June 5, 2025

Bannon Calls on Trump to Nationalize SpaceX (Source: SPACErePORT)
Former presidential advisor Steve Bannon on Thursday lashed out at Elon Musk amid a spiraling war of social media posts between Musk and President Trump. "On DOGE, he didn't find any fraud," Bannon said of Musk, remarking that Trump complained "was this [DOGE] all BS?" Also on the subject of SpaceX: "President Trump tonight should sign an executive order calling for the Defense Production Act ... and seize SpaceX tonight before midnight." (6/5)

Commercial Aerospace Industry Contributes $545.2B to Economy (Source: Transportation Today)
The U.S. commercial aerospace industry contributed $545.2 billion in total economic output, including $306.9 billion in aerospace products, according to a recent report commissioned by the Aerospace Industries Association. The report highlights the industry’s impact on the national economy and its role in innovation, employment and trade.

The industry contributed $151.1 billion directly to the national gross domestic product. When indirect contributions are counted, it totaled $284.1 billion. The industry supported 1.6 million jobs with 545,400 in aerospace. Aerospace workers earned $79.5 billion in wages, and the industry supported $157.2 billion in labor income. The industry contributed $54 billion in taxes, and invested $34.5 billion in research and development, $8.4 billion in expanded production capacity and $2.9 billion in infrastructure. (6/4)

Analysis: Commercial Services Could Support Golden Dome (Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies)
The Center for Strategic & International Studies argues that commercial services could supply the space-based elements of the Trump administration's proposed Golden Dome missile shield. The center highlights "use cases across all domains where the military could derive benefits by turning to commercial services." (6/5)

Senate Bill Boosts Air, Space Force Funding (Source: Air & Space Forces)
The Senate has introduced a bill to allocate at least $26 billion to the US Air Force and Space Force, surpassing the House's version. The legislation, part of a broader Republican agenda, aims to modernize the military and enhance the defense industrial base amid global competition. Key provisions include funding for aircraft production, missile development, and space programs, as well as infrastructure upgrades. (6/4)

A 'Crazy Idea' About Pluto Was Just Confirmed in a Scientific First (Source: Science Alert)
When the New Horizons spacecraft swept past Pluto and Charon in 2015, it revealed two amazingly complex worlds and an active atmosphere on Pluto. Those snapshots redefined our understanding of the system. Now, new observations using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) taken in 2022 and 2023, show that Pluto's atmosphere is completely different from any other one in the Solar System.

For one thing, it contains haze particles that rise and fall as they are heated and cooled. Pluto's atmosphere is a complicated haze of nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide. Based on the JWST data, the haze particles control the energy balance of the atmosphere as they heat up and cool off. That's very unusual and hasn't been seen in other solar system worlds. (6/5)

Long, Dark 'Streaks' Spotted on Mars Aren't What Scientists Thought (Source: Live Science)
Mysterious dark streaks flowing across Mars's surface may not be the result of running water after all, a new artificial intelligence (AI) analysis suggests. The streaks, first observed running along Mars's cliffsides and crater walls by NASA's Viking mission in 1976, were long thought by scientists to have formed as a result of the flow of ancient water across the now mostly desiccated planet's surface. But an AI algorithm trained on slope streak observations has revealed a different origin for the streaks — likely being formed from wind and dust, not water. (6/4)

High-Definition Moon Landing Videos set to Transform Lunar Exploration (Source: Space Daily)
The next time astronauts step onto the Moon, viewers will experience it in stunning high-definition color and at up to 60 frames per second. This marks a significant leap forward from the grainy black-and-white images broadcast during the Apollo missions.

ESA and its partner, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are determined to ensure the best possible video coverage of future lunar expeditions, despite challenges such as lunar dust, signal delays, and limited bandwidth. To prepare, they conducted a simulated Moonwalk at the LUNA facility in Germany, capturing a range of realistic test clips. These included astronauts exiting the landing module, exploring the surface, and even snapping a lunar selfie. (6/3)

Quasar Cluster Defies Explanation (Source: Space Daily)
A newly discovered cluster of eleven quasars has shattered the previous record of five. Rather than being associated with a dense group of galaxies, these quasars sit on the boundary between two groups of galaxies. This structure, dubbed the "Cosmic Himalayas," cannot be explained by conventional theories, forcing astronomers to rethink the formation scenarios for quasars. (6/4)

