Plus: Perspectives on SpaceX, Elon Musk and space fandom
By Dan Robitzski
After a year of budget confusion and reshuffling, another funding surprise has hit the American space industry. The Office of Space Commerce (OSC) took a huge hit, with the Commerce Department moving to rescind about 40% of the OSC's $65 million budget for 2025. That's roughly $26 million gone.
The OSC was informed about its current-year budget cut back in late August, but it's not yet clear why the rescission was made, whether it was at the direction of the department or the White House or why it was not included in a package of rescissions released by the Office of Management and Budget on Aug. 29, which focused on State Department and foreign aid programs.
The sudden loss of funding will likely influence OSC programs across the board and, as SpaceNews senior staff writer Jeff Foust wrote in his article on the budget rescission, sources told SpaceNews "that it will particularly affect how the office works with industry on the Traffic Coordination System for Space, or TraCSS, a civil space traffic coordination system. While the office handles commercial remote sensing regulation and the promotion of the space industry, most of its budget is devoted to the ongoing development of TraCSS."
Read the full article here.
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SIGNIFICANT DIGIT
| $1B-$1.5B | The amount NASA anticipates spending to support at least two companies to demonstrate crew-tended space stations, according to a new draft version of an announcement for partnership proposal, or AFPP, for the second phase of its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program | | |
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SPACEX AND GRIEF
| This week on the opinion desk, space historian and podcaster Emily Carney wrote a fascinating article putting words to the difficult feelings that she and other space fans felt after the most recent and mostly successful Starship test flight. She describes how the usual excitement surrounding a launch was marred by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's behavior this year, from his Nazi salute at President Trump's inauguration, the xenophobia that's run rampant on his X platform, and the damage he's done to U.S. space policy, including how his fallout with Trump may have left NASA without a permanent administrator.
Here's how Carney described the challenge of fandom amidst those moments:
Why do people defend someone who has done things that are frankly terrible? Is it because they're fans of what the person has previously done? Is it a matter of identity and self-concept ("I'm a fan of this and it defines me")? Is it cognitive dissonance? Is it social pressure from fellow SpaceX fans, or a bias? Or is it because they've already emotionally invested themselves in SpaceX, and simply are hopeful and optimistic? Many of Musk's earlier fans who now understandably deride him previously supported him because his ideas about off-world space settlement resembled influential futurist Gerard K. O'Neill's, at least on a surface level, and somewhat mirrored O'Neill's 1970s brand of optimism and better living through tech. All these things populated my mind as I tried to understand why so many of us are excusing the actual harm someone has directly done to our society, economy, and culture.
You can read the full opinion article here.
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| | EchoStar has abandoned its plans to create a direct-to-device satellite constellation in low Earth orbit, selling spectrum to SpaceX while canceling a brand-new contract with MDA Space.
| | | Orbital Sidekick hyperspectral sensors revealed new information on damage sustained by Iran's Fordow nuclear fuel enrichment plant, indicating "the potential collapse or damage of the underground facility," after U.S. armed forces bombed the site in June.
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| | Blue Origin and defense tech contractor Anduril Industries have secured new contracts to help the U.S. military explore whether commercial rockets can be used to move supplies around the globe at unprecedented speeds.
| | | | The Pentagon on Friday announced a slate of senior leadership shifts within the U.S. Space Force, including new appointments to key command and planning posts.
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FROM SPACENEWS |  | Do you know an individual, company or breakthrough that's making waves in the space industry? Nominations for the 2025 SpaceNews Icon Awards are open through Sept. 12. Share who you think deserves to be recognized for innovation, leadership and impact in space. Categories include Lifetime Achievement, Emerging Space Company, Innovative Technology and more —view the full list and submit your picks. |
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