 | Top Stories
NASA officials said Monday that they were on track to decide by the end of the year how to revise the agency's Mars Sample Return (MSR) effort. At a National Academies committee meeting, MSR program officials said they had received eight studies from industry and four additional NASA-affiliated ones on ways to reduce the cost and shorten the schedule of MSR. Those studies will be examined by an independent committee announced last week with the support of an internal NASA team. Officials said they are holding to a schedule that calls for delivering recommendations to NASA leadership in December on the best way to alter MSR to reduce its cost, currently estimated to be as high as $11 billion, and to shorten a schedule that currently projects returning samples to Earth in 2040. [SpaceNews]
The Space Force will likely extend contracts for commercial broadband services from LEO constellations because of high demand. The Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (PLEO) Satellite-Based Services program, which began in 2023 with a $900 million cap over five years, is approaching its projected spending limit much sooner than anticipated. The contract provides access to low-latency satellite communication services from multiple commercial vendors to military users. The military has spent $660 million on the contract after just over a year, which a Space Force official said makes it likely they will soon raise the ceiling to continue providing services. [SpaceNews]
A flying data center will help the military aggregate data from satellites and other sources. Northrop Grumman said Monday that its Deep Sensing and Targeting (DSAT) system was tested in a U.S. Army exercise last month. DSAT uses a modified commercial aircraft with a data center on board to provide real-time intelligence based on satellite and drone data to troops in the field. The technology could help solve a persistent military challenge: getting precise targeting data quickly enough to guide long-range missiles and artillery in fast-moving combat situations. [SpaceNews]
The government of Luxembourg is investing in satellite connectivity company OQ Technology. Luxembourg Space Sector Development (LSSD), which the government co-runs with SES, contributed what the company called a "significant part" of an ongoing 30 million euro ($32 million) Series B funding round. OQ Technology said existing investors, including Saudi oil and gas company Aramco's venture capital arm, are also participating in the funding round. The company has 10 satellites in LEO to provide connectivity to remote monitoring and tracking devices and will use the new funding to expand that constellation while also exploring direct-to-smartphone services. [SpaceNews]
Italian smallsat manufacturer Argotec has opened a new headquarters and factory. The company inaugurated its SpacePark facility near Turin Friday, which hosts the company's 200 employees and has the capacity to produce up to one satellite a week. Argotec converted an existing building, a unique round "spaceship" design by famous architect Oscar Niemeyer, rather than build a new custom-designed facility. Argotec will use SpacePark for building satellites such as 25 spacecraft for the Italian IRIDE Earth observation constellation. The company is also considering expansion in the United States to serve U.S. government customers. [SpaceNews]
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| Other News
China launched a trio of radar calibration satellites late Monday. A Long March 6 rocket lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 8:10 p.m. Eastern and placed the Tianping-3A (01), B (01) and B (02) satellites into orbit. Chinese media described the satellites as designed for ground radar equipment calibration and radar cross section measurements, which could have military or civil applications. [SpaceNews]
SpaceX postponed a Starlink launch Monday afternoon. The company did not give a reason for the delay of the Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral, which had been scheduled for Monday evening. The launch has been rescheduled for Tuesday in a window that opens at 6:14 p.m. Eastern. [Spaceflight Now]
Weather is further delaying the return of the Crew-8 mission from the International Space Station. NASA said Monday it was waving off an undocking of the Crew Dragon spacecraft planned for Monday evening after weather conditions did not sufficiently improve at splashdown locations off the Florida coast. NASA said forecasts remain "marginal" for undocking opportunities Tuesday and Wednesday but are expected to improve later in the week. The departure of the Crew Dragon to conclude the Crew-8 mission has been delayed more than two weeks because of weather. [NASA]
Chile appears to be next in line to sign the Artemis Accords. NASA said Monday it will host a signing ceremony Friday afternoon where Chile's minister of science and the Chilean ambassador to the U.S. will sign the Accords. Forty-five nations have signed the Accords so far, including two earlier this month. [NASA]
Not only did Doritos fly a version of its tortilla chips in space on a recent commercial mission, it filmed an ad there. Members of the Polaris Dawn crew ate the "Zero Gravity Cool Ranch" and filmed themselves doing so, which Doritos turned into an ad. The chips are based on the smaller bite-sized "mini" Doritos, but with the flavoring applied through an oil rather than dusting of powder that could float away in the cabin. "They did taste like Doritos, but they also had a really cool flavor," said one Polaris Dawn astronaut, Anna Menon. [collectSPACE]
| |  | Always Look on the Bright Side
"We think of impact events as being disastrous for life. But what this study is highlighting is that these impacts would have had benefits to life, especially early on… these impacts might have actually allowed life to flourish."
– Nadja Drabon, an assistant professor at Harvard University, about a recent study by her research team that found that a massive asteroid impact 3.26 billion years ago may have helped the formation of life by dredging up layers of iron and phosphorus from the seafloor. [Cosmos Magazine]
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