Maritime Launch and T-Minus Engineering Plan Hypersonic Suborbital Launches from Spaceport Nova Scotia (Source: Space Daily)
Maritime Launch Services announced a new collaboration with T-Minus Engineering, a Dutch aerospace company, to launch the Barracuda hypersonic test platform from Spaceport Nova Scotia in October 2025. This mission will represent the next step in advancing Spaceport Nova Scotia's suborbital and hypersonic testing capabilities, as Maritime Launch continues to develop Nova Scotia, Canada. (6/4)

Make America Great in Space Again? Pfft. Trump is Wrecking What We Already Have (Source: Houston Chronicle)
When it comes to exploring the cosmos, the Trump administration’s quasi-official mantra is “Make America Great in Space Again.” But here’s the thing: NASA is already great. Right now. NASA has sent missions to touch the sun, sent humans to another world, visited every planet in our solar system while discovering thousands of planets in other star systems, looked back to the dawn of time, and now has spaceships traversing interstellar space.

No other nation even comes close to such an astonishing track record. And many people feel that we have only begun to realize the benefits of this half century of American leadership. But instead of building on that capability, the White House seeks to gut virtually every aspect of space science and exploration wherein America has a multi-decade lead. All of this happened against an administration policy meme of beating China in space.

But instead of beefing up America's space agency in all the places where China is advancing, the administration is cutting NASA off at the knees — thus handing that leadership to China and others by default. Let's look at the layoffs. Every NASA center faces across-the-board civil service personnel cuts of 25-30%, and the contractor workforce is likely to be hit even harder. You can argue the "too-many-cooks" point about efficiency, but that only goes so far. These cuts will remove capabilities that NASA needs to do its basic job — never mind the whole Let’s-Beat-China thing. (6/4)

Starlink Mission Launched From California on Wednesday (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX celebrated the 15th anniversary of the first Falcon 9 launch with another launch. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California Wednesday and placed 27 Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch took place 15 years to the day after the first Falcon 9 launched a Dragon capsule on a brief test flight. SpaceX has now conducted 500 launches of rockets in the Falcon family, including the Falcon Heavy and the original Falcon 1. (6/5)

Hanwha to Sell Eutelsat Stake (Source: Reuters)
Hanwha Systems plans to sell its stake in Eutelsat. The South Korean company said Thursday it would sell its 5.4 percent stake in the French satellite operator for $88.5 million so that it could focus on core business operations. Hanwha invested $300 million in OneWeb, the LEO satellite operator later acquired by Eutelsat, in 2021. Eutelsat said none of its other major shareholders have expressed an interest in selling their stakes in the company as Eutelsat seeks to raise funding for second-generation OneWeb satellites and its role in the IRIS² constellation. (6/5)

FCC Commissioners Depart, Leaving Agency Without Quorum (Source: CNBC)
The FCC will soon lack a quorum as two commissioners resign. Nathan Simington, a Republican who has been a commissioner since late 2020, announced Wednesday he would step down at the end of the week. Simington did not give a reason for his departure, which came as a surprise. A Democratic commissioner, Geoffrey Starks, said Wednesday he will also resign at the end of the week, confirming plans he announced last month. With one seat already vacant, the departures would leave the FCC with only two commissioners, depriving it of a quorum needed to take up any issues, including satellite regulations. (6/5)

Garneau Passes at 76 (Source: CBC)
Marc Garneau, the first Canadian to go to space, has died. Garneau's family said Wednesday that he passed away after a short illness at the age of 76. Garneau was part of Canada's original class of six astronauts selected in 1983. He became the first Canadian in space as part of the STS-41G shuttle mission in 1984, and later flew on STS-77 in 1996 and STS-97 in 2000. He then served as president of the Canadian Space Agency before entering politics, winning a seat in the House of Commons and serving as transport minister and foreign affairs minister. He resigned from parliament in 2023. (6/5)

Isaacman: Bad Blood With Musk Caused Nomination Cancel (Source: Space News)
Jared Isaacman said his nomination to be NASA administrator was pulled because of people in the Trump administration with "axes to grind" with Elon Musk. Speaking on a podcast published Wednesday, Isaacman said he wasn't given an explanation for President Trump's decision last week to withdraw the nomination other than the president "decided to go in a different direction."

