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SpaceX launched Starship on a third, mostly successful test flight Thursday. The Starship/Super Heavy vehicle lifted off from the company's Starbase facility in South Texas at 9:25 a.m. Eastern. The launch placed Starship on its planned suborbital trajectory, where it performed tests such as opening a payload bay door and starting a propellant transfer demonstration. The vehicle reentered over the Indian Ocean but appeared to break up at an altitude of about 65 kilometers nearly 50 minutes after liftoff. The Super Heavy booster also broke up during a landing burn over the Gulf of Mexico. Although the vehicle did not complete all its test objectives, SpaceX still considered the flight successful, an assessment shared by NASA. [SpaceNews]
The FCC has approved rules to allow direct-to-device satellite communications using terrestrial spectrum. FCC commissioners unanimously approved Thursday the Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS) regulatory framework. The rules will allow satellite operators like SpaceX to use radio waves from terrestrial mobile partners to keep smartphone users connected outside cell tower coverage. SCS providers would have to immediately cease operations if they interfere with a mobile satellite services provider or terrestrial telco with primary rights. The final rules approved by the FCC will go into force after a final review and publication in the Federal Register in the coming weeks. [SpaceNews]
Sierra Space is looking to take a larger role in national security space with dual-use spacecraft. The company says it has $1.3 billion in defense orders, including a $740 million contract from the Space Development Agency it won in January to produce 18 missile-tracking satellites. Sierra Space says it is examining how it can make use of spacecraft and related technologies originally developed for civil and commercial applications, like its Dream Chaser spaceplane, for national security applications. That includes what the Pentagon calls "space access, mobility and logistics" or SAML services, which has $40 million earmarked for it in the Space Force's 2025 budget proposal. [SpaceNews]
Taiwan, wary of relying on Starlink, may develop its own satellite communications network. The government is planning to launch its first communications satellite in 2026, with a second to follow within two years and several more test satellites in development. The satellites would provide connectivity to back up a telecommunications infrastructure reliant on undersea cables that could be severed in a natural disaster or crisis with China. The country is also working with SES and Eutelsat OneWeb on connectivity services, but some officials say they worry that SpaceX might not make Starlink available in Taiwan during a crisis because of Elon Musk's business interests in China. [New York Times]
| | Other News
SpaceX again scrubbed a Falcon 9 launch of Starlink satellites Thursday because of a ground equipment issue. SpaceX called off the launch two minutes before the scheduled liftoff Thursday evening from the Kennedy Space Center, later stating that there was a problem with arms on the transporter erector that cradle the rocket on the pad before launch. The launch is now scheduled for 6:39 p.m. Eastern Friday. [Florida Today]
The Pentagon is taking the next step in a "rocket cargo" program. The Space Force's fiscal year 2025 budget proposal includes $4 million for the initiative, now called Point-to-Point Delivery, to support continued research and development of the concept that would use rockets to deliver cargo around the world in as little as an hour. The Air Force Research Laboratory started the effort in 2021 and awarded SpaceX a $102 million contract in early 2022 to study use of the company's Starships for cargo delivery. [Breaking Defense]
South Korea is offering high salaries for staff of its new space agency. The Korea Aerospace Administration, or KASA, plans to hire 120 people by May, when it formally starts operations, with a goal of reaching 300 people later in the year. The director of the space agency will receive a salary of nearly $190,000, the same as the country's president, with the potential for additional compensation. KASA would become the first South Korean agency where staff could earn more than the president. The government says it is offering the high salaries to attract talent, emphasizing the importance it is placing on growing the country's space capabilities. [Chosun Ilbo]
The latest ailment that astronauts suffer from is a "space headache." Research published this week by the American Academy of Neurology found that most astronauts on the International Space Station suffered headaches during their time on the station, including those who reported never having headaches before going to space. The headaches ended after returning to Earth. Scientists said the headaches could be explained by space motion sickness in the first weeks of a flight and an increase of pressure in the skull in later phases. [Popular Science]
| | Not Even the Geek Squad Can Help
"The Ingenuity helicopter has COTS — commercial off-the-shelf — components. It has batteries they literally bought at Best Buy. There's very little we can buy at Best Buy that will work on Venus."
– Paul Byrne of Washington University in St. Louis, discussing a new Venus exploration strategy document during a meeting at the Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference Thursday.
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