Capabilities (Source: Space News)
A new report recommends the Defense Department step up its support of commercial space capabilities. The Space Agenda 2025 report, released Thursday by The Aerospace Corporation, offered recommendations on a wide range of space policy issues for the next administration. The report included a call for the DoD to become an anchor tenant of some commercial space capabilities, allowing them to make greater use of those innovations while supporting companies whose business cases may not close without government support. The report also called on the next administration to "urgently" take on space regulatory reform in topics such as mission authorization of novel space activities and export control reform. (10/24)

SAR Satellite Systems Excluded From Relaxed Export Controls (Source: Space News)
Recent export control reforms exclude products related to synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite systems. The Commerce Department announced last week a series of reforms that would loosen export control restrictions, particularly with allied nations, but does not include SAR. At the heart of the issue is a technical specification that determines whether satellite technology falls under less restrictive Commerce Department oversight or much more stringent State Department weapons controls. Only SAR systems operating at 500 megahertz or less bandwidth will benefit from the relaxed rules, a threshold that industry executives say is already obsolete. Officials with U.S.-based SAR satellite companies say that decision could lead allies to go to companies in other countries, like Finland-based Iceye, for such satellites. (10/24)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Batch on Wednesday from Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
SpaceX launched a set of Starlink satellites Wednesday after two days of weather delays. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 5:47 p.m. Eastern and deployed 23 Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch took place after SpaceX called off launch attempts Monday and Tuesday. The launch is the 72nd this year from Cape Canaveral, tying a record set last year; all but five of those launches have been by SpaceX. (10/24)

ISS Crew Departs for Friday Florida Splashdown (Source: CBS)
A Crew Dragon spacecraft is finally on its way home from the International Space Station. The Crew-8 Crew Dragon spacecraft undocked from the ISS at 5:05 p.m. Eastern, setting up a splashdown off the Florida coast Friday at about 3:30 a.m. Eastern. Weather conditions at splashdown locations delayed the undocking by more than two weeks, and NASA earlier pushed back the departure by more than a month to accommodate delays in the launch of Crew-9 as NASA and Boeing sorted out issues with the Starliner spacecraft docked there on a crewed test flight. (10/24)

India's Lunar Sample Mission Focuses on South Pole (Source; Space News)
India's lunar sample return mission will go to the south polar region of the moon. The Chandrayaan-4 mission, scheduled for launch in 2027 or 2028, will target a landing between 85 and 90 degrees south latitude at the moon, officials with the Indian space agency ISRO said at the International Astronautical Congress last week. The mission will aim to collect around three kilograms of samples from near the south pole for return to Earth. That mission will be followed by a joint mission with Japan called LUPEX that will deliver a Japanese-built rover near the lunar south pole. (10/24)

Telesat Orders Antennas from South Korea's Intellian (Source; Space News)
Telesat has ordered 127 gateway antennas from South Korea's Intellian for its upcoming Lightspeed constellation. The antennas will be installed across roughly 20-30 sites worldwide, serving as gateways that will reduce latency for the constellation. The Lightspeed satellites, being built by MDA, will have optical intersatellite links to reduce dependence on ground stations. (10/24)

Could SpaceX Disrupt the Laser Terminal Market? (Source; Space News)
Companies that develop optical terminals for intersatellite links don't see SpaceX as a competitor. SpaceX announced in March it would offer commercially the laser terminals it uses for Starlink, raising questions about how other companies would be able to compete with the scale at which SpaceX produces those terminals. In a panel at Satellite Innovation this week, though, optical terminal suppliers focused on government sales said they weren't concerned because the SpaceX terminals do not comply with the standards published by the SDA. (10/24)

Cyprus Joins Artemis Accords (Source: NASA)
Cyprus is the latest country to sign the Artemis Accords. The country's deputy minister of research, innovation, and digital policy signed the Accords Wednesday in a ceremony in the capital of Nicosia attended by the State Department and, virtually, NASA. Cyprus is the 46th country to sign the Accords, which set out best practices for sustainable space exploration, with Chile set to sign the Accords on Friday in Washington. (10/24)

America is At Risk of High Impact GPS Jamming and Spoofing From Space (Source: Space News)
Broad adoption of GPS signals over the last forty years for use in everything from weapons systems to electrical grids and industrial controls have made them prime targets in conflict zones. By preventing reception (jamming) or sending false GPS signals (spoofing), belligerents can degrade or disable munitions, redirect drones and missiles and degrade IT systems and other infrastructure.

