| | | A SpaceNews daily newsletter | | 11/15/2024 | | | | | AST SpaceMobile announced Thursday launch contracts with Blue Origin and others to deploy a set of direct-to-device satellites. The company said it signed contracts for the launch of up to 45 Block 2 BlueBird satellites, with options for 15 additional satellites, enough to provide coverage across the United States and other key markets, such as Europe and Japan. An Indian GSLV rocket will first launch a single Block 2 BlueBird, followed by two SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, each carrying four satellites. The remainder would be launched eight at a time on Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket. AST SpaceMobile expects to start launching Block 2 BlueBirds, with antennas nearly four times the size of those on Block 1 satellites deployed in September, in mid-2025. [SpaceNews]
The CEO of Intuitive Machines says some "reformulation" of NASA's Artemis lunar exploration campaign may be needed. Speaking on an earnings call Thursday, Steve Altemus said that "budgetary and schedule realities" may require NASA to alter its approach to Artemis. He advocated for what he called an "infrastructure-first" approach that develops capabilities, such as transportation and communications, needed to support future sustained crewed missions. Such an approach would benefit Intuitive Machines, which has developed lunar landers and won a NASA contract in September for lunar data relay services. The company disclosed on the call that its next lander mission, IM-2, is now scheduled for launch in February. It also said it has taken over operations of the main camera on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter as well as the NASA-funded Shadowcam instrument on the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter after the principal investigator for both cameras joined the company. [SpaceNews]
Northrop Grumman plans to launch a satellite servicing mission in 2026 after achieving a key milestone in its development. The Naval Research Lab said Thursday it completed testing of a pair of robotic arms it developed for the Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV), delivering them to Northrop for integration onto that spacecraft. MRV will be used by SpaceLogistics, a subsidiary of Northrop, to extend the life of GEO satellites by installing Mission Extension Pods, systems that can take over propulsion for aging satellites for up to six years. [SpaceNews]
A Chinese official endorsed cooperation with the United States in space exploration. Speaking at the Beyond Earth Symposium this week, Zhou Guolin, minister counselor for science and technology at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said his country welcomes participation from all nations, including the U.S., on space exploration, and expressed optimism that such cooperation might one day be possible. He did not offer any specific proposals for cooperation. Bilateral cooperation between NASA and Chinese entities is sharply restricted by the Wolf Amendment, and U.S. officials have shown little interest in removing or otherwise reducing those restrictions. [SpaceNews]
China unveiled the latest version of its Long March 9 heavy-lift rocket that is strongly inspired by SpaceX's Starship. The revised Long March 9 design, unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow, features a two-stage design where both stages land and are reused. Chen Ziyu, a designer at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, said the Long March 9 can place 100 tons in low Earth orbit and 50 tons into a lunar transfer orbit, but said that reusability will come later in the vehicle's development. The design of the Long March 9 has evolved considerably over several years, starting with more traditional expendable concepts. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | Companies are turning to artificial intelligence to handle the more tedious parts of proposal writing for government contracts. Those AI tools can be used to scan government databases to identify the most relevant contract opportunities and to ensure that proposals meet all the requirements and specifications included in requests for proposals. Companies developing such AI tools argue they are intended to accelerate responses to government RFPs, not replace human proposal writers. [SpaceNews]
Impulse Space has purchased three Falcon 9 launches for its Helios transfer vehicle. The company said Thursday it signed a contract with SpaceX for the launches, the first of which is scheduled for mid-2026 from Florida. That launch will be the inaugural flight of Helios, carrying a payload for the Victus Surgo mission for the Space Force and Defense Innovation Unit. Impulse said the schedule and payloads for the other two Helios launches will be determined later. Helios is a high-energy kick stage announced by Impulse in January intended to quickly move payloads from LEO to GEO or other orbits. [SpaceNews]
The Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) won a $60 million contract to build three instruments for monitoring the sun. NASA, acting on behalf of NOAA, announced Thursday it awarded SwRI the contract to build the coronagraph instruments for the Lagrange 1 Series project, part of NOAA's Space Weather Next program. The coronagraphs, like the other Space Weather Next instruments, are designed to gather data for NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, which issues forecasts, alerts and warnings of geomagnetic activity caused by solar storms. [SpaceNews]
The CEO of Airbus believes that SpaceX would be considered a monopoly in Europe. Speaking at an aviation event in Germany Thursday, Guillaume Faury argued that SpaceX's "super-concentrated" business model that combines satellite manufacturing, launch and operations is something that would run afoul of antitrust rules in Europe. He acknowledged that Airbus and other European companies need to adapt to SpaceX: "If we don't move in launchers and in satellites, if we just stay with where we are, we're going to be obsolete." [Reuters]
The Canadian province of Ontario is buying capacity on Starlink. The Ontario government announced the Ontario Satellite Internet program Thursday, spending $92 million Canadian ($66 million) to reserve capacity on Starlink for 15,000 customers in the province, and will pay installation in equipment fees. Officials said they held a competitive procurement that led them to select Starlink but did not disclose what other proposals it received. [CBC]
SpaceX has reportedly dropped plans to swap land for its Starbase site. The company originally proposed a deal with Texas officials to transfer 477 acres near a wildlife refuge to the state in exchange for 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park adjacent to Starbase. However, in a letter to state officials, the company said it is "no longer interested" in that swap, but didn't explain why. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission had approved the swap earlier this year but was then sued by local groups who alleged the agency had not considered alternatives. [Bloomberg]
| | | | | | Sheep and Space
"Since the first launch by Rocket Lab in 2017 we've gone from zero to now being the third most frequent launcher — actually equal, as of this month, with Russia — which is maybe not the image that you have of New Zealand, if you've got an image of us based on Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit of beautiful landscape with quite a few cattle and sheep roaming around. Yes, we do have that, too."
– Rosemary Banks, New Zealand's ambassador to the United States, discussing her country's growing role in space during a session of the Beyond Earth Symposium this week.
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