Satellite boom strains space sustainability • Space Force assessing value of commercial services

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View this email in your browser National security insights for space professionals. Delivered Tuesdays. In this week's edition: • Report: Space congestion no longer just a theoretical risk  • Europe's Galileo constellation grows to 30 satellites • Space Force: Industry has to prove the value of in-orbit refueling If this newsletter was forwarded to you, sign up for free here Today's highlights: Slingshot Aerospace today released its first "State of Satellite Deployments & Orbital Operations" report, sounding alarms over the increasing congestion and risks in Earth's orbital environment. "The industry has been saying space is becoming more congested for years, but now reality is setting in and the pressure is on to address the increasing risk in orbit," said Melissa Quinn, Slingshot's general manager. "We need to come together as an industry to make meaningful progress." The numbers: There were 12,597 spacecraft in orbit as of Dec. 31, including 3,356 inactive satellites. Orbital launches jumped 19.9 percent year-over-year to 223 in 2023, with satellite deployments up 14.6 percent to 2,877. Commercial dominance: The commercial sector accounted for 89 percent of deployments last year, led by a surge in communications satellites that represented 79 percent of all deployed spacecraft. Other data points: 2,285 comsats deployed in 2023 $995 million in insurance losses and just $557 million in premiums collected 508 dead satellites now reside in graveyard orbits, including 25 additions last year 33 percent decrease in average spacing between geostationary satellites since 2010  SpaceX on Saturday launched two European Galileo satellites into orbit from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. It marked the first time SpaceX has launched payloads for the Galileo navigation constellation, Europe's equivalent to the U.S. Global Positioning System.  The launch is the first of two that the EU procured from SpaceX because of a lack of available European rockets. The total number of Europe's Galileo navigation satellites in orbit is now 30. Like GPS, the Galileo satellites are stationed in medium Earth orbit. The European Union Agency for the Space Program said work is underway on the next generation of Galileo. The first of the next 12 Galileo second generation satellites are due to be launched starting in 2025.  Six are being produced by Airbus in Germany, and the other six are being built by Thales Alenia Space in Italy.  The Space Force is eager to tap into the booming commercial space industry, but it needs some convincing before diving headfirst into emerging technologies like in-orbit refueling. The topic was discussed by Lt. Gen. Shawn Bratton, Space Force deputy chief of space operations for strategy, plans, programs and requirements, at an Atlantic Council event last week.  He raised several issues: Uncertain value proposition: Military leaders are intrigued by the potential benefits of refueling satellites in space, but they're unsure if the cost justifies the strategic advantage. Industry needs to lead: The Space Force wants companies to demonstrate the viability of their refueling tech and develop a solid business model. Focus on ROI: Military funding will prioritize research and development, but large-scale commitments are on hold until the return on investment is clearer. Open to collaboration: The Space Force sees itself as a partner, not a driver of innovation, and welcomes industry expertise to shape its future space tech adoption. In other news 🚀 A big satcom merger was announced today: Global satellite operator SES plans to acquire Intelsat for $3.1 billion. The combination will create a "stronger multi-orbit operator, greater coverage, improved resiliency, expanded solutions," the companies said. Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution crafted in response to reports that the country was developing a nuclear anti-satellite weapon. Russia cast the only vote against the resolution that reaffirmed provisions in the Outer Space Treaty prohibiting the placement of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in space. Agile Space Industries has been tapped to develop a propulsion system for True Anomaly's Jackal vehicle, which was recently selected for the U.S. Space Force's 2025 "tactically responsive space" mission known as Victus Haze. Under the agreement, Agile Space will supply the main engines, attitude control thrusters, propellant tanks, and other critical propulsion components for True Anomaly's spacecraft. For the Victus Haze mission, the Jackal and another vehicle to be developed by Rocket Lab under a separate contract will be tasked to perform maneuvers in close proximity. True Anomaly laid off about a fourth of its workforce, citing a need to streamline operations and eliminate duplicative roles after rapid growth over the past two years. The company said the staff reductions will not impact the startup's ability to execute existing contracts.  "With our rapid growth over the past two years, we looked at every aspect of our company to make sure we are laser-focused on our goals and best positioned to execute," a spokesperson said. Hughes Network Systems last week announced the opening of a manufacturing facility in Germantown, Maryland. At the new facility, the company will develop and manufacture satellite modems and satellite terminals. The building will also serve as a testing ground for secure 5G networking applications for the Department of Defense. Thanks for reading ! 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SES buying rival Intelsat for $3.1 billion 📡

Plus, Airbus outlines new hi-res satellite, NASA Stennis gets a new director, and three Chinese astronauts return to Earth

