 | | | Welcome to our weekly roundup of the top SpaceNews stories of the week, brought to you every Friday! This week, Republican former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe endorses Harris, Lockheed Martin will acquire Terran Orbital, the FAA postponed environmental hearings on Starship, and more. |
| | | | |  | By Jeff Foust, August 16, 2024 |
| A Republican former NASA administrator is endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, for president.
Appearing at an online fundraising event Aug. 15, Sean O'Keefe, who served as NASA administrator from late 2001 through 2004 under President George W. Bush, said he was supporting Harris for president in part because of her work on space issues but also because of what he considered to be a lack of a traditional Republican opponent |
| | | | NASA pushes Starliner return decision to late August At an Aug. 14 briefing, Ken Bowersox, NASA associate administrator for space operations, said a flight readiness review regarding Starliner's return to Earth is now planned for late next week or early the following week, which would be the last week of August. That is a somewhat later schedule than what the agency offered at the previous Starliner briefing Aug. 7.
FAA postpones hearings on Starship environmental review The FAA announced Aug. 12 that it has called off a set of public hearings on an environmental review linked to SpaceX's plans to increase the number of Starship launches from its South Texas facility. The public hearings were intended gather input on a draft environmental assessment regarding the increased launch cadence.
Senate bill would create center to study satellite interference with astronomy The Dark and Quiet Skies Act of 2024, introduced Aug. 1 by Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to create a "center of excellence" devoted to mitigating light and radio-frequency interference by satellites on astronomical observations.
NASA watchdog finds quality control problems with Boeing SLS work In a report released Aug. 8, NASA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) said there were significant issues with Boeing's work on the Block 1B version of SLS being done at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, which it attributed to a lack of an acceptable quality management system and trained workforce. |
| | | | | Lockheed Martin to acquire Terran Orbital Lockheed said Aug. 15 it would buy Terran Orbital for $0.25 per share in cash and retire the company's existing debt. The deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter, has an enterprise value of $450 million. Shares in Terran Orbital closed Aug. 14 at $0.40.
Redwire to satellite manufacturer Hera Systems The acquisition aligns with Redwire's efforts to strengthen its foothold in the defense market and support specialized national security space missions in geostationary orbit, the company said in a statement.
Northrop Grumman continues to trim space workforce in California U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman on Aug. 12 filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice (WARN) with state and local government agencies announcing plans to lay off 550 full-time employees at its space business facilities in Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach, California, marking another round of job cuts in the sector.
Apex offers GEO version of Aries satellite bus The Los Angeles-based company announced Aug. 15 it is now selling GEO Aries, a version of its Aries small satellite bus first flown earlier this year to low Earth orbit adapted for GEO applications.
Terran Orbital removes Rivada constellation from revenue backlog Terran Orbital has removed the broadband constellation it is developing for Rivada Space Networks from the backlog of revenues in its accounts, even though the manufacturer still expects to get $2.4 billion from their contract. The company's backlog now stands at $312.7 million, according to earnings results disclosed in a regulatory filing Aug. 12. |
| | | Space Force to expand missile-defense satellite network in medium Earth orbit The Space Systems Command on Aug. 9 released a "request for prototype proposals" inviting vendors to submit designs for satellites known as Missile Track Custody Epoch 2, marking the second phase of the Space Force's program to develop a missile-tracking network in medium Earth orbit.
Lockheed Martin taps General Dynamics for solid rocket motor manufacturing The agreement, announced Aug. 13, will see General Dynamics manufacture rocket motors designed by Lockheed Martin for the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), a GPS-guided artillery rocket system used by the U.S. military and allies for long-range fire support.
Weapons in space: Study suggests path forward for arms control A new study by the Aerospace Corporation's Center for Space Policy and Strategy that focuses on monitoring compliance with arms control agreements proposes leveraging new space situational awareness technologies and data collection methods to enhance verification capabilities. This approach would involve integrating data from commercial and academic sources with government monitoring systems, potentially building broader trust and redundancy in space verification information. |
| | | Atlas AI reveals work with Airbus Atlas AI announced Aug. 13 that Airbus is relying on its geospatial platform, which pairs satellite imagery with artificial intelligence, to gain insight into travel demand, airport catchment areas and infrastructure change. Airbus and Atlas AI began working together about a year ago. |
| | |  | | |  | | | |  | By Dimitra Atri, August 12, 2024 |
| As humanity embarks on a new era of space exploration, of establishing permanent human bases on the moon and Mars, sustainability must become the bedrock of our exploration efforts beyond Earth. With the NASA-led Artemis program, private lunar exploration initiatives and the China-led upcoming International Lunar Research Station, our return to the moon and push towards Mars are set to define the 21st century. However, as we chart these new territories, the environments of the moon and Mars are at risk of irreversible alteration by human activity. We must adopt sustainability as a core principle in space exploration to safeguard their pristine environments and, by extension, our own future on Earth.
Get Space Weather Policy Right By Daniel N. Baker, August 14, 2024
Russian nukes in space: Why a Cold War response will only make it worse By Charles Beames, August 15, 2024
Make Space Great Again By Greg Autry and Robert S. Walker, August 16, 2024 |
| 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. |
| | | | Moog Unveils New, Radiation-Hardened Space Computer to Support the Next Generation of High-Speed Computing On-Orbit By Moog Inc. Moog Inc. (NYSE: MOG.A and MOG.B), a worldwide designer, manufacturer, and integrator of precision motion control components and systems, announces the development of its newest space computer to support the next-generation of on-orbit computing needs.
Lynker Space Unveils New Operational Space Weather Forecasting Capability By Lynker Space Lynker Space, now a global leader in space weather forecasting, announced today a new capability for predicting and mitigating space weather threats to numerous industries and critical services.
Announcing the launch of Starris: Optimax Space Systems, lifting precision optical payloads from idea to orbit in one year By Starris: Optimax Space Systems The commercialization of space is creating unprecedented opportunities for the space economy. Starris: Optimax Space Systems is entering the new space race to swiftly lift customer ideas into orbit via space-qualified optical payloads.
MIURA 5 SPARK Programme, presented by PLD Space, offering free access to first two MIURA 5 flights to promote space innovation By PLD Space PLD Space has presented its MIURA 5 SPARK Programme, which will allow educational centres, universities, institutions and companies from all over the world to access the first two MIURA 5 launches free of charge. |
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