 | Top Stories
NASA has canceled a half-billion-dollar robotic lunar rover because of cost and schedule problems. The agency announced Wednesday it was canceling the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission after its projected costs grew by more than 30% to nearly $610 million. The rover was to go to the moon on an Astrobotic lunar lander through NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program to look for water ice at the south polar region of the moon. NASA will keep the CLPS task order for Astrobotic's Griffin lunar lander, flying it instead as a technology demonstration mission with a mass simulator or commercial payload arranged by Astrobotic. NASA said it will take instruments and other components off the rover, but only after reviewing any proposals from industry or international partners to take over the rover at no cost to NASA. [SpaceNews]
The head of U.S. Space Command expects the Falcon 9 to resume flights soon. Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum Wednesday, Gen. Stephen Whiting revealed that he visited SpaceX's Starlink satellite factory in Seattle the day after a July 11 incident that led to the grounding of the Falcon 9 fleet. He said he had "full confidence" in SpaceX and was "sure they'll figure this out quickly" and resume launches soon. [SpaceNews]
The head of the Space Force says that international partnerships are critical. In an address at the 2024 Global Air and Space Chiefs Conference in London Wednesday, Gen. Chance Saltzman described a policy of "integrated by design" that acknowledges the Space Force's reliance on partnerships. He emphasized that this approach extends beyond military alliances to include collaborations with commercial industry, academia, and nonprofits. The speech comes shortly after he appointed the former head of U.K. Space Command, Air Marshal Paul Godfrey, as an assistant chief of space operations. [SpaceNews]
China is gearing up for the first flight of the Long March 12. A ceremony for the rocket was held Wednesday, according to a press release from the state-owned Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST), the rocket's developer. The announcement did not disclose a launch date, but it could be as soon as August from the commercial space launch center at Wenchang, Hainan island. The two-stage rocket is designed to place up to 12,000 kilograms into low Earth orbit, and will increase options for China to deploy satellite constellations. [SpaceNews]
Firefly Aerospace CEO Bill Weber has left the company. Firefly said Wednesday that Weber is no longer CEO, but did not disclose a reason for his departure and whether he resigned or was fired. A report earlier this week said the company was investigating allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with an employee. Weber had been the company's CEO for nearly two years. [SpaceNews]
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| Other News
LeoLabs will provide space tracking, monitoring and collision-avoidance services for a U.K. Space Command satellite. The space situational awareness company will provide those services for Project Tyche, a small satellite built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. scheduled to launch later this summer and part of a $1 billion program aimed at establishing a constellation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites in low-Earth orbit. LeoLabs called the contract a first step towards providing broader services for the U.K. Ministry of Defence. [SpaceNews]
A navigation startup is proposing to address GPS interference by doubling down on the system's newest civilian signal, L5. The company, oneNav, developed an "L5 direct" receiver for commercial use in smartphones and internet-of-things (IoT) devices. Tests of the device in areas with jamming of GPS signals found that the device was immune to interference compared to those that used older L1 signals. Despite its potential, the GPS L5 signal is not yet widely used as it's only being broadcast by 17 out of 31 GPS satellites in orbit, with full operational capability not expected until 2027. [SpaceNews]
Rosotics says it has developed a metal 3D printer for large aerospace structures. The printer can be used for producing tanks as well as engines and other aerospace structures, the company says. The first customer for the printer is small launch vehicle company Phantom Space. [SpaceNews]
There are more vacancies in the Pentagon office that handles space policy. John Plumb stepped down as assistant secretary for space policy in May, and his interim replacement, Vipin Narang, is expected to leave by September to return to academia. Travis Langster, principal director of space policy who had been handling issues such as the transfer of civil space traffic coordination responsibilities to the Office of Space Commerce, is now working for Bill LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition. [Breaking Defense]
ESA's Gaia spacecraft is suffering from a pair of problems. ESA said Wednesday that the spacecraft was hit by a high-speed micrometeoroid in April, damaging a protecting cover and allowing a tiny amount of sunlight in, which interferes with some observations. Electronics for one of the 106 CCDs in the spacecraft's main camera failed in May, the first to do so since the spacecraft was launched in 2013. ESA said engineers have made adjustments to spacecraft software to address both issues. [ESA]
| |  | 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.
| | | Join our expert panelists as they dive into the growing race for moon resources. Newly added bonus content includes a lively Star Trek vs. Star Wars discussion. WATCH HERE | | | |
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