Plus: True Anomaly's new funding and NASA is a step closer to an administrator
| | | A SpaceNews daily newsletter | | 05/01/2025 | | | | | True Anomaly, a defense-focused aerospace startup developing spacecraft and software for U.S. national security missions, has raised $260 million. The company announced the Series C funding round Wednesday led by venture firm firm Accel. The round is a mix of equity and debt, with Stifel Bank providing the debt portion of the raise. The company designs spacecraft that can maneuver near other satellites in orbit, technology that aligns with U.S. efforts to bolster space domain awareness and respond to potential threats in orbit. The company said the funding will support work on four missions over the next 18 months as well as development of new products and growth of the company from 170 to 250 employees. [SpaceNews]
Jared Isaacman is a step closer to becoming NASA's next administrator after a committee vote Wednesday. The Senate Commerce Committee voted 19-9 to advance Isaacman's nomination to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote. The committee's chairman, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and ranking member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said they both supported the nomination based on Isaacman's commitment to continue the Artemis lunar exploration effort. The full Senate has not yet scheduled a vote on the nomination. [SpaceNews]
Mike Waltz, the president's national security adviser, defended the Golden Dome missile defense initiative amid congressional debates. Speaking at The Hill & Valley Forum Wednesday, Waltz drew parallels between Golden Dome and Trump's push to establish the Space Force during his first term, an effort ridiculed by some but which Waltz said with hindsight is now "prescient." His comments came the same day that the strategic forces subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee debated the program, with subcommittee chairman Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.) calling it essential for defending from missile attacks. By contrast, ranking member Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) called Golden Dome a "fantasy" that could trigger an arms race. [SpaceNews]
NASA is delaying a call for proposals for an astrophysics mission by at least a year. NASA said this week that the announcement of opportunity for the next Small Explorer, or SMEX, mission that was to be released in April had been delayed to at least April 2026. NASA did not disclose the reason for the delay, but at a committee meeting last month an agency official said the release of the call for proposals would be linked to budgets the agency expected for 2026 and beyond. The administration is reportedly proposing to cut NASA science programs by nearly 50%, with even steeper cuts to astrophysics. A top-level "skinny" budget proposal for 2026 could be released as soon as Friday, with the more detailed budget to come in late May. [SpaceNews]
NASA is investigating a problem with the electric thrusters on its Psyche. NASA said the spacecraft turned off its Hall effect thrusters in early April after a drop in pressure in a line that feeds xenon propellant to them. Options to fix the problem include switching to a backup propellant line. The agency said it has until mid-June to implement a solution before the spacecraft's trajectory is significantly affected. Psyche uses electric propulsion along with a Mars flyby next year to reach the main belt asteroid Psyche in 2029. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | Two NASA astronauts are gearing up for a spacewalk outside the International Space Station this morning. Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers were scheduled to start a spacewalk around 8:15 a.m. Eastern but preparations were running behind schedule. The two are scheduled to spend six and a half hours outside the station to relocate a communications antenna and install a bracket for mounting a new set of solar arrays that will be sent to the station later this year. [NASA]
The ISS performed a maneuver Wednesday to avoid a piece of Chinese space debris. A Progress spacecraft docked to the station fired its thrusters for three and a half minutes to adjust the station's orbit and provide more clearance from a piece of debris from a 2005 launch. Without the maneuver the debris would have passed about two-thirds of a kilometer from the station. [NASA]
NASA swapped a shuttle-era main engine on the Space Launch System rocket being prepared for the Artemis 2 mission. The agency said that one of the four RS-25 engines has a hydraulic leak and the program decided to replace the entire engine. SLS uses engines originally built for the shuttle program for its first four launches, with later launches using new engines. The engine swap won't delay the schedule for the Artemis 2 mission, scheduled for early 2026. [Ars Technica]
Canada needs to develop domestic launch capabilities to join the "club" of respected space powers. That was the message from a session of the Canadian Space Launch Conference this week. Industry and government panelists argued that Canada needs to invest in key strategic capabilities, like launch, to gain access to key programs by U.S. and NATO allies. Doing so, they said, will also give Canada "agency over our own decisions" in space and related areas. [SpaceQ]
An English spaceport has lost funding from a local government because of conflict-of-interest concerns. The Cornwall Council awarded £200,000 ($265,000) to Spaceport Cornwall earlier this year. Days later, a councilor, Louis Gardner, announced plans to step down and take a job with the spaceport. Gardner had not disclosed plans to go work for the spaceport when the council considered the funding. The council has since revoked the funding after concluding it did not offer "best value for money for the taxpayer." [Falmouth Packet]
| Times Have Changed
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"'But whatever you do, don't go into space because nothing interesting is happening there and there's not much innovation.' I was excited about space so I thankfully ignored him, and the rest is history."
– Rep. George Whitesides (D-Calif.), recalling during a panel discussion at The Hill & Valley Forum Wednesday advice he received from a family friend early in his career.
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