January 9, 2025

NASA Selects Electrical Systems Engineering Services Contractor (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected Columbus Technologies and Services Inc. of El Segundo, California, to provide electrical and electronic engineering support to the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Electrical Systems Engineering Services IV is a cost-plus-award-fee indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a maximum estimated value of $1.1 billion. The base period of performance begins on April 9 and runs for five years. (1/8)

2028 Moon Mission: NASA Teams Up With Firefly Aerospace To Explore Ancient Lunar Volcanoes (Source: SciTech Daily)
Firefly Aerospace will team up with NASA to explore the lunar surface’s Gruithuisen Domes, using sophisticated instruments developed by BAE Systems and Arizona State University. This initiative, part of NASA’s CLPS program, aims to shed light on the unique volcanic formations of the domes and support future lunar exploration and economic growth. The mission, valued at $179 million, will deliver crucial data on how the moon’s regolith can aid long-term lunar missions. Click here. (1/8)

Italy Starlink Talk Throws Wrench at IRIS² Constellation (Source: Ars Technica)
Starlink already operates commercially in Italy. But the country's possible acquisition of Starlink services for governmental purposes effectively tosses a grenade into a carefully negotiated plan to develop a sovereign constellation intended to provide secure communications for European nations and their militaries. This is the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite, or IRIS² constellation, and the final agreement was announced less than a month ago.

Developed by the European Union and European Space Agency, with Italian participation, this constellation of 290 satellites is planned to come online by 2030 at a development cost of $10.5 billion. During the lengthy negotiations, Italy even managed to secure one of the three primary ground stations in the Abruzzo region of the country. The response from some Italian and European officials to the potential agreement between Italy and SpaceX has been ferocious. (1/8)

Sierra Space, NASA Ready Dream Chaser for ISS Mission (Source: Space.com)
Sierra Space and NASA have completed a crucial simulation for the Dream Chaser spaceplane's first mission to the International Space Station, practicing scenarios such as rendezvous and berthing. The Dream Chaser is undergoing final testing at Kennedy Space Center, with a launch planned for no earlier than May atop a Vulcan rocket. Practice run-throughs at NASA JSC also cover detaching from the ISS and spaceplane reentry back to Earth for a Kennedy Space Center tarmac touchdown. (1/7)

Space Command HQ Belongs in Florida (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
If the nation is going to invest the time and effort to move Space Command and its hundreds of jobs, it should make Florida its new home. This is something Florida officials should be fighting for. Editor's Note: This 'opportunity' came and went between 2019 and 2021 and the ongoing Colorado-Alabama fight to keep Space Command HQ leaves little room for Florida. Florida's success in attracting the Space Force STARCOM headquarters was the logical prize for a state full of simulation and training expertise. (1/9)

UCF, UF and Embry-Riddle Solidify NASA Partnership with Kennedy Space Center (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
A Gator, a Knight and an Eagle walked into a space center Wednesday to ink an official partnership deal with NASA. As the founding members of the Florida University Space Research Consortium, the presidents of the University of Florida, University of Central Florida and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University were joined by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro for the official signing ceremony for a “memorandum of understanding” between the consortium and NASA. The consortium acts as the state’s official space research entity to help with awarding NASA research grants in partnership with KSC.

Editor's Note: The Florida Space Research Institute was spun off of the Florida Space Authority (now Space Florida) in 1999 with the same mission. It led a partnership with NASA to develop the Space Life Sciences Lab at KSC as the anchor facility for the new industrial area now dominated by Blue Origin and Airbus OneWeb's satellite factory. FSRI also ushered a partnership between UCF, Embry-Riddle, and Florida Tech (now known as UCF's Florida Space Institute) to increase the state's involvement in space research. FSRI was dissolved and folded back into Space Florida in 2006. (1/8) 

Boeing Starliner Astronauts Remain Busy on ISS, But ‘Eventually We Want to Go Home’ (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Now officially seven months on board the International Space Station, the two NASA astronauts who flew up on Boeing’s Starliner last June have a busy schedule in the new year while awaiting their flight home in the spring. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived to the ISS on June 5 on board Starliner, but remained on board after NASA decided to send the spacecraft home without crew because of safety reasons. (1/8)

