12/06/2024 | View in Browser | Welcome to our roundup of top SpaceNews stories, delivered every Friday! This week, President-elect Donald Trump chose Jared Isaacman to helm NASA, the space agency formally delayed Artemis 2 and 3, the Vega C returns to space, and more. | | |
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By Jeff Foust, Dec. 4, 2024 |
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President-elect Donald Trump has selected Jared Isaacman, a billionaire who has commanded two SpaceX commercial spaceflights, as his choice to be the next administrator of NASA.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, the social media site he is affiliated with, said Dec. 4 that he selected Isaacman to be the next administrator of NASA. That nomination, once official, will require Senate confirmation.
"Jared will drive NASA's mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration," Trump posted. "Jared's passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era." Read More |
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NASA further delays next Artemis missions At a press conference Dec. 5, NASA leadership said they were delaying the Artemis 2 and 3 missions after finding the root cause of erosion of the Orion heat shield on the Artemis 1 mission two years ago. Under the revised schedule, Artemis 2, which had previously been scheduled to launch in September 2025, is now set to launch in April 2026. That will delay Artemis 3 to mid-2027. Read More
New EU space commissioner outlines priorities Andrius Kubilius formally started his tenure as the European Commissioner for Defence and Space on Dec. 1 after members of the European Parliament confirmed him among a slate of 26 commissioners Nov. 27 for five-year terms. He says he will will focus on improving European competitiveness and security in space, including passage of a long-delayed space law. Read More | | |
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| | Long March 6A launches third batch of Thousand Sails constellation satellites
A Long March 6A rocket lifted off at 11:41 p.m. Eastern, Dec. 4 (0441 UTC, Dec. 5) from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, north China. Aboard was the third batch of 18 flat panel satellites for the Thousand Sails megaconstellation, which will provide low Earth orbit communications services. Read More
PSLV rocket launches Europe's Proba-3 mission to mimic solar eclipses A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) lifted off at 5:34 a.m. Eastern (1034 UTC, 4:04 p.m. local time) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. It successfully sent the Occulter and Coronagraph spacecraft pair forming the Proba-3 mission, which will create artificial solar eclipses, into the desired orbit. Read More
Vega C successfully returns to flight
A Vega C successfully launched an Earth observation satellite Dec. 5 in the rocket's first flight since a failure nearly two years ago. The Vega C lifted off from the European spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana, at 4:20 p.m. Eastern. The launch was previously scheduled for Dec. 4 but delayed a day because a problem with the mobile launch gantry at the pad. Read More | | |
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 | MILITARY |
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| U.S. Navy awards X-Bow $60 million to modernize solid rocket production facilities
The contracts will support improvements at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division in Maryland, using X-Bow's 3D printing technologies to produce solid rocket motors and propellants. The project is part of the Navy's $2.7 billion, 15-year modernization plan for its industrial base. Read More
Lockheed Martin challenges narrative on GPS vulnerability
Lockheed Martin is challenging the prevailing narrative that military users of the Global Positioning System (GPS) are dangerously vulnerable to service disruptions and is emphasizing the advanced security features set to debut with the upcoming GPS IIIF satellites. While GPS is widely viewed as an indispensable backbone of the global economy, it is simultaneously seen as a fragile technological system vulnerable to sophisticated electronic warfare techniques and signal disruption. Read More
U.S. Air Force awards Varda $48 million to test payloads on reentry capsules
A California-based startup focused on in-space manufacturing, Varda Space developed a factory-in-orbit spacecraft — a compact, 120-kilogram satellite engineered to produce high-value materials such as pharmaceuticals in zero-gravity conditions. The four-year deal with AFRL, announced on Nov. 26, leverages Varda's W-Series reentry capsules as platforms to test payloads at hypersonic speeds. Read More |
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| | OPINION |
|  | By Steve Kwast, Dec. 4, 2024
| Global power is increasingly determined in space. Before a single shot is fired, tomorrow's battles will be won in space, not on Earth. Air forces, armies and navies will win or lose battles based on who controls and dominates the space frontier.
This shift is the most urgent and important national security threat that most Americans have never heard about.
The United States Space Force has reported that China is experiencing a "strategic breakout" in space. China has detailed plans that it is steadily executing, putting the country on a path to capturing key strategic industries, key geographic regions and resources in space. China is on track to surpass the U.S. in space power within decades. Read More
Maintaining American leadership: Space Force funding and legislative autonomy
By Charles Beames and Angel Smith
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SpaceNews is committed to publishing our community's diverse perspectives. Whether you're an academic, executive, engineer or even just a concerned citizen of the cosmos, send your arguments and viewpoints to opinion@spacenews.com to be considered for publication online or in our next magazine. | | |
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| Sponsored Post |  | By Lockheed Martin
By the 2040s, the Moon is bustling with international research and commercial infrastructure, transforming its barren surface into a livable ecosystem. At the heart of this thriving community lies the Artemis Base Camp at the lunar south pole, equipped with landing pads, refueling stations, habitats, and resource facilities. Here, water-ice mined from the Moon's surface becomes a game-changer, supplying water, breathable air, radiation shielding, and essential propellants for space travel. Read More
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