Plus: Musk lacks security clearance for top SpaceX missions, ULA pitches Centaur as space interceptor
| | | A SpaceNews daily newsletter | | 12/16/2024 | | | | | The European Union and ESA have signed contracts with an industrial consortium for a satellite constellation costing 10.6 billion euros ($11.1 billion). At a ceremony in Brussels Monday morning, ESA and EU officials, along with executives from the SpaceRISE consortium of Eutelsat, Hispasat and SES, formally signed contracts for the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²) constellation. IRIS² will include more than 290 satellites in medium and low Earth orbits, with launches scheduled for 2029 and 2030. The EU will provide 6 billion euros and ESA 550 million euros, with SpaceRISE contributing the rest. IRIS² is designed to provide secure connectivity for European civil government and security needs as well as consumer broadband services. [SpaceNews]
Rivada Space Networks says it is confident it can regain access to key spectrum after losing its license in Liechtenstein. That country's telecom regulator rescinded a Ka-band license more than two months ago over what Rivada said was "a difference of opinion about the timing of the deposit of a performance bond." The company says it believes that it can reapply for the priority spectrum rights before mid-2026, when the company has to have deployed half its proposed 576 satellites under the ITU's constellation deployment rules. Rivada has yet to launch any satellites and has provided few details about the financing needed to deploy the system. In November, Rivada announced it had filed for additional spectrum at the ITU across Ka, Q and V bands through Germany, which the company says is not intended to replace the Liechtenstein filing but "is fully capable of meeting the needs of our customers and our business plan" if needed. [SpaceNews]
United Launch Alliance says its Centaur upper stage could be repurposed as a "space interceptor." ULA CEO Tory Bruno discussed this vision at the recent Spacepower Conference as the company seeks to differentiate itself as a launch provider from SpaceX. Bruno suggests that with upgrades, the Centaur V could serve as a long-endurance vehicle for counterspace missions and could rapidly respond to developing threats. Bruno argued that the U.S. government should foster unique capabilities among launch providers rather than encouraging competition solely on price. [SpaceNews]
The FAA is making it easier for companies launching from federal ranges to get a launch license. The agency said Friday that it will allow companies to use the safety analyses needed to launch from federal sites in California, Florida and Virginia to satisfy aspects of the FAA's Part 450 licensing process. Companies had previously had to duplicate those analyses for the FAA, and they argued it resulted in additional time and expenses that were not necessary. The move comes as the FAA is working to make longer-term changes to improve the Part 450 licensing process while also under pressure from Congress to make reforms. [SpaceNews]
A joint U.S.-Indian Earth science mission is now expected to launch next March. The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission was scheduled to launch earlier this year, but the agencies postponed the launch to make modifications to a large deployable reflector that could get too warm while in a stowed configuration after launch. That work is now complete and the satellite is in storage waiting for a launch opportunity, a NASA official said at the AGU annual meeting last week. The launch on an Indian GSLV rocket has to wait until after another GSLV launch scheduled for mid-January, followed by six to eight weeks of work to refurbish the launch pad. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | China launched the first satellites of a second megaconstellation on Monday. A Long March 5B rocket lifted off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center at 5 a.m. Eastern carrying the first group of satellites for China's national Guowang ("national net") megaconstellation. Chinese officials declared the launch a success but did not disclose the number of satellites on board or their planned orbits. Guowang is projected to have 13,000 satellites to provide broadband services. It will join Qianfan, or Thousand Sails, another megaconstellation that has already placed 54 satellites in orbit on three launches this year. [SpaceNews]
SpaceX launched another set of Starlink satellites Friday. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 4:55 p.m. Eastern and deployed 22 Starlink satellites. The launch was the 124th by the Falcon 9 so far this year. [Space.com]
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk lacks the security clearances needed to access information about key classified programs at the company. While Musk has a top-secret clearance, he does not have clearances for "sensitive compartmented information" required for specific programs SpaceX is performing for the U.S. government. That means he cannot enter SpaceX facilities where that classified work is taking place and doesn't have access to information about some spacecraft SpaceX launches. Musk received a top-secret clearance in 2022 only after several years of effort, which people in SpaceX believed was linked to Musk smoking marijuana in a 2018 Joe Rogan podcast. SpaceX lawyers said they were concerned reports about Musk's drug use and contacts with foreign officials like Vladimir Putin might not only make it difficult to get a higher clearance but could also result in losing his top-secret clearance. That problem may become moot, though, in the incoming Trump administration, given Musk's close ties to the president-elect. [Wall Street Journal]
Space Florida is considering a proposal from an unnamed company planning to invest $1.8 billion in launch infrastructure at Cape Canaveral. A meeting this week of the board of Space Florida, the state's space development organization, includes discussion of an effort codenamed "Project Hinton" where the agency would provide matching funds for a "high-volume production facility, high bay, and related infrastructure" along with utility improvements. The company behind Project Hinton plans to create 600 jobs and invest $1.8 billion in the project. The company is not named on the document but one likely contender is SpaceX, which plans to develop facilities at Cape Canaveral for its Starship vehicle. [Florida Today]
Latvia is planning to finally sign the Outer Space Treaty. The country's Cabinet of Ministers has approved a draft law that would see the Baltic nation ratify the 1967 treaty, after the government announced earlier this year that it would sign on to the treaty. Latvia is the only member of the European Union that has not joined the treaty, which 113 countries have ratified. Latvia is also seeking to join the UN's Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. [Public Broadcasting of Latvia]
| | | | | | The Week Ahead
Monday:
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International Space Station: Rescheduled undocking of the SpaceX CRS-31 Dragon cargo spacecraft at 11:05 a.m. Eastern.
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Taiyuan, China: Scheduled launch of a Long March 2D carrying an unidentified payload at 1:55 p.m. Eastern.
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Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Rescheduled launch of a Falcon 9 on the RRT-1 mission at 7:51 p.m. Eastern.
Monday-Wednesday:
Tuesday:
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Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 on the NROL-149 mission for the NRO at 4:20 a.m. Eastern.
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Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand: Scheduled launch of an Electron carrying a Synspective StriX-2 radar satellite at 9 a.m. Eastern.
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Washington/Online: CSIS hosts "Celebrating the U.S. Space Force and Charting Its Future" to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S. Space Force.
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Kennedy Space Center, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying two O3b mPower satellites at 3:59 p.m. Eastern.
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Spaceport Kii, Japan: Rescheduled launch of the second Kairos rocket carrying five small satellites at 9 p.m. Eastern.
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Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying four Astranis satellites at 10:38 p.m. Eastern.
Tuesday-Thursday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
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Chinese Coastal Waters: Projected launch of a Ceres 1S rocket carrying an unknown payload at 5:20 a.m. Eastern.
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Online: The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies hosts a webinar with Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall at 10 a.m. Eastern.
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International Space Station: Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner conduct a spacewalk outside the station starting at about 10:10 a.m. Eastern.
Friday:
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Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 on a dedicated rideshare mission at 6:53 a.m. Eastern.
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Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying the Thuraya 4-NGS communications satellite at 8:26 p.m. Eastern.
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Kennedy Space Center, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying a set of Starlink satellites at 11:28 p.m. Eastern.
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