Unlike many of its adversaries, the United States has made few preparations for such attacks on its homeland and infrastructure, despite mishaps at home that have disrupted air traffic control systems and regular press reports of American weapons systems degraded by jamming and spoofing overseas. (10/24)

Introducing New Mexico’s Space Valley (Source: SpaceNews
New Mexican leaders in arts, academia and culture have joined forces to establish the SpaceValley Foundation, a nonprofit seeking to expand the state’s space innovation ecosystem. It’s part of an overarching effort to underscore the breadth of New Mexico’s space ecosystem by branding it Space Valley.

“New Mexico is this rare gem that has this deep-rooted culture in space history, from celestial creation stories to incredible artists and storytellers,” said Bryce Kennedy, SpaceValley Foundation executive director. Traditional space industry initiatives rarely encompass history and culture. New Mexico’s “secret sauce” is its breadth, from reverence for the sky shown by indigenous tribes to tourism around Roswell to space-related art, science and storytelling, Kennedy said. (10/24)

Telescope with World’s Largest Digital Camera Will Be a ‘Game-Changer’ for Astronomy (Source: CNN)
On a mountaintop in northern Chile, the world’s largest digital camera is preparing to power up. Its mission is simple yet ambitious — to photograph the entire night sky in extreme detail and unlock some of the universe’s deepest secrets. Housed inside the Vera C. Rubin Observatory — a new telescope nearing completion about 482 kilometers north of Santiago — the camera has a resolution of 3,200 megapixels, roughly the same number of pixels as 300 cell phones, and each image will cover an area of sky as big as 40 full moons.

Every three nights, the telescope will image the entire visible sky, producing thousands of pictures that will let astronomers see anything that moves or changes brightness. The expectation is that in this way, Vera Rubin will discover about 17 billion stars and 20 billion galaxies that we’ve never seen before — and that’s only the beginning. (10/23)

CNES to Flight Test Early Prototype of a European Spacesuit (Source: European Spaceflight)
The French space agency CNES has published a call for the development, manufacture, and flight testing of an early prototype of a European intravehicular activity (IVA) spacesuit. Between late 2023 and early 2024, Spartan Space, the Institute of Space Medicine and Physiology (MEDES), and the sporting goods retailer Decathlon were contracted by CNES to complete an early study of an IVA spacesuit for use aboard future European crewed spacecraft. (10/22)

CNES to Test Upgraded FROG Reusable Rocket Demonstrator in 2025 (Source: European Spaceflight)
The French space agency CNES will begin flight testing a small reusable rocket demonstrator called FROG-H in 2025. In 2017, CNES launched its Rocket for GNC demonstration (FROG) project, aiming to test landing algorithms for reusable launch vehicles. The agency also utilized the project to pursue a “break from traditional development methods.” According to CNES, the FROG project allowed “several teams of enthusiasts” to develop and test their solutions in parallel, allowing for an agile development approach.

The FROG project’s first test vehicle was the 2.5-metre FROG-T demonstrator, which was powered by a turbojet. The first test flight of the FROG-T demonstrator occurred in May 2019. In total, CNES completed five FROG-T flights, with the vehicle reaching a maximum altitude of 30 meters. (10/21)

Both Harris and Trump Have Records on Space Policy − an Expert Examines Where They Differ (Source: The Conversation)
The next president of the United States could be the first in that office to accept a phone call from the Moon and hear a woman’s voice on the line. To do so, they’ll first need to make a series of strategic space policy decisions. They’ll also need a little luck. Enormous government investment supports outer space activities, so the U.S. president has an outsize role in shaping space policy during their time in office.

Past presidents have leveraged this power to accelerate U.S. leadership in space and boost their presidential brand along the way. Presidential advocacy has helped the U.S. land astronauts on the surface of the Moon, establish lasting international partnerships with civil space agencies abroad and led to many other important space milestones. Click here. (10/23)

X-Bow Systems Demonstrates Scalability of Solid Rocket Motor Production with Bolt Rocket (Source: Space Daily)
X-Bow Systems Inc. (X-Bow), a leading provider of advanced manufactured solid rocket motors (SRMs) and defense technologies, has successfully completed the third flight of its Bolt Rocket. This launch featured the XB-32 motor, the largest Advanced Manufactured Solid Propellant (AMSP) motor flown to date, utilizing X-Bow's patented manufacturing technology. This milestone confirms the scalability and manufacturability of X-Bow's approach, demonstrating the potential for affordable, large-scale SRM production. (10/23)

China to Launch 14th Manned Mission to Tiangong Space Station (Source: Space Daily)
China's Shenzhou XIX spacecraft is set to launch soon, transporting three astronauts to the TSS, according to a statement from the China Manned Space Agency. On Tuesday afternoon, the spacecraft and its Long March 2F rocket were moved to the service tower at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. The agency confirmed that the launch systems are in excellent condition and the spacecraft and rocket will undergo final checks before liftoff. This mission marks China's 14th manned spaceflight and will be the eighth crew to live aboard Tiangong. (10/23)

