Plus: The head of the European Space Agency said governments need to spend more
| | | A SpaceNews daily newsletter | | 05/15/2025 | | | | | Members of a House committee said they are concerned about proposed cuts to a National Reconnaissance Office commercial imagery program. During a hearing Wednesday of the House Armed Services Committee's Strategic Forces subcommittee, ranking member Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) called out what he described as "rumors" that the NRO, under direction from the Office of Management and Budget, had been ordered to scale back funding for commercial imagery in its fiscal year 2026 budget request. Others on the committee also said they were worried that the budget would cut the program despite the high demand for such imagery. NRO Director Chris Scolese did not directly confirm or deny the budget reductions but emphasized the critical role of commercial data in supporting defense and intelligence missions. The chairman of the committee, Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.), said the hearing would be the final appearance by Scolese before the committee, although the NRO did not confirm that Scolese was planning to step down. [SpaceNews]
The head of the European Space Agency said European governments need to spend more on space. Testifying before a European Parliament committee this week, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher noted that Europe accounts for only 10% of government spending worldwide on space, compared to 15% by China and 60% by the United States. He argued it was a "miracle" that Europe achieved leadership positions in areas such as Earth observation and navigation given that level of spending and that Europe should spend more on space to meet the need for greater autonomy and independence. He said he will seek "beyond 20 billion euros" ($22 billion) for ESA in the next three years at a ministerial conference later this year, a significant increase over the last three-year budget. [SpaceNews]
A Chinese launch Wednesday marked the start of the deployment of a 2,800-satellite constellation. The Long March 2D launch placed 12 satellites into orbit for ADA Space, which said the satellites comprise a "Three-Body Computing Constellation" for space-based computing applications. The constellation is part of a wider "Star-Compute Program," a collaboration between ADA Space and Zhejiang Lab, which aims to build a huge on-orbit network of 2,800 satellites. [SpaceNews]
Zeno Power, a startup developing nuclear power systems for space and other uses, has raised $50 million. The company said Wednesday it closed a Series B round led by Hanaco Ventures and joined by several other space and defense-focused investors. The funds will support expansion of its workforce and manufacturing footprint as it aims to deliver its first commercial nuclear battery by 2027. The company is developing a radioisotope power system fueled by strontium-90 for use in space as well as places on Earth, like the deep oceans, where solar power is not an option. [SpaceNews]
Telesat won a deal to provide capacity on its Lightspeed constellation to Arabsat. Telesat said Wednesday it has negotiated a term sheet with Arabsat for multiple gigabits per second of capacity, but terms of the deal were not disclosed. The announcement came as Saudi regulators granted approval to SpaceX to provide Starlink services to maritime and aviation customers in the country. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | Another day, another Falcon 9 launch of Starlink satellites. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 12:38 p.m. Eastern, placing 28 Starlink satellites into orbit. This was the fifth Falcon 9 launch of Starlink satellites within five days. [Florida Today]
NASA selected Rocket Lab to launch an astrophysics smallsat mission. NASA said Wednesday it awarded a task order to Rocket Lab to launch the Aspera mission on an Electron no sooner than the first quarter of 2026. Aspera is a 60-kilogram satellite that will observe hot gases in the vicinity of galaxies to better understand star formation. It is part of NASA's Astrophysics Pioneer program of low-cost astrophysics missions using smallsats and balloons. [SpaceNews]
Kepler Communications has demonstrated optical links between a satellite and the ground. The company said it demonstrated a link between a prototype satellite in low Earth orbit and an optical ground station operated by French technology firm Cailabs. The system used standards set by the Space Development Agency for intersatellite links. The demonstration marks another milestone in Kepler's plans to build a high-capacity relay network, following tests last year that moved terabytes of data across two LEO pathfinders using optical intersatellite links. [SpaceNews]
Startups with big plans in space are counting on SpaceX's Starship. Among the startups are those with visions of developing space-based solar power, a decades-old concept that has languished because of the high cost of launching the massive systems needed to collect solar power and transmit it to the ground. Space Solar, a British startup with the goal of creating an initial space solar power satellite 400 meters across by 2030, said everything it would need to assemble that system could fit on a single Starship. [SpaceNews]
The launch of a private astronaut mission to the International Space Station has slipped slightly. NASA said it revised the schedule of upcoming flights to the ISS, with Axiom Space's Ax-4 mission moving from May 29 to no earlier than June 9. The agency said the delay gives "more time to finalize mission plans, spacecraft readiness, and logistics." Ax-4 will be followed by the next crew rotation mission, Crew-11, scheduled for late July, with a cargo Dragon mission to follow in late August. [NASA]
| Look Out Katy Perry
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"Economists don't get to go to space, although I'm looking forward to the all-economist Blue Origin flight. That'll be a real one that'll get a lot of attention, I'm sure."
– Former NASA chief economist Alex MacDonald using a CSIS webinar Wednesday on the NASA budget proposal.
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