DesJarlais to Chair Defense Space Subcommittee (Source: Space News)
Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) is the new chair of the defense subcommittee responsible for space. The House Armed Services Committee announced this week that DesJarlais would take over leadership of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, replacing Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), who retired at the end of last year. He will oversee a broad portfolio including missile defense, nuclear deterrence and military space programs, areas where House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) has promised aggressive oversight amid a growing great power competition. DesJarlais has pushed for deeper integration of private space capabilities into military systems, arguing that commercial innovation could help the Pentagon move faster and cheaper in responding to emerging threats. (1/9)

Rocket Lab Seeks Opportunity for Mars Sample Return (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab wants the next administration to open up NASA's Mars Sample Return (MSR) program to commercial competition. The company was one of several that performed MSR studies for NASA last year, proposing a vertically integrated architecture that could deliver samples to Earth as soon as 2031 for as little as $4 billion. NASA did not include that plan among the alternative architectures it will study for the next year and a half as part of an announcement Tuesday. A Rocket Lab executive said that the company would like the Trump administration to reconsider those plans and instead open up MSR to commercial competition to enable solutions that could be done faster and cheaper. (1/9)

Intelsat and OneWeb to Provide Satellite Broadband in Alaska (Source: Space News)
Intelsat is partnering with OneWeb to provide broadband services in Alaska. The deal with Alaska's GCI Communications enables the company to provide LEO services to customers across Alaska, including government agencies and businesses, that is supported by the geostationary capacity Intelsat was already providing. It is Intelsat's first enterprise multi-orbit broadband deal with a telecommunications company since expanding its partnership last year with OneWeb. (1/9)

Kitay Joins True Anomaly (Source: Space News)
A former Pentagon space policy official has joined startup True Anomaly. The company announced Wednesday it hired Stephen Kitay, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, as senior vice president of space defense. True Anomaly is developing specialized satellites for military training and space domain awareness, launching one such satellite last month. Kitay said he will focus on building relationships with customers and lawmakers while positioning True Anomaly's technology as a training platform for Space Force operators. (1/9)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Mission at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched a set of Starlink satellites Wednesday. A Falcon 9 lifted off at 10:27 a.m. Eastern from the Kennedy Space Center and placed 21 satellites into orbit, 13 of which have direct-to-cell payloads. The launch was the third this year by SpaceX, and the second of Starlink satellites. (1/9)

Opposition Assured for Any NASA HQ Move (Source: Florida Today)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) wants NASA to move its headquarters to the Kennedy Space Center. DeSantis, speaking Wednesday at an event to mark a new research partnership between KSC and several Florida universities, claimed there is "an interest" in moving NASA Headquarters from Washington to KSC but did not elaborate, and argued that the Trump administration should support such a move. While there have been reports that the incoming administration might seek to move some agencies' headquarters out of Washington, any move would likely face hurdles in Congress, while Florida would face competition from other states. (1/9)

Monday Targeted for Seventh Starship/Super-Heavy Launch at Texas Site (Source: San Antonio Express-News)
SpaceX is now targeting no earlier than Monday for the next Starship launch. The company had been working toward a launch as soon as Friday, but announced on Wednesday that it is now planning a launch early next week, cautioning that the schedule depends on "weather conditions for preflight operations" at its Starbase facility in South Texas. The seventh integrated suborbital flight of Starship/Super Heavy will test upgrades to the Starship upper stage, including deployment of Starlink satellite mass simulators. (1/9)

Lyles Wins Goddard Trophy (Source: National Space Club)
Retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Lester Lyles is the winner of the National Space Club's Goddard Memorial Trophy. The organization announced this week that it selected Lyles for its highest honor, formally awarded at the gala Goddard Memorial Dinner in March. Lyles served in several space-related roles while in the Air Force through his retirement in 2003, and subsequently has led several advisory organizations, including the NASA Advisory Council and the National Academies' Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board. (1/9)

Mount Wilson Telescopes Threatened by California Wildfire (Source: NBC)
The peak above the San Gabriel Valley is home to communication towers and equipment for the Los Angeles vicinity, and the historic Mount Wilson Observatory. There are no homes in the area, but flames could be seen near the towers and other structures at the summit. Mount Wilson, in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles, rises to an elevation of more than 5,700 feet about 15 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. The historic Mount Wilson Observatory was founded in 1904 by legendary astronomer George Ellery Hale. It houses the 100-inch Hooker Telescope along with other important astronomical instruments. (1/9)

The Golden Era of Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing (Source: Forbes)
Increased material costs and lead times, several industry strikes and angry labor situations, compounded by quality and compliance issues led to production line stops, restarts, and enhancement efforts in 2024. Despite these challenges, American manufacturing, with a special emphasis on the Aerospace and Defense sector, will emerge very strong in 2025.

