Plus: NASA's future under Trump's pick for administrator, and Globalstar teams with Parsons on secure satellite service.
| | | A SpaceNews daily newsletter | | 12/09/2024 | | | | | A top Space Force general issued a stark warning this weekend about China's growing capacity to challenge U.S. dominance in orbit. Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum Saturday, Gen. Michael Guetlein, vice chief of operations of the Space Force, described the evolving space environment as increasingly hostile, marked by the erosion of longstanding norms and the emergence of new threats to U.S. space assets. He claimed that past tacit agreements among space powers not to interfere with each other's space systems had given way to increasing efforts to jam and spoof satellite signals and conduct cyberattacks. Guetlein emphasized that addressing the threat will require a fundamental shift in how the United States approaches space operations, with closer collaboration with international allies and commercial industry. [SpaceNews]
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson says he is "basically optimistic" about NASA's future in the incoming Trump administration. At a briefing last week, Nelson said Elon Musk's current influence with President-elect Trump "is going to be a benefit to making sure that the funding for NASA is there." Nelson said that while he had spoken with Jared Isaacman, who Trump announced last week he planned to nominate to replace Nelson, he declined to discuss those conversations or what advice he might offer his likely successor. Isaacman has received strong support from many in the space community, seeing him as bringing passion and a business background into the agency. [SpaceNews]
Satellite communications provider Globalstar has teamed up with defense contractor Parsons to bring to market a secure messaging and data transmission service for military users. Parsons developed a specialized waveform that enables secure communication through Globalstar's satellite constellation. Parsons said it decided to work with Globalstar because those satellites use L- and S-band communications, as well as Globalstar's "bent-pipe" architecture that makes it easier to upgrade the waveform without changes to the satellites themselves. [SpaceNews]
The new solar and space physics decadal survey recommends NASA pursue two flagship missions in the next decade. The report, released last week, recommended NASA start work on Links, a constellation of satellites to study the Earth's magnetosphere, and Solar Polar Orbiter, a mission to fly over and take images of the polar regions of the sun. Each mission would cost roughly $2 billion to develop, with launches in the mid-2030s. However, a top priority of the previous decadal survey, the Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC), is being proposed for cancellation by NASA in its 2025 budget request, citing "other priorities" in the budget. The leaders of the new decadal survey emphasized the importance of GDC and said NASA's heliophysics budget needed to grow significantly to support GDC and future recommended missions. [SpaceNews]
Portuguese space traffic management startup Neuraspace has installed a second optical telescope for tracking objects in orbit. The company announced last week it set up a telescope in Chile as a companion to one it established earlier this year in Portugal, enabling monitoring of both the northern and southern hemispheres of objects as small as 10 centimeters across. Neuraspace plans to pool those observations with data gathered from public sources and partnerships with other ground telescope providers to improve space traffic management services for satellite operators. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | SpaceX launched a set of Starlink satellites shortly after midnight Sunday. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 12:12 a.m. Eastern and placed 23 Starlink satellites into orbit, 13 with direct-to-cell capabilities. The Falcon 9 booster used for this launch was previously a side booster on a Falcon Heavy used to launch a NOAA weather satellite in June. [Florida Today]
Japan's space agency JAXA has all but ruled out a launch of the Epsilon S rocket for at least several months after a recent static-fire explosion. A JAXA official said last week that it was unlikely the small launch vehicle would make its first flight by the end of the current Japanese fiscal year in March, as previously planned, after a solid-fuel motor exploded in a test in late November. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation. [Jiji Press]
Language in a defense authorization act would extend key commercial spaceflight provisions. A section in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act, released Saturday, would extend the commercial spaceflight "learning period" by three years. That learning period, which is currently set to expire Jan. 1, limits the ability of the FAA to issue regulations for commercial human spaceflight occupant safety. Industry sought a longer extension in separate House and Senate bills now considered unlikely to pass this year. The NDAA also extends the launch indemnification regime, where the government indemnifies third-party losses above levels set in the launch license that the launch operator is responsible for, by three years as well. [SpaceNews]
The private-equity owner of an aerospace supplier is considering a sale or IPO of that company. Trive Capital is considering deals for Karman Space and Defense that would value the company at $3 billion. The company makes components for propulsion, interstage and payload deployment systems on launch vehicles, in addition to work in hypersonics and other defense programs. [Bloomberg]
Elon Musk's latest accomplishment is being immortalized in wax. Madame Tussauds unveiled a wax figure of Musk at The Explorers Club in New York recently. The figure will go on display in a new "Space Room" at the New York branch of Madame Tussauds that will include unidentified "astronauts and other cultural pioneers." [What's Trending]
| | | | | | The Week Ahead
Monday-Friday: Tuesday: Tuesday-Wednesday: -
Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.: The Abu Dhabi Space Debate includes sessions on space sustainability and security. -
Albuquerque, N.M.: The NewSpace Showspace Summit will connect commercial space companies with government organizations and investors. Tuesday-Thursday: Wednesday: Thursday: -
Jiuquan, China: Projected launch of a Ceres-1 rocket with an undisclosed payload. -
Washington: The Italian Embassy hosts the National Italian Space Day event with talks about collaboration between the United States and Italy in space. -
Vandenberg, Calif.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying a set of Starlink satellites at 2:33 p.m. Eastern. Friday: -
Washington/Online: The 19th Annual Eilene M. Galloway IISL Symposium Critical Issues in Space Law includes panels on various space law topics. -
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying a pair of O3b mPower satellites at 3:55 p.m. Eastern. -
Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying a set of Starlink satellites at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. -
Space Port Kii, Japan: Scheduled launch of a Kairos rocket carrying five small satellites at 9 p.m. Eastern.
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