 | Top Stories
SpaceX is ready to resume launches of its Falcon 9 as soon as late tonight, two weeks after an upper stage anomaly. The company said late Thursday that it has completed its mishap report into the July 11 launch, where a liquid oxygen leak prevented the upper stage engine from performing a second burn, leading to the loss of 20 Starlink satellites. The leak was traced to a crack in a line that houses a sensor, and caused "excessive cooling" of engine components that led to a hard start of the Merlin engine for its second burn. SpaceX will remove the sensor line, noting that the sensor is not needed for flight safety. The FAA confirmed that it concluded that the incident did not pose a public safety risk, allowing SpaceX to resume launches. SpaceX is targeting just after midnight Eastern tonight for a Falcon 9 launch carrying Starlink satellites. [SpaceNews]
AST SpaceMobile says its first commercial direct-to-device satellites are ready for launch. The company announced Thursday the five Block 1 BlueBird satellites are ready to ship to Florida for launch on a Falcon 9 scheduled for September. Each Block 1 BlueBird will have 10 times the capacity of its BlueWalker-3 prototype, which has achieved download rates of about 14 megabits per second since launching to LEO in 2022. Those satellites are designed to provide connectivity for mobile phones out of reach of terrestrial networks. [SpaceNews]
Akima won a 10-year contract worth $480 million to support and modernize the Space Force's Satellite Control Network (SCN). The contract, called Satellite Control Network Tracking Station Operations, Remote Site and Mission Partner Support or STORMS, allows the Space Force to procure services as needed for the SCN, a decades-old system of 19 globally distributed parabolic antennas spread across several locations worldwide. In operation since 1959, the SCN is running out of capacity and in dire need of modernization, the GAO warned last year. Akima said it will incorporate "emerging technologies" to improve the resiliency and efficiency of the SCN. [SpaceNews]
One new report urges the U.S. military to more fully commit to using small satellites. The report by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, released Thursday, calls on the military to fully leverage the innovations in small satellite technology to enhance its space capabilities and maintain superiority in a contested domain. The report recommends the Department of Defense boost production rates, strengthen supply chains, and increase funding to support large-scale smallsat deployment. [SpaceNews]
Another new report highlights the benefits and weaknesses of using smallsats for constellations. The Aerospace Corporation, in a report Thursday, examined the development of constellations by the Space Development Agency (SDA) for missile warning and communications. The report credits the SDA for creating a distinct acquisition model that enables rapid delivery of new capabilities, breaking away from traditional, often slower procurement methods. However, it highlighted challenges in demonstrating the effectiveness of such systems as well as an ambitious launch schedule. [SpaceNews]
A Pentagon office is seeking input on a proposed new loan program for critical technologies that include space systems. The Office of Strategic Capital released requests for information this week as it prepares to issue loans and loan guarantees for critical technology and supply chain components. The office is particularly interested in responses from companies and lenders working in 31 component areas identified as promising critical technologies and assets, including space launch, spacecraft, and space-enabled services and equipment. Comments are due to the office in October. [SpaceNews]
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| Other News
NASA and Boeing plan more thruster tests before allowing the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to return from the International Space Station. At a briefing Thursday, officials said they plan to fire nearly all the reaction control system thrusters on Starliner this weekend while docked to the ISS to confirm they are still performing well. This comes after ground tests that sought to duplicate the flight profile of the vehicle to try to replicate the thruster issues Starliner experienced on its way to the ISS in June. NASA has not set a date for Starliner's return, but noted an agency-level review of the spacecraft, one of the last milestones before undocking, could take place as soon as the end of next week. [SpaceNews]
Morpheus Space is ramping up electric propulsion production in a new German factory. The factory in Dresden will initially produce 100 GO-2 Field Emission Electric Propulsion-based thrusters per year, but could be scaled up to produce up to 500 units annually. Morpheus executives decided to expand production after hearing current and prospective customers complain of waiting a year for propulsion deliveries. In the past, Morpheus produced slightly more than a dozen propulsion systems a year. [SpaceNews]
Senate appropriators have offered slightly more money for NASA. The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a commerce, justice and science bill Thursday that would give NASA $25.43 billion in fiscal year 2025, $50 million more than what NASA requested about $250 million more than in the House bill. Appropriators have not released the text of the bill and report with additional details on spending, but noted in a markup session that it supports Artemis and other agency priorities. [SpacePolicyOnline.com]
The consortium of European companies proposing to build a satellite constellation for the European Commission is fraying. Airbus and Thales Alenia Space are planning to drop out of the SpaceRise consortium that had been on track to receive a multibillion-euro contract to build the IRIS² secure connectivity constellation. Those companies would instead serve as contractors to build the satellites rather than as full partners. The Commission has given SpaceRise until early September to submit a revised proposal even as delays and cost overruns threaten the overall program. [Politico]
The Swedish military is examining using a fighter jet as an air-launch platform. The Swedish Air Force and Defense Research Agency are partnering on a study called Stella that would examine the feasibility of using the Gripen jet as a platform for launching a small rocket. Swedish officials said they believe such a capability could offer response launch services, but with no guarantee it will be developed. [Breaking Defense]
A Martian rock may contain a "potential biosignature" of past life on Mars. Scientists say that a rock analyzed by the Perseverance rover contains white patches, dubbed "leopard spots," that could be minerals produced by biological activity in the planet's past. The rock shows evidence of having been exposed to water when the planet was warmer and wetter. The rover has taken a sample of the rocket for later return to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign that NASA is currently revising the architecture for. [Washington Post]
| |  | Lies, Damned Lies and Launch Dates
"If anybody tells you in this industry when a launch is going to be, they're lying to you because there are a lot of speed bumps."
– Scott Hammond, deputy chief executive and operations director of SaxaVord Spaceport, during a presentation at the Farnborough International Airshow this week.
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