Plus: ESA's 'very modest' science increase and possible cuts to JWST
| | | A SpaceNews daily newsletter | | 01/27/2025 | | | | | The defense industry is bracing for an acquisition overhaul in the Trump administration. A new guard of tech billionaires and venture capitalists expects to work with an administration stacked with like-minded reformers such as commercial space advocates and Silicon Valley veterans, all of whom want to take on legacy defense contractors. That could mean a shift from traditional cost-plus contracts to fixed-price ones. The role Elon Musk in particular plays in the administration presents both opportunities and challenges to the industry, given SpaceX's demonstration of the abilities of the commercial sector but also that company's market dominance. [SpaceNews]
A key political figure in those debates will be Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), who will lead a Senate subcommittee. The Senate Armed Services Committee announced Friday that Fischer will chair the strategic forces subcommittee, whose jurisdiction includes military space programs. Fischer has advocated for increased funding for next-generation missile defense systems and space-based surveillance technologies to counter emerging threats. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who chaired the subcommittee in the previous Congress, will serve as ranking member. [SpaceNews]
Despite exceeding expectations of astronomers, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) could face cuts to its operating budget. During the recent American Astronomical Society conference, officials with the Space Telescope Science Institute, which operates JWST, said NASA asked them to consider a 20% cut in the telescope's operating budget as soon as fiscal year 2026. They said that cut is linked to tight NASA budgets overall as well as operating cost estimates made more than a decade ago that were "somewhat idealistically low." The cuts would hurt productivity in multiple ways, from support for astronomers to availability of certain modes on JWST instruments and the resolution of problems with the telescope. The proposed budget reduction comes despite technical performance of the space telescope that far exceeds requirements and high demand for telescope time among astronomers. [SpaceNews]
ESA is seeking a "very modest" increase to its science budget at the next ministerial conference. At an online town hall meeting last week, Carole Mundell, director of science at ESA, said that while science programs received a 13% increase at the previous ministerial in 2022, that increase was wiped out by inflation and impacts from the war in Ukraine. The agency has found some efficiencies among its science missions, but she said an increase is needed at the ministerial in November to support new proposed missions, like one to land on Saturn's icy moon Enceladus. ESA's science programs are funded by mandatory contributions from its 23 member states, and all must agree on any increase. [SpaceNews]
China is opening up its lunar exploration program to commercial participation. STAR.VISION Aerospace Group Limited is working with Chinese and Turkish universities on small robots that will fly on the Chang'e-8 mission launching in 2028. STAR.VISION is the first Chinese private enterprise approved by the China National Space Administration to participate in the lunar exploration program, and its participation in this mission could signal broader roles for companies in the program, one that could include allowing commercial entities to attempt their own lunar missions. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | SpaceX launched a set of Starlink satellites early Friday. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 9:07 a.m. Eastern and placed 23 Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch, in the early morning hours in California, created brilliant views for people in the region as the rocket rose high enough for the plume to be illuminated by the sun, creating a "jellyfish" effect in predawn skies. [Noozhawk]
Blue Origin's next New Shepard flight will demonstrate lunar gravity. The company announced Friday that its next New Shepard flight is scheduled for launch as soon as Tuesday at 11 a.m. Eastern from its West Texas test site. The NS-29 mission will carry 30 payloads, nearly all in the crew capsule that, after separation from its booster, will spin up to simulate the moon's one-sixth gravity for at least two minutes. The payloads include experiments to test technologies that could be used on future lunar missions. This will be the first time Blue Origin has demonstrated this capability after first announcing plans to do so years ago. [SpaceNews]
Astronomers want a ban on space advertising, fearing the potential for interference with their observations. The American Astronomical Society announced this month a statement calling on nations to adopt bans on "obtrusive space advertising" that can be seen by the naked eye from the ground. Such advertising has been banned in federal law in the United States for decades, but astronomers said they are concerned other nations may pursue it, noting a space advertising technology demonstration mission by a Russian company last year. The society called on U.S. officials to advocate for a ban in international fora such as the U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). [SpaceNews]
A joint NASA-DARPA project to demonstrate nuclear thermal propulsion technologies is on hold. The Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) planned to test nuclear thermal propulsion in Earth orbit as soon as 2027, but project officials say that launch will be delayed indefinitely because of problems finding ways to safely test the system on the ground. Nuclear thermal propulsion uses a nuclear reactor to heat a propellant like hydrogen to create thrust and is more efficient than chemical propulsion. Testing the system on the ground is a challenge, project officials said, since there are no active facilities that could capture the exhaust and prevent the release of any radioactivity. Project officials said they still hope to fly the mission as they look for ways to conduct ground tests safely. [Aviation Week]
Japan is interested in cooperating with NASA on a future large space telescope. The Japanese government has created a team to look at ways the space agency JAXA could contribute to the Habitable Worlds Observatory, a mission projected to launch in the 2040s to observe the universe at optical and ultraviolet wavelengths. While JAXA did not participate on past space telescopes, like JWST, it hopes to leverage technologies from ground-based telescopes to find ways to contribute to this mission. [Kyodo]
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