National security insights for space professionals. Delivered Tuesdays.

In this week's edition:

• U.K. officer joins U.S. Space Force headquarters staff

• General Atomics gets new contract to build military weather sat

• D-Orbit establishes U.S. subsidiary

If this newsletter was forwarded to you, sign up for free here

Today's highlights:

A senior officer from the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force has joined the staff of

U.S. chief of space operations Gen. Chance Saltzman, the Space Force announced last week.

U.K. Air Vice Marshal Paul Godfrey, the former commander of U.K. Space Command, is the first foreign officer to join the U.S. Space Force command staff.

Godfrey serves as the U.S. Space Force as assistant chief of Space Operations for Future Concepts and Partnerships.
"This is a significant step forward in promoting closer cooperation with an important ally, and it exemplifies the kind of partnership we need to internalize as a service," Saltzman said in a statement.
Godfrey assumes the rank of air marshal, equivalent of lieutenant general, and will advise Saltzman in all matters related to the achievement of space superiority and resilience through international partnerships.

Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman hosts an office call to officially welcome U.K. Air Vice Marshal Paul Godfrey to the Space Force staff in the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., June 18, 2024. Godfrey is the former commander of U.K. Space Command and the first foreign officer to join the U.S. Space Force command staff. (U.S. Air Force photo by Andy Morataya)

SpaceX workhorse rocket Falcon 9 grounded

After more than 300 consecutive successful launches, a Falcon 9 suffered an in-flight anomaly last week, dooming its payload of Starlink satellites and leading to the grounding of the rocket pending an investigation.

The rocket's second-stage engine failed to complete its second burn as planned, resulting in a "rapid unscheduled disassembly" (RUD) or explosion.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched an investigation into the incident.
SpaceX suggested that a liquid oxygen leak may have been responsible for the failure.

A military space mission impacted by the Falcon 9 grounding is the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) that had been scheduled to lift off July 15 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.

ASBM carries two twin satellites built by Northrop Grumman for Space Norway, in cooperation with Inmarsat and the Norwegian Ministry of Defense. The mission also includes the U.S. Space Force Enhanced Polar System-Recapitalization (EPS-R) payloads

Falcon 9 launches the @Turksat 6A mission to orbit from Florida

Europe's Ariane 6 finally reaches orbit

The European Space Agency successfully launched the Ariane 6 rocket for the first time on July 9 from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. This inaugural flight marked a significant milestone for Europe's space program, restoring the continent's independent access to space.

The rocket experienced an issue with its upper stage, however. The Auxiliary Power Unit on the upper stage failed, preventing the rocket from performing a planned deorbit burn.
The malfunction prevented the deployment of two payloads into a distinct orbit and the planned controlled deorbiting of the upper stage.
Weighing approximately two tons, the upper stage along with two payloads will remain in orbit at an altitude of 580 km instead of burning up upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere as originally planned.

The Ariane 6 program represents Europe's effort to compete in the global launch market, particularly against SpaceX's dominance.

The next Ariane 6 launch is planned for later this year.

Check out the SpaceNews Leading Women in Space series. Correspondent Debra Werner speaks with Tina Ghataore, Group Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer, and CEO North America at Areospacelab.

In other news 🚀

The U.S. Space Force awarded General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems a contract for a second weather satellite.

The company will provide three years of operational services for two Electro-Optical Weather System, or EWS, satellites.

"We are currently working toward the delivery of the first EWS satellite and associated ground systems, with spacecraft build and EO/IR payload testing well underway," said Scott Forney, president of General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems.

The U.S. Space Force announced last week it delivered two laser retroflector arrays to Lockheed Martin for GPS III satellites.

The arrays are part of a program to integrate hosted payloads on GPS satellites ahead of launch call up. They will be installed on the 9th and 10th GPS III spacecraft scheduled to launch in 2025.

The payloads will be part of NASA's Space Geodesy Program space instrument network. The arrays will allow NASA to make precise range measurements, enabling accurate determination of the Earth's center.

NASA and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency will use the data to maintain a globally available terrestrial reference frame.

View of the reflection of a Laser Retroreflector Array through a testing apparatus at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Laser retroreflector arrays make it possible to do laser ranging – using small bursts of laser light to detect distances between objects. (Photo courtesy of NASA)

D-Orbit, the European space transportation company, has established a joint venture in the United States to enter the satellite manufacturing business.

D-Orbit USA is a joint venture between the company and five American co-founders who have worked on satellite programs such as OneWeb, Project Kuiper and Starlink.

"The formation of D-Orbit USA marks a significant milestone in our strategic expansion into the U.S. market," said Luca Rossettini, chief executive of D-Orbit Group.

Thanks for reading ! Please send comments, suggestions and tips to serwin@spacenews.com