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Axiom Space's third private astronaut mission is on its way to the International Space Station after a launch Thursday. A Falcon 9 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 4:49 p.m. Eastern and placed a Crew Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The launch was delayed a day to provide more time to confirm adjustments to parachute straps. The Crew Dragon is scheduled to dock with the ISS on Saturday. The two-week Ax-3 mission is carrying astronauts from Italy, Sweden and Turkey, commanded by a former NASA astronaut. Axiom plans to fly such missions to the station, with NASA's approval, twice a year as it works on its first commercial module to be installed on the station in late 2026. [SpaceNews]
Investment in space companies should rebound this year after a recent downturn. A study released this week by Space Capital found that about $17.9 billion was invested in the global space economy in 2023, 25% less than in 2022 and the lowest level in a decade. In a webinar this week by industry organization SSPI, investors said that decline was driven by microeconomic factors, like high interest rates, as well as a "boom-and-bust cycle" of companies going public through SPAC mergers. They expect a turnaround this year given strong government interest in commercial space capabilities. [SpaceNews]
Viasat has demonstrated satellite navigation capabilities that could help the United Kingdom replace what it lost during Brexit. In a test late last year, an airplane used a navigation signal overlay from the Inmarsat I-3 F5 satellite to improve the accuracy of GPS signals. The company did not disclose performance details, but the test was intended to demonstrate how the overlay signal could improve positioning accuracy to a few centimeters, compared with the few meters provided by standard GPS alone. The U.K. lost access to a similar service, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), after leaving the European Union. [SpaceNews]
Chinese company Landspace has tested a vertical takeoff and landing vehicle as part of efforts to develop a reusable rocket. The VTVL-1 demonstrator flew a one-minute test Friday, reaching an altitude of 350 meters before descending for a powered landing. The test is part of the development of the stainless steel Zhuque-3 rocket Landspace announced in November. The company is aiming for the first flight of Zhuque-3 in 2025. This test is similar to "hop" tests conducted by fellow Beijing-based launch startup iSpace in November and December of last year.[SpaceNews]
Scout Space, a company developing satellite safety technologies, has a new CEO. The company said Thursday that Philip Hover-Smoot, its former chief counsel, will take over as CEO, with co-founder Eric Ingram, the previous CEO, moving to chairman and chief strategy officer. Hover-Smoot says his goal is to steer the 20-person startup toward commercialization after years of focusing on technical research and development projects, including several funded by the U.S. Air Force and Space Force. The company's long-term goal is to produce sensing payloads and software that give spacecraft eyes to enable better navigation and avoid threats. [SpaceNews]
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Astrobotic said its Peregrine lunar lander safety reentered Thursday. The company announced it lost telemetry with the spacecraft at 3:50 p.m. Eastern, about 15 minutes before it reentered over the South Pacific. The company said late Thursday it was still working with government agencies to confirm the time and location of reentry. The company expects to provide more details about the end of the mission at a briefing this afternoon. Peregrine suffered a propellant leak hours after launch Jan. 8 that ruled out a landing on the moon, and the company decided over the weekend to reenter the spacecraft when it swung by Earth rather keep it in orbit. Meanwhile, a Japanese spacecraft, SLIM, will attempt a lunar landing at about 10:20 a.m. Eastern this morning. [BBC]
Congress passed another stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government open. The House and Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) Thursday that funds some government agencies though March 1 and others through March 8. Some agencies, like the Department of Transportation, would have shut down if the CR was not passed by Friday. The CR gives more time for Congress to complete full-year spending bills for fiscal year 2024. [Washington Post]
A proposed land swap between the state of Texas and SpaceX near the company's Starship facility is drawing criticism. Under the proposal, the state would hand over 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park adjacent to Starbase in return for SpaceX transferring 477 acres near Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge to the north. The proposal is opposed by one official in Cameron County, which includes Starbase, arguing that the county was working to acquire the Boca Chica property for preservation efforts. A public hearing on the proposed land swap is scheduled for next week. [KVEO-TV]
A large body of water ice may exist below the Martian equator. Studies of a region called the Medusae Fossae Formation by ESA's Mars Express spacecraft show that it likely has ice deposits up to several kilometers thick. That ice is covered by hundreds of meters of dust layers. That ice, scientists note, would be difficult to access by future astronauts given its depth, and likely would be heavily contaminated with dust. [Space.com]
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"I think you're demonstrating the ultimate in reuse: a reused commander, a reused Dragon and a reused Falcon. Or maybe 'flight-experienced' is a better word."
– Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX vice president and chief engineer for the Ax-3 private astronaut mission, to the crew after they successfully reached orbit Thursday. The mission is the third flight of this Crew Dragon spacecraft and fifth flight of the Falcon 9 booster that launched it.
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