By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: a Chinese commercial launch fails to reach orbit, Pentagon plans procurement reforms, weather postpones a New Glenn launch and more.
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Top Stories
A Chinese Ceres-1 commercial rocket failed to reach orbit Sunday night. The solid-fuel rocket lifted off at 11:02 p.m. Eastern from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center carrying two satellites. Galactic Energy, the company that operates the Ceres-1, said that the fourth stage shut down prematurely because of an unspecified anomaly, keeping the payload from reaching orbit. This was the second failure in 22 launches for Galactic Energy, which had been preparing for the first launch of the larger Ceres-2. The launch took place less than 90 minutes after a Long March 12 lifted off from Wenchang, China, carrying a set of Guowang broadband constellation satellites. That launch was a success although Chinese officials did not disclose how many satellites were on board; the previous Long March 12 launch for Guowang carried nine satellites. [SpaceNews]
Blue Origin scrubbed the New Glenn launch of a NASA Mars smallsat mission Sunday. The company said it called off the launch after weather conditions failed to improve by the end of its nearly 90-minute launch window at Cape Canaveral. The company was also working on a technical issue with ground equipment as well as a cruise ship that entered restricted waters near the end of the launch window. Blue Origin has rescheduled the launch for Wednesday at 2:50 p.m. Eastern, noting it got approval from the FAA for that launch window despite an FAA order restricting commercial launches to between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. to reduce airspace impacts during the government shutdown. New Glenn is carrying ESCAPADE, a pair of small satellites that will study space weather conditions at Mars. [SpaceNews]
AST SpaceMobile said Friday it has registered plans with international regulators via Germany for a sovereign, space-based network that would provide broadband directly to devices across Europe. The network would be operated by Luxembourg-based SatCo, a joint venture AST announced in March with European telecoms giant Vodafone, which will provide spectrum to allow the system to start operations in 10 countries. AST SpaceMobile has so far deployed five operational BlueBird satellites, built at its Texas facilities, although 45 to 60 are needed to provide continuous coverage across key markets. [SpaceNews]
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth outlined Friday an ambitious slate of procurement and regulatory reforms. In a wide-ranging address to industry executives at the National War College, Hegseth said he intends to implement sweeping changes over the next six months to shift the Defense Department away from its reliance on bespoke systems from traditional defense contractors to commercially available technology. Many of the proposals are expected to resonate with commercial space and defense technology firms that have long pushed for faster acquisition cycles and greater opportunities to sell off-the-shelf solutions to the Pentagon. [SpaceNews]
Space plays a central role in the U.S. Army's latest efforts for a connected force. The service has tried for years to develop systems with the goal of seamless data exchanges among troops and vehicles, but those past efforts have come up short. Now the Army is trying again, under a new banner called Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2), using open architectures that will allow the Army to take advantage of commercial capabilities, including space-based connectivity. The military has broadly adopted commercial satellite communications but NGC2 represents something bigger: essentially a redesign of the Army's enterprise communications backbone that could be a template for the other services. [SpaceNews]
Canadian company GHGSat plans to add two satellites to its constellation of spacecraft monitoring greenhouse gases. The company currently has 12 satellites for tracking methane emissions, enough to provide daily revisits at key sites. The two additional satellites would offer additional capacity for monitoring in places like the Permian Basin. GHGSat also operates one satellite for tracking carbon dioxide, and the company said it will consider adding satellites based on demand. [SpaceNews]
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Other News
A pair of launches Saturday set a new Chinese annual launch record. A Long March 11 solid rocket lifted off at 4:01 p.m. Eastern from a mobile launch platform off the coast of Haiyang, China. It placed into orbit three Shiyan-32 satellites that Chinese officials said will be used for testing new technologies. A Kinetica-1 by CAS Space lifted off at 10:32 p.m. Eastern from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. It placed into orbit two Chutian-2 technology experiment satellites, intended to test systems for a proposed very low Earth orbit imaging constellation. The launches were China's 69th and 70th of the year, breaking the record of 68 orbital launch attempts set last year. [SpaceNews]
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites early Sunday. A Falcon 9 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 3:10 a.m. Eastern and deployed 29 Starlink satellites into orbit about an hour later. The launch was scheduled for Saturday but postponed because of conditions at the booster landing location. [Spaceflight Now]
Portal Space Systems plans to develop a highly maneuverable satellite bus to complement a transfer vehicle. The company announced last week it is working on Starburst, an ESPA-class small satellite bus. The first flight of Starburst is scheduled in the fourth quarter of 2026, carrying payloads from two companies. Starburst will also demonstrate technologies for Supernova, the company's transfer vehicle that will use solar thermal propulsion to move quickly between orbits. The first Supernova flight is scheduled for 2027. [SpaceNews]
Intuitive Machines expects the acquisition of Lanteris Space Systems to open up new opportunities in defense and exploration. Intuitive Machines announced last week it would acquire Lanteris, formerly Maxar Space Systems, for $800 million. In an investor call, Intuitive Machines executives said the combined company would be well-positioned to compete for work on defense programs, including the Golden Dome missile defense system. The company also plans to use Lanteris buses for part of a constellation of lunar relay satellites, and suggested it could use those capabilities to propose a crewed lunar lander to NASA. [SpaceNews]
The longest federal government shutdown in history may be nearing an end. Senators voted 60-40 Sunday to advance a new spending package that includes three full-year spending bill and a continuing resolution for the rest of the government through Jan. 30. The package also includes provisions requiring the government to rehire workers laid off when the shutdown started Oct. 1. The bill is pending a final vote in the Senate as soon as today, after which it would go to the House. [Politico]
A former astronaut is changing his 2026 political plans. Terry Virts announced last week he no longer plans to run for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas held by John Cornyn (R). Instead, he said he will run for the House in the 9th District in Texas, whose boundaries were recently redrawn by the Texas Legislature in a bid to secure more seats for Republicans. Virts, a Democrat, was a long shot for his party's nomination for the Senate. Rep. Al Green (D), who currently represents the 9th District, said he will run for reelection in another district after the redistricting. [Houston Public Media]
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The Week Ahead
Monday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday: Monday, Nov. 17:
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