October 4, 2024

ULA Launches Vulcan Centaur at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Space News)
ULA's Vulcan Centaur completed its second flight Friday morning but appeared to suffer a problem with one of its solid rocket boosters (SRBs). The Vulcan lifted off from Cape Canaveral on the Cert-2 mission at 7:25 a.m. Eastern. About 35 seconds after liftoff, material came off one of the two SRBs and its plume changed appearance. The vehicle, though, remained on its trajectory and reached orbit, completing the second Centaur burn on schedule 35 minutes after liftoff. ULA CEO Tory Bruno said after the second Centaur burn that there was an "observation" with the SRB but that the rest of the flight was nominal. Cert-2 is the second of two launches needed by ULA to win Space Force certification for national security launches. (10/4)

All.Space Raises $44 Million for Antenna Development (Source: Space News)
All.Space has raised $44 million to kickstart the delayed commercial launch of its first multi-orbit flat panel antenna. Defense-focused investment firm Boka Group led the Series C funding round for All.Space, which has raised about $160 million since its founding as Isotropic Systems in 2013. The funding round comes seven months after the company said it delivered its first electronically steered antenna terminal to SES. The company had planned to start initial production of that terminal by the end of 2022. (10/4)

Vega C Motor Test Clears Path to Next Flight (Source: Space News)
A second test of a redesigned motor clears the way for the return to flight of the Vega C. Avio conducted the static-fire test of the Zefiro-40 motor Thursday, and initial data reviews showed the motor performed as expected. The motor passed a similar test in May. This test was the final major milestone before the resumption of Vega C launches after a failure in December 2022 linked to the nozzle of the Zefiro-40, which serves as the second stage of the rocket. The return to flight could take place as soon as late November, carrying the Sentinel-1C Earth science satellite. (10/4)

NASA Selects Telescope Concepts for Study (Source: Space News)
NASA has selected two concepts for far-infrared and X-ray space telescopes for study. The agency announced Thursday it will award $5 million contracts to teams working on the  Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite and Probe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics missions for one-year studies. NASA will select one of the proposals in 2026 for development, with launch planned in 2032. The selected mission will be the first in a new line of "probe-class" astrophysics missions with a budget, excluding launch, of $1 billion. Such missions are intended to fill a gap between smaller Explorer-class astrophysics missions and more expensive flagship missions like the James Webb Space Telescope. (10/4)

NRO Progressing Toward Battlefield Target Tracking Via Satellite (Source: Space News)
The director of the NRO said his agency is making progress with the Pentagon on the use of surveillance satellites to track targets on the battlefield. Speaking at a CSIS event Thursday, Chris Scolese said that approximately 100 satellites could be in orbit as part of this initiative by the end of the year. The classified sensor satellites are designed to support military operations by providing real-time data on enemy movements, a shift from the traditional use of NRO satellites for intelligence gathering. Scolese acknowledged the challenges of providing data from those satellites "at the speed and with the characteristics that the user needs" but said the NRO was making progress on those issues. (10/4)

AFRL Funds Sierra Space for Cargo Return Study (Source: Space News)
The Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) is funding a study by Sierra Space on returning cargo from space. Sierra Space said it won a contract of undisclosed value as part of the AFRL's Rocket Experimentation for Global Agile Logistics (REGAL) program. The contract will support work on the company's Ghost spacecraft, a system designed to deliver cargo from space to any location on Earth in under 90 minutes. The company earlier this year reported successful drop tests at the Kennedy Space Center and plans further testing over the next year to refine concepts of operations and develop the necessary infrastructure. (10/4)

mPower to Provide Solar Power Modules for Airbus Satellites (Source: Space News)
Solar power technology startup mPower Technologies said it won a contract to provide power modules to Airbus. Under the agreement, mPower will supply DragonSCALES solar modules to Airbus for MDA Aurora, the software-defined satellites being built for communications constellations including Canadian satellite operator Telesat's Lightspeed constellation. Those units will be used on more than 200 satellites. In 2022, mPower raised $10 million in a Series B investment round to scale up production of its interconnected photovoltaic cells, which are designed to be more customizable, flexible and inexpensive to produce than traditional solar cells. (10/4)

Charter Space Software Supports Space Project Management (Source: Space News)
Charter Space has started beta testing its space systems and program management software platform. The platform, called Ubik, is designed to help engineering teams manage and execute space programs throughout their lifecycles. Several companies, as well as project teams at JPL, are testing the software. (10/4)

Boeing and Virgin Galactic Settle Lawsuit Over Mothership (Source: Reuters)
Boeing and Virgin Galactic have settled a lawsuit over work on a new "mothership" aircraft for the suborbital spaceflight company. The companies said Thursday they settled the suit, filed by Boeing in March in federal court in Virginia, but did not disclose terms of the settlement. Boeing alleged that Virgin Galactic did not pay $25 million under terms of the 2022 contract to develop the plane and also stole trade secrets. Virgin Galactic denied the charges and filed a countersuit in April in California, claiming Boeing failed to live up to terms of the contract. Virgin later dropped its countersuit, deciding to instead focus on the case in Virginia court. (10/4)

UP Aerospace Launches Suborbital Mission at Spaceport America (Source: Spaceport America)
UP Aerospace performed a suborbital launch this week at New Mexico's Spaceport America. The SL-15 mission by the company's SpaceLoft sounding rocket took place Tuesday, carrying a set of payloads from customers that included NASA's Flight Opportunities program. The spaceport said the launch was a success. UP Aerospace has been performing suborbital launches from the spaceport since 2006, before the construction of Virgin Galactic's facilities there. (10/4)

