Plus: Starship's uncontrolled reentry
| | | A SpaceNews daily newsletter | | 05/28/2025 | | | | | Starship made it to space on its latest test flight Tuesday, but a loss of attitude control resulted in an uncontrolled reentry. Starship lifted off from SpaceX's Starbase, Texas, launch site at 7:36 p.m. Eastern. Unlike the previous two flights, where engines malfunctioned during the Starship upper stage's ascent, the engine burn went as expected and put Starship into its planned suborbital trajectory. However, the vehicle suffered a propellant leak shortly thereafter and subsequent loss of attitude control. The vehicle performed an uncontrolled reentry and telemetry was lost during that reentry. Starship was also unable to deploy Starlink mass simulators during the flight or relight a Raptor engine. The Super Heavy booster, previously flown on a launch in January, tested new reentry and landing approaches during its descent, but the vehicle was lost during a landing burn. SpaceX had not planned to land the booster on this flight, instead aiming for a splashdown off the coast from Starbase. [SpaceNews]
Rocket Lab announced Tuesday it is acquiring Geost, a producer of sensor payloads. Rocket Lab said it will buy Geost from its current owner, private equity firm ATL Partners, for $125 million in cash and $150 million in stock, with an additional $50 million in potential cash payments tied to revenue targets in 2026 and 2027. Geost is a supplier of electro-optical and infrared sensor payloads used in U.S. military satellites. The acquisition gives Rocket Lab access to satellite sensor technology used by the U.S. Department of Defense for missile warning systems and space surveillance, capabilities that could help it win lucrative Pentagon contracts. [SpaceNews]
Bulgarian smallsat manufacturer EnduroSat has raised $49 million. The company announced a new funding round Tuesday led by Founders Fund, an early investor in SpaceX. The new funds will help EnduroSat build out a 17,500-square-meter facility designed to produce up to 60 satellites per month by the end of the year. The company currently builds 12–15 cubesats per month but plans to significantly increase this rate with its Gen3 Endurance platform, which weighs 200 to 500 kilograms. EnduroSat plans to fly two Gen3 Endurance validation missions in 2025: one to demonstrate propulsion technology and another to test an Earth observation system using in-orbit processing and a multispectral payload. [SpaceNews]
ExoTerra Resources has supplied York Space Systems with 21 propulsion modules for Space Development Agency Transport Layer satellites. The delivery demonstrates efforts by ExoTerra, after raising money to expand staff and facilities, to achieve its goal of delivering 15 Iris250 propulsion modules in one month. To speed up production, ExoTerra hired 100 people, quadrupled production capacity and spent $8 million on equipment. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | Another SpaceX launch went as planned Tuesday. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 12:57 p.m. Eastern, putting 24 Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch was the first of a new group of satellites going to a new orbital inclination. [Space.com]
SpaceX offered Apple an exclusive deal to use Starlink direct-to-device services for iPhones, but Apple turned it down. According to a report, Elon Musk approached Apple in 2022 with a proposal that Apple pay $5 billion to give iPhones exclusive use of Starlink direct-to-cell services for 18 months, followed by $1 billion a year. Musk reportedly gave Apple only 72 hours to decide, warning that SpaceX would approach another company if Apple turned him down. Apple did reject the offer, and SpaceX instead announced a deal with mobile operator T-Mobile. Apple had earlier considered its own satellite constellation, working with Boeing, and is now working with Globalstar to provide emergency messaging services for iPhones. [The Information]
Apex unveiled its largest satellite bus yet Wednesday. The company announced it is taking orders for Comet, a bus using a flat satellite design that can generate more than five kilowatts of power and more than 500 kilogram of payload. Comet has long been on Apex's product roadmap, but the company said demand from potential customers, including both commercial constellations and potential defense applications, led the company to press ahead with Comet now. [SpaceNews]
The French space agency CNES has a new leader. France's Council of Ministers confirmed the selection of François Jacq as president and CEO of CNES. He had been head of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission. He will fill out the remaining term of Philippe Baptiste, who stepped down at the beginning of the year to become minister of higher education in the French government. Jacq will need to be reconfirmed if he is to remain as head of CNES once his current term ends in 2026. [European Spaceflight]
| Art of the Space Deal
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"Trump is the best business developer on our team."
– Dennis Moore, chief commercial officer of European smallsat manufacturer Reflex Aerospace, explaining how geopolitical tensions have led to more European spending on space during a panel at Smallsat Europe on Wednesday.
| | | | | | | What's New With SpaceNews? |  | | From the GEOINT Symposium in St. Louis: Robert Cardillo, president of the Cardillo Group and former director of the NGA, joins this bonus edition of Space Minds. Cardillo dives into the key takeaways and developments shaping geospatial intelligence right now. Tune in here.
New episodes come out every Thursday on SpaceNews.com, YouTube and wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
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