July 20, 2025

US Firm’s Maglev Space Ramp Will Fire Rockets to Orbit with Almost No Fuel (Source: Interesting Engineering)
Several companies are looking to launch spacecraft into orbit without using conventional rocket boosters. Take SpinLaunch, for example, which aims to eventually fire satellites to space using a massive centrifuge. Or Green Launch, a company looking to blast payloads straight into orbit using a space cannon.

Now, another US-based firm has joined the mix. Auriga Space is looking to develop a launch track that will power incredibly strong magnets with electricity. Those magnets will accelerate a vehicle to six times the speed of sound before firing it toward space. The company has recently raised $6 million in funding that will go toward the development of its magnetic launch technology.

Auriga Space is looking to start off by serving hypersonic test customers. Next year, it will deploy an indoor, lab-scale track called Prometheus and an outdoor accelerator for full-scale hypersonic tests called Thor. Its orbital launch system, which will come at a later date, is named Zeus. (7/16)

The Hunt for a Fundamental Theory of Quantum Gravity (Source: WIRED)
As physicists take steps toward that truer and more complete theory by merging general relativity and quantum physics, singularities are proving hard to erase. The British mathematical physicist Roger Penrose won the Nobel Prize in Physics for proving in the 1960s that singularities would inevitably occur in an empty universe made up entirely of space-time. More recent research has extended this insight into more realistic circumstances.

One paper established that a universe with quantum particles would also feature singularities, although it only considered the case where the particles don’t bend the space-time fabric at all. Then, earlier this year, a physicist proved that these blemishes exist even in theoretical universes where quantum particles do slightly nudge space-time itself—that is, universes quite a bit like our own. (7/20)

Japan’s Basic Policy 2025 Strengthens Space Industry (Source: National Law Review)
Demonstrating Japan’s intention to fortify its space policy and support the growth of space businesses, the government approved the Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform 2025 (Basic Policy 2025) on June 13, 2025. This important policy document outlines the government’s priority issues and sets the direction for the following fiscal year’s budget. Here is an overview of the Basic Policy 2025 and its impact on the Japanese space industry. (7/17)

Poll: Most Americans Favor U.S. Returning to Moon, Going to Mars (Source: CBS)
There is a lot of public favor for the idea of the U.S. returning to the moon, and also for eventually going to Mars. About two-thirds do, while a third does not. Younger Americans who are not old enough to remember the first moon landing are especially in favor, perhaps looking forward to seeing that exploration in their lifetimes. These views generally cut across ideological and party lines, as well.

Editor's Note: Odd that this May 2025 polling found the public put NASA at the top of the list of government programs that should be cut. Maybe they favor private sector Lunar/Mars projects. (7/18)

Indian Axiom Astronaut in Good Health (Source: DD News)
Shubhanshu Shukla, who returned from the International Space Station (ISS) early this week, is in stable condition, said the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Thursday. ISRO said that the agency is partnering with Axiom Space in rehabilitation exercise and is “monitoring the physical and mental health” of Shukla. The national space agency noted that preliminary health checks show “no immediate concerns”. (7/17)

Senate Bill Would Restore Funding for NASA Science Missions (Source: Space News)
A Senate spending bill would restore funding for dozens of NASA science missions threatened with cancellation in the administration’s 2026 budget request but is silent on one flagship program, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The Senate bill would maintain NASA Science Division funding at about $7.3 billion, essentially flat from FY 2025 levels, reversing the 47% cuts proposed in the White House request. (7/19)

Political Retribution: Trump Aides Discussed Ending Some SpaceX Contracts, but Found Most Were Vital (Source: Wall Street Journal)
For the U.S. government, breaking up with Elon Musk is easier said than done. Just days after President Trump in early June raised the prospect of cutting ties with Musk’s businesses, the Trump administration initiated a review of SpaceX’s contracts with the federal government, according to people familiar with the matter. The review was intended to identify potential waste in the multibillion-dollar agreements the company has with the government, the people said. (7/19)