The first factor for the golden era of manufacturing will be the improvement to companies’ financial health. Increasing the energy supply will lower energy operating costs for companies. This is likely to happen due to the regulatory environment improvements to be introduced by the incoming administration, allowing for more domestic energy production which will inevitably bring down the costs of manufacturing. With the federal reserve cutting interest rates, this could cause an increase in manufacturing productivity.

The golden era of A&D manufacturing will be propelled forward by re-shoring efforts that will increase significantly in 2025. A primary driver of this will be the tariff negotiations that will enable favorable conditions for domestic production in the U.S. versus internationally. Manufacturing companies are also rethinking their supply chains from a risk perspective and moving production out of Asia and back to the U.S. A recent KPMG survey found 69% of U.S.-based executives said their companies have brought back, or are going to bring back, more of their supply chains to the U.S. because of geopolitical and economic uncertainty. (1/8)

Blue Origin Slapped With State Fine for Deluge Water Discharge Ahead of New Glenn Launch (Source: Gizmodo)
Just days before Blue Origin’s highly anticipated rocket launch, the company was fined for a previous New Glenn test conducted without a permit. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) issued a $3,000 fine to Blue Origin for the unauthorized use of a water deluge system during a static fire test of its New Glenn rocket.

In September 2024, Blue Origin ran a fueling test of its upcoming rocket at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The hot fire test lasted for 15 seconds, and its purpose was to “validate interactions between the subsystems on the second stage, its two BE-3U engines, and the ground control systems,” Blue Origin wrote in a statement at the time. The FDEP, however, had not yet issued Blue Origin the required permission to use the launch pad’s water deluge system, but the company went ahead and used it anyway, resulting in the fine. (1/8)

DeSantis: Move NASA Headquarters to Kennedy Space Center (Source: Florida Today)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would like to see NASA move its headquarters to Brevard County, the rocket launch capital of the world. "There is an interest in moving the headquarters of NASA right here to Kennedy Space Center. And I'm supportive of that," DeSantis said Wednesday, drawing applause during an afternoon press event at KSC.

"They have this massive building in Washington, D.C., and like nobody goes to it. So why not just shutter it and move everybody down here? I think they're planning on spending like a half a billion to build a new building up in D.C. that no one will ever go to, either," DeSantis said. (1/8)

ISS National Lab Announces Up to $650,000 in Funding for Technology Advancement in Low Earth Orbit (Source: CASIS)
The ISS National Laboratory is soliciting flight concepts for technology advancement that utilizes the space-based environment of the orbiting laboratory. This solicitation, “Technology Advancement and Applied Research Leveraging the ISS National Lab,” is open to a broad range of technology areas, including chemical and material synthesis in space, translational medicine, in-space edge computing, and in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing. It also encompasses the application of space station remote sensing data to improve geospatial analytics for commercial use. (1/8)

NASA-Backed Drones Cut Aircraft Inspection Time (Source: ExecutiveGov)
A project backed by NASA confirms that the use of drones has the potential to significantly cut the amount of time required to perform maintenance inspections on commercial aircraft. American Airlines tested the technology from Near Earth Autonomy. (1/6)

BAE Systems Gets NGA Contract for Cloud-Based GEOINT (Source: Satnews)
BAE Systems has secured a $347 million contract from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to modernize the National System for Geospatial-Intelligence Enterprise Repository and Virtual Environment program. The five-year contract involves transforming the National System for Geospatial-Intelligence Consolidated Library from to a cloud-based data service. (1/7)

