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Subject: $1.8B boost for SpaceX and ULA in NSSL 🚀

Plus: Yahsat earnings, Mars Sample Return plans, and Rocket Lab reschedules launch

A SpaceNews daily newsletter | Wednesday, July 31, 2024 Top Stories The U.S. Space Force has provided $1.8 billion in additional funding to SpaceX and United Launch Alliance for national security launches. The service cited a significant growth in projected missions under the five-year agreements awarded in 2020 for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 2 program. ULA will see its contract value rise by $1.1 billion, bringing its total to $4.5 billion over the five-year period. SpaceX's contract will increase by $661 million, reaching a new total of $4 billion. The original NSSL Phase 2 contracts included 34 launches with a 60-40 split in favor of ULA; the revisions bring the total launches to 49, with SpaceX conducting 54% because of Vulcan delays. [SpaceNews] Satellite problems had mixed results on earnings for Yahsat. The Emirati operator reported a 3% drop in sales in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period of 2023, which it blamed on the failure of the L-band payload on its aging Thuraya 3 satellite in April. Yahsat said it remains in control of Thuraya 3 but has exhausted most recovery options for the payload. The company is also facing delays in the launch of Thuraya 4, which has slipped from the second half of 2023 to late this year because of manufacturing delays by Airbus. Yahsat said it received $30 million in damages from Airbus due to that delay. [SpaceNews] Companies working on alternative concepts for Mars Sample Return (MSR) released some details about their plans. NASA selected seven companies in June for 90-day studies to look at ways to revise some or all of the MSR architecture to reduce costs and accelerate the return of samples. At a session of the AIAA ASCEND conference Tuesday, Northrop Grumman said it is looking at ways to reduce the mass of the Mars Ascent Vehicle rocket that launches the samples into Martian orbit. Quantum Space is exploring how its Ranger spacecraft, designed to operate in cislunar space, could serve as the "anchor leg" in the return of samples to Earth. Lockheed Martin is looking at revising the overall architecture that includes "ruthless" mass control, but offered few specifics. A fourth company, Boeing, pitched an approach using a large lander delivered by the SLS, but noted its concept was not selected by NASA as one of the industry studies. [SpaceNews] SES won a $46.8 million contract to provide satellite communications services to the U.S. Air Force. SES Space & Defense, the U.S. arm of Luxembourg-based SES, said it won the multi-year contract for GEO Ku-band satellite communications services for the Air Combat Command's remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) training and testing program. SES will provide those services over the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska and the Pacific Ocean. [SpaceNews] GHGSat has received NASA approval to start providing its methane emissions data to researchers. The company said Wednesday that the data from its satellites passed a "rigorous" evaluation by NASA to allow it to be available to scientists through the Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition program. Now that the quality has been verified, GHGSat data will soon be available for scientific and other noncommercial applications through NASA's Earthdata portal. GHGSat is one of several companies with contracts to provide commercial Earth science data through that NASA program. [SpaceNews]   Other News Chinese scientists are proposing a range of lunar infrastructure projects. The concepts, published in a journal article last month, include a comprehensive system providing data communication, positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), as well as space situational monitoring services for ground-based, near-Earth, cislunar, lunar surface and deep space users. Those systems would include satellites in "frozen" lunar orbits as well as Earth-moon Lagrange points and elsewhere in cislunar space. The cislunar space infrastructure is designed to support major national lunar exploration projects and also to accelerate the development of China's space industry. [SpaceNews] A new study finds that the growth of the space industry is largely uncorrelated with other market sectors. The study by venture capital firm SpaceFund, presented at the ASCEND conference Tuesday, found that the growth rate for the space economy was weakly correlated, at most, with major stock market indices and other asset classes, like oil and gold. That likely reflects the strong government funding going into the space industry, the company argues, adding it presents an opportunity for institutional investors seeking to diversify their portfolios. [SpaceNews] Tuesday's Atlas 5 launch was a success. The Space Force's Space Systems Command confirmed seven hours after the liftoff of the rocket on the USSF-51 that the classified payload was placed in its planned orbit. The launch was the final national security mission for the Atlas 5 as ULA moves those launches to its new Vulcan rocket after its completes its certification later this year. [Space Systems Command] Rocket Lab scrubbed an Electron launch Tuesday because of weather. The company called off the launch of a Synspective radar imaging satellite a few hours before the scheduled liftoff, citing rain and clouds in the area. Poor weather is forecast to persist for several days, and the company has rescheduled the launch for 12:15 p.m. Eastern Friday. [X @RocketLab] ESA says an initial review of the data from the inaugural Ariane 6 launch confirmed the performance of the rocket. ESA said Wednesday that reviews of data showed the vehicle's ascent to orbit and deployment of satellite payloads matched expectations, offering "great confidence in the validity and predictions" made before launch. The launch pad was also in good condition after the liftoff. A problem with the upper stage's auxiliary propulsion unit prevented a final burn of the upper stage to allow it to reenter, though, and ESA said that problem remains under investigation. [ESA]   The Right Number of Miracles "What you try to do is try to bring the number of miracles down, a miracle being a new technology, something we don't know yet. I don't want to be in the business of zero miracles. That's boring as hell. Let some other agency do that. But if you have many miracles, the problem is they start interacting. If you have n miracles, the complexity goes with n-squared." – Thomas Zurbuchen, former NASA associate administrator for science, discussing the balance of technology risk and performance on science missions during a panel discussion Tuesday at the AIAA ASCEND conference in Las Vegas.   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. 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Atlas 5's final salute to U.S. Space Force

