Plus: The latest contract for GPS ground infrastructure
| | | A SpaceNews daily newsletter | | 05/27/2025 | | | | sponsored by |  | | | | | SpaceX is preparing to launch the next Starship test flight this evening after the company provided new details on what went wrong on the previous mission. The Flight 9 mission is scheduled to launch at 7:30 p.m. Eastern tonight from Starbase in South Texas, seeking to avoid the failures of the previous two launches of the giant vehicle. SpaceX said Friday its investigation into the Flight 8 failure in March concluded that a hardware failure in one of the Starship upper stage's Raptor engines caused the loss of that engine and subsequent shutdown of three other engines. The failure, SpaceX noted, was different from the loss of Flight 7 in January, despite happening at about the same time after liftoff. The upcoming launch will be the first to reuse the Super Heavy booster, although SpaceX will not attempt to land the booster back at the launch tower, instead using it to test new flight profiles after stage separation. [SpaceNews]
SpaceX is shifting more company resources towards Starship development, reportedly to allow a Mars launch next year. SpaceX has moved teams working on other programs, like its Dragon spacecraft, to work on Starship and related projects. This includes the use of the vehicle for "rocket cargo" delivery for the U.S. military. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is also pushing to have Starship ready to fly a Mars mission in the next launch window in late 2026, although with no details about what Starship might do at Mars. Musk is scheduled to give a talk later today, ahead of the next Starship test flight, to discuss his plans for Starship and Mars. [Wall Street Journal]
Raytheon won a $380 million extension to a contract to develop long-delayed software for GPS ground infrastructure. The $379.7 million award, announced last week, follows a $196.7 million award in November and adds another year of work as the Space Force targets operational readiness by 2026. The total value of the Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) contract is now $4.5 billion, three times the original value of the contract when the Air Force awarded it to Raytheon in 2010. OCX is designed to modernize command and control of the U.S. GPS satellite constellation, but has become emblematic of the Pentagon's struggles with complex software development. [SpaceNews]
Chinese commercial satellite manufacturer MinoSpace has won a major contract to build a remote sensing satellite constellation for Sichuan Province. Beijing-based MinoSpace won the bid for the construction of a "space satellite constellation" for the province in a deal worth 804 million yuan (around $111 million). The constellation features six radar imaging and four optical imaging satellites. MinoSpace will also arrange the launch of the satellites and complete their networking and commissioning in orbit. The development is notable for having a commercial company assume a vertically-integrated role in a space infrastructure project, something previously reserved for state-owned enterprises. [SpaceNews]
Impulse Space signed an agreement with satellite operator SES to transport that company's satellites to medium and geostationary orbits. The companies announced an agreement last week that will start with a 2027 mission. Then, Impulse's Helios kick stage, launched on an unnamed medium-class rocket, will send an SES satellite from low Earth orbit to GEO within eight hours. The agreement includes options for additional missions. Impulse Space announced plans last year to develop Helios, capable of sending satellites weighing up to five tons from LEO to GEO in less than a day. SES is the first customer for a dedicated commercial Helios mission, although Impulse previously announced contracts for rideshare missions as well as missions for the Space Force. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | Russia launched a satellite Friday that may be used to inspect other satellites. A Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 4:36 a.m. Eastern Friday, placing the Cosmos 2588 satellite into orbit. Russian officials provided no details about the satellite, but Western observers believe it is part of a program called Nivelir for satellite inspection and potentially anti-satellite applications. The orbit of Cosmos 2588 matches that of USA 338, a U.S. reconnaissance satellite. [RussianSpaceWeb.com]
SpaceX performed a pair of Starlink launches over the holiday weekend. One Falcon 9 lifted off Friday at 6:32 p.m. Eastern from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, putting 27 Starlink satellites into orbit. Another Falcon 9 launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 1:19 p.m. Saturday, putting 23 Starlink satellites into orbit, 13 with direct-to-device payloads. [Spaceflight Now]
A Dragon cargo spacecraft returned from the International Space Station, putting on a light and sound show for California residents. The Dragon undocked from the station at 12:05 p.m. Eastern Friday after a one-day delay caused by poor weather conditions at the recovery location off the Southern California coast. The Dragon successfully splashed down at 1:44 a.m. Eastern Sunday. Its reentry was widely seen in California, from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and many in the L.A. area reported hearing a sonic boom as well. [Los Angeles Times]
A Florida city plans to study the effects the sound of increased launches could have on the community. The city of Cape Canaveral is working with the Florida Institute of Technology to install sensors on municipal and private buildings to collect data on noise from launches. City officials say they have heard from local residents concerned that the increase in launches from neighboring launch sites may cause cracks or other damage to buildings. Those concerns are amplified by planned Starship launches from the Cape. [Florida Today]
Axiom Space announced a partnership to fly a Czech astronaut on a future mission. Axiom said that the Czech Republic's Minister of Transport, Martin Kupka, sent a letter of intent regarding the country's interest to fly an astronaut on a private astronaut mission run by the company. That astronaut would perform research for companies and institutions in the country on the mission, much as astronauts from other countries have done on past Axiom missions to the International Space Station and the upcoming Ax-4 mission there. A final agreement will be contingent on several factors, including support from the European Space Agency for the Czech Republic and Axiom winning from NASA an opportunity to fly another private mission to the ISS. [Axiom Space]
| The Week Ahead | |
Tuesday: -
Washington/Online: The George Washington University Space Policy Institute and The Aerospace Corporation hold a symposium on "Emerging Challenges and Opportunities for Civil and Commercial Uses of GPS". -
Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 12:57 p.m. Eastern.
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Starbase, Texas: Scheduled launch of Starship/Super Heavy on its ninth suborbital test flight at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. Tuesday-Wednesday: -
Gdańsk, Poland/Online: The EU Space Days 2025 event will focus on space applications and policies in the European Union. -
Amsterdam: The first SmallSat Europe conference includes business, technical and other tracks focused on the European smallsat market. -
Washington/Online: A National Academies committee on Key Non-Polar Destinations Across the Moon to Address Decadal-level Science Objectives with Human Explorers will meet to discuss planetary science topics. Tuesday-Friday: Wednesday: -
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. -
Xichang, China: Anticipated launch of a Long March 3B carrying the Tianwen-2 asteroid/comet mission at 1:31 p.m. Eastern. -
Mahia Peninsula, N.Z.: Scheduled launch of an Electron carrying a BlackSky Gen-3 satellite at 9:15 p.m. Eastern. Wednesday-Thursday: Thursday: Friday: -
Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying the GPS 3 SV08 satellite at 1:23 p.m. Eastern. -
Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 4:24 p.m. Eastern.
| | | | | | | | | What's New With SpaceNews? | | Don't forget to sign up for our next webinar! |  | | Join us June 10 for an exclusive one-on-one live interview with Representative George Whitesides (D-CA), a freshman congressman representing California's 27th District. Whitesides brings years of experience to Capitol Hill, having previously served as NASA's Chief of Staff and as CEO of Virgin Galactic. | | | | |
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