May 25, 2025

As Trump Cuts Science Budgets, Some Researchers Look Abroad (Source: Washington Post)
Kartik Sheth is an astrophysicist and, until a few weeks ago, was the associate chief scientist at NASA. On March 10, he got an unexpected email: “I regret to inform you that you are being affected by a [reduction-in-force] action. … Therefore, you will be separated from NASA.” One of 23 NASA employees laid off that day, including everyone in the Office of the Chief Scientist, Sheth is now looking for a job — anywhere. “I don’t know if I’ll find a job in America given the cuts to science,” he said.

“I think we could have a pretty major brain drain in the country. … I think people are going to start to wonder if this is the place for me to continue to do science.’” With billions of dollars in research grants eliminated or frozen by the Trump administration, scientists across America face an uncertain future. Meanwhile, American scientists are being actively recruited by countries including France, Spain, Germany and China that are hoping to reverse the flow of expertise into the US that has been the norm for decades.

“People who were certain that they were going to spend their careers in the US, and stay in the US for the next phase, are now totally reconsidering,” said David Baker, a biochemist who shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2024. The US now faces a “wholesale change in mentality” across the science community as a result of President Donald Trump’s actions, he said. (5/21)

JPL Forcing Workers to Return to Offices (Source: NASA Watch)
“General telework employees will have until Monday, August 25, to fully return to their assigned work location, and remote telework employees – both in and outside of California – will have until Monday, October 27. Note that for those who can, we encourage returning to fully onsite work sooner than the required dates. Although rare exceptions are possible (see below), employees who do not return by their required date will be considered to have resigned.” (5/23)

NASA Awards Project Support Bridge Contract to ASRC (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded a bridge contract to ASRC Federal System Solutions to provide financial support and project planning and control services to the agency. The Program Analysis and Control Bridge Contract has a total potential value up to $98 million with a 13-month period of performance. The scope includes business functions such as accounting, scheduling, documentation and configuration management, as well as security compliance. The work will occur at NASA Headquarters, Goddard Space Flight Center, and Langley Research Center. (5/23)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Mission at Cape Canaveral Spaceport on Saturday (Source: Florida Today)
Lifting off the pad hours before summerlike showers and thunderstorms were expected to strike, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched on another Starlink mission Saturday, May 24, from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The Falcon 9 launched from Launch Complex 40, deploying 23 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit on Memorial Day weekend. (5/24)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Satellites From California, Completes 450th Booster Landing (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX kicked off a busy weekend with the launch of a batch of Starlink satellites on May 23 from California, the first of up to three potential Starlink launches between Friday and Sunday. This was the 18th launch of B1075, which has supported 14 previous Starlink missions. This was also the 450th successful landing of a Falcon 9 rocket, according to SpaceX. (5/23)

Possible Sign of Life in Deep Space Faces New Doubts (Source: Phys.org)
In April, scientists captured global attention by announcing they'd found a molecule in a faraway planet's atmosphere that could signal life there. But a new analysis by University of Chicago scientists adds to the growing skepticism around the finding. Reviewing data from multiple observations of the planet, they found it cannot be called a conclusive detection. What's more, they found that other molecules, not just those possibly indicating signs of life, could explain the readings—putting caution signs around the claim. (5/23)

From Cat Urine to Gunpowder: Exploring the Peculiar Smells of Outer Space (Source: BBC)
Scientists are analyzing the smells of space – from Earth's nearest neighbors to planets hundreds of light years away – to learn about the make-up of the Universe. Jupiter, says Marina Barcenilla, is "a bit like a stink bomb". Click here. (5/25)

Dragon Capsule from ISS Reenters with SoCal Sonic Boom (Source: SPACErePORT)
The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, near Oceanside, at approximately 1:44 a.m. EDT on Sunday, May 25, 2025. This marked the completion of SpaceX's 32nd Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station for NASA. The Dragon carried back to Earth approximately 6,700 pounds of supplies, scientific experiments, and hardware. The sonic boom from the reentry was heard in Southern California. (5/25)

UK Project Aims to Detect Water Leaks with Satellites (Source: Memuk News)
Wolverhampton researchers have secured funding for pioneering a satellite-based solution to tackle the UK water leakage crisis. The project, called ‘Space Eye’, could transform how water leakage is detected across the UK, using next-generation satellite technology to deliver faster, more accurate and cost-effective monitoring.

