December 29, 2024

SpaceX Deploys 46th Launch From Vandenberg Space Force Base Saturday (Sources: KSBY, VC Star)
The final Falcon 9 launch of Starlink low-orbiting satellites from California this year lifted off on Saturday. The launch from Vandenberg Space Force was the 46th of the 2024. It was also 16th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched SARah-2, Transporter-11, SDA-0A, and 12 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage landed on the "Of Course I Still Love You" drone ship stationed in the Pacific Ocean. (12/29)

SpaceX Launches Astranis Satellites From Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Florida Today)
After much delay, a Falcon 9 rocket launch finally sent four satellites for Astranis Space Technologies to orbit. The SpaceX rocket took off on a delivery mission right at midnight on Sunday, December 29 from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 40, rumbling on a due-east trajectory. The last attempt at this launch on Friday, Dec. 20 saw a rare last second abort. SpaceX called an early scrub the following day, rolling back the rocket to swap out the first stage booster. A reason for the abort and booster swap was not provided. (12/29)

Revisiting the Biggest Moments in the Space Industry in 2024 (Source: Tech Crunch)
We are at the dawn of a new space age. If you doubt, simply look back at the last year: From SpaceX’s historic catch of the Super Heavy booster to the record-breaking number of lunar landing attempts, this year was full of historic and ambitious missions and demonstrations. We’re taking a look back at the five most significant moments or trends in the space industry this year. Naysayers might think SpaceX is overrepresented on this list, but that just shows how far ahead the space behemoth is in relation to its competitors. Click here. (12/28)

Space Today is a Contested Domain Full of Potential Threats (Source: Albuquerque Journal)
The U.S. Space Force is a critical component of our nation’s defense. As the newest branch of the U.S. military, the Space Force is responsible for protecting and defending our nation’s interests in space. This includes everything from satellite communications and navigation to missile warning and defense. The Space Force is also working to develop new capabilities, such as agile protection and defense systems, which enable us to stay ahead of emerging threats, hold adversary space systems at risk, and be prepared if deterrence fails. (12/28)

Departing Air Force Secretary Will Leave Space Weaponry as a Legacy (Source: New York Times)
Frank Kendall, who grew up on an apple farm and then rose to the pinnacle of the U.S. military, has preached the need for better preparation for the next big fight. As the Biden administration comes to a close, one of its legacies will be kicking off the transformation of the nearly 80-year-old U.S. Air Force under the orchestration of its secretary, Frank Kendall.

When he leaves office in January — after more than five decades at the Defense Department and as a military contractor, including nearly four years as Air Force secretary — Mr. Kendall, 75, will have set the stage for a transition that is not only changing how the Air Force is organized but how global wars will be fought. One of the biggest elements of this shift is the move by the United States to prepare for potential space conflict with Russia, China or some other nation. (12/29)

The Billionaires and Tech Barons Vying to Build a Private Space Station (Source: The Telegraph)
The death of the ISS will mark the close of a major chapter in human space exploration. Until now, space stations have been the preserve of nation states, with only the ISS and China’s Tiangong in operation. The stations have required billions of dollars of investment and dozens of rocket launches. But that could be about to change. Just as SpaceX has triggered a flood of funding into private rocket companies, private space stations have been raising billions of dollars in an effort to build future hubs – and even one day cities – in orbit.

Axiom Space, a US business aiming to build its own station, has raised more than $500m (£400m). Vast, a space business backed by crypto billionaire Jed McCaleb, is plotting two stations before the end of the decade. Gravitics, meanwhile, has raised tens of millions of dollars for its modular space “real estate”. Nasa itself, along with other space agencies, is planning a further station, Lunar Gateway, which will orbit the Moon. Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin has also announced plans to build a space station by 2027, called Orbital Reef, which it has described as an orbital “mixed-use business park”.

Working with US aerospace business Sierra Space, Orbital Reef will be made up of inflatable pods, which can be launched on a regular rocket before being “blown up” in space. Sierra Space says these modules could house in-space manufacturing or pharmaceutical technology. Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon, believes that before long “millions” will live on space stations. “These are very large structures, miles on end, and they hold a million people or more each,” he said in 2019. Click here. (12/29)

As the Amount of Junk in Space Increases, Space Agencies Warn Future Missions Could Be in Danger (Source: Houston Chronicle)
Back in 1979, Houston became home to a program that searched for ways to create less debris in space and track and remove existing debris. More than four decades later, NASA has called the growing amount of “space junk” a “global problem” that threatens future space explorations, as well as the safety of people in space and on earth. And if the amount of junk in space continues to grow, it could lead to a scenario in which it becomes too difficult to use Earth’s orbit for space missions.