However, he backed claims that the move was made by people within the White House who had been at odds with Musk and were taking advantage of Musk's formal departure from government work. "I think the direction people are going, or thinking on this, seems to check out to me," he said. Isaacman said that, had he been confirmed as administrator, he would have sought to focus NASA on "needle-mover" programs that only NASA could do, while working to cut bureaucracy. (6/5)

Foreign Governments Spike American Satellite Demand (Source: Space News)
American satellite imaging companies are witnessing a boom in demand from foreign governments. These companies are recasting themselves as global vendors of what they call "sovereign" space capabilities, striking high-value international deals that promise long-term revenue and access to new markets while still being closely tethered to U.S. government contracts. Industry officials say they are taking advantage of the fact that the remote-sensing industry, once dominated by classified government programs and limited to major powers, has evolved into an innovative and competitive commercial marketplace. Working with foreign governments also helps those companies diversify their customer base amid potential cuts in U.S. government spending. (6/5)

EU Space Act Ready for Prime Time (Source: Space News)
A long-awaited European space law finally may be released this month. Europe is expected to publish a draft of the EU Space Act by the end of the month, a law intended to overhaul the regulation of space services. While details of the incoming law remain under wraps, legal experts anticipate a move away from voluntary guidance toward binding obligations in key areas such as space sustainability, safety, resilience and security. A central aim of the Space Act is to create a cohesive single market for space services in Europe, helping companies that today must deal with varying national regulations. (6/5)

Lockheed Martin Developing AI Fight Club (Source: Space News)
Lockheed Martin is creating a new initiative to allow companies to test artificial intelligence systems being developed for military applications. The "AI Fight Club" aims to create a digital proving ground for AI systems across air, land, sea and space operations, including head-to-head matchups between AI systems. Lockheed originally considered developing the platform to test its own algorithms but decided to expand access to smaller vendors who have promising technologies but lack the infrastructure to meet Pentagon-grade evaluation standards. (6/5)

ISS Research Conference Canceled Amid NASA Cuts (Source: Space News)
A space station research conference has been canceled and the future of a planetary science conference is in doubt as NASA pulls back support. CASIS, the organization that operates the ISS National Lab, said Wednesday it was canceling this year's ISS Research and Development Conference, planned for the end of July in Seattle, citing "the current regulatory and budgetary environment."

NASA had reportedly withdrawn its support for the event, which the agency had used to promote ISS research and discuss station operations and future plans. Separately, NASA said Wednesday it would no longer pursue a partnership to continue the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC). NASA, which had jointly run LPSC with the Lunar and Planetary Institute for years, had sought a new approach that would no longer require it to find the event, but now appears to be walking away from the event entirely. Scientists said it will be difficult to run LPSC in its current form without NASA support. (6/5)

Ex-SpaceX Engineer Raises $300 Million for Satellite "Tugging" (Source: Axios)
Impulse Space, a California-based maker of spacecraft for "tugging" satellites across orbits, has raised $300 million in Series C funding led by Linse Capital. This is the picks and shovels of defense-tech, akin to what oilfield service companies were to the fracking boom. Impulse is led by Tom Mueller, the first SpaceX employee. It claims to have 30 contracts worth around $200 million. (6/4)

Six Ventures Win Space Florida Grant Funding (Source: Florida Venture Forum)
Florida Venture Forum, Florida’s largest statewide support organization for investors and entrepreneurs, announced the recipients of $150,000 in award dollars and investment from Space Florida during its 17th annual Early Stage Venture Conference in Orlando. The conference featured 29 selected companies from a highly competitive pool of applicants across the state.

A panel of judges evaluated each company based on innovation, market opportunity, and alignment with Florida’s targeted high-growth sectors, including aerospace, defense, and emerging technologies. Six standout companies were selected to receive a combined total of $150,000 in Space Florida investment to help accelerate their growth and commercialization efforts. Winners include Oboro Labs of Gainesville, Rapta Inc. of Oregon, VeriChem of Lakewood, Zulo Pods of Coral Springs, BounceBack Pickle or FGCU, and FireCodes AI of FAU. (6/3)

Ukraine's UAV Strike on Russian Bases Shows the Futility of Golden Dome (Source: New York Times)
Ukraine's attacks on Russian airfields show that the $175 billion that Mr. Trump wants to spend on the [Golden Dome] shield project "is a misapplication of resources," according to Alexander Vindman, a Ukrainian-born former US Army officer who served on the National Security Council in 2019. The successful attacks show that the US should be looking instead at "how to defend our strategic assets against drone attacks," he said. (6/4)

NASA’s Budget Crisis Presents an Opportunity for Change (Source: Space News)
Cuts of such magnitude, if accepted by Congress, would likely require not just cancelling missions and programs. Many believe they also require a restructuring of the agency itself. It could result in thousands of jobs lost, put longstanding international partnerships at risk and leave NASA entirely dependent on commercial providers for human spaceflight by the end of the decade. But others said that those changes, while painful, may be what NASA needs.

