 | Top Stories
KBR announced Tuesday it is acquiring defense and space contractor LinQuest for $737 million. LinQuest, owned since 2018 by a private equity firm, focuses on engineering, data analytics and digital integration for national security space missions. It has secured several major contracts with the U.S. Space Force, including a $500 million, five-year deal in 2021 for analysis support, and a potential nine-year, $200 million contract to advise and assist the Space Force's Space Operations Command. The deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter, would allow KBR to bolster its footprint in the national security space sector. [SpaceNews]
The head of NASA science is optimistic Europa Clipper will still launch this October despite spacecraft and launch concerns. The $5 billion mission to Jupiter's icy moon Europa features transistors that NASA said last week may not have the expected tolerance to radiation as required. It is also slated to launch on a Falcon Heavy, a vehicle grounded after a Falcon 9 upper stage anomaly last week. Nicky Fox, NASA associate administrator for science, said after a COSPAR conference session Tuesday that she was optimistic those problems could be overcome and that the mission was pushing ahead for an October launch. [SpaceNews]
The core stage for the second Space Launch System rocket is ready to go to Florida. NASA rolled out the core stage Tuesday from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, loading it on a barge for transport to the Kennedy Space Center. Once at KSC, it will undergo final outfitting and then be integrated with its boosters, upper stage and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 2 mission, launching no earlier than next September. Boeing, the prime contractor for the SLS core stage, said assembly of the second core stage went more smoothly as it implemented changes like use of lean manufacturing. [SpaceNews]
The head of NASA's space technology mission directorate has left the agency just six months after taking the job. NASA announced Tuesday that Kurt "Spuds" Vogel has retired from the agency, effectively immediately. Vogel took the job in January after serving as director of space architectures at NASA, spearheading work on the Moon to Mars Architecture. He will be replaced on an interim basis by Clayton Turner, director of the Langley Research Center. [SpaceNews]
Ramon.Space is setting up an engineering hub in the United Kingdom to help grow its space computing technology business globally. The California-based company said Tuesday that its newly created British subsidiary will focus on developing hardware and software for its radiation-resilient processors. The 80-person company plans to also use the U.K. office as a way to sell more in Europe. [SpaceNews]
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| Other News
Elon Musk announced Tuesday he would move the headquarters of SpaceX from California to Texas. Musk said the company, currently headquartered in Hawthorne, California, would move its headquarters to the company's Starbase site near Brownsville, Texas, in response to a new California law that protects the privacy of students who ask their teachers to refer to them by a different pronoun. The move is unlikely to have a significant impact on SpaceX operations in California, where it builds Falcon rockets and Dragon spacecraft. Musk moved the headquarters of electric vehicle company Tesla from California to Texas but still has a large factory in the state. [New York Times]
SpaceX is asking the FAA for an early safety determination to allow it to resume Falcon 9 launches. The company formally requested the FAA Monday to conclude that the upper stage anomaly experienced on a launch last week does not impact public safety, which would allow the company to resume launches even while it continues a formal mishap investigation. The FAA said it was reviewing the request. [Spaceflight Now]
The United States and Saudi Arabia have signed an agreement regarding space cooperation. The agreement, signed by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and the CEO of the Saudi Space Agency, created a legal framework for cooperative projects between the nations in space. The agreement also acknowledges the importance of the Artemis Accords, which Saudi Arabia signed two years ago, but does not mention any specific projects the two space agencies plan to collaborate on. [NASA]
Leonardo says it wants to work with Airbus and Thales on any combination of their space businesses. Roberto Cingolani, CEO of Leonardo, said his company was "working hard" on joint strategies with Thales and Airbus, a day after reports that those two companies were talking about combining at least part of their space businesses. Leonardo and Thales already collaborate on the satellite services joint venture Telespazio. [Reuters]
A meteor startled residents of New York City on Tuesday. The meteor flew over the city and broke apart about 46 kilometers above Midtown Manhattan. Some people reported hearing the meteor and feeling a shaking, but with no reports of damage or injuries. It was not clear if those sounds and vibrations were from the meteor or other activities. [ABC]
| |  | Touch the Moon
"I watch people every day walk into NASA Headquarters, where we have a moon rock in the lobby. I'm always amazed by how many people come to NASA Headquarters, people off the street, who come in and feel the moon rock. You see them go, 'Wow, that's a piece of the moon!' I may have done it myself."
– Nicky Fox, NASA associate administrator for science, during a fireside chat at the COSPAR Scientific Assembly Tuesday.
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