 | Top Stories
Airbus won a $2.5 billion contract from the German government for a military satellite communications system. The contract, announced Thursday, includes two large geostationary orbit communications satellites, based on the Eurostar Neo platform, along with ground segment upgrades, launch services, and operational support for 15 years. The SATCOMBw 3 system will replace the aging SATCOMBw 2 system delivered by Airbus 15 years ago. [SpaceNews]
Chinese satellite manufacturer MinoSpace says it has raised $137 million. The company, also known as Beijing Weina Star Technology Co., Ltd., announced the funding last month, with several Chinese funds participating. The company said the funding will ensure the successful implementation of major national and commercial missions like satellite internet and Earth observation, while also enhancing its supply chain and investing in core technologies. MinoSpace, founded in 2017, has developed eight satellite platforms ranging in size from 10 to 1,000 kilograms, with 24 of those satellites launched to date. [SpaceNews]
Ovzon's newest satellite is ready to begin commercial service. The Swedish operator said Friday that Ozvon 3 had reached its final position in GEO and completed tests. The first full-service customer for the satellite will be the French elite police unit GIGN, which plans to use the satellite for connectivity as the country prepares to host the Summer Olympics. The satellite launched in January and entered service just ahead of a July 4 "bring into use" deadline by the ITU. [SpaceNews]
The Space Force has added Blue Origin and Stoke Space to a contract vehicle for smallsat launches. The two companies are now part of the Orbital Services Program-4 (OSP-4) contract, allowing the Space Force to order launches from participating companies through task orders. Ten other companies are part of OSP-4. The Space Force's small launch division at Kirtland Air Force Base has awarded seven missions to date using the OSP-4 contract, totaling over $190 million. The OSP-4 contract has a ceiling of $986 million through October 2028. [SpaceNews]
Kazakhstan is the latest country to join the China-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) effort. The agreement was signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Kazakhstan last week, making it the 12th country to join ILRS, along with several other organizations. The announcement of the signing by China's foreign ministry also stated that the countries would explore options for commercial use of the countries' launch sites, which may be a sign that Kazakhstan is seeking to lessen its reliance on Russia for space activities. [SpaceNews]
A Russian satellite likely suffered a "low-intensity" explosion last month creating hundreds of pieces of debris. The assessment last week by space tracking company LeoLabs concluded that the Resurs P1 satellite was either hit by a small, untracked piece of debris or suffered an internal explosion June 26. That event created at least 250 pieces of debris large enough to be tracked, which will pose a hazard to other objects in low Earth orbit for weeks to months. [SpaceNews]
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| Other News
Firefly Aerospace launched a set of NASA-sponsored cubesats Thursday. An Alpha rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 12:04 a.m. Eastern on a mission for NASA under its Venture Class Launch Services Demo 2 program. The rocket carried eight cubesats from NASA, universities and a nonprofit organization, although only seven cubesats were initially confirmed to have deployed. The launch was the fifth for Alpha and the first since a December 2023 launch that suffered an upper stage malfunction that put its payload, a Lockheed Martin tech demo satellite, into a low orbit. [SpaceNews]
China launched a set of imaging satellites Friday. A Long March 6 rocket lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 6:49 p.m. Eastern and placed the Tianhui 5-02 satellite group into orbit. The satellites will be used for mapping and land resource surveys, Chinese media reported. [Xinhua]
Chinese astronauts installed debris shielding on a spacewalk outside the Tiangong space station last week. Ye Guangfu and Li Cong spent about six and a half hours outside the station on the spacewalk Wednesday, installing protection over items like cables and pipes on the station's exterior. One of the astronauts also used the station's robotic arm to perform an inspection of the station. [Xinhua]
A European parliamentarian is asking Eumetsat to reconsider its decision to launch a weather satellite on a Falcon 9. In a letter to Eumetsat, Christophe Grudler, a member of the European Parliament who has taken the lead on space issues, asked the European weather satellite agency to reconsider a decision announced in late June to launch the MTG-S1 satellite on a Falcon 9, rather than Ariane 6 as originally planned. Eumetsat said only that "exceptional circumstances" led to to switch vehicles for the satellite, scheduled to launch next year. Grudler asked Eumetsat to wait until after Ariane 6's inaugural launch, scheduled for Tuesday, before deciding how to launch MTG-S1. [Euractiv]
A private astronaut mission is now scheduled to launch at the end of this month. The Polaris program, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, announced last week that its Polaris Dawn mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than July 31, rather than mid-July as previously stated. Isaacman and three others will fly on Polaris Dawn, using a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft to test a new spacewalking suit. Polaris Dawn was originally projected to launch in late 2022. [Space.com]
NASA astronaut Pat Forrester has retired from the agency. Forrester retired June 29, NASA announced last week, after joining the agency as an aerospace engineer in 1993 and being selected as an astronaut in 1996. He spent 40 days in space on three shuttle missions devoted to assembling the International Space Station, conducting four spacewalks. He later served as chief astronaut from 2017 to 2020. [NASA/JSC]
Four people have returned from a year-long trip to "Mars" that never left Houston. The four analog astronauts emerged from a simulated Mars habitat at the Johnson Space Center Saturday, 378 days after they entered. The simulated mission, part of NASA's Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) program, tested human factors issues associated with long-duration missions to Mars. The four people spent the entire time in the small habitat, taking simulated "Marswalks" along the way. NASA is planning two more simulated Mars missions as part of CHAPEA. [AP]
| |  | The Week Ahead
Monday: - Online: Lt. Gen. David N. Miller, Jr., commander of the Space Force's Space Operations Command, speaks at a Michell Institute Schriever Spacepower Series webinar at 10 a.m. Eastern.
- Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying the Turksat 6A communications satellites at 5:20 p.m. Eastern.
- Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 10:46 p.m. Eastern.
Monday-Tuesday: Monday-Wednesday: - Tokyo: The Spacetide conference will examine commercial space issues with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
Tuesday: Wednesday: Wednesday-Friday: Thursday: Thursday-Friday: Friday: - Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 4:20 a.m. Eastern.
Saturday - July 21: | | | Join our expert panelists as they dive into the growing race for moon resources. REGISTER HERE | | | |
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