Friday, February 28, 2025

🆘Lunar Trailblazer's Rough Start - SpaceNews This Week

02/28/2025

Welcome to our roundup of top SpaceNews stories, delivered every Friday! This week, NASA's Lunar Trailblazer is in trouble, BAE wins a space weather contract, China plans a new sun-studying mission, and more.

Our Top Story

Lunar Trailblazer, Odin spacecraft suffering problems after IM-2 launch

By Jeff Foust, Feb. 28, 2025

Two spacecraft, one from a startup and the other built by a major aerospace company, are experiencing problems after their launch as rideshares on a lunar lander mission.

NASA's Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft was one of three rideshare payloads on the Falcon 9 launch of the IM-2 lunar lander for Intuitive Machines Feb. 26. Those payloads deployed from the Falcon 9 upper stage several minutes after IM-2 was released.

NASA said in a statement about four hours after launch that Lunar Trailblazer had powered up and started transmitting as planned. However, in a subsequent statement late Feb. 27, NASA said that communications with the spacecraft had been lost at about 7:30 a.m. Eastern that day, or roughly 12 hours after launch. Read More

Other News From the Week

CIVIL

China to train Pakistani astronaut for Tiangong space station mission

The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) and the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) signed the "Agreement on the Selection and Training of Pakistani Astronauts and Their Participation in China's Space Station Missions" in Islamabad, Pakistan, Feb. 28, CMSEO announced. Read More

BAE wins $230.6 million contract for space weather program

BAE Systems won a $230.6 million NASA contract to deliver spacecraft for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency's Lagrange 1 Series space weather project. Under the firm-fixed-price award, announced Feb. 21, BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems, formerly Ball Aerospace, will develop Lagrange 1 Series spacecraft, integrate instruments, and support flight and mission operations. Contract-related work, scheduled to begin this month, will be performed in Boulder, Colorado, through January 2034. Read More

China to send a spacecraft out of the ecliptic to study the Sun's poles

The Solar Polar Orbit Observatory is currently scheduled to launch in 2029. The spacecraft will perform a gravity assist maneuver at Jupiter, altering its course to enter a high-inclination orbit around the Sun, enabling observations of the solar poles. Read More

Loving SpaceNews This Week? Check out SpaceNext: AI, where we look at how artificial intelligence is becoming integral to the space industry, and how companies and agencies are using it for their missions.

POLICY & POLITICS

House hearing debates ways to improve Artemis

Two former government officials offered conflicting advice to a House committee on how to change NASA's Artemis lunar exploration campaign, but agreed that a return to the moon was a prerequisite for human missions to Mars. Read More

South Korea approves strategic plans for space

The Korea AeroSpace Administration's (KASA) strategic plans for the sectors of space transportation, satellites, and space science exploration were approved by the third National Space Council held Feb. 25. "Flagship projects" for these strategies include reusable launch vehicles and orbital transfer vehicles, ultra-high-resolution satellites and very-low Earth orbit (VLEO) satellites with multi-layered orbital navigation systems, and a space observatory to be sent to the Sun-Earth L4 Lagrange point—a region of space yet to be visited—and lunar landers. Read More

COMMERCIAL

SES shareholder pushes to curb state control to tackle market challenges

A shareholder with more than 7% of SES' economic interests is calling for reduced state control over the Luxembourg-based satellite operator, arguing that greater independence is needed to tackle mounting challenges. Read More

Eutelsat hails pioneering 5G test over LEO

Amid growing efforts to bridge satellites and mobile networks, Eutelsat said it has successfully employed its OneWeb low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation to connect a broadband terminal with a core 5G network using next-generation smartphone protocols. Read More

MILITARY

War of words heats up over Space Force's strategic posture

A recent critique of the U.S. Space Force's guiding principles for competing against adversaries has provoked strong pushback from the Space Force's leadership and its advocates, exposing disagreements about how the U.S. should prepare for potential conflicts beyond Earth's atmosphere. Read More

U.S. Air Force to explore Xona Space's commercial alternative to GPS

California-based startup Xona Space Systems has been awarded a $4.6 million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to demonstrate how its satellite-based positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) service could support military operations, the company announced Feb. 25. Read More

OPINION

How independent space companies can fight back against misinformation from Elon Musk and Donald Trump

By Rick Liebling, Feb. 28

The space industry thrives on precision, innovation and scientific rigor. But in today's media landscape, facts often take a backseat to spectacle. Two of the loudest voices in the space sector — Elon Musk and Donald Trump — garner an inordinate amount of media coverage and wield massive platforms of their own to shape narratives, often making exaggerated or outright false claims. This allows them to not only push their own agendas, but to turn public sentiment against their rivals whether they be political or commercial. One need only look at their recent comments regarding the ISS and accusation of "abandoned astronauts" for an example of how this can play out. For independent space companies, this presents a serious challenge: how do you counter misinformation when your adversaries dominate the media cycle and don't play fair?

