June 7, 2025

Trump Has Options to Punish Musk Even if His Federal Contracts Continue (Source: New York Times)
Without the threatened contract cancellations, there are options available to the president that could make Mr. Musk’s relationship with the federal government much more difficult than it has been so far in Mr. Trump’s second administration. Mr. Trump’s most accessible weapon to punish Mr. Musk is the ability to instruct federal regulators to intensify oversight of his business operations, reversing a slowdown in regulatory actions that benefited Mr. Musk’s businesses after Mr. Trump was elected.

With a decree, Mr. Trump could suspend Mr. Musk’s security clearance, a step that the Trump administration has also taken against some of its Biden-era critics. That move would make it harder for Mr. Musk to continue in his role as the chief executive at SpaceX, given its billions of dollars in Pentagon contracts. Pentagon investigators had already been examining if Mr. Musk has violated federal security clearance requirements for disclosing contacts with foreign government leaders.

The Trump administration could also slow down new contracts going to SpaceX in the years to come, perhaps by looking for ways to drive more work to its rivals, such as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin or United Launch Alliance. The Trump administration, including the Justice Department, has already shown itself willing to take up investigations that target Mr. Trump’s enemies or organizations that he dislikes. Before Mr. Trump was elected, at least 11 federal agencies had ongoing investigations or lawsuits targeting Mr. Musk’s companies. (6/7)

SpaceX May Be Failing to Get Starship Working at All (Source: Futurism)
Two years on since Starship embarked on its maiden test flight, SpaceX is still a long way from achieving reusability or a hefty payload capacity. Regarding the former, last week's flight test was the first time SpaceX reused a Super Heavy booster, replacing four of its 33 engines. Regarding the latter, the test had Starship carry a dummy payload of a measly 16 metric tons. Musk has previously promised that Starship will carry 150 tons.

In Will Lockett's analysis, the booster is both too heavy and yet too fragile. If true, then engineers are in a bind: "Super Heavy Booster and its engines need to be heavily reinforced to survive such a landing (especially if it is to be reused, as planned), but doing so would add enough weight to render the entire exercise moot," Lockett wrote. (6/5)

SpaceX to Build its Own Advanced Chip Factory in Texas (Source: Tom's Hardware)
Although SpaceX does not produce its own chips yet, it’s reportedly expanding into fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP) and aiming to build a chip packaging facility in Texas. According to Digitimes, Musk’s company currently has most of its chips packaged by European company STMicroelectronics, but has also subcontracted Taiwanese firm Innolux for orders that the former cannot accommodate.

However, SpaceX is also pushing to build its chips in-house as part of the U.S.’s push for semiconductor independence. The company opened the largest printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing site in the U.S. at Bastrop, Texas, last year, which is intended to supply Starlink’s demand. (6/5)

Isaacman Has New Role at Shift4 (Source: Morning Call)
After his nomination to lead NASA was withdrawn, Jared Isaacman will be staying on board at the company he founded more than 25 years ago — Lehigh Valley-based Shift4 — albeit in a new role. In a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission issued Wednesday, it was announced that Isaacman would resign as CEO and accept the appointment as executive chairman. (6/6)

Rocket Lab's Neutron Bet Faces Market Gravity (Source: GuruFocus)
Shares of Rocket Lab rallied immensely after the first-half decline in 2024, supported by both the business surrounding the neutron mission and contracts with governments. The stock is now 544% up over past 52-weeks. However, the company's share price dropped about 12% after it issued soft guidance and the earnings release. (6/5)

Inside the Race to Find GPS Alternatives (Source: MIT Technology Review)
Later this month, an inconspicuous 150-kilogram satellite is set to launch. Once in orbit, it will test super-accurate next-generation satnav technology designed to make up for the shortcomings of the US Global Positioning System (GPS). The satellite is the first of a planned constellation called Pulsar, which is being developed by California-based Xona Space Systems. The company ultimately plans to have a constellation of 258 satellites in low Earth orbit.

Although these satellites will operate much like those used to create GPS, they will orbit about 12,000 miles closer to Earth’s surface, beaming down a much stronger signal that’s more accurate—and harder to jam. Despite the system’s indispensable nature, the GPS signal is easily suppressed or disrupted by everything from space weather to 5G cell towers to phone-size jammers worth a few tens of dollars.

