02/07/2025 | Welcome to our roundup of top SpaceNews stories, delivered every Friday! This week, NASA pauses science groups following a Trump order, Congress probes Musk's conflicts of interest, a breakdown of what Trump's first weeks mean for space, and more. | Our Top Story | | |
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| |  | By Jeff Foust, Feb. 3, 2025
| NASA has directed a set of science committees to pause their work, citing recent Trump administration executive orders, a move that canceled one meeting and put planning for others on hold.
NASA Headquarters sent memos Jan. 31 to the leaders of several committees, known as "analysis groups" or "assessment groups," that provide input to the agency's astrophysics and planetary science divisions. The memo said NASA needed to determine if the groups' activities complied with new executive orders.
"As NASA continues to review and ensure compliance with presidential actions, we are requesting that you please pause all meetings and activities of Planetary Science Analysis/Assessment Groups," stated one memo, send to leaders of several planetary science groups. A similar memo was sent to leaders of astrophysics groups. Read More |  | Other News From the Week | Vast begins Haven-1 testing and reschedules its launch Vast announced Feb. 6 that it started testing the primary structure qualification article for its Haven-1 station at a facility in Mojave, California. That included a proof test where the module was pressurized to 1.8 times its normal pressure as well as a leak test. Read More
Boeing reports Starliner losses of more than half a billion dollars in 2024 In the company's 10-K annual filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Feb. 3, Boeing said it took $523 million in charges on Starliner in 2024, bringing its cumulative losses on the commercial crew vehicle to just over $2 billion. The company blamed the losses on "schedule delays and higher testing and certification costs as well as higher costs for post certification missions." Read More
Artemis contractors defend current architecture as fastest way to return to the moon Companies involved in the Artemis lunar exploration campaign urged the new administration to retain the current architecture, arguing it still offers the fastest way to return humans to the moon. The Trump administration has not made any public changes to Artemis since taking office Jan. 20. However, administration advisers like Elon Musk, chief executive of SpaceX, have been critical of the existing approach. Read More
Members of Congress raise conflict-of-interest concerns regarding Musk's role in DOGE Top Democrats on two congressional committees are raising concerns about conflicts of interest between a government organization led by Elon Musk and two agencies he does business with. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, sent a letter Feb. 6 to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy after Duffy announced on social media Feb. 5 that he had contacted the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and that they "are going to plug in to help upgrade our aviation system." Read More | | | | | The second Trump administration has started with a series of rapid changes to how the federal government operates. Here's what the president introduced in the last week and what it could mean for the space community.
Dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives The news: President Donald Trump issued two executive orders — EO 14151 and EO 14173 — shortly after his inauguration, directing federal agencies to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and terminate diversity-focused hiring programs. Why it matters: These executive orders could have a lasting impact on NASA's workforce and research priorities. What's next: Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Science Committee, has formally requested that NASA and other science agencies provide detailed accounts of how they are implementing the executive orders.
Returning astronauts from the ISS The news: Trump publicly called on SpaceX to immediately return two NASA astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, from the International Space Station (ISS), claiming they had been "virtually abandoned." Why it matters: The ISS relies on carefully planned crew rotations to maintain functionality.
What's next: NASA remains committed to its original schedule, with Crew-10 launching in late March and Crew-9 returning in early April.
Placing a 25% tariff on Canadian imports
The news: Trump delayed a planned 25% tariff on most Canadian imports by at least 30 days, prompting Ontario Premier Doug Ford to pause his own retaliatory measures.
Why it matters: Ontario's decision to hold off on canceling the Starlink contract preserves a key broadband initiative aimed at providing internet access to 15,000 underserved homes and businesses.
What's next: For now, Starlink's contract remains intact, but its fate depends on how U.S.-Canada trade talks unfold in the coming weeks. Read More | | | News From the 2025 SmallSat Symposium | DIU studying applications of SpaceX Starship in-space refueling A Defense Department unit is examining how SpaceX's Starship vehicle could be used to support a broader architecture of in-space refueling. Speaking at the Smallsat Symposium Feb. 6, Gary Henry, a senior adviser at the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and a former SpaceX executive, said the agency was working with SpaceX to examine how Starship's in-space refueling capabilities could support a broader range of users. Read More
Taking space safety cues from air and sea Parallels with aviation and maritime industries offer important insights for managing increasingly congested orbits, according to a Feb. 6 panel of space technology executives at the SmallSat Symposium in Silicon Valley. "We have 10,000-plus satellites right now, projected to double every 22 months," said Ahsun Murad, CEO of satellite network specialist Optimal Satcom, potentially leading to "about 100,000 satellites in seven years," amid insatiable demand for connectivity. Read More |
| | |  | OPINION |
|  | By John Whitehead, Feb. 5, 2025
| There is a perception that NASA's Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission is being delayed by indecision, but the real delay has been multiple decades of seeking a heritage propulsion solution instead of a technology advance to develop and test a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) for launching the samples to Mars orbit. Imagine needing a sophisticated Mars rover in the absence of JPL's core team of engineers with their decades of specialized design and testing. Now a MAV is needed, absent any comparable cadre of expertise for miniature launch vehicles. The MAV remains a wildcard for MSR, possibly even a hot potato, because there is no experience base for making such a rocket small enough to deliver to Mars within a science mission budget. There are no other customers to stimulate investment for something like a MAV, and there is no established peer review system for technical guidance.
It seems worthy of concern that rocket engineering has not been represented among MSR advisory committees and decision makers including the MSR Standing Review Board, Planetary Decadal Survey committees, the second MSR Independent Review Board (IRB-2 in 2023), and the MSR hierarchy within the NASA Science Mission Directorate. It is not surprising that MAV expertise is underrepresented, because the available talent pool at the top of the org chart comes from planetary and other space science missions, and Earth satellite programs. These highly experienced spacecraft systems engineers and managers have always enjoyed the availability of proven propulsion technology for maneuvers that are far easier than Mars departure. Therefore, MAV development has been consistently underestimated. Read More
Will ESA's 'fair contribution' reinvigorate Europe's space ambitions? No, it won't.
By Robert Brüll
What DeepSeek just pulled off — and why space tech should worry
By Ana Laura Villicaña
Why more US-African space cooperation is the answer
By Scott Firsing and Zolana João
Why a missile shield in space makes sense
By Clayton Swope and Tom Karako
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