MDA Space UK’s SkyPhi Mission Funded Under the ARTES Program (Source: SpaceQ)
At the UK Space Conference in Manchester MDA Space UK's SkyPhi mission has received funding from the European Space Agency (ESA) ARTES program and the UK Space Agency (UKSA). MDA said in their news release that the ESA ARTES (Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems) and UKSA funding would "enable regenerative 5G direct-to-device (D2D) satellite communications from low Earth orbit (LEO)." Meanwhile the UKSA said was designed to "to push the boundaries of satellite-based 5G and 6G systems." (7/18)

Planetary Protection Officer Claims She Was Fired for Speaking Out (Source: The Sun)
Catharine Conley, NASA’s Planetary Protection Officer from 2006 to 2017. She first accused officials at the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) of failing to clean the Mars 2020 rover correctly before its launch. Mars 2020 is NASA's mission sent to search for samples of the Red Planet to bring home and test for evidence of past or current alien life. But Conley feared any material eventually flown home could be contaminated - and the whole mission scuppered.

She claims she was suddenly removed from the position after speaking out - and suspects it was to silence her concerns. Conley told The Sun: “NASA decided they didn't want to do the kind of work that I had been doing. “They didn't want to continue with the kinds of implementation that they had been doing historically." (7/20)

Weird Space Weather Seems to Have Influenced Human Behavior on Earth 41,000 Years Ago (Source: Phys.org)
What happened to life on Earth when the planet's magnetic field nearly collapsed roughly 41,000 years ago? This near-collapse is known as the Laschamps Excursion, a brief but extreme geomagnetic event named for the volcanic fields in France where it was first identified. At the time of the Laschamps Excursion, near the end of the Pleistocene epoch, Earth's magnetic poles didn't reverse as they do every few hundred thousand years. Instead, they wandered, erratically and rapidly, over thousands of miles. At the same time, the strength of the magnetic field dropped to less than 10% of its modern day intensity.

For people on the ground at that time, auroras may have been the most immediate and striking effect, perhaps inspiring awe, fear, ritual behavior or something else entirely. But the archaeological record is notoriously limited in its ability to capture these kinds of cognitive or emotional responses. Researchers are on firmer ground when it comes to the physiological impacts of increased UV radiation.

With the weakened magnetic field, more harmful radiation would have reached Earth's surface, elevating risk of sunburn, eye damage, birth defects, and other health issues. In response, people may have adopted practical measures: spending more time in caves, producing tailored clothing for better coverage, or applying mineral pigment "sunscreen" made of ochre to their skin. (7/19)

Meteor Impact May Have Triggered Massive Grand Canyon Landslide 56,000 Years Ago (Source: Space.com)
A meteorite impact thousands of years ago may have triggered a landslide in the Grand Canyon and reshaped the Colorado River that runs through the national park. Geologists studying driftwood and lake sediments found in Stanton's Cave — in Marble Canyon, which lies in the eastern part of the Grand Canyon — revealed a possible connection between the area and the famous impact site known as Meteor Crater (also called Barringer Crater) in northern Arizona.

Through excavation and multiple rounds of radiocarbon dating, researchers determined the driftwood is about 56,000 years old. Yet today, the mouth of Stanton's Cave sits 150 feet (46 meters) above the Colorado River. A new study suggests the wood was carried there by an ancient paleolake, formed when a massive landslide dammed the river. "It would have required a 10-times-bigger flood level than any flood that has happened in the past several thousand years," Karl Karlstrom. (7/18)

Complete Guide To ‘Ammonite,’ The Solar System’s Latest Member (Source: Forbes)
The solar system suddenly has a new member. A new object discovered in the solar system beyond Neptune and Pluto has astronomers rethinking the history of the solar system. Called 2023 KQ14 and nicknamed “Ammonite,” the discovery of this unique so-called trans-Neptunian object is both unexpected and could reshape what we know about the solar system’s past. Click here. (7/19)

2 New NASA Satellites Will Track Space Weather to Help Keep Us Safe From Solar Storms (Source: Space.com)
A new mission set to blast off for low-Earth orbit will study magnetic storms around the Earth and learn more about how they affect our atmosphere and satellites.

NASA's Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites, or TRACERS for short, mission represents a pair of satellites that will fly in a sun-synchronous orbit — meaning they are always over the dayside of the Earth — and pass through the polar cusps. The cusps are, in essence, two holes in Earth's magnetosphere, where the field lines dip down onto the magnetic poles. (7/19)