The crucial problem is one of distance: The GPS constellation, which consists of 24 satellites plus a handful of spares, orbits 12,550 miles (20,200 kilometers) above Earth, in a region known as medium Earth orbit. By the time their signals get all the way down to ground-based receivers, they are so faint that they can easily be overridden by jammers. (6/6)

AST SpaceMobile Announces $500 Million Equity Offering (Source: Simply Wall Street)
AST SpaceMobile has seen a vibrant month with a price increase of 16% despite releasing a mixed Q1 2025 earnings report and announcing a significant $500 million equity offering. The company achieved sales growth, yet experienced a widening net loss. This financial maneuver likely indicates a strategic effort to stabilize and bolster operations as the stock rose.

The broader market context, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq witnessing continued gains, may have also supported this positive price movement. The backdrop of robust economic indicators, like improved trade talks, might have favorably influenced investor sentiment towards AST SpaceMobile. (6/5)

Largest Map of the Universe Reveals 800,000 Galaxies, Challenging Early Cosmos Theories (Source: Daily Galaxy)
In a groundbreaking release, the COSMOS-Web collaboration has unveiled the largest map of the universe, created from data captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This extraordinary project spans nearly 98% of cosmic time, featuring a catalog of almost 800,000 galaxies, some of which date back to nearly 13.5 billion years ago, close to the universe’s birth. This ambitious effort not only offers an unprecedented glimpse into the early universe but also challenges prevailing theories about its infancy. (6/6)

SpaceX Launches Sirius XM Radio Satellite From Florida (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX launched the SXM-10 satellite for SiriusXM early Saturday morning (June 7), adding another spacecraft to the company's broadcasting constellation. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying SXM-10 lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Spaceport, the rocket's first stage touching down on "A Shortfall of Gravitas" in the Atlantic Ocean minutes later. (6/7)

The Future of Spaceflight, and Why We Built Stoke (Source: Stoke)
When Tom Feldman and I founded Stoke in 2019, there were already something like 150 rocket startups. On the surface, the last thing the world needed was company number 151. But then we did the math.

What we found gave us enormous conviction that 1) the future of space will be defined by fully and rapidly reusable rockets that operate with aircraft-like frequency, and 2) the time to build them is now. Five years later, that conviction has only deepened. The partially reusable rockets of today are an important stepping stone, but they are not the destination. Any launch system that wasn’t designed from the outset for full and rapid reuse will soon be left behind.

But even that system has limits. Each Falcon 9 launch still requires a new second stage (which means a new structure, new engine, new fluid systems, new avionics, and one-off test verifications of all of the above). Second-stage production and verification are now Falcon 9’s flight-rate limiter. The only way to keep scaling — and keep costs dropping — is to reuse the entire vehicle. Full reusability changes that. Higher flight rates not only lower costs but also create more availability for customers. It’s a win-win that is impossible to ignore. Click here. (6/6)

The New Attack Surface: From Space to Smartphone (Source: Space News)
Direct to cell (D2C) systems face distinct and unique threats. Attackers don’t need physical proximity to interfere and broadcasts from orbit can be jammed or spoofed by anybody with modest technical gear. It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when threat actors, like nation-states, test their luck on these systems.

The consequences of a D2C breach are profound. A targeted outage could disrupt emergency services, cut students off from remote learning or cripple business operations in remote regions. In developing countries, D2C satellites may become a primary method of internet access for millions of people — making any cyber event not just a technical hiccup but a social, economic and even public health crisis. (6/6)

Companies (Not SpaceX) Team to Promote US Moon Goals (Source: Politico)
A ton of major space companies — just not SpaceX — are launching an ad campaign going big on the moon, according to two industry officials granted anonymity to discuss the effort. The move is the first sign of real pushback against the behemoth space company and its founder, who only days ago seemed to lock down government contracts every time he blinked.

A television ad funded by the companies, who do not go by an umbrella name, will appear on television in the coming days with a pitch clearly aimed at Trump. A narrator, underlaid by dramatic images of America’s Apollo missions, implores voters to call senators in support of the moon mission and “keep America first in space.”

