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Astrobotic's Peregrine spacecraft suffered a propulsion anomaly hours after launch Monday that will keep the spacecraft from landing on the moon. The company first reported the problem about seven hours after Peregrine's launch on a ULA Vulcan Centaur, stating that an issue was keeping the spacecraft from pointing its solar arrays at the sun. Engineers were able to properly orient the spacecraft but later concluded the spacecraft was leaking propellant, requiring greater use of attitude control thrusters to keep it aligned. Astrobotic said late Monday that those thrusters will run out of fuel in about 40 hours, after which it will start to tumble and lose power, effectively ending the mission. That rules out a landing on the moon, with Astrobotic hoping to instead operate the spacecraft "as close to lunar distance as we can" before losing power. Astrobotic was carrying 20 payloads from NASA and other customers on Peregrine, the first in a series of commercial lander missions backed by the agency. [SpaceNews]
The Space Force's Space Development Agency (SDA) confirmed it is the customer for an 18-satellite contract Rocket Lab announced last month. The contract, valued at up to $515 million, will be for 18 Transport Layer Tranche 2 Beta communications satellites scheduled for launch in mid-2027. The spacecraft will carry radios using the UHF and S-band frequencies that military and intelligence units rely upon for voice and low-speed data transmissions. The satellite buses for SDA will be a derivative of those Rocket Lab is developing for the communications company Globalstar. [SpaceNews]
The U.S. Army has unveiled new guidance underscoring the vital role of space systems in modern ground warfare. In a memo released Monday, the service outlined a vision for enhanced integration of space capabilities across all Army operations and activities. That includes the Army's explicit commitment to develop capabilities to disrupt adversaries' use of space capabilities if necessary to defend U.S. and coalition forces. The memo also calls for greater investment in space capabilities. The memo was signed by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer. [SpaceNews]
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) laid off 100 contractors last week because of uncertainty about the federal budget. The layoffs primarily affected the Mars Sample Return (MSR) program, which NASA is slowing down as a precaution if the program receives a significant budget cut in the final fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill, as proposed in a Senate bill. JPL leadership warned that, if that cut is enacted, layoffs of JPL employees may also be necessary. The cuts do not affect missions like the NISAR Earth science spacecraft or Europa Clipper, both of which remain on schedule for launch this year. [SpaceNews]
Muon Space has won a U.S. Air Force contract to study how its climate monitoring satellites can be used for cloud characterization. Under a Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 contract, Muon Space will perform a feasibility study about how the multispectral instrument is has developed could be used to meet the Defense Department's cloud characterization needs. Imaging cloud cover is an important requirement that DoD is looking to fill with a new line of weather satellites. Muon Space is developing small satellites to monitor Earth's climate and ecosystems and launched its first satellite last summer. [SpaceNews]
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China launched an astrophysics mission Tuesday that will study black holes and supernova explosions. A Long March 2C rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 2:03 a.m. Eastern and placed the Einstein Probe spacecraft into orbit. The spacecraft features "lobster-eye" optics to enable a wide field of view for its X-ray instrument. Astronomers plan to use the spacecraft to study supernovae, tidal disruptions of stars caused by black holes and other phenomena that generate X-rays. ESA contributed to the mission with support for the testing and calibrating of the detectors and optical elements for the spacecraft's X-ray telescope. [SpaceNews]
Rocket Lab's next Electron launch will carry four space situational awareness (SSA) satellites for a Canadian company. Rocket Lab said Monday that the "Four of a Kind" mission is scheduled to launch on Jan. 18 from New Zealand. It will carry four satellites built by Spire for NorthStar Earth and Space, part of a constellation being developed by NorthStar to provide SSA services. Rocket Lab also plans to recover the Electron first stage as part of its ongoing efforts to eventually reuse those boosters. [Rocket Lab]
A Scottish spaceport wants the U.K. prime minister to elevate the profile of space in the government. At a U.K. Parliament hearing Monday, Scott Hammond, deputy CEO of SaxaVord Spaceport, said the government needs a senior minister devoted to space, a topic currently in the portfolio of the country's science minister. Having a space minister, Hammond argued, could help deal with the red tape his spaceport has encountered securing approvals for launches. [The Independent]
Small launch vehicle developer Orbex has hired yet another CEO. The company said Monday that Phillip Chambers, a "scale-up" expert who invested in Orbex's Series C round in 2022, joined the company as CEO. Chambers has previously led a number of technology companies but has little experience in space beyond his investment in Orbex. Chambers becomes the fourth CEO in less than a year for Orbex. Longtime CEO Chris Larmour resigned in April 2023 and was replaced on an interim basis by Kristian von Bengtson. Martin Coates took over as CEO in late May. In addition to Chambers, Orbex said it hired Miguel Belló Mora, former director general of the new Spanish Space Agency, as its executive chairman. [Orbex]
| | Warp Drive Is Still Decades Away, After All
"Occasionally, it is worth taking that sobering step back and recognizing that we will never have in situ data for an exoplanet. Now, sometimes when I say that, the response will be, 'Not with that attitude!' Well, not likely in my lifetime, how about that?"
– Stephen Kane, professor of planetary astrophysics at the University of California Riverside, discussing at a meeting of the ExoPAG exoplanet science advisory group Sunday why astrophysicists and planetary scientists should collaborate on exoplanet research.
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