Plus: Starlink's direct-to-device beta launches with T-Mobile, NASA commits to continuous human presence in LEO
| | | A SpaceNews daily newsletter | | 12/17/2024 | | | | | A Falcon 9 launch of a GPS satellite Monday night served as a demonstration of a "rapid response" capability for the U.S. Space Force. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 7:52 p.m. Eastern on a mission that had been publicly identified only as RRT-1. The mission carried the GPS 3 SV-07 spacecraft, placing it into its planned medium Earth orbit. The mission was called RRT-1 for Rapid Response Trailblazer-1 and was intended to demonstrate military capabilities to condense a typical two-year mission planning cycle to less than six months. The GPS spacecraft was originally scheduled to launch on a ULA Vulcan Centaur in late 2025, but reassigned to Falcon 9 this summer. The Space Force said that this move was less about Vulcan delays and more about testing the boundaries of the National Security Space Launch program. [SpaceNews]
A new report concludes that SpaceX will generate nearly $12 billion in revenue this year from its Starlink constellation. The report by Quilty Space said its forecast of $11.8 billion in Starlink revenue is driven by strong consumer demand and growing U.S. military contracts. In a report in May, Quilty Space projected $6.6 billion in Starlink revenue this year. The revised forecast includes a previously undisclosed $537 million Pentagon contract to provide services for Ukraine's military forces through 2027. [SpaceNews]
T-Mobile is starting to sign up customers for direct-to-device services from Starlink satellites. The free beta program is available to all T-Mobile customers with compatible devices and postpaid voice plans, although first responders will receive priority access. T-Mobile expects to begin offering text messaging using the service early next year, offering connectivity in "dead zones" with no terrestrial service. Unlike Apple's space-enabled messaging for iPhones, introduced in 2022 via Globalstar's constellation, T-Mobile said Starlink-powered connectivity will not require users to point their phones skyward in search of a signal. [SpaceNews]
Thailand has signed the Artemis Accords, becoming the first country to be a part of both the Accords and a Chinese counterpart. Thailand's space agency GISTDA signed the Accords in a ceremony in Bangkok Monday attended by the U.S. ambassador, making Thailand the 51st nation to join. The signing comes eight months after the country signed a memorandum of cooperation with China on its International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), which includes a set of principles analogous to the Artemis Accords. U.S. officials have long stated there was no obstacle for an ILRS signatory to also join the Artemis Accords. [SpaceNews]
The final version of a NASA low Earth orbit microgravity strategy endorses keeping people in orbit continuously. The strategy, released Monday, backed a concept called "continuous heartbeat" by NASA where it would maintain people in space continuously as it transitions from the International Space Station to commercial stations. The agency had been weighing continuous heartbeat against "continuous capability" that opened the door to gaps in human presence in LEO. NASA said science needs, including planning for future human missions to Mars, led it to adopt continuous heartbeat, along with maintaining an industrial base of companies operating in LEO. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | China launched a set of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellites Monday. A Long March 2D rocket lifted off at 1:50 p.m. Eastern and placed four PIESAT-2 satellites into orbit. The spacecraft are part of a planned constellation of 16 SAR satellites. [Xinhua]
A new NASA strategy for the robotic exploration of Mars calls for flying small missions to the planet frequently. The strategy, published last week, focuses on flying small missions with focused science objectives at every Martian launch window, supplemented with some larger missions as well as missions of opportunity that fly payloads on other nations' spacecraft. The strategy also endorses use of commercial capabilities, particularly for infrastructure like communications and imaging. The 20-year strategy has three science themes that include the search for life, comparative planetology and preparing for human missions to Mars. [SpaceNews]
The United States and Luxembourg have signed a 10-year agreement on space cooperation. The agreement was signed by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson last week during a visit to Luxembourg and covers a broad range of potential activities on the Earth and in space. Nelson was in Luxembourg to lead a presidential delegation to mark the 80th anniversary of World War II's Battle of the Bulge. [Luxembourg Times]
Saturn rings may be much older than previously thought. Studies of the famous rings based on data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft led scientists to conclude that they were between 100 million and 400 million years old based on the lack of darkening of the icy material that makes up the rings. However, a study published Monday by Japanese researchers suggests that the rings may be "dirt-resistant" and do not darken as they are hit by rocky micrometeoroids. That could mean that the rings are far older, perhaps several billion years old. [AP]
| | | | | | Shakespearean Drama on the ISS
"With these Dragon undocks, you can't help but wondering whether it is to be or not to be, that is the question. And today, it was to be."
– NASA astronaut Don Pettit, speaking Monday after a Dragon cargo spacecraft undocked from the station after nearly two weeks of delays caused by poor weather at splashdown locations off the Florida coast.
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