Pair of Asteroids May Have Killed the Dinosaurs (Source: BBC)
The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs may have had an accomplice. Scientists announced Thursday that they have discovered a depression in the seabed of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa that dates back to roughly the same time as the asteroid impact at the present-day Chicxulub site on the Yucatan Peninsula that caused the mass extinction event that killed off the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Researchers say they believe the depression was caused by an impact of an asteroid somewhat smaller than the Chicxulub event, but don't know if it happened shortly before or after Chicxulub. (10/4)

Late November Still FAA's Target for SpaceX’s 5th Texas Flight (Source: San Antonio Express-News)
SpaceX’s beefs with regulators over policies, timelines and recent environmental and safety violations have spawned broad speculation about when Starship could next fly from South Texas. The Federal Aviation Administration has said Starship won’t be approved for its fifth flight until late November and has held firm despite jabs from Elon Musk and SpaceX execs, calls for congressional intervention and a nod from former President Donald Trump, who late last month said, “Elon, get those rocket ships going because we want to reach Mars before the end of my term.”

Is the growing pressure campaign having an impact? “We are not issuing launch authorization for a launch to occur in the next two weeks — it’s not happening,” an FAA spokesman said Wednesday afternoon. “Late November is still our target date.” (10/3)

Blue Origin Debuts Second Human-Rated New Shepard Rocket To Meet Demand (Source: Blue Origin)
Blue Origin’s next New Shepard flight, NS-27, will debut our second human-rated vehicle, enabling expanded flight capacity to better meet growing customer demand. The launch window for the uncrewed verification flight opens on Monday, October 7, at 8:00 AM CDT / 1300 UTC. The webcast will begin 15 minutes before liftoff on BlueOrigin.com. (10/4)

Omega Relaunches its First Watch in Space (Source: CollectSpace)
Omega, the Swiss brand famous for making the first watches worn on the moon, has relaunched the timepiece that began their association with spaceflight more than 60 years ago. "The First Omega in Space," as the new Speedmaster is titled, combines a variety of heritage-inspired details with an updated movement to create a fitting tribute to the brand's space exploration history. The new model is now available from Omega Boutique stores for $7,500 (or an additional $400 for a full-metal bracelet). (10/3)

Japan's Government Emerges as Incubator for Space Industry (Source: Nikkei)
The Japanese government is becoming increasingly like a venture investor in space startups, soliciting ideas, making them compete for money and investing in those with the most business potential. On Sept. 19, the government awarded a total of 10 billion yen ($69 million) in subsidies to three launch startups in the second leg of a three-stage competition. The first leg was held in September 2023, and four launch startups were selected.

The last selection is scheduled for April 2026, in which two finalists will be chosen for full subsidies. The selected startups include Space One, which will make a second attempt at orbital launch in December, and Innovative Space Carrier, which has started testing its reusable launch system, eyeing a 10-meter flight test next year. (10/4)

Enabling Satellite Connectivity From Pole to Pole (Source: ESA)
To achieve truly global connectivity, telecommunications satellites are essential. Through the Sunrise Partnership Project with Eutelsat OneWeb – part of Eutelsat Group – and support from the UK Space Agency, ESA is extending advanced 5G connectivity to areas beyond the reach of traditional ground networks. OneWeb's constellation consists of over 600 satellites orbiting at 1200 km above Earth, also known as low Earth orbit (LEO). Due to their proximity to Earth, these satellites can deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity from pole to pole. (10/3)

Faulty Fuel Filter Blamed for Failed Satellite Launch From Spaceport Cornwall (Source: Cornish Times)
THE satellite launch from Spaceport Cornwall failed in January of last year after a fuel filter became dislodged, according to the official report into the incident. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch stated the Virgin Orbit mission went as expected when LauncherOne, a two-stage rocket, was dropped from under the wing of a modified Boeing 747-400 called Cosmic Girl.

But during the beginning of the first burn of the second stage engine "it is likely" that a fuel filter located in the hose that transfers fuel from one point to another "dislodged from its normal position". The report said this led to a series of events that caused the second stage engine to shut down prematurely and the reduction of thrust meant the stage fell back to Earth. (10/4)

What’s the Latest on the Las Vegas Spaceport Project? (Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Representatives of the Las Vegas Spaceport project have formally applied to the FAA to be licensed as an inland spaceport. Rob Lauer, CEO of the Las Vegas Spaceport, said Thursday that last week’s Florida hurricane demonstrates the importance of developing inland facilities capable of sending vehicles into space. If the property in Clark County west of Las Vegas near Pahrump is developed as planned, Nevada would join Florida, California, Texas and Colorado as states with plans to join the space economy. (10/3)

Australian Spaceport Gives Rockets an Extra Boost (Source: Innovation AUS)
More than 1000km from Darwin in north-east Arnhem Land sits a state-of-the-art spaceport. The Arnhem Space Centre, run by Equatorial Launch Australia, is the country’s only commercial spaceport, and is located near the town of Nhulunbuy, which has a population of just over 3000. The center boasts a high-tech launch, return and testing facility, and provides launch services to small and medium lift rocket companies and their payload customers.

Through its strategic location near the equator, advanced technology and startup-like business model, the company aims to deliver the spaceport of the future. Its advanced launch pads are tailored to a segment of the space sector known as “NewSpace”, which involves smaller rockets carrying payloads of up to about 1500kg. (10/3)