Traditionally, space companies have responded with careful press releases and technical briefings. But that's no longer enough. If the independent space sector wants to push back effectively, it must adopt more aggressive and unconventional strategies. Read More

Space endurance: A call for more dialogue, not less

By Col. Pete Atkinson

The future of advanced air mobility under a new Congress and Trump administration

By Rod Hall, Jake Kohn and Liz Demaree

Keep NASA's innovation engine going

By Andrew Rush

Time to refocus: America needs a stronger Space Force
By John E. Hyten and Nina Armagno

Reaping space's decline? Why to choose the durability of due regard over the debris of military devastation

By Michael Garetto-Balmer

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More than 180 experts, space agencies, government officials and industry leaders confirmed for Farnborough International Space Show & ISRSE-40 programmes

By Farnborough International Space Show

Speakers from Rolls-Royce, Thales Alenia, NOAA, Babcock, European Space Agency, UK Space Agency, and Egyptian Space Agency are the latest to join the growing programmes of the Farnborough International Space Show and The 40th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment (ISRSE-40). Read More

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02/28/2025

Top Stories

A major shareholder in SES is seeking changes in control of the satellite operator. Hedge fund Appaloosa, which owns more than 7% of the company, said that SES's acquisition of rival Intelsat does not go far enough to address an existential threat from growing competition in a fast-changing market. The fund is seeking reduced state control over the Luxembourg-based satellite operator, arguing that greater independence is needed to tackle mounting challenges. The Luxembourg government owns a third of the voting rights in SES despite owning only one-sixth of its shares. SES said it is evaluating the proposals and plans to make its recommendation to shareholders later but declined to comment further. [SpaceNews]

The Space Development Agency (SDA) is pushing back against criticism of its approach to a low Earth orbit missile-tracking constellation. A report this week by the Government Accountability Office said SDA was developing that network without fully validating the key technology enabling it, laser communications links between satellites. SDA said Thursday that while the GAO is correct that it has not demonstrated the "full range of laser communications" that technology provides, the initial Tranche 0 satellites met their baseline objectives, allowing it to proceed to the larger numbers of Tranche 1 and 2 satellites. The agency emphasized that it is working to implement the GAO's recommendations. [SpaceNews]

Rocket Lab said it is on track for a first launch of its Neutron rocket this year after a report claimed the program was facing major delays. In an earnings call Thursday, Rocket Lab said the first Neutron launch was expected in the second half of the year, a slight delay from previous estimate of a mid-2025 debut. The company did not directly address a report by Bleecker Street Research earlier this week that concluded that a 2025 launch was unlikely, based on progress on the rocket and its launch pad, and that the inaugural launch could slip to as late as mid-2027. Rocket Lab said it is working in parallel on several aspects of the vehicle and pad, and announced Thursday it had acquired a barge that will be converted into a landing platform for the vehicle. [SpaceNews]

Two spacecraft launched as rideshare payloads on the IM-2 mission are suffering problems. NASA said late Thursday that it lost communications earlier in the day with Lunar Trailblazer, a smallsat intended to orbit the moon and look for water. Those communications were restored several hours later and engineers are studying power system issues with the spacecraft. AstroForge said it has been having problems communicating with Odin, its spacecraft intended to fly by an asteroid. Ground stations have received signals but not telemetry, and the company speculates a configuration issue with its ground network, or an uncontrolled spin of Odin, may be the cause of the problem. The main payload on the Wednesday night launch, the IM-2 lunar lander, is in "excellent health," Intuitive Machines said Thursday morning. [SpaceNews]

Swissto12 announced its first major contract for electronically steered antennas. The Swiss company said it will supply SES with ground terminals for the O3b mPower constellation. Swissto12 has primarily provided subsystems such as waveguides and filters rather than complete end-user terminals. It is also working on small GEO satellites, with orders from Intelsat and Viasat. [SpaceNews]

Other News

A Progress cargo spacecraft launched Thursday to the International Space Station. A Soyuz-2.1a rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 4:24 p.m. Eastern and placed the Progress MS-30 spacecraft into orbit. The spacecraft, designated Progress 91 by NASA, is scheduled to dock with the ISS Saturday at 6:03 p.m. Eastern, delivering about three tons of cargo. [NASA]

South Korea has approved new strategic plans for parts of its space industry. The plans by the South Korean space agency KASA for the space transportation, satellites and space science exploration sectors were approved by the country's National Space Council this week. Those plans include changing the approach to its future KSLV-3 rocket to make it reusable and launching a lunar lander mission in 2032. Earlier this year, KASA announced it would spend 806 billion won ($562 million) this year on research and development, marking a more than 43 percent increase from 2024. [SpaceNews]

Two senators are asking the Trump administration's nominee to be Secretary of the Air Force about claims he favored SpaceX. The letter Thursday by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) cited allegations that Troy Meink, in his role as principal deputy director of the NRO, altered contract requirements in a way that favored SpaceX. That prompted complaints from a losing bidder and an investigation by the NRO's inspector general. The allegations, the senators wrote, raised questions about his ability "to treat contractors fairly and prioritize the Air Force's mission over Elon Musk's business interests." [Reuters]

Blue Origin announced plans Thursday for a long-anticipated all-female New Shepard suborbital spaceflight. The NS-31 mission, scheduled to launch some time in the spring, includes CBS television host Gayle King, pop star Katy Perry and Lauren Sánchez, fiancée of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, among its six-woman crew. Sánchez first talked about organizing an all-woman mission more than two years ago. It will be the first spaceflight with only women on board since Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space on a solo mission in 1963. [Blue Origin]

The ISS may be too clean to be healthy for the astronauts living there. A study published Thursday found a lack of "microbial diversity" inside the station compared to buildings on Earth. That can affect the immune systems of people and could explain aliments like skin rashes astronauts experience on long-duration missions there. Researchers suggested NASA find ways to add more "good germs" on the ISS or future stations to increase microbial diversity. [Science News]

It's Like a Whole Other (Spacefaring) Country

"I joked a few weeks ago that there are a couple countries that are going to be landing on the moon in this calendar year: Japan and Texas."

– Rep. Greg Bonnen, chair of the House Appropriations Committee in the Texas House of Representatives, talking about Texas-based lunar lander developers Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines during a panel discussion Thursday at the ASCENDxTexas conference.