According to Water UK, water loss is a persistent issue for the UK water industry, with an estimated 19% of the water supply lost before it reaches consumers. This results in significant financial and environmental costs, amounting to £3.2 billion annually across the utilities sector – including £697 million from residential leaks alone. (5/21)

Rethinking Britain’s Defense Space Posture (Source: Council on Geostrategy)
The new US Space Force doctrine signals a fundamental conceptual shift from defense to offence in military space affairs. It recognizes space as a warfighting domain, positioning the Space Force as a combat service and space control as a primary objective. The decision of the administration of Donald Trump to pursue space-to-Earth strike weapons as a matter of policy, through the Golden Dome, will be transformational for the evolution of warfare.

The UK should adjust its own doctrine and posture to remain in step with the US, and should contribute to elements of the Golden Dome. It should also focus more on counterspace and strategic space warfare systems. (5/21)

A Space Elevator to the Moon is Now Within Reach Thanks to Modern Technology (Source: Brighter Side)
Researchers Zephyr Penoyre of the University of Cambridge and Emily Sandford of Columbia University have proposed the “spaceline,” a lunar space elevator that may cut costs dramatically.  According to Penoyre and Sandford, these materials could support a cable extending from the Moon to geostationary orbit. Such a structure, with a diameter no greater than a pencil lead, could feasibly be constructed at a cost comparable to other large-scale space missions—around several billion dollars. (5/19)

New Mexico’s Spaceport America the Backdrop of New Netflix Documentary (Source: Albuquerque Journal)
Southern New Mexico’s Spaceport America is trading rocket launches for a different kind of takeoff. An Obama-produced documentary about the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds premieres Friday on Netflix, “Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds,” and features footage of the team’s trainings at Spaceport America. “The significance to me is showing the joint cooperation, I think, between Spaceport America and our Department of Defense partners,” said Allan Turk II, Spaceport America’s director of aerospace operations. (5/22)

Musk Breaks Silence On SpaceX Making Weaponized Drones & A Starlink IPO (Source: WCCF Tech)
Musk was asked whether his firm would consider weaponized drones as a future product. He said he doesn't think SpaceX will enter the industry when it comes to making weapons or weaponized drones. "I don't currently anticipate SpaceX getting into the weapons business," he said. "It's not an aspiration; we're frequently asked to do weapons programs but have thus far declined," Musk added.

The executive had a lot more to comment when it comes to a potential SpaceX IPO. He has dismissed the possibility of an IPO for his rocket company earlier, but remained open to the possibility of listing SpaceX's Starlink division on the public markets. Musk retained the sentiment this time around as well as he speculated that it is "possible that Starlink may go public at some point in the future." (5/20)

Propulsion Concept That Could Turn Mars Into a Weekend Destination (Source: Daily Galaxy)
A U.K.-based space propulsion startup has unveiled an ambitious concept for a nuclear fusion rocket that may dramatically shorten the journey to Mars. In a recent video presentation, Pulsar Fusion showcased its Sunbird Migratory Transfer Vehicle, a next-generation spacecraft powered by dual direct fusion drive (DDFD) engines.

The Sunbird rocket, according to Pulsar Fusion, is designed to achieve speeds up to 329,000 miles per hour (or over 529,000 kilometers per hour), a velocity that would make it the fastest self-propelled object ever engineered. (5/24)

“Beyond What We Originally Expected”: Booz Allen Stock Plummets DOGE-Driven Cuts Realized (Source: TipRanks)
Booz Allen's latest earnings report made it abundantly clear disaster was on the wind. Booz Allen planned a near-decimation of its workforce, and shares plunged nearly 15% in Friday afternoon’s trading. Most of the cuts will be coming to the division that handles civilian government operations. (5/23)

Impulse Space to Upper Stage to Serve SES Satellites (Source: Space News)
Impulse Space has signed an agreement with satellite operator SES to transport that company’s satellites to medium and geostationary orbits. The companies announced May 22 that they signed a multi-launch agreement that starts with a mission in 2027 where Impulse’s Helios kick stage, placed into low Earth orbit by a medium-class rocket, will send a four-ton SES satellite from LEO to GEO within eight hours. The announcement did not disclose the vehicle that will launch Helios and the satellite, or the specific SES satellite. (5/23)

How Do You Report on the Weather When Data is Disappearing? (Source: Nieman)
The NWS office in Jackson, Kentucky, for example, is one of the short-staffed offices that no longer routinely provides 24/7 coverage; staff there worked overtime to send out alerts and forecasts overnight on May 16. During a spate of tornadoes in April, the nearby Louisville office had said they wouldn’t be able to survey the damage or even confirm the tornadoes for a few days, a stark change from the tornado-chasing days of the past.