Microbes Can Colonize Space, Produce Drugs and Create Energy (Source: Space Daily)
After so many years learning how microbes work, researchers are now digitally recreating their inner workings to tackle challenges ranging from climate change to space colonization. In my work as a computational biologist, I research ways to get microbes to produce more useful chemicals, such as fuels and bioplastics, that can be used in the energy, agricultural or pharmaceutical industries. Traditionally, researchers have to conduct several trial-and-error experiments on petri dishes in order to determine the optimal conditions microbes need to produce high amounts of chemicals. (1/7)

China Incorporates Small Commercial Satellites Into Weather Services (Source: Space Daily)
Two sets of small commercial satellites have been integrated into the China Meteorological Administration's (CMA) weather observation framework. This marks the first time CMA has utilized data from small commercial satellites for its weather services. The Tianmu-1 constellation, consisting of 23 satellites, and the 12-satellite Yunyao-1 series began contributing data to the CMA on December 30. According to the CMA, early trials indicate that these satellite constellations are significantly enhancing the agency's weather forecasting capabilities. (1/6)

Space Force Eyes New Jam-Resistant Tactical SATCOM Options (Source: Air & Space Forces)
Two competing prototype payloads, developed by Northrop Grumman and Boeing and both set to launch in 2025, aim to open a new era of secure, jam-resistant tactical communications. Northrop has finished assembly and testing of its payload for the Protected Tactical SATCOM-Prototype (PTS-P) program and is now working on integrating the system onto one of its ESPAStar buses, the company said Jan. 6. Boeing is in the advanced stages of integrating its PTS-P payload with its new Wideband Global SATCOM satellite, WGS-11 (1/7)

Meloni Slammed for Musk Dealing (Source: Bloomberg)
Italian opposition leaders roundly criticized Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government for engaging in talks with Elon Musk’s SpaceX on a €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) deal for encrypted communications systems. “Italy still has laws and nobody has abolished parliament,” former Premier Matteo Renzi said, joining other lawmakers who called for any potential deal to be vetted by the legislature. (1/7)

Etlaq Drives Oman’s Space Growth with 3 Rocket Launches Planned for 2025 (Source: Muscat Daily)
Etlaq is set to launch three rockets in 2025, building on the success of its first experimental rocket, Duqm-1, according to Dr Saoud al Shoaili, Director General and Head of National Space Program at Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology. "These upcoming launches are part of our efforts to support scientific research and expand our capabilities in space exploration.” The Etlaq Spaceport project began in January 2023 with the signing of a usufruct agreement for a launch site. Neighboring countries are informed of launch plans as a precautionary measure.

Duqm-1 mission and upcoming launches from Etlaq spaceport set the pace for Oman’s ambitious plans for space exploration, as the sultanate seeks to attract local and international investments, create jobs and position itself at the forefront of space exploration in the region. Duqm-1, Oman’s first experimental rocket, was launched successfully through Etlaq. Measuring 6.72m in length and weighing 123kg when fuelled, the rocket was developed with strict adherence to environmental and safety standards. (1/6)

Texas Residents Raise Concerns at FAA Meeting on SpaceX Launch Cadence Increase (Source: KRGV)
The Federal Aviation Administration laid out the details of SpaceX’s proposal to launch their Starship vehicle 25 times a year from Boca Chica at a public meeting Tuesday. Those attending provided their thoughts on the proposal. Reactions from those attending were mixed. "It's a lot of inconvenience, a lot more traffic, a lot more things going on out there," Brownsville resident Rene Medrano said.

Those opposed to the proposal brought up issues ranging from traffic, noise issues, and impacts to nesting shorebirds. "If it was somewhat of an inconvenience at four or five launches, imagine 25," Medrano said.

The FAA concluded the SpaceX proposal would not have "significant impacts" when it comes to air quality, climate, coastal, biological and cultural resources, and water. Any impacts not considered "significant" will still be mitigated, the FAA said. "Every time they have one of these launches, the eggs are being shattered. Those birds aren't coming back,” Brownsville resident Gloria Crixell said. (1/7)

NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab Evacuated as Los Angeles Burns (Source: Futurism)
NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, the agency's research and development center that's been at the cutting edge of space exploration for decades, is under an evacuation order due to the devastating wildfires currently ravaging the city. Ironically, the center has been at the forefront of studying the science of wildfires, from air quality measurements to the analysis of carbon monoxide emissions caused by blazes. (1/8)