 | Top Stories
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner will return to Earth without a crew next month, requiring the two astronauts who launched on it to remain on the International Space Station until early next year. NASA announced Saturday that it decided it would be too risky to allow astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to return to Earth on Starliner given uncertainties about how the spacecraft's thrusters, which malfunctioned during its approach to the station in June, would perform during undocking and deorbit maneuvers. Starliner will depart the station in early September and land in the southwestern U.S. to free up a docking port for the SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which will launch with just two people. Williams and Wilmore will return on that spacecraft at the end of the Crew-9 mission in February 2025, stretching their time on the ISS from the original eight days to more than eight months. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said he spoke with Boeing's new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, who assured the agency that the company will continue the Starliner program despite recording $1.6 billion in losses to date. [SpaceNews]
Northrop Grumman won a $200 million Space Force contract to build a deep-space tracking radar. The contract, announced Friday, is for the second site of the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) program, which aims to create a global network of three advanced radar systems. This radar will be built in the United Kingdom, joining one already in development in western Australia and a future site in the United States. DARC is designed to provide continuous, all-weather coverage to detect, track, identify and characterize objects in geosynchronous orbit. [SpaceNews]
Nine space technology companies won a new round of contracts from the Space Force's SpaceWERX organization. The companies range from developers of satellites and reentry vehicles to producers of components such as batteries and antennas. The nine companies received a total of $146 million in Small Business Innovation Research funds, $155 million in additional government matching funds, and $217 million in private matching funds. [SpaceNews]
Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has delayed its inaugural flight to 2025 after losing a first stage in an explosion last week. The company said Friday that one of nine engines in the first stage suffered a "very unusual" anomaly during a static-fire test four days earlier, one not seen in previous engine tests. The engine had a fire in its oxygen pump that engineers could not contain, leading to the destruction of the entire stage. RFA is working on improvements in the next first stage, already being manufactured, that would contain damage if an engine suffered a similar failure. RFA confirmed that the failure will delay the first launch of its ONE rocket to some time next year. [SpaceNews]
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| Other News
Blue Origin plans to launch its next New Shepard mission later this week after resolving a parachute issue on the vehicle's previous flight. The company said Friday it has scheduled the NS-26 mission for Thursday from its West Texas site. The launch will be the first for New Shepard since a May mission where one of the three parachutes deployed from the crew capsule did not open fully. The capsule landed safely and the company said it implemented unspecified "corrective actions" with the system that controls the opening of the parachute. NS-26 will carry six people, including a NASA-funded researcher. [SpaceNews]
A Supreme Court decision could affect the FCC's ability to issue and enforce orbital debris mitigation regulations. The FCC has regulated orbital debris for companies it licenses for two decades, citing provisions in the Communications Act of 1934 that give it the authority to encourage "the larger and more effective use of radio in the public interest." However, officials at recent events have warned that may not be sufficient after the Supreme Court struck down the concept of "Chevron deference" in a ruling in June that had given agencies wider authority to interpret ambiguities in law. The solution, they argue, is to give the FCC or another agency explicit authority to issue orbital debris mitigation regulations through law, perhaps as part of broader efforts to enact "mission authorization" regulations for new space activities. It comes as the FCC prepares to bring into force regulations passed nearly two years ago that shortens the time companies have to deorbit debris from 25 years to 5 years. [SpaceNews]
An Australian company says it has some regrets launching its first satellite on a rideshare mission. Space Machines Company launched its 280-kilogram Optimus satellite on the Transporter-10 mission in March, but was unable to establish communications with it and wrote the satellite off as a loss in May. The company's CEO said it took the company weeks to determine which of the dozens of satellites deployed on Transporter-10 was Optimus, which "sup-optimized" efforts to establish communications and do any troubleshooting. It was unclear, though, if the spacecraft could have worked if it had been identified earlier. The company is planning to launch a larger version of Optimus, to demonstrate satellite servicing technologies, on a dedicated Indian SSLV rocket in 2026. [Cosmos]
Japan's space agency JAXA has formally ended the SLIM lunar lander mission. JAXA announced Monday that it was ending the mission after failing to hear from the lander in the latest communications pass. SLIM, or Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, landed on its side in January after suffering a thruster failure during its descent. Despite the off-kilter lander, the spacecraft was able to communicate with controllers. While not designed to survive the two-week lunar night, SLIM was able to operate into April. [AFP]
| |  | The Week Ahead
Monday: Tuesday: - Kennedy Space Center, Fla.: Rescheduled launch of a Falcon 9 on the Polaris Dawn private astronaut mission at 3:38 a.m. Eastern.
- Online: The National Academies' Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space holds a telecon to discuss the Earth science decadal survey midterm review at 4 p.m. Eastern.
- Online: The National Academies' committee on A Science Strategy for the Human Exploration of Mars holds an open meeting from 4:20 to 6:30 p.m. Eastern. The rest of the three-day meeting is closed.
Tuesday-Wednesday: Wednesday: Thursday: | | Nominate the Best in Space
The 2024 SpaceNews Icon Awards are now accepting nominations! Since 2017, these awards have celebrated the leaders, innovators, and trailblazers in the space industry. This year, we're expanding our recognition across a broader range of categories to honor those making significant contributions to space exploration, technology, and leadership.
🗳️ Do you know a company, individual, or team that deserves to be recognized? Nominate them today! Categories include Emerging Space Company, Mission Excellence, Innovative Technology, and more.
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🎉Join us in celebrating excellence in the space industry. Nominations are open until Friday, Sept. 6. Don't miss your chance to highlight those who are shaping the future of space.
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The 2024 SpaceNews Icon Awards will be held Friday, Dec. 6, at Washington, D.C.'s Intercontinental Hotel at the Wharf. Stay tuned for more details. | | | |
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