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Intelsat says the U.S. government could help fund development of a medium Earth orbit constellation. Intelsat CEO David Wajsgras said in an interview that his company expects to select companies by the end of June to build a network of 17 MEO satellites that would augment its existing fleet of GEO satellites. He said there is strong interest in the system from U.S. government agencies, who could help finance the constellation as part of contracts to secure capacity on it. That constellation is intended to enter service in three and a half to four years. Intelsat is also proposing to invest in an unidentified company with technology for direct-to-device services. [SpaceNews]
The new head of the Space Force's Space Systems Command wants to prioritize speed and commercial partnerships. Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant said in an interview that he is focusing on building a skilled workforce, embracing commercial technologies and accelerating the delivery of mission-critical systems. He said the pressure to accelerate is driven by the new realities of the space environment as adversaries develop advanced capabilities. He added that the Space Force's new commercial space strategy will support efforts to make greater use of commercial capabilities, along with a new funding line in the Space Force's budget for buying commercial services. [SpaceNews]
A European space law is on hold, along with a contract for a connectivity constellation. The European Commission had expected to release a draft space law this month after delaying it from March, but at a European Parliament committee meeting last week, commissioner Theirry Breton said that the law will likely be delayed until after European elections in June. He gave little explanation for the delay, and the contents of the bill itself remain under wraps. The award of a contract to an industry consortium for the IRIS² secure connectivity constellation also appears to be on hold, with Breton saying that an independent committee was still evaluating the proposed contract, which had been expected to be finalized last month. [SpaceNews]
An Astroscale inspection satellite has entered the next phase of its mission. The company said last week that its ADRAS-J spacecraft, launched in February, had completed the rendezvous phase of its approach to a derelict Japanese upper stage in low Earth orbit and was now moving into the proximity operations phase. In that phase, the spacecraft will rely on its own sensors to maneuver relative to the stage, ultimately approaching within dozens of meters before the mission ends around the end of May. ADRAS-J is a precursor to a second mission backed by the Japanese space agency JAXA that will grapple and deorbit the upper stage. [SpaceNews]
The Office of Space Commerce has selected two locations to host operations centers for its civil space traffic coordination system. The primary operations center for the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) will be at a NOAA facility in Boulder, Colorado, with a backup center in Suitland, Maryland. Officials with the office said last week that work on TraCSS remains on schedule, with an initial beta-testing phase set to begin by the end of September. There is also close coordination with the Department of Defense to handle the transition of responsibilities for civil space safety work from Defense to Commerce. [SpaceNews]
| | Scientific Discovery Begins with L3Harris
For more than 20 years, every U.S. Martian rover mission and orbiting spacecraft has relied on L3Harris' transceivers and power and propulsion technology, including NASA's Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity and Perseverance vehicles. In fact, we've propelled missions to explore not only Mars – but every planet in the solar system and beyond. Learn more about our space capabilities here. | | Other News
SpaceX set two records with a Falcon 9 launch of Starlink satellites Friday. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral at 9:40 p.m. Eastern, deploying 23 Starlink satellites into Earth orbit. The launch was the 20th for that booster, B1062, a record for the most flights of a single Falcon 9 booster. The launch took place 68 hours after the previous launch from that pad, a new record for shortest pad turnaround time. [Spaceflight Now]
China launched a commercial remote sensing satellite early Monday. A Long March 2D rocket lifted off at 12:12 a.m. Eastern from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, putting the Gaojing-3 (01), or SuperView-3 (01), satellite into its planned orbit. The satellite will provide commercial imagery for agricultural, urban planning and other applications. The spacecraft is designed to provide imagery with a resolution of 0.5 meters and swath width of 130 kilometers. [SpaceNews]
Relativity Space has won a contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory related to 3D-printing technology. The company received a $8.7 million contract to study real-time flaw detection in additive manufacturing. AFRL said the award is "in response to a congressional demand signal" after the the National Defense Authorization Act directed the Defense Department to study how additive manufacturing could be used to accelerate work on aerospace systems. Relativity Space has pioneered the use of large 3D printers to produce most of the components of its launch vehicles. [SpaceNews]
A NASA document outlines how the agency picked the three companies that are working on lunar rover designs. NASA released the source selection statement last week for the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) competition, which resulted in contracts earlier this month to Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab. NASA noted it received nine proposals, three of which were deemed unacceptable. Three others, from Astrobotic, Blue Origin and Leidos, also failed to make the cut, although the document does not explain how they fell short. Among the three winners, Astrolab had the highest "mission suitability" score but also the highest price at more than $1.9 billion; Intuitive Machines had the lowest score but also the lowest price at just under $1.7 billion. NASA plans to later select one of the companies for a task order to develop and demonstrate the rover. [SpaceNews]
NASA has released the first data from a new Earth science mission. NASA said last week it is now distributing "science-quality" data from the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite, launched in early February. The spacecraft has an ocean color instrument to study ocean biology and polarimeters to measure atmospheric aerosols. The initial data confirms that PACE is working as designed. [NASA]
| | The Week Ahead
Monday: - Washington: NASA holds an Artemis Accords signing ceremony with Switzerland at 11:30 a.m. Eastern.
- Online: NASA provides an update on the Mars Sample Return program at 1 p.m. Eastern, followed by a Science Mission Directorate community town hall at 2 p.m. Eastern.
Monday-Thursday: Monday-Friday: Monday-April 26: - Vienna: The Legal Subcommittee of the UN's Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) holds its annual meeting.
Tuesday: Tuesday-Wednesday: - Washington/Online: NASA's Earth Science Advisory Committee and Applied Sciences Advisory Committee hold a joint meeting.
Wednesday: Wednesday-Friday: Thursday: | | | |
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