National security insights for space professionals. Delivered Tuesdays.

View this email in your browser National security insights for space professionals. Delivered Tuesdays. In this week's edition: • ULA launches final national security mission on Atlas 5 • MITRE advises incoming admin on space warfare risks • SpaceX returns to flight with three consecutive launches If this newsletter was forwarded to you, sign up for free here Today's highlights: MITRE Corporation is publishing a series of papers aimed at the presidential transition teams, including one focused on the role of space systems in national security. The paper suggests the next administration examine options to deter rival power from using anti-satellite weapons against U.S. spacecraft. MITRE is a not-for-profit organization that operates several federally funded research and development centers. It operates the Center for Data-Driven Policy, which provides nonpartisan insights to inform government policy decisions. A paper titled "Improving U.S. Space Capabilities in Integrated Deterrence" recommends that the next administration prioritize the exploration of options to deter adversaries from employing anti-satellite weapons against U.S. space assets. This suggestion comes amid growing concerns about the vulnerability of crucial space-based systems to potential attacks from rival powers. Other Points in the paper The U.S. relies heavily on space-based systems for military, intelligence, and economic functions. Adversaries like Russia and China are developing capabilities that threaten U.S. space assets, highlighting the need for a robust deterrence strategy. Traditional deterrence methods may not be effective in space due to the potential for large debris fields from kinetic attacks, which could endanger all spacefaring nations. The document notes that adversaries may not share the same level of dependence on space systems as the U.S., complicating deterrence efforts. It outlines actions for the new presidential administration to take within the first 100 days, including: Clarifying U.S. responses to various types of attacks on space systems. Planning budget adjustments to enhance resilience in space capabilities. Increasing adversary perceptions of U.S. defensive capabilities through improvements and strategic messaging. Atlas 5's final salute to U.S. Space Force A U.S. Space Force mission designated USSF-51 lifted off on Tuesday morning on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, marking ULA's 100th national security mission and the last NSSL launch on an Atlas 5 rocket. Falcon 9 returns to flight SpaceX successfully returned its Falcon 9 rocket to flight on July 27 following a two-week grounding due to an anomaly on a previous mission. The return to flight mission launched 23 Starlink satellites from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch came after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cleared SpaceX to resume flights on July 25. The anomaly on the July 11 mission was caused by a liquid oxygen leak due to a crack in a sense line for a pressure sensor. As a corrective action, SpaceX removed the failed sense line and sensor from the second-stage engine for near-term Falcon 9 launches. Following the successful return to flight, SpaceX conducted two more Starlink launches within 24 hours — one from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and another from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. In the new episode of the SpaceNews Leading Women in Space series, correspondent Debra Werner speaks with Shannon Pallone, Program Executive Officer (PEO) for Battle Management Command, Control & Communications, Space Systems Command, U.S. Space Force. In other news 🚀 The Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) is moving forward with plans to develop new financing tools, including a loan program aimed at supporting critical technologies in the United States. These include technologies supporting space launch, satellite manufacturing and space-based services. The OSC issued requests for information seeking public input as it prepares to launch loans and loan guarantees for critical technology and supply chain components. The public comment period ends on October 22. Ursa Major, a rocket propulsion startup based in Colorado, opened a new additive manufacturing research center in Youngstown, Ohio. The company uses 3D printing technology to produce rocket engine components and solid rocket motors. "Ursa Major is expanding its R&D efforts to meet a rapidly growing portfolio of U.S. Department of Defense development contracts," said CEO Joe Laurienti. A new report on U.S. military efforts to deploy a proliferated, networked system of smaller satellites highlights the promise and potential pitfalls of the program. The report by  the Aerospace Corporation examines the Space Development Agency's initiative to transform the military space architecture using a disruptive approach to satellite acquisitions. It credits the SDA for creating a distinct acquisition model that enables rapid delivery of new capabilities, and also highlights potential hurdles the SDA must overcome. Thanks for reading ! Please send comments, suggestions and tips to serwin@spacenews.com Copyright (C) 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