| Longtime Air Force procurement official William Blauser is the new acting director of the U.S. Space Force's Space Development Agency (SDA). The move, announced Wednesday, follows the sudden removal of former SDA Director Derek Tournear, who was placed on administrative leave for unspecified reasons related to past contracting activities. Blauser, who currently serves as the deputy director of the Department of the Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office, steps into the role after a two-week interim period during which Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, the head of Space Systems Command, temporarily led the agency. Blauser brings decades of experience in defense and space systems to SDA, including work on the B-21 stealth bomber and X-37B military spaceplane. [SpaceNews]
Vast Space has started testing a qualification article of its Haven-1 commercial space station while pushing back its launch date. The company announced Thursday that the primary structure qualification article for its Haven-1 station passed initial pressurization tests recently, giving the company confidence in its design. Vast announced Haven-1 in May 2023 and said at the time it was targeting a launch of the single-module station as soon as August 2025. Vast now says that launch is projected for no earlier than May 2026 based on a better understanding of what it will take to complete the station. Even with the delay, Vast argues that Haven-1 gives the company an edge when competing for the next phase of NASA's Commercial LEO Development program to support work on larger commercial space stations. [SpaceNews]
Astrobotic's Griffin lander will transport a rover built by Astrolab to the moon. The companies announced a deal Wednesday for Astrobotic to take Astrolab's FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform, or FLIP, rover to the south polar region of the moon as soon a the end of this year. FLIP is a technology demonstrator for Astrolab's larger FLEX lunar rover. FLIP is similar in size to VIPER, the NASA lunar rover that was the original payload for the Griffin-1 mission until NASA decided last summer to cancel VIPER. Astrobotic said it talked with more than 60 organizations interested in flying payloads in place of VIPER on the lander and found Astrolab to be the best fit. [SpaceNews]
Japanese satellite operator Sky Perfect JSAT is the mystery customer for a large Planet satellite contract. The Japanese operator said Wednesday it will own Pelican high-resolution optical imagery satellites provided by Planet under a U.S.-based entity called JSAT Beyond Innovation, a move likely aimed at enhancing access to the country's expansive defense market. A Planet spokesperson said the agreement covers 10 satellites over seven years. Planet announced the $230 million contract last week but described the customer as only an Asia-Pacific company. [SpaceNews]
Iridium is considering the development of small satellites to provide navigation services. Iridium CEO Matt Desch said at the Smallsat Symposium this week that he was considering an "experimental stage" of placing a few smallsats in orbit to demonstrate positioning, navigation and timing services. He said small satellites could also support efforts to develop a very high frequency (VHF) radio system for improving pilot communications with Aireon, which already provides aircraft surveillance services using hosted payloads on Iridium's satellites. The company's current constellation of 66 Iridium Next satellites remains in good health and is projected to last to 2035. [SpaceNews]
Investors see space companies that once focused on commercial markets pivoting to defense applications. The trend represents somewhat of a reversal from just a few years ago, when startups were encouraged to prioritize commercial applications, investors said on panels at the Smallsat Symposium. That focus is an effort to follow the money, with greater funding projected for defense work, but some cautioned against getting "caught up in fads." [SpaceNews]
Investors also cautioned companies from trying to compete directly against, or even emulating, SpaceX. They noted that challenging SpaceX may be particularly fraught now, given the influence Elon Musk has on the new administration. Many companies are interested in following SpaceX's model of vertical integration, but panelists cautioned that approach is expensive and means "consolidating all of the problems of the industry in your own house." They do see signs of increasing investment in the industry, particularly in larger growth rounds, which could be fueled if some space companies are able to successfully go public through traditional IPOs in the near future. [SpaceNews]
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