Pentagon and SpaceX Blocking Russian Starlink Use - SpaceNews This Week

Top stories of the week from SpaceNews

Welcome to our weekly roundup of the top SpaceNews stories of the week, brought to you every Friday! This week, NASA announced cost-effective ways to manage orbital debris, Europe took steps to become a competitive space player, the Space Force wants companies to develop simulated space war training ranges, and more. Our Top Story New Pentagon efforts to block Russian use of Starlink By Sandra Erwin, May 21, 2024 Pentagon officials testified May 22 that they are working with SpaceX to prevent unauthorized use of Starlink by Russian forces. This collaboration aims to disable terminals that have fallen into Russian hands, although it remains a constant challenge as Russia continues to acquire new terminals. Other News From the Week CIVIL Senate raises concerns about Artemis program costs Senate appropriators expressed concerns about NASA's Artemis lunar exploration campaign's cost and schedule. During a May 23 hearing, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) suggested an independent review, while NASA Administrator Bill Nelson argued Artemis gets plenty of scrutiny from the GAO and NASA's inspector general. The Artemis 3 mission remains focused on a crewed lunar landing despite potential issues with SpaceX's Starship lunar lander. NASA report identifies cost-effective approaches to dealing with orbital debris A NASA report released this week highlights the cost-effectiveness of reducing the post-mission lifetime of satellites to mitigate orbital debris. The report found that shortening the disposal timeframe from 25 years to 15 years or less could generate up to $6 billion in net benefits over 30 years. "Just in time" concepts to prevent debris collisions were also deemed effective. NASA and Boeing delay Starliner launch NASA has announced that Boeing's CST-100 Starliner vehicle will now launch no earlier than June 1. This decision comes after the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission was delayed from its original May 25 date. Backup launch opportunities are available on June 2, 5, and 6. The delay is due to Boeing's ongoing efforts to resolve a helium leak in one of the spacecraft's thrusters. MILITARY Space Force solicits bids for experimental payload program The U.S. Space Force issued a request for proposals on May 23 for the Space Test Experiments Platform (STEP) 2.0 contract, worth up to $237 million. The program seeks commercial satellite manufacturers to build small satellite buses or pre-built spacecraft for experimental military payloads. This initiative aims to harness the commercial small satellite market for military applications. Space Force to award $1.7 billion in satellite communications contracts The Space Force projects awarding $1.7 billion in contracts over the next year for satellite communications. The largest potential deal, worth nearly $900 million over seven years, is for secure satellite communications services for U.S. government aircraft that transport high-ranking officials and military leaders. COMMERCIAL EU and ESA call for increased competitiveness in space sector European officials adopted a resolution on May 23 to boost the competitiveness of Europe's space sector, emphasizing ongoing efforts without new initiatives. The industry group Eurospace criticized the resolution, calling for an industrial strategy to address weak demand and competition from the U.S. and China. A draft EU space law is unlikely before parliamentary elections next month. Viasat in talks to purchase LEO capacity Viasat is in discussions with several low Earth orbit (LEO) broadband constellation operators to purchase capacity for its multi-orbit maritime broadband service. Viasat recently announced an agreement to buy OneWeb capacity and expects similar deals for planes and other enterprise markets. Airbus wins $369 million contract for ESA science satellite ESA and Airbus signed a $369 million contract May 22 for the Vigil mission, scheduled for launch in 2031. The spacecraft will monitor the sun from the Earth-sun L-5 Lagrange point, providing advance notice of solar storms. Airbus will build the spacecraft in the United Kingdom with instruments from Europe and the United States. Blue Origin launches first crewed New Shepard mission in nearly two years The May 19 mission was not without incident as one of the three parachutes failed to open fully during descent. Despite this, the spacecraft landed safely with six people on board, including Ed Dwight, the first Black astronaut candidate. This mission marks a significant milestone as Blue Origin resumes its crewed flights, enhancing the prospects of commercial space tourism. AI Stanford's new center focuses on spacecraft autonomy Stanford University launched the Center for AEroSpace Autonomy Research (CAESAR) to develop spacecraft autonomy technologies. CAESAR will leverage AI for autonomous rendezvous, proximity operations, docking, and rapid space object characterization. The center aims to advance the integration of AI in spacecraft operations, enhancing the capabilities and efficiency of space missions. Efficient Computer's new chip architecture A startup has developed an energy-efficient computer chip architecture that could enable new spacecraft capabilities. Efficient Computer, a spinoff of Carnegie Mellon University, says its chip architecture is far more energy efficient than traditional designs. These advancements in AI-driven chip design promise to enhance onboard processing of Earth observation data and artificial intelligence applications in space. OPINION Exclusion from NSM-22 is a space industry opportunity May 20, 2024 In an op-ed this week, Nick Reese, cofounder and managing partner of Frontier Foundry, critiques the National Security Memorandum-22 (NSM-22) for omitting space and satellite infrastructure from its critical infrastructure sectors. However, Reese argues that this exclusion offers an opportunity for the space sector to develop its own critical infrastructure policies tailored to its unique needs and challenges, rather than being constrained by terrestrial models. He suggests the creation of a "Space Security Memo-1" to address the specific requirements of space operations. Global navigation jamming will only get worse. The U.S. needs to move fast By Sean Gorman Why are the Department of Defense and Space Force talking about buying foreign space technology? By Jeff Huggins SpaceNews is committed to publishing our community's diverse perspectives. 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