Plus: The Space Development Agency responds to criticism and Katy Perry will go to space
| | | A SpaceNews daily newsletter | | 02/28/2025 | | | | | 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]
| | | | | 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.
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