Plus: Ontario, Starlink and the pause on the trade war
| | | A SpaceNews daily newsletter | | 02/04/2025 | | | | | Boeing reported more than half a billion dollars in charges on its CST-100 Starliner commercial crew program in 2024. In the company's annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday, the company said it took charges against earnings of $523 million on Starliner in 2024, the most in any year of the program so far. The company had previously reported $375 million of those charges and said last month it would report more losses in the fourth quarter. Boeing's cumulative losses on Starliner now exceed $2 billion. [SpaceNews]
A U.S.-Canada trade war led the government of Ontario to threaten to cancel a contract with SpaceX for Starlink services. Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, said Monday morning that the province was "ripping up" a $68 million contract with SpaceX announced in November to provide rural broadband services, a move he said was in response to tariffs against Canadian goods that President Trump announced over the weekend. Later in the day, though, Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a one-month pause of the tariffs, and Ford said Ontario would similarly halt its own measures. The contract covers services to 15,000 unserved and underserved homes and businesses in Ontario. [SpaceNews]
The nation's top defense contractors are positioning themselves to capitalize on a new missile defense initiative that includes space-based components. Executives from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and L3Harris told Wall Street analysts last week that they are well-equipped to support the "Iron Dome for America" initiative the Trump administration announced, one that will include heavy reliance on space-based sensors and, potentially, controversial space-based interceptors. Those companies are currently prime contractors in key missile defense programs that could expand under the initiative. The concept of space-based interceptors, however, could face scrutiny from arms control organizations and Congress. [SpaceNews]
NASA is moving ahead with plans to enter into an industry partnership to fly a lunar rover. NASA released Monday an Announcement for Partnership Proposal, seeking proposals from U.S. companies interested in working with the agency to take the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) spacecraft to the moon. NASA canceled its original plans to fly VIPER last summer, citing cost growth and delays, but sought input from companies and countries interested in working with NASA to fly the completed rover. The selected company would be responsible for the costs of landing VIPER on the moon and operating the rover, which is designed to look for water ice in shadowed craters at the lunar south pole. NASA expects to select a company to partner with on VIPER this summer. [SpaceNews]
Canadian hyperspectral startup Wyvern has started sharing hyperspectral data from its satellites. The company announced Monday an "Open Data Program" where it will make hyperspectral images available to users to allow them to develop algorithms to analyze them. The free images, Wyvern argues, will help users get familiar with how to use hyperspectral data and apply it to applications like humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Wyvern currently operates three satellites with a fourth to be launched later this year, and will also gather data on satellites operated by Loft Orbital. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | SpaceX launched a set of Starlink satellites early this morning after a one-day delay. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:15 a.m. Eastern and placed 21 Starlink satellites into orbit, 13 with direct-to-cell payloads. The launch was scheduled for Monday morning but postponed for undisclosed reasons. SpaceX also delayed until Tuesday another Falcon 9 launch of two Maxar WorldView Legion satellites, which had been planned for Monday evening. [Spaceflight Now]
Viasat received a $3.5 million task order on a Space Force contract to provide commercial satellite internet services. The award, announced Monday, falls under the Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (PLEO) satellite services contract, managed by the Defense Information Systems Agency and the Space Force's Commercial Satellite Communications Office. Viasat does not have any LEO satellites, and the company said it will provide services through an unnamed partner's Ku-band network. [SpaceNews]
Airbus has hired Goldman Sachs to help forge a joint venture with other European space companies. Goldman is expected to work with Airbus, Leonardo and Thales Alenia Space to combine their space businesses in some way, creating a "European champion" that can better compete with SpaceX. Leonardo has hired Bank of America for similar advisory work. [Bloomberg]
The Indian government is proposing an increase in the budget of its space agency, ISRO. Budget documents released over the weekend included 134 billion rupees ($1.54 billion) for the Department of Space, which is primarily ISRO, in its 2025-26 budget. That is about a 14% increase from revised estimates for 2024-25. The increase, if confirmed, would support work on initiatives such as the Gaganyaan human spaceflight program and Chandrayaan-4 lunar sample return mission. [The Tribune (India)]
An Apollo moonrock is no longer in the Oval Office. Images of President Trump's redecorated Oval Office show that an Apollo 17 rock, provided by NASA to the White House at the request of the Biden administration, is no longer on display. NASA confirmed that the White House is returning the rock, but the White House did not state why it no longer wants to display it. [collectSPACE]
| | | | | | | | | "I told everybody in the company that, if you're if you're not scared when we launch, we went too slow. That's how I feel about it. I'm not trying to be Blue Origin. I'm not trying to spend 25 years to be perfect."
– Matt Gialich, co-founder and chief executive of AstroForge, in a recent interview about how the company rushed to get an asteroid prospecting spacecraft done in time for a launch scheduled for late this month.
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