A SpaceNews daily newsletter | Tuesday, April 30, 2024 Top Stories SES announced Tuesday that it will acquire Intelsat for $3.1 billion, combining two of the biggest GEO satellite operators. The companies said the deal would create a satellite operator with more than $4 billion in annual revenues and adjusted EBITDA of nearly $2 billion. The combined company would operate more than 100 GEO satellites as well as the O3b constellation in medium Earth orbit, and SES said the acquisition would optimize future investments in multi-orbit satellite fleets. SES and Intelsat had explored a merger last year but walked away from a potential deal last June. SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh said the timing was better now for an acquisition given "significant evolution" at both companies. The deal has the approval of both companies' boards, but SES does not expect it to close until the second half of 2025 because of necessary regulatory approvals. [SpaceNews] A Chinese crewed spacecraft returned to Earth Tuesday. The Shenzhou-17 spacecraft undocked from the Tiangong station at 8:43 p.m. Eastern Monday and landed at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region near Jiuquan spaceport at 5:46 a.m. Eastern Tuesday. On board Shenzhou-17 were Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin, who had been in space since October. They performed two spacewalks while on Tiangong to repair damage to solar arrays and conducted 84 experiments. The Shenzhou-17 crew was relieved by the three-person Shenzhou-18 crew that arrived at Tiangong last week. [SpaceNews] China is proposing an ambitious series of space science missions. The set of missions, spanning lunar farside astronomy, astrophysics, exoplanets and heliophysics, was announced by the National Space Science Center (NSSC), part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, at a meeting April 27. One mission, Discovering the Sky at the Longest Wavelength (DSL), would place 10 smallsats into lunar orbit, using the moon to shield the satellites from terrestrial radio signals so the spacecraft can detect radio emissions from the early universe. Another mission, Taiji, will use three satellites to detect gravitational waves. NSSC did not announce any new planetary missions as part of this, but there remains the possibility that one or more proposed planetary missions will be selected under a separate track. [SpaceNews] Airbus had outlined plans for new high-resolution imaging satellites. The company said Monday it will develop a new series of spacecraft called Pléiades Neo Next to augment the two Pléiades Neo spacecraft in orbit that provide imagery at a resolution of 30 centimeters. Airbus said it has started work on one Pléiades Neo Next satellite to be launched in the next few years, but did not disclose how many satellites it foresees building. The Pléiades Neo Next satellites will offer enhanced resolution, although the company did not offer specifics. The Pléiades Neo Next program will help Airbus replace capacity lost when two Pléiades Neo satellites were destroyed in a December 2022 Vega C launch failure. [SpaceNews] Finnish startup Kuva Space will provide hyperspectral data to ESA. The company said Monday it won a $1.9 million contract to develop onboard data processing and rapid communications links for its spacecraft, allowing them to quickly provide imagery that will be used to detect illegal activities in the Baltic Sea area between Finland, Estonia and Sweden. The contract was awarded by ESA's Civil Security from Space program, an initiative aimed at bolstering humanitarian, law enforcement, safety and emergency response with space technologies. [SpaceNews]   Footprints on the Moon Begin with L3Harris For six decades, L3Harris has teamed with NASA to develop technology that's been critical to the evolution of human spaceflight. In fact, our technology has been part of every crewed NASA mission: from Project Mercury to Apollo to the Space Shuttle to the International Space Station era and now beyond – as part of NASA's Artemis campaign. L3Harris' contributions to NASA's Artemis missions include propulsion, communications and launch avionics for NASA's Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft and Gateway lunar space station. Learn more. Other News A Dragon cargo spacecraft returned to Earth early Tuesday. The Dragon splashed down off the coast from Tampa, Florida, at 1:38 a.m. Eastern, concluding the CRS-30 mission to the International Space Station. The spacecraft, which launched to the station last month, returned about 1,850 kilograms of science experiments and equipment from the ISS. [NASA] Rocket Lab will launch a pair of NASA cubesats on its next two launches. The company said Monday it will perform back-to-back launches of Electron rockets from New Zealand for NASA's PREFIRE mission, each carrying a single 6U cubesat. The first launch is scheduled for no earlier than May 22 with the second to follow within three weeks of the first. The two launches are required to place the spacecraft into specific orbits to carry out their mission of measuring infrared emissions from the polar regions. [Rocket Lab] A Canadian general says he wants to increase the "space-mindedness" of the Canadian military. Brig. Gen. Michael Adamson, commander of the Canadian Armed Forces Space Division, told a parliamentary committee that his division is working to help the rest of the military better understand the importance of space and the growing need to be aware of threats to space assets. He said the Canadian military will need to work more with the private sector to better leverage their capabilities. [Canadian Press] NASA has named a new director of the Stennis Space Center. The agency said Monday that John Bailey, who has been acting director of the Mississippi center since January, will take the job on a permanent basis. Bailey has been at Stennis since 1999 in technical and management roles, most recently as deputy director. Bailey succeeds Richard Gilbrech, who retired in January after leading Stennis for more than a decade. [NASA]   Standard Progress "How do you make this real? You make it real by interfaces, by standards. Standards, to the uninformed, might seem boring, but standards is how you make progress." – Phil Root, director of DARPA's Strategic Technology Office, discussing the agency's LunA-10 project to study how to create a sustainable lunar economy during a speech last week at the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium meeting.   Forward First Up to a friend or Subscribe for yourself Copyright © 2024 Multiverse Media Inc., All rights reserved. You signed up to receive this newsletter on Spacenews.com. At times you may receive marketing material. Our mailing address is: Multiverse Media Inc. 100 Fillmore St. 5th Floor Denver, CO 80206 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.