| By Jeff Foust
In this today's edition: Senate appropriators put TraCSS back on track, a long-delayed GPS software system is finally done, why it's hard to break up with SpaceX and more.
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| | | | | | Top Stories
The parent company of satellite manufacturer York Space Systems is acquiring ground station provider Atlas Space Operations. Founded in 2015, Atlas is known for its Freedom platform, a software-defined ground communications solution that shifts complexity from hardware to cloud-based services, supporting a global network of over 50 antennas across more than 20 countries. Atlas will continue to operate independently under its current brand, a move intended to preserve its existing customer base and allow it to pursue new business beyond York. Terms of the deal, announced Friday, were not disclosed. The acquisition is subject to FCC approval. [SpaceNews]
Senate appropriators have rejected a proposal by the White House to cancel a civil space traffic coordination system. The report accompanying the commerce, justice and science spending bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee last week includes $60 million for the Office of Space Commerce, directing it to continue work on its Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS). The White House proposed canceling TraCSS in its fiscal year 2026 budget request, arguing that private companies could instead provide those services, but appropriators argued that the "responsibilities of space traffic management and space situational awareness are inherently governmental." Industry groups had urged Congress to restore funding for TraCSS. [SpaceNews]
The same bill also restores funding for dozens of NASA science missions. The bill provides $7.3 billion for NASA science, approximately the same as 2025, whereas the White House request proposed a 47% cut. The report accompanying the bill concluded that the cancellations were "driven by budget pressure rather than scientific value." The report specifically restored funding for many high-profile missions across NASA's science programs, but was silent on Mars Sample Return, which the administration also proposed to cancel. On Friday, a letter signed by 64 House members warned NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy about moving to cancel those missions before Congress acts on its 2026 spending bills. The Senate bill overall provides $24.9 billion for NASA, just above 2025 funding levels. [SpaceNews]
The U.S. Space Force has finally accepted delivery of a long-delayed GPS software system. The service accepted earlier this month the initial version of the Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX), marking a key milestone for a GPS infrastructure upgrade that has become emblematic of Pentagon software development challenges. The delivery by prime contractor Raytheon comes more than eight years behind the original 2018 schedule and at a cost of approximately $4.6 billion. The Space Force plans to begin formal trials and a phased transition from existing ground control systems to OCX in early fiscal 2026. The handover, termed the "constellation transfer event," will span eight weeks to minimize service disruptions, with full operational acceptance expected by spring 2026. [SpaceNews]
Polish space infrastructure company SatRev has handed over a new ground station to Oman. SatRev designed and built over the past two years a 3.5-meter antenna enabled to support UHF and S-band communications for ETCO Space, an Omani state-run company. The project began in October 2021 with the signing of an MOU at the International Astronautical Congress in Dubai that included development of Oman's first cubesat. SatRev, which also builds satellites, plans to go public on the NewConnect market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange in the second half of the year. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | | Other News
China is performing tests of a rocket that is part of its future human spaceflight plans. The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) said recently it performed dynamic and static loads tests of a new rocket, but did not disclose the name of the vehicle. CALT did discuss the challenges and complexities of human spaceflight, suggesting that the vehicle is the Long March 10A. The Long March 10A is being developed to launch a variant of a new generation crew spacecraft, named Mengzhou, to the Tiangong space station in low Earth orbit, as well as launching cargo missions. A three-core version of the rocket is being developed for human lunar missions. [SpaceNews]
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites Friday night. A Falcon 9 lifted off at 11:52 p.m. Eastern from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on the Starlink 17-3 mission, placing 24 Starlink satellites into orbit. The satellites were deployed into a polar orbit to help improve coverage in places like Alaska. SpaceX said recently it plans to launch more than 400 Starlink satellites into such polar orbits by the end of this year to improve service in polar regions. [Spaceflight Now]
Breaking up with SpaceX is hard to do, the White House discovered. After President Trump threatened in June to terminate federal government contracts with companies affiliated with Elon Musk, the White House asked the Defense Department, NASA and other agencies to provide "scorecards" listing the contracts they had with SpaceX and whether the work under them could be done by other companies. Those scorecards, though, found that most of the contracts were vital to those agencies, which may explain why the White House has not followed through with that threat to cancel them. [Wall Street Journal]
Workers at SpaceX's Starbase facility continue to have high injury rates. Data released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for 2024 found that the injury rate at Starbase is almost six times higher than for other companies building space vehicles and nearly three times higher than the overall aerospace industry. A former OSHA official called the high injury rates at Starbase a "red flag" regarding serious safety issues at the facility. [TechCrunch]
A new poll finds strong public support for human missions to the moon and Mars. A CBS News/YouGov poll found that 67% of Americans supported sending humans back to the moon, while 65% supported human missions to Mars. The poll, released to coincide with the 56th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, also found that 77% of Americans thought the Apollo program was worth the effort. The poll did not gauge the public's willingness to fund human spaceflight or its priority compared to other programs. Previous polls found that human moon and Mars missions were a low priority among the public compared to other NASA efforts, like Earth science and planetary defense. [CBS]
| | | | | | The Week Ahead
Monday: Tuesday: Tuesday-Thursday:
Wednesday-Friday: Thursday: Friday: -
Jiuquan, China: Anticipated launch of a Hyperbola-1 rocket carrying an unidentified payload at around 1 a.m. Eastern. -
Vostochny, Russia: Scheduled launch of a Soyuz-2.1b rocket carrying two Ionosfera-M space science satellites at 1:54 a.m. Eastern. -
Kourou, French Guiana: Scheduled launch of a Vega C rocket carrying the CO3D and MicroCarb Earth science satellites at 10:03 p.m. Eastern. -
Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 10:09 p.m. Eastern. Saturday:
| | | | | | | FROM SPACENEWS |  | | Fact or fiction on the future of the space economy: Drawing from their new book Space to Grow, authors Matthew Weinzierl (Harvard Business School) and Brendan Rosseau (Blue Origin) discuss how market dynamics, shifting public-sector priorities and defense investments are driving a new era of space activity. Whether you're a policymaker, investor, operator or observer, this Space Minds episode captures the critical questions facing the future of space enterprise. | | | | | | | 🚀 🕑 🎧 Don't miss SpaceNews' FirstUp Audio
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