Space Solar and Transition Labs to Bring Space Solar power to Iceland by 2030 (Source: Space Daily)
Space Solar, a leading company in space-based solar power, has partnered with Transition Labs to provide Reykjavik Energy with electricity from the world's first space-based solar power plant. This plant, expected to be operational by 2030, will have an initial capacity of 30 MW. Space Solar's new solar power system will orbit the Earth, capturing solar energy and transmitting it wirelessly using high-frequency radio waves to stations on the ground. These stations will convert the energy into electricity and feed it directly into the grid, delivering renewable energy 24/7, regardless of weather conditions, with costs comparable to other renewable sources. (10/22)

Phase Four Unveils Monopropellant Multi-Mode Propulsion Systems (Source: Space Daily)
Phase Four, a leader in next-generation electric propulsion solutions for satellites, has announced the commercialization of its monopropellant multi-mode propulsion systems. Using their Maxwell Block III, Phase Four's technology supports electric propulsion capabilities for various mission needs, utilizing either ASCENT or hydrazine chemical propellants. The company plans to begin taking orders for these systems in the first half of next year.

The monopropellant multi-mode propulsion system offers a significant improvement in satellite performance by combining the high thrust of chemical propulsion with the high efficiency of electric propulsion-all powered by a single chemical propellant. Phase Four's proprietary radio frequency (RF) thruster enables this by integrating chemical propellants into its electric propulsion system. (10/23)

Betelgeuse May Have an Orbiting Companion Star (Source: Space Daily)
Betelgeuse, the tenth-brightest star in the night sky, may not be on the verge of a supernova explosion, as previously thought. A new study indicates that the star's fluctuating brightness is likely due to an unseen companion star orbiting Betelgeuse. Referred to as Alpha Ori B, or the "Betelbuddy," by astrophysicist Jared Goldberg, this companion star might influence Betelgeuse's brightness by clearing away light-blocking dust during its orbit. (10/22)

The Economic Case for a Space Critical Infrastructure Model (Source: Space News)
The utility of space-based services and information is beyond reproach, as reflected in the increasing demand for space services on the part of Earthlings. So great is the demand that space systems are being (or already have been) integrated into all manner of Earthly functions, from driving directions to military operations. Few of those familiar with the space economy would doubt how increasingly critical it is to our life on terra firma. With that critical status comes demand, and with demand comes opportunity.

Inside the space community, discussions about space critical infrastructure have also been on the rise. For years, the question of whether space would become the 17th United States critical infrastructure or not has been hotly debated, but there are not simply two doors to choose. Previously, I proposed the idea of not designating space as the 17th terrestrial critical infrastructure sector and instead creating a space-specific critical infrastructure model. This is an opportunity for the space industry to define the assets and functions that are most critical to its success in low-Earth orbit (LEO) and beyond, rather than becoming subject to a framework designed for ground activities. (10/22)

Space Force Needs Plan, Funding to Counter China’s Rapid Space Growth (Source: DefenseNews)
In 2012, China had less than 100 satellites in orbit. Last month, the country launched its 1,000th spacecraft. That milestone, according to the U.S. Space Force’s top intelligence officer, demonstrates the evolution and growth China’s space enterprise has undergone in the last decade. But for the Defense Department, the concern is as much about the mission of the spacecraft its adversary is operating as it is about the number of satellites.

“Those satellites are meant to sense, decide and track this force. And with extensively long shot ranges, they have created a formidable weapons engagement zone in the Pacific,” Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Intelligence Maj. Gen. Gregory Gagnon said Oct. 16. Gagnon earlier this year described the rapid buildup of the People’s Liberation Army’s space capabilities as a “strategic breakout.” For the Space Force, countering China’s advancements in space is a mission in and of itself, Gagnon said. (10/22)

Lots of ‘Buzz’ but No ‘Compelling’ Military Value for Cislunar Space (Source: Breaking Defense)
A new, in-depth study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) finds no near-term value for military operations in cislunar space with the possible exception of space surveillance — and a considerable amount of “hype” about both technological readiness and the commercial business case.

“Though there is certainly a lot of buzz about cislunar growth, the authors of this report found evidence of only a modest increase in cislunar activities over the next decade compared to the past 10 years,” the study states. “The authors also could not identify any compelling strategic military value from cislunar space and did not foresee one developing in the next decade that could make a decisive difference in any conflict between the United States and China, Russia, or another nation-state.” (10/22)