Top Stories
SpaceX is developing a constellation of hundreds of imaging satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office. The effort, part of SpaceX's Starshield program to provide defense services, is funded by a $1.8 billion contract the NRO awarded SpaceX in 2021, according to sources. The NRO acknowledged that it is developing "the most capable, diverse, and resilient space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system the world has ever seen," but did not go into details about its work with SpaceX on the system or any other companies it might be working with. About a dozen prototype satellites have launched since 2020, but how large the system will be and when it will be deployed are uncertain. [Reuters]
Space infrastructure company Redwire hopes to continue its growth by winning bigger deals and moving into new markets. The company reported last week $243.8 million in revenue in 2023, up 51.9% from 2022. The company had a net loss for the year but decreased it significantly from 2022 and also reported positive adjusted EBITDA. In an earnings call Friday the company said it was forecasting $300 million in revenue in 2024 as it looks to win bigger deals, like a $142 million contract it won in the fourth quarter to provide solar arrays for an undisclosed satellite manufacturer. It also announced it is developing a new satellite bus called SabreSat intended for very low Earth orbit applications. [SpaceNews]
Space situational awareness (SSA) startup Turion Space expects to start collecting data from its first satellite soon. The company launched its Droid.001 satellite last June and started commissioning its imaging sensor a couple months ago. Turion says it expects to start taking images of other space objects with that sensor by May. Those images will be used for SSA applications for commercial and government customers as Turion works on future spacecraft to perform satellite servicing and debris removal. [SpaceNews]
China is preparing to launch a data relay satellite for an upcoming farside lunar mission. A Long March 8 rocket was vertically transferred to a launch pad at Wenchang Satellite Launch Center early Sunday for a launch scheduled for Tuesday evening. The rocket is carrying the Queqiao-2 communications satellite, which will go into an elliptical orbit around the moon to support future Chinese lunar missions, starting with the Chang'e-6 farside lunar sample return mission scheduled to launch in May. [SpaceNews]
Despite budget and schedule uncertainty, work to collect samples on Mars for later return to Earth continues. At a conference last week, scientists said the Perseverance rover had now filled 26 of its 43 sample tubes, a total that includes several "witness" tubes that serve as controls for any terrestrial contamination. Perseverance is continuing to drive up the remains of a river delta that once flowed into Jezero Crater. The samples being collected by the rover will be returned to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return program, which is undergoing a review after an independent assessment last year found it was overbudget and behind schedule. Funding for Mars Sample Return was left as "TBD" in NASA's fiscal year 2025 budget proposal released last week, which NASA will amend as soon as next month once a new plan is in place for the program. [SpaceNews]
| | Other News
A Falcon 9 launched a set of Starlink satellites Friday night. The Falcon 9 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 8:21 p.m. Eastern and deployed 23 Starlink satellites. Launch attempts the two previous nights were scrubbed because of problems with ground equipment. The launch brings the total number of Starlink satellites launched to more than 6,000, with a little more than 5,600 currently in orbit. [Spaceflight Now]
Despite not making it to the moon, some payloads on Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander still returned useful data. At a conference last week, representatives of several payloads on the lander, which suffered a propellant leak hours after liftoff and reentered 10 days later, said they were able to check out their instruments while in cislunar space and collect data, such as of the radiation environment. A student-built lunar rover on the lander was also able to test some of its systems, confirming they would have worked had Peregrine landed. Astrobotic is continuing its review of the mission and will incorporate lessons learned into its larger Griffin lander that will carry NASA's VIPER lunar rover. While that mission was scheduled to launch in November, NASA says that it's likely the mission will slip into next year as it evaluates what work needs to be done on the lander. [SpaceNews]
Japan will get to land two astronauts on the moon as part of the Artemis program. An agreement between the governments of Japan and the United States to be signed next month gives Japan two slots on future Artemis lunar landing missions in exchange for its contributions to the program, such as elements of the lunar Gateway and a pressurized lunar rover. Japan wants to become the second country after the U.S. to land astronauts on the moon, and the earliest opportunity would be the Artemis 4 mission in the late 2020s. [Nikkei]
SpaceX reportedly places unusual conditions on stock it offers employees. Because SpaceX is not publicly traded, the stock it gives to employees as part of their compensation can only be sold with the company's permission through tender offers. Agreements employees sign give SpaceX the right to prevent current or past employees from participating in those tenders if SpaceX deems they performed "an act of dishonesty against the company." SpaceX also reserves the right to buy back stock at $0 a share if an employee is fired for cause. An expert in company stock options called those terms unusual, and former employees say the terms "keep everyone under their control" even after leaving. [TechCrunch]
With the total solar eclipse three weeks away, merchandising related to it is going into high gear. A wide range of companies, particularly those along the path of totality for the April 8 eclipse, are offering special eclipse-themed items, such as a "Moon Pie Frappa" by a coffee shop in Arkansas. A Cleveland brewery says it is producing a very large batch of a beer called "The Totality" given the rarity of the event: Cleveland won't see another total solar eclipse for 420 years. [AP]
| | The Week Ahead
Monday: Monday-Thursday: - Washington: The Satellite 2024 conference includes a wide range of sessions on the commercial space industry.
Monday-Friday: - Washington/Online: Space Science Week features meetings by several Space Studies Board committees and a plenary session Tuesday for updates on U.S. and international space activities.
Tuesday: Wednesday: Wednesday-Thursday: Wednesday-Friday: Thursday: Thursday-Friday: Friday: - Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 7:55 p.m. Eastern.
| | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment