 | Top Stories
Yahsat has ordered two low Earth orbit satellites from Airbus Defence and Space as part of a multi-orbit strategy. The satellites will be based on the Arrow platform that Airbus originally developed for OneWeb. The companies didn't disclose details about the missions for the satellites but Yahsat's CEO said they were part of the company's strategy "of providing multi-orbit satellite solutions to its customers." Yahsat also finalized a contract with Airbus for two GEO satellites, Al Yah 4 and 5, after funding early design work last year. [SpaceNews]
Kepler Communications has tested an optical data relay network in LEO. The company announced Tuesday it tested optical intersatellite links between two prototype satellites, moving terabytes of data between them. The links adhered to optical communications standards developed by the U.S. Space Development Agency (SDA), according to Kepler, and used SDA-compatible optical user terminals. Starting next year, Kepler plans to deploy data relay satellites along two near-orthogonal planes in sun-synchronous orbits to keep line of sight with LEO spacecraft, providing real-time connectivity for them. [SpaceNews]
Commercial direct-to-cell satellite networks could disrupt billion-dollar military satellite programs. Col. Eric Felt, director of space architecture at the office of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration, said at a conference Monday that direct-to-cell is a "really disruptive thing" and could potentially enhance or replace dedicated military narrowband satcom systems like MUOS. The Space Force is procuring additional MUOS satellites to keep the network in service into the 2030s, but the service is considering what will come after that system. [SpaceNews]
Stoke Space successfully tested an engine it is developing for a fully reusable launch vehicle. The company said Tuesday it made the first test-firing last week of the engine for the first stage of its Nova rocket, firing it for two seconds primarily to test startup and shutdown transients. The engine, fueled by liquified natural gas and liquid oxygen propellants, uses a full-flow staged combustion architecture that is more efficient but also more difficult to develop. Stoke says it chose that approach to maximize the performance of the engine in order to make the vehicle fully reusable. [SpaceNews]
Scout Space plans to launch a space domain awareness telescope on a future ABL Space Systems launch. Scout said Monday its Owlet-01 telescope, integrated into a 16U cubesat, will perform risk-reduction work for a future network of telescopes to track objects in orbit and cislunar space. Owlet-01 will launch on the third flight of ABL's RS1 rocket later this year. The first RS1 launch failed early last year and the company has not set a date for the second launch. Scout said it chose ABL because it could not find a slot on a SpaceX Transporter rideshare mission for more than a year. [SpaceNews]
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| Other News
China has selected 10 new astronauts. The 10 astronauts include eight pilots and two payload specialists, the latter being the first Chinese astronauts from Hong Kong and Macao. The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) didn't name the new astronauts or their genders. The new astronauts will be eligible for mission assignments after two years of training, and could fly on both Tiangong space station missions and planned future lunar missions. [SpaceNews]
Assured Space and Phantom Space are joining forces to develop a data backhaul service for satellites. The companies said they will work together on a 66-satellite constellation called Phantom Cloud that will provide data relay services for satellites. Assured Space is a decades-old high-tech products and services company that recently pivoted to focus on RF telecommunications and electronics, while Phantom Space is a startup developing satellites and small launch vehicles, but has yet to fly any missions. The companies did not disclose schedules or funding for the constellation. [SpaceNews]
An environmental group says last week's Starship launch damaged bird nests nearby. The survey by the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program said several nests used by snowy plover, Wilson's plover and least tern birds were damaged or destroyed after the launch, with missing and broken eggs. None of the bird species that use the nests are formally classified as endangered or threatened, although the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department does consider some of them "species of greatest conservation need." The group's survey found no injured or dead wildlife, but concluded that the effects of Starship launches extend into to state park adjacent to the launch site. [San Antonio Express-News]
Scientists say the uranium planned for an in-space nuclear propulsion demonstration could be repurposed into a bomb. The DARPA/NASA DRACO mission will use about 300 kilograms of high assay low enriched uranium (HALEU), a class of uranium that it not considered to be enriched enough for use in weapons. However, a study published in Science concluded that even HALEU could be used in a bomb if in large enough quantities. The amount planned for use on DRACO is "marginal" but likely enough for a low-yield bomb. Scientists say the study shows that HALEU should be subject to the higher security standards of highly enriched uranium to avoid it falling in the hands of those interested in using it for weapons. [Ars Technica]
Some mountains on Mars have morning frost. Scientists in Switzerland and the United States said they have detected frost atop some of the tallest mountains on Mars early in the morning, based on observations by ESA's Trace Gas Orbiter and Mars Express spacecraft. The frost may come from moisture carried up the sides of the mountains by winds from lower elevations. The moisture is then trapped in craters at the peaks and condenses into frost. [The Guardian]
| |  | Feeling is Believing
"I thought I knew what I rocket engine would feel like, but I didn't. It was absolutely phenomenal."
– Andy Sadhwani, a principal propulsion engineer at SpaceX who was one of the private astronauts on Virgin Galactic's Galactic 07 suborbital spaceflight, in comments shortly after the flight Saturday.
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