Top Stories
U.S. Space Command announced Friday it has achieved full operational capability. The announcement means that the command, established in 2019, now has the staff, infrastructure and plans it needs to handle its mission of conducting space operations and protecting American and allied assets and interests in space. Gen. James Dickinson, head of Space Command, said that while the command is operational, more work lies ahead as the complexity of space operations continues to grow. The command also faces a continuing battle over the location of its permanent headquarters. [SpaceNews]
The U.S. Space Force will spend more than $500 million for the first six satellites of a new missile-warning system. Millennium Space Systems won contracts to build those satellites last month, but the value of the award, $509.5 million, was only now disclosed. The satellites, built on Millennium Space's Altair satellite bus, will operate in medium Earth orbit, with launch planned for late 2026. The contract includes options for launch and in-orbit operations valued at $123.4 million. [SpaceNews]
A debate on satellite transmission power limits will continue on after an international conference. At the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) 2023 that concluded last week, delegates agreed to a compromise regarding Equivalent Power Flux Density (EPFD) limits, allowing technical studies without regulatory consequences. For GEO satellite operators, this means that the earliest that those limits could be changed is the WRC in 2031, but LEO satellite operators believe the language leaves the door open for changes at the next WRC in 2027. LEO operators have been seeking increases in EPFD limits to better serve their customers, which GEO operators oppose because of interference concerns. [SpaceNews]
Federal regulators are hearing complaints that they acted both too slowly and too swiftly in approving a Starship launch last month. Several environmental groups that sued the FAA in May over the original launch license for Starship amended their complaint on Friday. They argue that the FAA and the Fish and Wildlife Service failed to properly conduct an environmental review after the first launch before approving plans for the second launch last month. The revised lawsuit comes two days after a hearing where the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), criticized those agencies for "asinine delays" in issuing the revised Starship launch license because of environmental laws. At the same hearing, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy said NASA has been in discussions with some environmental regulatory agencies to impress upon them the importance of activities like Starship to the Artemis program. [SpaceNews]
A spaceport in the Shetland Islands has received a license from the U.K. government. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced Sunday that it awarded a spaceport license to SaxaVord Spaceport, allowing the site to perform up to 30 launches a year. The spaceport is the first vertical launch site licensed in the United Kingdom and has customers that include ABL Space Systems, HyImpulse, Rocket Factory Augusburg and Skyrora. Launches could begin from SaxaVord some time next year, although the spaceport has not released more specific timelines. Development of the spaceport itself has suffered delays because of funding problems that the spaceport's leadership says it is working to resolve. [SpaceNews]
The U.K. government has also released lessons learned from its first launch from a licensed spaceport. The report last week by the U.K. Space Agency reviewed the licensing and oversight process for the Virgin Orbit launch from Spaceport Cornwall in January, and made several recommendations to streamline the process and improve coordination among agencies. Despite the failure of the launch itself and, later, of Virgin Orbit, officials from the space agency and the CAA said they remained optimistic about the long-term future of the launch industry in the U.K., noting that nine companies are in various stages of the launch licensing process. [SpaceNews]
| | Other News
China launched a large optical satellite to geostationary orbit Friday. A Long March 5 rocket lifted off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center at 8:41 a.m. Eastern. The rocket placed the Yaogan-41 satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit. The satellite is believed to be a military followup to the civilian Gaofen-4 satellite launched in 2015, which used the smaller Long March 3B rocket and produced images with a resolution of 50 meters from GEO. [SpaceNews]
A Chinese commercial small launch vehicle launched Sunday. The SQX-1, or Hyperbola-1, rocket from i-Space launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 3 a.m. Eastern and placed the Di'er-1 satellite into orbit. The launch was the sixth flight of the rocket and third successful mission. [Xinhua]
Russia launched a weather satellite Saturday. A Soyuz-2.1b rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 4:18 a.m. Eastern and placed the Arktika-M No. 2 satellite into a highly elliptical Molniya orbit. The satellite joins a similar one launched in 2021 to monitor conditions in the Arctic. [TASS]
A startup founded by two former SpaceX employees has raised funding to improve processing of spacecraft telemetry. Sift recently raised $7.5 million to help grow the 12-person startup, which is developing a proprietary telemetry stack to improve the way machine data is recorded, visualized and interpreted. Those software tools, the company said, could help operators of large satellite constellations automate many tasks. [SpaceNews]
The first satellite from thermal imaging startup SatVu has suffered a mission-ending failure six months after launch. The British company said Friday the camera on its HotSat-1 malfunctioned earlier in the week and is unlikely to be returned to operations. HotSat-1 launched in June to demonstrate technologies for high-resolution thermal imaging in space for energy and environmental applications. SatVu said the satellite was fully insured and a replacement will launch in 2025, as the company pursues long-term plans for a constellation of eight satellites. [BBC]
The Japanese space agency JAXA has concluded an investigation into the failure of a solid rocket motor during a ground test this summer. The motor, which serves as the second stage of the Epsilon S small launch vehicle, exploded during a static-fire test in July, damaging the test stand. JAXA said last week that the explosion was caused by the melting and scattering of a metal part from the motor's ignition device. That damaged insulating material in the motor, "triggering extraordinary combustion." JAXA plans changes to the design of the ignition system, but has not set a date for a revised test of the motor or a launch of the Epsilon S. [Jiji Press]
| | The Week Ahead
Monday: - West Texas: Scheduled launch of Blue Origin's New Shepard on the NS-24 payload-only suborbital flight at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
- Washington/Online: The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts a panel discussion on "Getting on Track: Space and Airborne Sensors for Hypersonic Missile Defense" at 2 p.m. Eastern.
- Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Rescheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 11 p.m. Eastern.
Wednesday: - Washington: The National Space Council holds a public meeting to discuss international partnerships.
- International Space Station: Rescheduled departure of the CRS-29 cargo Dragon spacecraft at 5:05 p.m. Eastern.
Thursday: - Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying the SARah 2 and 3 radar imaging satellites at 7:56 a.m. Eastern.
- International Space Station: Scheduled departure of the NG-19 Cygnus cargo spacecraft at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
Friday: - Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 11 p.m. Eastern.
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