A separate letter addressed to the Senate Commerce Committee and obtained by POLITICO backs investments in the moon, and is signed by a lengthy slate of prominent space companies — but not (you guessed it) SpaceX. (6/6)

Haridopolos Opposes Trump Cuts at NASA (Source: Politico)
Florida Rep. Mike Haridopolos, who chairs the House’s subcommittee on space and aeronautics, told me Wednesday that he was against the White House’s massive NASA cuts — making him one of the first Republicans to publicly voice opposition. “Will a 26 percent cut to NASA hold? Absolutely not,” he said. “We're going to be talking with the president and his team, with OMB about the paramount importance of space.”

Haridopolos emphasized competition with China as a driving reason not to slash the space agency’s funding. The proposed cancellation of Gateway — a lunar space station partnership with the European Space Agency — opens the way for Chinese influence, he said. The Florida lawmaker said he was optimistic that the cuts wouldn’t come to fruition. (6/6)

Launch Act Would Streamline Licensing for US Launches (Source: Politico)
Sens. John Cornyn, Ben Ray Luján, Rick Scott, and Mark Kelly introduced a bill Thursday that would streamline licensing processes for commercial space companies, opening the way to a boom in rocket launches. The bill, dubbed the Launch Act, would allow the Federal Aviation Administration to eliminate overly bureaucratic steps in the application process.

The law would also create a streamlined process for licensing commercial satellites used to observe the Earth. And it would move the Office of Space Commerce from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and place it directly under the Transportation secretary, a move that would elevate the office’s access to key decision makers. (6/6)

A Conversation with Rep. George Whitesides (Source: Space News)
Join us on June 10 for an exclusive one-on-one conversation with Representative George Whitesides (D-CA), a freshman congressman representing California’s 27th District. Whitesides brings years of experience to Capitol Hill, having previously served as NASA’s Chief of Staff and as CEO of Virgin Galactic. Click here. (5/15)

Space Force Shifts Upfront Range Upgrade Costs to Commercial Firms (Source: Defense One)
As commercial users continue to outnumber government missions at US spaceports, The Space Force this week revealed a new model for upgrading its East and West Coast ranges, shifting upfront costs that used to be borne by the government to the commercial launch companies that rely on the infrastructure.

Under a new $4 billion Space Force Range Contract, which will be managed by advisory and consulting firm Jacobs Technology, commercial launch firms will place task orders and pay directly for various services required to support their launches. That includes things like costly maintenance, sustainment, operations and systems engineering for aging range infrastructure. (6/4)

Executive Order Directs FAA to Update Supersonic Flight Restrictions (Source: Spectrum News)
One of Trump's orders directs the FAA to eliminate the 1973 speed restriction that prohibits flights over Mach 1 and replace it with a noise standard. New technology in supersonic aircraft can allow the planes to fly faster than the speed of sound without a disruptive sonic boom being heard on the ground, but the regulations still ban those flights over land. A plane developed by Boom Supersonic became the first independently funded jet to break the sound barrier this year. (6/6)

NASA’s ESCAPADE Could Launch on Second New Glenn (Source: Space News)
A NASA Mars smallsat mission bumped from the first launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn is tentatively set to fly on the second New Glenn later this summer. A line in NASA’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, released May 30, provided the first public indication that NASA’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, or ESCAPADE, mission will launch on the second New Glenn.

“Due to delays in the development schedule of the Blue Origin New Glenn launch vehicle, NASA is in the process of establishing an updated schedule and cost profile to enable this mission to ride on the second launch of New Glenn,” the document stated. “The ESCAPADE launch readiness date is expected in Q4 FY 2025.” The fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 is July through September. (6/6)

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Launches Another Y2K Nostalgia Event (Source: Click Orlando)
If you missed your chance to experience the intergalactic glow party with a feel of Y2K nostalgia at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in February, you’re in luck. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex said in a statement Thursday that its “Kennedy Under the Stars” event is returning for the second time this year at 6:30 p.m. Aug.30.

The after-hours event plans to offer guests an early 2000’s video DJ performance in the Rocket Garden, a techno DJ dance party in NASA Central, Cosmic Glow Mini Golf under the massive Saturn 1B rocket and a chance to view celestial wonders with the Ortega Observatory of Florida Tech through state-of-the-art telescopes. Guests will also be able to spend time with people who have been out of this world as veteran NASA astronauts Ellen Ochoa and Mike Forman will meet with guests throughout the evening. (6/6)