Data has disappeared in other ways, too: NOAA has halted the upkeep of polar satellites collecting critical data on atmospheric systems that affect weather around the world, downgraded snow and ice data, and recently killed a database that tracks the cost of weather and climate disasters around the country. Since January, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its subsidiary, the National Weather Service (NWS), have lost thousands of workers, either through layoffs or resignations as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to gut the federal government’s workforce. (5/19)

ispace to Transport UNESCO Cultural Heritage Payload to the Moon (Source: ispace)
ispace EUROPE S.A., the Luxembourg-based subsidiary of ispace, inc., and Barrelhand Inc. announced the signing of a Payload Service Agreement to transport a memory disc (Memory Disc V3) as part of Team Draper Commercial Mission 1, also known as ispace’s Mission 3. The payload is a coin-sized space module engineered to safeguard humanity’s cultural and linguistic heritage for millions of years. It will be integrated onto the ispace-Europe rover. (5/21)

ispace Secures Approximately $70 Million in Bank Financing from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (Source: ispace)
ispace, inc. announced a resolution has been made by its Board of Directors to secure approximately $70 Million in new financing as part of a loan agreement with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. The loan is intended to secure working capital for development of mission and other related expenses. (5/22)

Astrobotic Lunar Wireless Charger System Qualified for Flight (Source: Astrobotic)
Astrobotic has successfully completed flight model acceptance testing of its cutting-edge wireless charging system for the lunar environment, marking a major advancement in enabling sustained operations on the Moon. This breakthrough technology is designed to deliver reliable, high-efficiency power transfer in the extreme conditions of the lunar surface, bringing Astrobotic closer to providing commercial power solutions for future lunar missions.

Developed by Astrobotic and WiBotic, with assistance from Bosch, the University of Washington (UW), and NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, this lightweight, ultra-fast wireless charging system proved it can function and provide enough power for systems to survive the 14-Earth-day lunar night. (5/22)

ICEYE and IHI Start Cooperation to Develop SAR Satellite Constellation in Japan (Source: Iceye)
ICEYE and Japan's IHI Corp. will cooperate on the development of a SAR constellation of up to 24 satellites, to provide earth observation data for military, civilian and commercial purposes. As part of the planned development, IHI and ICEYE plan to establish a satellite manufacturing facility in Japan, with satellites to be operated domestically. This initiative is intended to support Japan’s space ambitions of boosting space industries while strengthening national security and resilience. (5/22)

FCC Looks to Unleash More than 20,000 Megahertz for Satellite Spectrum Abundance (Source: SIA)
The Satellite Industry Association issues the following statement regarding the FCC vote to kickstart a proceeding that could unlock more than 20,000 megahertz of spectrum for high-speed internet delivered from space. The FCC announcement noted, “That amount is more than the sum total of all spectrum available for satellite broadband today. Specifically, in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), the FCC is seeking comment on expanding satellite connectivity across multiple spectrum bands”. (5/23)

Senators Reintroduce Bill to Clear Space Junk, Protect Space Exploration (Source: Sen. Hickenlooper)
U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper, Maria Cantwell, Cynthia Lummis, and Roger Wicker reintroduced the bipartisan Orbital Sustainability (ORBITS) Act to establish a first-of-its-kind demonstration program that would reduce the nearly 1 million pieces of space junk in orbit.

“Dangerous debris in Earth’s orbit threatens American satellites and jeopardizes future space exploration missions,” said Hickenlooper. “It’s time we clean up the clutter and protect our critical space operations.” ... “The Orbital Sustainability or ORBITS Act will jumpstart the technology development we need to address the very serious problem of orbital debris that threatens our scientific satellites, human space exploration and commercial space services,” said Cantwell. (5/22)