Plus: Avio and Isar Aerospace to launch technology demonstrations
By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: the Pentagon wants to improve relationships with space startups, European launch companies win "Flight Ticket" contracts, SpaceX sets another booster reuse record and more.
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Top Stories
The Defense Department wants to improve how it works with emerging companies, including in the space sector. Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael said Wednesday that the Pentagon has to change how it builds relationships with industry, "especially with new entrants." He said the DOD must make it easier for new companies to work with it, citing how companies such as SpaceX had to file lawsuits to win their first contracts. Michael said the space industry is one sector in which the Pentagon can ride a wave of private investment because of the dual-use nature of many space technologies. [SpaceNews]
Two European companies won contracts to launch technology demonstration missions. ESA announced Wednesday it selected Avio and Isar Aerospace for the first awards in the Flight Ticket Initiative it runs in collaboration with the European Commission. Avio will launch three technology demonstration payloads as rideshares on a future Vega C launch, while Isar will carry two payloads on a Spectrum launch. ESA and the EU created the Flight Ticket Initiative to provide ways for European companies and organizations to test technologies in orbit. It also provides new competitive opportunities for European launch companies. [SpaceNews]
NASA is still working on a strategy for acquiring a Mars telecommunications orbiter funded in the budget reconciliation bill. That bill provided NASA with $700 million for a communications relay satellite at Mars, requiring that spacecraft, competitively selected, to be delivered by the end of 2028. Kevin Coggins, NASA's deputy associate administrator for space communications and navigation, said this week that the agency was still developing a strategy to acquire the spacecraft. That approach stands in contrast to efforts by NASA to move to a services model, working with industry to purchase communications services for operations in Earth orbit and out to the moon. [SpaceNews]
A space startup is one of four to win funding from the city of San Jose, California, as part of an AI incentive program. One-year-old Satlyt will receive $25,000 from the initiative, city officials announced Wednesday. The company is developing software to turn satellites into virtual data centers, taking advantage of unused onboard computing capacity on spacecraft. The San Francisco-based company, which has raised $1 million in venture funding, will use the award to establish an office in San Jose. Satlyt and the other winners will also receive professional services such as real estate consulting, legal support and IT expertise. [SpaceNews]
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Other News
SpaceX reached a new milestone in booster reuse with a Starlink launch early this morning. A Falcon 9 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 4:12 a.m. Eastern, putting 28 Starlink satellites into orbit. The first stage used for this launch, designated B1067, made its 30th flight, a record for the company. [Spaceflight Now]
Senators are backing down from efforts to block a transfer of Air National Guard personnel to the Space Force. Amendments submitted this month by Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) would permit the transfer of nearly 600 Guardsmen to the Space Force on a "one-time, voluntary" basis. There had been bipartisan efforts to block that transfer and President Trump said while campaigning last year he supported the creation of a Space National Guard, which the Pentagon opposed. The senators said they still backed a Space National Guard but introduced the amendments to ensure the transfer does not set a precedent. [Military.com]
Funding for Starlink services in Ukraine is in jeopardy after the president of Poland vetoed a bill. That bill, to extend financial support by the Polish government for Ukrainian refugees, also provides the legal underpinnings for funding by Poland for Starlink services used by the Ukrainian government. That funding could stop at the beginning of October unless the parliament passes new legislation. President Karol Nawrocki said he wants to revise the support the government provides to Ukrainian refugees. [European Interest]
A signal detected nearly 50 years ago that has become legendary among SETI researchers may instead have a natural origin. The signal was detected by an Ohio State University radio telescope in 1977 and is known as the "Wow!" signal from the annotation an astronomer made on a computer printout. Some scientists speculated the signal could be a transmission from an extraterrestrial intelligence, but has not been detected since; others think it may have just been terrestrial interference. New analysis suggests the signal may instead be an astronomical phenomenon where high-energy radiation from a source like a magnetar causes a brightening in a hydrogen line in interstellar clouds. [Space.com]
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It Shouldn't Be Glowing
| "I distinctly remember the first time I made a compound related to manganese diboride. There I was, holding this new material that was supposed to be super hard. Instead, it started to get hot and changed into a pretty orange color. I thought, 'Why is it orange? Why is it glowing? It shouldn't be glowing!'"
| – Michael Yeung, an assistant professor of chemistry at the University at Albany, on development of manganese diboride, a compound that could be used as a space vehicle propellant. [Univ. at Albany]
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