 | Top Stories
A new GAO report identified several problems with Space Force programs. A report issued Monday by the GAO examined 70 major weapons systems across the Defense Department and raised issues with several managed by the Space Force. They include the Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) for GPS, which has suffered long-running problems, as well as new GPS user equipment. It also noted potential problems with an optical communications terminal standard established by the Space Development Agency. Overall, the report paints a troubling picture of the Pentagon's ability to rapidly field cutting-edge tech. [SpaceNews]
Rocket Lab has won its largest launch contract yet, courtesy of a Japanese company. Synspective has signed a contract for 10 launches of its radar imaging satellites on Electron from 2025 to 2027. Rocket Lab has launched all four of Synspective's satellites to date and will launch two more later this year under an earlier contract. Synspective is launching its satellites individually on Electron rockets to have more control over orbits and schedules. [SpaceNews]
Gilat Satellite Networks announced Monday it will acquire Stellar Blu, an aircraft equipment integration specialist, for up to $245 million. The acquisition will allow Gilat to pursue the in-flight connectivity market by incorporating Stellar Blu's terminal platform, which incorporates electronically steered array technology to provide Ku-band services. Gilat plans to pay Stellar Blu $98 million after closing the transaction before the end of this year, and up to $147 million more over two years if the combined group achieves business and financial objectives. [SpaceNews]
The Space Force has selected four companies to develop laser terminals for inter-satellite links. Blue Origin, CACI International, General Atomics, and Viasat will compete to design and prototype optical communications terminals for use in space under a $100 million program called Enterprise Space Terminal. The goal of the program is to establish a space mesh network across various orbits, from LEO to GEO, that is compatible with future military space systems. [SpaceNews]
A Spanish startup has secured new funding for developing smallsat propulsion systems. Ienai Space has raised 3.9 million euros ($4.2 million) to start demonstrating electrospray thrusters in low Earth orbit around the end of this year. The company said the funding came after passing an ESA preliminary design review for the propulsion system, which included firing the thruster for nearly 400 hours. The first spacecraft to test the propulsion system, called ATHENA, are scheduled to launch late this year and early next year. [SpaceNews]
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| Other News
The United States and India are a step closer to flying an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station. The two governments held a meeting of the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology Monday in New Delhi, where they announced they had secured "a carrier for the first-ever joint effort between NASA and ISRO astronauts at the International Space Station." The announcement did not disclose the carrier or when the mission would fly. Such a joint mission was announced last June but with no formal updates from either agency since then. The two countries also said Monday they had a completed a strategic framework document for human spaceflight cooperation and would study potential roles for India on the lunar Gateway. [SpaceNews]
The head of the Indian space agency ISRO says India needs to create more internal demand for launch services. ISRO Chairman S. Somanath claims the launch market is "depressed" with no interest in India's PSLV launch vehicle. The solution, he said, is to generate more domestic demand for satellite launches within India, claiming "we would be living in a fool's paradise if we think we will build better rockets in India and wait for American satellites to come." Many satellite developers have instead complained of a lack of launch capacity and limited options for launching their satellites. [The Economic Times]
South Korean launch startup Innospace is preparing to go public. The company has filed paperwork to go public on the Kosdaq exchange in July, but has not disclosed pricing of other financial details of the IPO yet. Innospace conducted a suborbital test launch from Brazil in March and is developing a small launch vehicle, with plans for up to seven launches next year. [Korea Herald]
A space startup is among the first recipients of investment from a fund affiliated with NATO. Space Forge, a space manufacturing startup based in the United Kingdom, is one of four companies selected for investment by the NATO Innovation Fund. That fund, with one billion euros of assets, is backed by 24 NATO member states to support key technologies needed for defense. The fund did not disclose how much it invested in Space Forge. [Reuters]
A self-proclaimed venture capitalist who proposed investing $200 million in Virgin Orbit before its bankruptcy is now facing a lawsuit. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday it was suing Matthew Brown for false claims he made to Virgin Orbit and others about his proposal in March 2023 to invest $200 million in the launch company. Brown reportedly sent Virgin Orbit a doctored screenshot of his bank account showing he had $182 million; the account, in fact, had a balance of less than $1. Brown never responded to due-diligence requests from Virgin Orbit and the offer soon fell through. Virgin Orbit filed for bankruptcy in April 2023 and was later liquidated. [Bloomberg]
| |  | A Bit Crazy
"Bezos and Musk have quite grandiose ambitions; their heart is in right place but they're a bit crazy."
– Andy Lawrence, Professor of Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh, discussing the commercial space activities of Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin. [i News]
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