Just last month, a piece of space junk from a satellite that broke up in 2015 careened toward the International Space Station, causing the ISS to fire thrusters for 5 and a half minutes as an avoidance maneuver. Two years prior, a similar incident occurred when the ISS had to maneuver to avoid a collision with debris from a Russian satellite. As of September 2024, the European Space Agency reported: 40,500 space debris objects greater than 10 cm; 1,100,00 space debris objects greater than 1 cm but less than 10 cm; and 130 million space debris objects greater than 1 mm but less than 1 cm.

And if the space debris continues without recourse, the ESA warns of a theoretical scenario where Earth’s orbit could become untenable for space missions in the future. Reducing space debris is a task the space agency called “urgent,” noting that debris levels in the LEO have increased 50% in the last five years. The ESA started the Zero Debris Charter last year, which aims to get rid of all space debris by 2030. In April of this year, NASA’s orbital degree mitigation program was updated to establish notification protocol for NASA object re-entries and risk assessment associated with new fragmentation incidents. (12/29)

HASC Chair Rogers: Five Years On, the Space Force Needs to Grow (Source: Space Policy Online)
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), who was instrumental in the creation of the U.S. Space Force five years ago, thinks it is time for the new military service to grow. In the beginning, the mantra was that it would be a small, lean organization, but much has changed. More personnel, with the right skill sets, along with continued acquisition reform are needed to meet the growing threat.

Rogers currently chairs the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), but back in 2017 he chaired HASC’s Strategic Forces Subcommittee. Together with subcommittee Ranking Member Jim Cooper (D-TN), they initiated the effort that led to the creation of the U.S. Space Force (USSF), which celebrated its 5th birthday on December 20. (12/28)

Christmas Solar Flares Erupt from the Sun. Will They Trigger Aurora 'Fireworks' as We Close Out 2024? (Source: Space.com)
In the final hours of Christmas Day, the sun fired off four solar flares within less than three hours. The biggest flare of the series, recorded at a M7.3, erupted from sunspot region AR3938 on Dec. 25 at 10:15 p,m. EST (0315 GMT on Dec. 26). Solar flares are ranked and categorized by their power on a 4-level classification scale, with M-class the second strongest to the beastly X-class at the top. According to Spaceweather.com, this was part of a group of four different flares that happened within two and a half hours coinciding with three sunspot regions — AR3938, AR3933, and AR3936. (12/27)

China Approves New Lunar Sample Research Applications From Institutions (Source: Xinhua)
China's space agency has released the approved list for the eighth batch of lunar sample research applications, allowing applicants to borrow samples returned by both the Chang'e-5 and Chang'e-6 missions. A total of 8,550.4 milligrams of lunar samples will be lent to 18 researchers from 16 research institutions, the Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center under the China National Space Administration said. The institutions include the China University of Geosciences (Beijing), the University of Hong Kong, the Macau University of Science and Technology, Beihang University and Wuhan University, among others. (12/28)

Swedish and Norwegian Companies Secure Key NASA Contracts (Source: European Spaceflight)
Norway’s Kongsberg Satellite Services and the Swedish Space Corporation are among four companies selected by NASA to support the expansion of its Near Space Network’s commercial direct-to-Earth mission-critical communication services. The combined maximum value of all the service contracts awarded is $4.82 billion (€4.63 billion). The Near Space Network is NASA’s communication infrastructure that provides direct-to-Earth data transmission and tracking support for spacecraft operating in low-Earth orbit, lunar orbit, and other near-space regions up to 1.2 million miles (2 million kilometers). (12/28)

ISRO to Launch SpaDeX on Monday; Part of India’s Ambitious Space Station Goal (Source: Deccan Herald)
In a step toward establishing India’s space station and launching interplanetary missions, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch its Space Docking Experiment – SpaDeX – on December 30 at 9:58 PM from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota using the PSLV-C60 rocket. This will make India the fourth nation on Planet Earth to master space docking technology. (12/27)

Elon Musk in 2025: Will Space Entrepreneur's Trump Card Pay Dividends? (Source: The National)
As 2025 approaches, Mr Musk’s influence continues to be felt across industries, winning admiration and stirring debate in equal measure. SpaceX, his crown jewel, had a groundbreaking year in 2024, largely thanks to Starship, the company’s fully reusable launch vehicle, which is still in development. His growing sway is also felt in politics as he has the ear of US president-elect Donald Trump, at least for now, as an administration for a second Trump term in the White House is assembled. Click here. (12/28)