More Tests for Starliner - SpaceNews This Week

Top stories of the week from SpaceNews

Welcome to our weekly roundup of the top SpaceNews stories of the week, brought to you every Friday! This week, NASA and Boeing announced another round of Starliner thruster tests, SpaceX's Falcon 9 is cleared to fly, the Pentagon is moving forward with a new loan program, and more. Our Top Story More thruster tests for Starliner before return By Jeff Foust, July 26, 2024 NASA and Boeing will fire thrusters on the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft docked to the International Space Station this weekend in what may be a final test before approving the spacecraft's delayed return to Earth. At a July 25 briefing, NASA and Boeing managers said they have not set a date for the undocking of the Starliner from the station, returning NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth to conclude the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission. The spacecraft has been at the station since June 6 for what was originally billed as a stay of as short as eight days. Only after the upcoming thruster tests will NASA embark on a final series of reviews, including at the agency level, to confirm that Starliner is safe to return home and set a date. "I think we're starting to close in on those final pieces of the flight rationale to make sure that we can come home safely," Steve Stich, NASA commercial crew program manager, said, with that agency-level review planned for as soon as late next week. Other News From the Week LAUNCH Falcon 9 cleared to resume launches The company said in a July 25 statement that it is ready to resume launches as soon as July 27, adding that it had completed and summitted to the Federal Aviation Administration its mishap report about the July 11 launch, where the rocket's upper stage failed to perform a second burn and stranded its payload of Starlink satellites in an orbit too low for them to survive. ABL loses rocket after static-fire test ABL Space Systems announced July 22 that the rocket it planned to use for the company's first launch in 18 months suffered "irrecoverable" damage in a fire after a test firing, further delaying its return to flight. The launch was to be the first since the inaugural RS1 launch in January 2023. SaxaVord prepares for first orbital launch The Shetland Islands spaceport expects to soon be ready to host the first vertical orbital launch from U.K. soil. Saxavord deputy chief executive and operations director Scott Hammond said he expects the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority to issue the spaceport's final licenses in September. MILITARY Raytheon partners with Italy's Avio to boost solid rocket motor production The companies said the agreement, announced July 23 by Raytheon, aims to enhance the resilience and responsiveness of solid rocket motor production amid surging demand driven by global conflicts, notably the war in Ukraine. The partnership will leverage Italian aerospace firm Avio's existing manufacturing and engineering capabilities in Italy. The company has an American subsidiary Avio USA headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Akima lands $480 million Space Force modernization contract The U.S. Space Force awarded Akima's subsidiary Five Rivers Analytics a $480 million 10-year contract to support and modernize the Satellite Control Network — a decades-old system of 19 globally distributed parabolic antennas spread across several locations worldwide. Pentagon seeks input on new loan program for critical technologies 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 on July 24, seeking public input as it prepares to issue loans and loan guarantees for critical technology and supply chain components. COMMERCIAL Astranis fully funds Omega with $200 million fundraise The fundraise will covert the entire Omega program up to the launch of the first next-generation broadband spacecraft in 2026, the geostationary satellite maker announced July 24. The venture has raised $750 million since it was founded in 2015 to provide more cost-effective satellites that, around the size of a dishwasher, are much smaller than classic, school bus-sized geostationary broadband spacecraft. Star Catcher banks $12.25 million for orbital energy grid Star Catcher Industries, a startup focused on beaming solar energy to spacecraft in low-Earth orbit, raised the capital in a seed round announced July 24. Star Catcher plans to deliver broad solar spectrum energy on demand to each client spacecraft's solar arrays. Their space-based energy grid is designed to provide spacecraft with five-to-10 times the amount of power they generate on their own. Rocket engine startup Ursa Major adds 3D printing lab in Ohio Ursa Major, a rocket propulsion startup based in Colorado, opened a new additive manufacturing research center to produce rocket engine components in Youngstown, Ohio, the company announced July 25. Ursa Major's expansion in Ohio builds upon its existing Advanced Manufacturing Lab, established in 2021 in partnership with America Makes. CIVIL Review concludes proposed NASA budget cuts would end Chandra NASA established the Operations Paradigm Change Review (OPCR) committee this spring to look at ways of reducing the costs of operating orbital observatories to deal with a billion-dollar shortfall in agency science funding. The fiscal year 2025 budget proposal included a 40% cut in Chandra's budget, with further reductions through 2029; the committee concluded there is no way to continue operating Chandra with these cuts. European Space Agency to expand UK presence The European Space Agency unveiled plans July 23 to expand its presence in the United Kingdom as the country announced 2.1 million pounds ($2.7 million) of funding for programs tackling space industry skills gaps. ESA and the UK Space Agency said they are exploring the potential for a space quantum technologies laboratory in the country. AI U.S. military to award $3 billion contract for AI-driven intelligence The program, known as Long-Range Enterprise Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Activity (LEIA), seeks to procure a wide spectrum of commercial data and advanced AI-driven analytics, integrating information from ground, aerial, and space-based platforms. The LEIA contract is expected to be awarded later this year. It is a full and open competition and several firms are expected to compete for the award. NASA's CAPSTONE is testing "Autopilot" software suite for cislunar operations CAPSTONE is testing a software suite that manages autonomous station keeping, identifies anomalous spacecraft behavior, and provides rapid navigation and maneuvering, which is expected to prove useful for future operations in lunar orbit, such as those of the Gateway space station. OPINION China's domestic turmoil risks escalating space tensions By Kyle Hiebert, July 24, 2024 Independent political risk analyst and former Africa Conflict Monitor editor Kyle Hiebert argues that China's extreme information suppression and crackdown on domestic communications will only further escalate geopolitical tensions, as lines of free communication break down and conflicting factors are left guessing one another's intentions. "Should Xi Jinping find himself in need of a unifying distraction from domestic turmoil in the months and years ahead," Hiebert writes, "look for China to become more overtly jingoistic in space. For the benefit of everyone, the West must avoid playing into his hands by retaliating in kind." SpaceNews is committed to publishing our community's diverse perspectives. Whether you're an academic, executive, engineer or even just a concerned citizen of the cosmos, send your arguments and viewpoints to opinion@spacenews.com to be considered for publication online or in our next magazine. 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 USA Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe