| By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: the Space Force advances one satellite program while ending another, President Trump's latest comments on Musk and Isaacman, an Indian crypto entrepreneur gets into the launch business and more.
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| | | | | | Top Stories
Boeing won a $2.8 billion contract to develop a new generation of secure military satellites. The contract, announced Thursday, is part of the Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications program, or ESS, which will ultimately replace the current constellation built by Lockheed Martin under the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) program. The ESS satellites are designed to provide jam-resistant, always-on communications for the U.S. military's nuclear command, control and communications architecture. Boeing edged out Northrop Grumman after a nearly five-year competition that began in 2020, when both aerospace giants were selected to develop prototype systems. The award covers production of two satellites and includes options for two more that could bring the contract's value to $3.75 billion. The satellites are part of the overall $12 billion ESS program that also includes ground systems, cryptographic infrastructure and user terminals. [SpaceNews]
The Space Force, though, is scrapping a separate satellite program for tactical communications. The service said Thursday it is terminating the Protected Tactical Satellite Communication-Resilient (PTS-R) program, where Boeing and Northrop again competed to build a new class of jam-resistant communications satellites. The two companies will continue to develop prototype satellites under earlier awards, but the follow-on procurement competition to build additional PTS-R satellites has been shelved. The Space Force said it will instead pursue PTS-G (Protected Tactical Satcom-Global), a program launched last year that leverages commercial small satellites designed for geostationary operations, creating a distributed constellation of lower-complexity satellites operating military Ka-band and X-band frequencies. [SpaceNews]
A budget reconciliation bill that would provide nearly $10 billion for NASA human spaceflight programs is now law. The House narrowly passed Thursday H.R. 1, a budget reconciliation bill, with President Trump signing the bill into law on Friday. The bill includes $9.995 billion for NASA that will go toward the production of two additional Space Launch System rockets, completion of the lunar Gateway, funding for the International Space Station and a Mars telecommunications orbiter. The funding would undo some of the cuts and cancellations proposed in the White House's fiscal year 2026 budget proposal for NASA, but does not address cuts in areas such as science and space technology. The bill also provides $85 million for a "space vehicle transfer" intended to move the space shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian to Houston. Experts, though, say the cost of moving Discovery could be far higher, if it is even feasible. [SpaceNews]
President Trump now says it would have been 'inappropriate' for his original NASA administrator nominee, Jared Isaacman, to lead the space agency. In a social media post Sunday criticizing Elon Musk, Trump said that he was "surprised" to find that Isaacman had donated only to Democrats and that it was inappropriate that "a very close friend of Elon" should lead NASA given Musk's role as CEO of SpaceX. Isaacman has, in fact, donated to Republicans, although his recent donations have been to Democrats; Isaacman also denied in the confirmation process having a close friendship with Musk, calling their relationship "professional." Trump's comments came after Musk criticized the budget reconciliation bill and vowed to create a new political party. The White House has yet to nominate a replacement for Isaacman. [SpaceNews]
The Air Force is pausing plans to establish landing pads on a remote Pacific island. The pads proposed for Johnston Atoll were intended to support the Air Force's Rocket Cargo program, a military logistics initiative aiming to use commercial space vehicles to deliver supplies to any point on Earth within hours. The pads would have hosted up to 10 landings a year of vehicles like SpaceX's Starship. The Air Force said last week, though, it has suspended the plans and will seek alternative locations after criticism from conservation groups about the environmental impacts of the landings on Johnston Atoll, a former military base that is now a wildlife refuge. [SpaceNews]
ESA will soon select finalists for a competition intended to support emerging launch companies in Europe. At the Paris Air Show last month, ESA officials said the agency received 12 proposals for the European Launcher Challenge, where ESA would provide up to 169 million euros ($199 million) per company for launches of institutional payloads or development of larger vehicles. ESA expects to announce as soon as this week which of the 12 proposals passed a technical review and will be eligible for funding at the agency's ministerial conference in late November. Most European launch startups submitted proposals for the challenge, although some expressed skepticism about how effective it will be in promoting the development of new launch systems. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | | Other News
China launched the first in a new line of experimental satellites Thursday. A Long March 4C rocket lifted off at 5:35 a.m. Eastern from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center and placed the Shiyan-28B (01) satellite into orbit. The spacecraft is part of the broader Shiyan program of experimental satellites, often for testing technologies for military spacecraft. This designation indicates the satellite is the first in a new series but with no details about its specific mission. [SpaceNews]
Russia sent a new Progress cargo spacecraft to the ISS. A Soyuz-2.1a rocket lifted off at 3:32 p.m. Eastern Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, delivering the Progress MS-31 spacecraft into orbit. The Progress docked to the station's Poisk module at 5:25 p.m. Eastern Saturday. The spacecraft, designated Progress 92 by NASA, brought about three tons of cargo to the station and will remain there for six months. [NASA]
An Indian entrepreneur is starting a launch vehicle company. Neeraj Khandelwal, co-founder of Indian cryptocurrency company CoinDCX, is working with several engineers from the Indian space agency ISRO on a startup called Astrobase. That company is proposing to develop launch vehicles carrying payloads of 3 to 10 tons in both expendable and reusable configurations. Astrobase has closed a $10 million seed round, but has not disclosed a schedule for developing those vehicles or its full funding requirements. [Entrackr]
The U.K. Space Agency is seeking proposals for a debris removal mission. The agency announced last week it started the procurement process for the Active Debris Removal (ADR) program, which will develop a spacecraft to deorbit two non-functioning U.K.-licensed satellites. The program has a value of £75.6 million ($102.9 million) with a projected launch by the end of 2028. The agency has been working with Astroscale and ClearSpace on developing technologies for such a mission. [U.K. Space Agency]
The Space Force has named new commanders of the units overseeing launches from its two primary spaceports. At a ceremony in late June, Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen handed over command of Space Launch Delta 45, which oversees Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Eastern Range, to Col. Brian Chatman. Panzenhagen has been in that role for the last two years while also responsible for other efforts, including the Space Force's Assured Access to Space program. Chatman was previously deputy director for the Space Systems Engineering Directorate for the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration. Separately, Col. James T. Horne III is set to take command of Space Launch Delta 30 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, overseeing the Western Range, in a change-of-command ceremony this week. He succeeds Col. Mark Shoemaker, who is retiring after 28 years in the Air Force and Space Force. [Orlando Sentinel | U.S. Space Force]
The Philippines is interested in developing a spaceport. The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) said it wants to develop a site for launches through a public private partnership, arguing that spaceports serve as "gateways to new industries." The PhilSA announcement provided few details on what vehicles the spaceport would support or how much it would cost to develop. [Manila Bulletin]
| | | | | | The Week Ahead
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Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 1:48 a.m. Eastern. -
Washington: The Senate Armed Services Committee holds closed sessions to mark up its fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. Wednesday: Thursday: Friday:
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