Plus: Crew Dragon returns after record-setting mission, Astra wins DIU contract for Rocket 4
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A Crew Dragon spacecraft returned to Earth this morning after a record-setting mission. The Crew Dragon spacecraft Endeavour splashed down off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 3:29 a.m. Eastern to end the Crew-8 mission, bringing back three NASA astronauts and one Roscosmos cosmonaut from the International Space Station. The mission spent 235 days in space, the longest for a crewed American spacecraft thanks to delays in both the launch of the Crew-9 mission and nearly three weeks of weather-related delays for splashdown. The Crew Dragon performed well despite that extended stay in orbit. NASA, in a statement several hours after splashdown, said the four-person crew was taken to a local medical facility for additional evaluation but did not explain why; the four appeared to be in good health when exiting the capsule after splashdown. [SpaceNews]
The vice chief of the U.S. Space Force offered a blunt assessment of the obstacles his service is facing. Speaking by video at the MilSat Symposium this week, Gen. Michael Guetlein laid out the Space Force's top concerns, from rival powers developing anti-satellite weapons to the difficulties of working with private companies in an increasingly militarized space environment. He addressed industry frustrations over conflicting messages from different parts of the U.S. government and the assumption that the Pentagon has limitless funding. "There are no big buckets of money that sit behind my desk, contrary to popular belief," he said. [SpaceNews]
The NRO will invite companies to propose remote sensing capabilities on an ongoing basis. The agency had previously used Broad Area Announcements with defined timelines for commercial imagery services, but starting next year the NRO will use a contracting mechanism called Commercial Solutions Opportunity. The NRO will invite companies to submit proposals for electro-optical, radar, hyperspectral and other remote sensing modalities the agency has previously investigated, allowing companies to submit proposals when they meet requirements laid out in the solicitation. [SpaceNews]
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) awarded Astra a contract to support work on its Rocket 4 launch vehicle. The contract, announced Wednesday, is valued at up to $44 million, although only about $2 million is currently funded. Astra said that the contract will provide the company with additional financial support to develop Rocket 4, which offers a mobile launch capability of interest to DIU. Astra hopes to have Rocket 4, with an initial payload capacity of up to 600 kilograms, ready for a first launch by the end of 2025. The company is also looking to raise about $50 million in funding after completing a deal in July to take the company private. [SpaceNews]
NASA is deferring a decision on any cutbacks to operations of two major space telescopes. At a town hall meeting this week, the agency said it will wait until after Congress passes a final spending bill for fiscal year 2025 before deciding what changes, if any, it will make to operations of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope. NASA had proposed a 10% cut in Hubble funding for 2025 and a 40% cut for Chandra, although a review panel this summer concluded that Chandra could not be operated at that proposed lower level. [SpaceNews]
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| |  | LMV is Lockheed Martin's Venture Capital arm, and about a third of its portfolio is invested in space. Some of its most notable space Investments include launchers Rocket Lab and ABL Space. | | | Other News |
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SpaceX launched another set of satellites Thursday for an NRO constellation. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 1:13 p.m. Eastern on the NROL-167 mission. The launch carried a fourth batch of satellites developed by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for an NRO proliferated constellation designed to track ground targets in near real time. Neither SpaceX nor the NRO disclosed the number of satellites on the launch. [SpaceNews]
The University of New Hampshire won a NOAA contract to develop a set of sensors to study solar winds. The $24.3 million contract announced Thursday covers work on Solar Wind Plasma Sensors for the Lagrange 1 Series project, part of NOAA's Space Weather Next Program. The sensors will be on spacecraft projected to launch in 2029 and 2032. [SpaceNews]
A new foundation is working to support New Mexico's space industry. The SpaceValley Foundation is taking several measures to promote the state's space industry, branding it as "Space Valley." That ranges from promoting the work of space companies in the state to public outreach, including through the arts. [SpaceNews]
An antenna for a joint NASA-ISRO Earth science mission is back in India. The antenna for the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) spacecraft arrived in India earlier this week after several months of work in the United States to mitigate the effects of higher-than-anticipated temperatures while stowed. The antenna, when deployed, is 12 meters in diameter and will be used for radar mapping of land and ice surfaces. NISAR is planned for launch in early 2025 from India. [NASA]
A new report shows the economic impact of NASA on the U.S. economy. The report released Thursday found that NASA activities in fiscal year 2023 resulted in more than $75.6 billion in economic input across the country and supported nearly 305,000 jobs through both direct and indirect spending. That included eight states where NASA's economic impact was more than $1 billion. [NASA]
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NASA vs. NASCAR
"The SpaceX team did an amazing job that they always do getting the capsule back onto the recovery vessel. That took only approximately 25 minutes. They're performing just like a NASCAR pit crew getting everything done in a quick and safe manner."
– Richard Jones, deputy manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, discussing the recovery of the Crew Dragon spacecraft after splashdown this morning to conclude the Crew-8 mission.
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