Barring the introduction of new elements, such as a lunar habitat or Mars spacecraft, NASA will rely exclusively on service providers for human spaceflight capabilities, an extension of a trend that started with ISS cargo and crew transportation. “It’s such a huge shift I’m not quite sure we’re even ready to talk about the potential implications of that,” Alex MacDonald said. For example, relying entirely on commercial spacecraft could alter public perceptions of NASA. “If you don’t have any publicly owned vehicles that NASA is operating,” he suggested, “you might see a reduction in overall support.”

“What does NASA look like in the future?” Garretson asked. He envisioned one where the agency has a “central mission” and relies on commercial services to carry that out, modeled on the COTS program "that is incentivizing [lunar] infrastructure.” The old phrase is, ‘Never waste a good crisis,’ and I think there is no way to look at this budget and not see that it will create a type of crisis at NASA,” said MacDonald. “There are huge opportunities in this. I think it will require significant and difficult decisions by agency leaders over the years to come.” (6/4)

New Wearable Tech Tracks Astronauts' Sleep Quality on ISS (Source: CASIS)
Everyone needs a good night’s sleep to perform at their best—including astronauts. A technology demonstration launching to the International Space Station (ISS) on Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) will test a wearable device that collects biometric data such as total sleep time and heart rate variability during sleep.

The project, sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory, is a collaborative effort between Booz Allen, Axiom Space, and Oura. The demonstration aims to utilize edge computing to process and analyze biometric data in near real time, enabling crew members to make informed decisions about whether they are prepared for critical tasks. (6/4)

NASA Copes with Details of $6 Billion Budget Cut, Leadership Uncertainty (Source: Space Policy Online)
The sweeping changes are difficult to grasp and NASA is far from alone. Except for national security, border control, energy, and extending/broadening tax cuts, the Trump Administration and many Republicans in Congress are determined to cut federal spending dramatically. Science appears to be a target. In terms of percentages, NASA’s cut is far less than the 55 percent reduction proposed for NSF. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would lose nearly 40 percent, NOAA 27 percent, and the Office of Science in the Department of Energy 14 percent.

At NASA, the requests for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD), which oversees the Moon-to-Mars program, and the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) exemplify the stark contrast between the Trump Administration’s warm embrace of sending humans into deep space and cold shoulder to science. For starters, ESDMD gets a $647 million increase while SMD suffers a $3.426 billion decrease. (6/1)

Space Force Partners on Rocketry Challenge (Source: Payload)
Every year in May, students from around the country gather in a field in the exurbs of the nation’s capital to launch rockets from a field. This year, for the first time, they did so with the support of the Space Force. More than 100,000 middle and high school students have participated in the American Rocketry Challenge, an annual competition hosted by AIA. This year’s engineering challenge? Build a model rocket that could carry two eggs to ~800 feet and return them safely to Earth. (6/3)

iRocket Plans Nasdaq Listing with SPAC Acquisition (Source: Space Daily)
Innovative Rocket Technologies Inc. (iRocket), a reusable space rocket developer, and BPGC Acquisition Corp.  jointly announced that they entered into a non-binding letter of intent for a proposed business combination. In connection with the closing of the contemplated transaction, the parties expect to apply to list iRocket on Nasdaq. iRocket is poised to transform the space launch industry with next-generation reusability and advanced propulsion technology for aerospace and defense by making space launch more cost-effective and accessible for the rapidly growing commercial and national security space markets. (6/4)

Rocket Lab Schedules Third Electron Launch in 24 Days to Deploy Next Mission for iQPS (Source: Space Daily)
Rocket Lab has announced the launch window for its next mission for multi-launch customer, Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS), a Japan-based Earth imaging company. The mission is the latest in an accelerated cadence of launches of Electron, the world's most-frequently launched orbital small rocket.

The mission, named 'The Mountain God Guards,' will launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand during a launch window that opens on June 10. The mission will launch a single synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellite called QPS-SAR-11 (nicknamed YAMATSUMI-I for the Japanese god of mountains) to a 575km circular Earth orbit, from where the satellite will join the rest of the iQPS constellation in providing high resolution images and Earth monitoring services globally. (6/4)

Greenerwave Establishes New Presence in Toulouse (Source: Greenerwave)
Greenerwave, the deeptech startup specializing in the control of electromagnetic waves, has announced the opening of new offices in Toulouse to accelerate its growth. By moving into the European capital of aerospace, the company is embedding itself within a top-tier ecosystem that brings together France’s leading expertise in the sector. (5/22)