Plus: FAA chief plans to resign in January, Rocket Lab reveals suborbital hypersonic test, China launches five experimental satellites
| | | A SpaceNews daily newsletter | | 12/13/2024 | | | | | Companies are seeking more support from the Space Force on a proposed commercial space reserve. The Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve (CASR) would allow the military to tap into commercial space assets during a crisis, and is modeled on the Civil Reserve Air Fleet. During a panel at the Spacepower Conference this week, executives said while they feel CASR is going in the right direction, they want more details and firmer commitments from the service on how it would use CASR. That could include early, meaningful contracts to support training and collaboration, as well as clearer guidance on the requirements for commercial players. [SpaceNews]
The military is increasingly relying on commercial capabilities to gain intelligence on space threats. Gen. Stephen Whiting, head of U.S. Space Command, emphasized at the Spacepower Conference the Commercial Integration Cell (CIC), a collaborative platform that has become a key mechanism for sharing sensitive information about space-based disruptions. Companies are using the CIC to provide early warning of interference or other threats. The CIC allows the military and selected companies to share that information in a classified setting. [SpaceNews]
L3Harris is scaling up satellite manufacturing to meet military demand. The company has secured orders for 38 satellites from the Space Development Agency (SDA) Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture program, which is leading the company to move from bespoke production models to high-rate manufacturing. A new factory opening next spring will focus on the production of infrared payloads on an automated assembly line. Growing demand from the SDA's constellations and others marks a turning point for the space manufacturing sector, the company argues, as the industry is forced to take new approaches to meet that demand. [SpaceNews]
A NASA Mars smallsat mission that missed its launch window this fall is looking at new options for launches in 2025 and 2026. The ESCAPADE mission was to send two smallsats to Mars on the first flight of Blue Origin's New Glenn in October, but NASA called off launch plans in September when it concluded the rocket would not be ready in time for a narrow launch window. The mission's principal investigator said at the AGU annual meeting this week that they are now looking at launch options in 2025 and 2026, with the spacecraft flying around the Earth-sun L-2 point before making an Earth gravity assist and going to Mars, arriving in September 2027. That change won't affect the overall science mission for ESCAPADE, to study the interaction of the solar wind with Mars' magnetosphere, and does not require changes to the spacecraft. [SpaceNews]
The Space Force plans to test "plug-and-play" modular satellite technology on an upcoming mission. Space Systems Command will test a modular interface system called Handle, developed by The Aerospace Corporation, in a future Tactically Responsive Space mission. Handle is a standardized electrical interface designed to integrate satellite payloads into a modular architecture, which simplifies the integration of payloads onto satellite platforms and could accelerate satellite integration work. [SpaceNews]
Virgin Galactic will work with Italian regulators on potential suborbital launches from Italy. The company announced Thursday it signed an agreement with ENAC, the Italian civil aviation regulator, to study technical and operational issues for flights of its Delta-class suborbital spaceplanes from Grottaglie Spaceport, an airport in southern Italy. A second phase of the study will also study economic and market issues for flights there. Company executives said earlier this year they were interested in expanding operations from Spaceport America in New Mexico but noted that would be a several-year effort. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | China launched five experimental satellites Thursday. A Long March 2D rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 2:17 a.m. Eastern and placed the five satellites into their planned orbits. The five satellites are described as part of the "High Speed Laser Diamond Constellation Test System" but with few other details about them. [Xinhua]
Rocket Lab provided details about a recent Electron suborbital launch as the company appears to be preparing for another. The company said this week it performed the launch of its HASTE version of Electron from Wallops Island, Virginia, in November as part of the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed (MACH-TB) project. Rocket Lab conducted the launch and also provided the experimental hypersonic instrumentation flown on it. Airspace notices suggest another, similar launch is planned from Wallops as soon as Friday night. NASA's Wallops Flight Facility said Thursday a suborbital launch is scheduled between Dec. 13 and 19 but provided no other details. [Rocket Lab]
Cofactr has raised $17.2 million to improve supply chains and logistics for aerospace companies. With the new funding, Cofactr will hire engineering and customer-service personnel to support its supply chain and logistics management platform designed for high-compliance industries like aerospace. Stoke Space, one of Cofactr's early customers, helped the founders recognize the rigorous data sovereignty, traceability and quality-management requirements space companies face. Cofactr also operates warehouses for electronic components used by high-compliance industries, and will expand those facilities with the new funding. [SpaceNews]
Locus Lock has raised funding for producing global navigation satellite system receivers. The Colorado startup develops receivers for maritime, airborne, terrestrial and space applications intended to provide high-end performance at lower prices. The company will use the undisclosed amount of funding it raised from several investors to expand its staff, scale up manufacturing and convert pilot program customers to regular customers. [SpaceNews]
The head of the FAA plans to step down. Mike Whitaker informed FAA staff on Thursday that he will resign effective Jan. 20. Whitaker was confirmed to a five-year term a little more than a year ago and was not required to resign in the change of administrations. Whitaker faced some criticism from industry and Congress for the slow pace of launch licensing and for fines the FAA levied against SpaceX for license violations. [Politico]
SpaceX wants to formally incorporate its Starbase test site as a city. The company submitted a letter to the leadership of Cameron County, Texas, seeking a special election to incorporate Starbase as a city. SpaceX said that incorporation of Starbase is needed to "continue growing the workforce necessary to rapidly develop and manufacture Starship." The company said that residents of Starbase submitted the petition for incorporation, but did not disclose how many people reside in the area. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk suggested three years ago that Starbase be incorporated, but did not advance the plans at the time. [AP]
| | | | | | No Returns
"I got to attend the landing just after I joined PSD last time out in Utah. That was tremendously exciting because, in Earth science, you never want anything to come back to the Earth."
– Charles Webb, acting director of NASA's planetary science division (PSD) who previously worked in the agency's Earth science division, recalling attending the 2023 landing of the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule during an AGU town hall meeting this week.
| | | | | | What's New With SpaceNews? | | Don't forget to sign up for our next webinar! |  | | Join us December 18 for a dynamic webinar that explores explores the critical intersection of commercial space innovation and defense sector transformation. | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment