Plus: SpaceX claims it has a 'simplified' approach
Welcome to our roundup of top SpaceNews stories, delivered every Friday! This week, former NASA administrators criticized the Artemis architecture while SpaceX says it has a "simplified" approach in store, two countries sign the Artemis Accords and more.
If someone forwarded you this edition, sign up to receive it directly in your inbox every Friday.
|
|
|
|
OUR TOP STORY
| By Jeff Foust Two former NASA administrators criticized the agency's current approach to using SpaceX's Starship for the Artemis 3 crewed lunar landing, calling for an urgent redirection to reach the moon before China.
In a fireside chat at the American Astronautical Society's von Braun Space Exploration Symposium on Oct. 29, former administrators Charlie Bolden and Jim Bridenstine expressed skepticism that NASA's current Artemis architecture, using Starship to ferry astronauts to and from the lunar surface, can succeed before the first projected Chinese crewed landing later this decade.
With the current approach, Bridenstine said, "the probability of beating China approaches zero, rapidly. We have to do something different."
| | |
|
|
|
SPONSORED |  | | |
|
|
|
CIVIL
| Preparations for NASA's Artemis 2 launch could soon grind to a halt if the nearly month-long government shutdown continues, one industry executive warned. Work on the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft for the mission has continued despite the shutdown that began Oct. 1 and furloughed most NASA civil servants, but that may change soon.
Malaysia and the Philippines have signed the Artemis Accords, which outline norms of behavior for space exploration. The White House announced the signings in an Oct. 26 fact sheet about President Trump's visit to Malaysia.
| LAUNCH
| | The vehicle, mounted on the pad at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, ignited its seven BE-4 first-stage engines shortly before 10 p.m. Eastern on Oct. 30. The test lasted for 38 seconds, Blue Origin later stated, an unusually long time for a preflight test like this.
China aims to conduct the first launch of its Long March 10 rocket and a lunar-capable crew spacecraft next year, according to a top official. The announcement from the China Manned Space Engineering Office comes as the U.S. prepares to send its Artemis 2 crewed mission around the moon as soon as February 2026. | | |
|
|
|
COMMERCIAL
| In an Oct. 30 statement, the company said it has devised a new approach to get astronauts to the lunar surface faster than the current plan for Artemis 3, but did not disclose details. SpaceX has come under criticism from current and former NASA officials, including the agency's acting administrator, Sean Duffy, for falling behind in developing a version of Starship for NASA's Human Landing System program.
Saudi telecoms giant stc Group has signed a 10-year agreement that includes a $175 million prepayment commitment to use AST SpaceMobile's planned space-based cellular broadband network, the Texas-based venture announced Oct. 29.
Bulgaria's EnduroSat announced another $104 million in venture capital funding Oct. 30 to scale up its small satellite manufacturing capacity. The company has now raised more than $150 million since it was founded in 2015, including about $49 million in May to expand from producing a little over a dozen cubesats per month to building two 200-500-kilogram Gen3 Endurance spacecraft per day. | | |
|
|
|
SPONSORED |  | By NV5 The defense and intelligence community is entering a new era of autonomy, one defined by AI-driven workflows that are reshaping how we handle geospatial intelligence (GEOINT). Agents are beginning to perform an ever-growing share of routine GEOINT tasks, including data triage, geospatial analysis, and full intelligence-product creation, and they do so at speeds humans simply can't match. This rapid, machine-driven analysis delivers critical insights in seconds rather than hours, freeing analysts to tackle deeper strategic problems instead of wading through mountains of raw data. |
|
|
|
| |  | Latest Press Releases
| | |
|
|
|
Sign up for our other newsletters First Up: The latest civil, commercial and military space news, curated by veteran journalist Jeff Foust. Delivered Monday to Friday mornings. Military Space: Veteran defense journalist Sandra Erwin delivers news and insights for the military space professional. Delivered Tuesday. China Report: Analysis of China's space activities and what it means as one of the United States' top competitors from correspondent Andrew Jones. Delivered every other Wednesday. SpaceNext AI: Exploring the intersection of space and artificial intelligence. Delivered Thursday. Video & Audio: Upcoming live programs, scheduled guests, and recent Space Minds podcast episodes, webinars and other events. Delivered Friday. Marketing Minute: Covering PR, marketing, and advertising trends, upcoming SpaceNews opportunities, and editorial insights for communications and marketing leaders. Delivered monthly. |
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment