July 12, 2025

NASA, International Astronauts Answer Questions from Florida Students (Source: NASA)
Students in Big Pine Key, Florida, will have the chance to have NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station answer their prerecorded questions. At 10:05 a.m. EDT on Monday, July 14, NASA astronaut Nicole Ayers and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi will answer questions submitted by students. (7/11)

Isaacman Considers Congressional Run, as Republican (Source: The Hill)
President Trump’s former nominee to lead NASA, Jared Isaacman, said he’d be open to launching a congressional campaign after his nomination to join the second Trump administration was withdrawn. The billionaire said he’d run as a Republican and that he’d consider serving under Trump in a different capacity — or under another Republican president in the future. (7/10)

Alaska Spaceport Deal Draws Rocket Industry Interest (Source: Alaska Public Media)
The global space-launch industry is welcoming the prospect of launching rockets from Alaska’s two spaceports to relieve the backlog at larger facilities in the Lower 48. Top officials with Alaska’s two civilian launch facilities say their new partnership also will promote development of Alaska’s space-launch industry.

For years, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and Alaska Aerospace Corp. in Kodiak have been launching rockets from their respective ranges both for private- and public-sector customers. The institute’s director, Bob McCoy, says the goal is to share expertise and equipment to meet the growing demand for launch facilities that are increasingly monopolized by large customers like SpaceX.

In June, the institute and Alaska Aerospace formalized their partnership with a renewable five-year agreement that laid-out a plan to jointly develop the Poker Flat Research Range near Fairbanks so it can offer more services for the booming commercial rocket and satellite industry. (7/10)

Rocket Lab Selects Bollinger Shipyards to Support Modification of Neutron Landing Platform (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab has awarded a contract to Bollinger Shipyards, the largest privately owned new construction and repair shipbuilder in the United States, to support the build out of Rocket Lab’s ocean landing platform for its Neutron reusable rocket. (7/10)

SpaceX Set to Launch Israel's Dror Satellite (Source: Globes)
On Sunday morning US billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket will launch Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Dror 1 communications satellite into space from Cape Canaveral in Florida. SpaceX and IAI are joining forces in a second effort to launch a communications satellite into orbit after the fiasco of their previous attempt in 2016, when the Falcon 9 launcher exploded on the launch pad together with the Amos 6 communications satellite. (7/11)

Battle Over Colorado’s Space Command Isn’t Over, But it May Be Ending Soon (Source: Washington Examiner)
Back in 2021 Trump said: “They were looking for a home and I single-handedly said, ‘Let’s go to Alabama,’” Trump said in a phone interview. “They wanted it. I said, ‘Let’s go to Alabama.” I love Alabama.” From that point on, politics infused every aspect of the debate.

In Colorado Springs, the headquarters is operating out of four separate buildings, including two leased facilities located in commercial and residential areas. “This footprint, which is temporary pending construction of a permanent headquarters facility, allows for the command to execute its mission but presents some challenges,” the GAO notes. The “significant space restrictions … cannot fully support the dynamic information technology requirements of the command.”

“We are in the process of reviewing the final report out of the GAO,” Meink replied. “I would defer questions on the final decision for location of Space Command to White House Legislative Affairs.” So while the uncertainty continues. In a best-case scenario, construction of a new, multistory, permanent headquarters facility would begin in January 2029, be completed in January 2034, and cost approximately $1.5 billion. The outcome depends on the whims of a president known for impulsive, sometimes capricious, decisions and a notoriously short attention span. (7/11)

South Korea Secures Key Step Toward Space Partnership with Europe (Source: Chosun Daily)
“Last June, all 23 European Space Agency member states unanimously approved collaboration with South Korea. The same applies to signing the Framework Agreement, which marks the first step in our cooperation.”

That was the message from Alexander Soucek, ESA's head of External Relations. Since its establishment last year, KASA has identified ESA as a priority partner in expanding its global reach. After more than a year of steady outreach, the agency is now on the brink of formalizing its first major agreement with Europe’s top space agency. (7/11)

Space Force Developing New Cloud-Based Digital Environment for Training (Source: Defense Scoop)
As part of the Space Force’s effort to modernize its test and training infrastructure, the service is building a new digital range that will eventually connect disparate units and capabilities to allow for realistic, large-scale training.The capability — dubbed “Swarm” — is in nascent development, but envisioned as a multi-classification digital environment where guardians from various units can come together against simulated adversaries.

According to Maj. Gen. Timothy Sejba, head of the service’s Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM), early versions of Swarm were built for the Space Force’s primary mission planning and operational support exercise series known as Space Flag. Editor's Note: Perhaps this capability will be managed at Patrick Space Force Base after STARCOM completes its relocation to Florida. (7/10)

Sean Duffy Shouldn’t Run NASA. Its Perfect Pilot Is...Lauren Sánchez (Source: Daily Beast)
President Donald Trump missed a great opportunity when he named Sean Duffy as Interim Administrator of NASA. Duffy is already serving as Secretary of Transportation with the main qualification that the 53-year won the reality TV show Road Rules: All Stars. Like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Duffy looks good on camera. But you know who looks better on camera and has actual aeronautic experience? Lauren Sánchez Bezos. (7/10)

Canada Continues to Strengthen (Non-US) International Space Ties, Now with Japan (Source: SpaceQ)
The latest example is a statement issued by the government following the Canadian Space Agency’s participation in the Japanese SPACETIDE conference and a meeting with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Canada and Japan have a long history of cooperation. Together, the CSA and JAXA are working on complementary lunar exploration technologies to help establish a long-term human presence on the Moon. Looking ahead, both countries are focused on developing next-generation technologies to ensure a sustainable and secure future in space. (7/10)

Investors Appear to Like Varda's Big Space Manufacturing Ambitions (Source: Ars Technica)
After flying three missions into low-Earth orbit this year, Varda Space Industries appears to be making credible progress toward developing the nascent manufacturing-in-space industry. Investors seem to think the same, as the California-based company announced an impressive $187 million Series C round of funding on Thursday. This brings the company's total amount of money raised since its founding in 2021 to $325 million. (7/10)

Bert Ulrich, Former NASA Film Liaison, Joins Space 11 Corp, To Bring Entertainment To Space (Source: Deadline)
Bert Ulrich, former NASA film liaison, has joined Space 11 Corp, the company founded by prolific Italian producer Andrea Iervolino to create entertainment projects set in space. Ulrich, who has worked with filmmakers behind movies including The Martian, First Man, Hidden Figures, Ad Astra, Fly Me to the Moon, and the upcoming Project Hail Mary, has joined the company as EVP of Production Development and Communications. (7/10)

NASA Considering Flying Only Cargo on Next Starliner Mission (Source: Space News)
NASA officials say there is a “strong chance” that the next test flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle will be uncrewed as work continues to fix issues with the spacecraft. (7/11)

NASA Selects Instruments for Artemis Lunar Terrain Vehicle (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected three instruments to travel to the Moon, with two planned for integration onto an LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) and one for a future orbital opportunity. The LTV is part of NASA’s efforts to explore the lunar surface as part of the Artemis campaign and is the first crew-driven vehicle to operate on the Moon in more than 50 years. Designed to hold up to two astronauts, as well as operate remotely without a crew, this surface vehicle will enable NASA to achieve more of its science and exploration goals over a wide swath of lunar terrain. (7/10)

U.S. Abandons Hunt for Signal of Cosmic Inflation (Source: Science)
The U.S. government has canceled a proposed $900 million project to study in unprecedented detail the afterglow of the Big Bang, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. Known as CMB-S4, the project envisioned new arrays of ultrasensitive microwave telescopes at the South Pole and in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Their goal: to detect patterns in the ancient light that would prove the newborn universe expanded in an exponential growth spurt called cosmic inflation.

The project, which could have delivered smoking gun evidence for a key theory in cosmology, was supposed to be a joint venture between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DOE). However, yesterday, the agencies sent an unsigned statement to the leaders of the collaboration saying the project is off. “DOE and NSF have jointly decided that they can no longer support the CMB-S4 Project,” it reads. (7/10)

Europe's First Deep-Space Optical Communication Link (Source: ESA)
On 7 July 2025, ESA marked a historic milestone by establishing its first optical communication link with a spacecraft in deep space. The link was made with NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment aboard its Psyche mission, currently at a distance of 1.8 astronomical units, around 265 million km. This is the first of four planned links occurring this summer.

This achievement marks yet another milestone in the long history of cross-support between space agencies, demonstrating the potential for interoperability between ESA and NASA in the realm of optical communications, something previously only achieved with radiofrequency systems. (7/10)

Senate Spending Panel Would Rescue NSF and NASA Science Funding (Source: Science)
The Senate appropriations committee voiced its intent to ignore the request by President Trump to slash the budgets of the NSF and NASA science programs. Instead, the panel supported maintaining spending at essentially current levels. It is the latest indication that Congress doesn’t plan to simply rubber stamp Trump’s proposal to cut federal research budgets for next year. (The bill’s final passage has been temporarily stalled by a partisan fight over a new location for FBI headquarters.)

Under the bill, NSF’s budget would take a tiny $60 million hit, to $9 billion, rather than plunge by 57%, to $3.9 billion, as Trump proposed. With $9 billion, NSF would likely be able to protect a new directorate that promotes applied research partnerships with nonfederal entities, and avoid cuts to its several other research directorates. (7/10)

“It’s a Heist”: Senator Calls Out Texas for Trying to Steal Shuttle From Smithsonian (Source: Ars Technica)
A political effort to remove space shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian and place it on display in Texas encountered some pushback on Thursday, as a US senator questioned the expense of carrying out what he described as a theft. "This is not a transfer. It's a heist," said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) during a budget markup hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee. "A heist by Texas because they lost a competition 12 years ago." (7/10)

Nearly Everyone Opposes Trump’s Plan to Kill Space Traffic Management (Source: Ars Technica)
The Trump administration's plan to gut the Office of Space Commerce and cancel the government's first civilian-run space traffic control program is gaining plenty of detractors. Earlier this week, seven space industry trade groups representing more than 450 companies sent letters to House and Senate leaders urging them to counter the White House's proposal. A spokesperson for the military's Space Operations Command, which currently has overall responsibility for space traffic management, said it will "continue to advocate" for a civilian organization to take over the Space Force's role as orbital traffic cop. (7/10)

Cosmonauts Use Citrus Peels to Freshen Air on ISS (Source: TASS)
Cosmonauts use orange and grapefruit peels to freshen the air in the ISS Russian segment, which helps to lift the crew's spirits, Roscosmos cosmonaut Ivan Vagner said in an interview with TASS. "The air on the ISS is like a room that has not been aired out for a long time. When I first arrived at the station, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there were actually no strong odors. Yes, the air is stale, but in reality it turned out much better than I expected." (7/10)

It’s Hunting Season in Orbit as Russia’s Killer Satellites Mystify Skywatchers (Source: Ars Technica)
Russia is a waning space power, but President Vladimir Putin has made sure he still has a saber to rattle in orbit. This has become more evident in recent weeks, when we saw a pair of rocket launches carrying top-secret military payloads, the release of a mysterious object from a Russian mothership in orbit, and a sequence of complex formation-flying maneuvers with a trio of satellites nearly 400 miles up. (7/11)