By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: another Starship testing setback, Thales Alenia Space to lead Argonaut lunar lander development, the European case for space data centers and more.
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Top Stories
SpaceX suffered a setback in development of the next generation of its Starship vehicle when the first booster was damaged in testing Friday. Part of the Super Heavy booster burst open during pressure testing. The company said no one was injured in the incident but did not disclose details about what caused it. The booster was the first for version 3 of the Starship vehicle with various upgrades to improve performance. SpaceX had been working to a first launch of Starship V3 as soon as January. SpaceX said over the weekend that the next Super Heavy booster would be ready in December and that it was still targeting the first quarter of 2026 for a launch. The incident, though, may add to doubts about the vehicle's development schedule, especially for Artemis. [SpaceNews]
Blue Origin's Blue Ring spacecraft passed a key development milestone toward its first flight. The company said Friday it integrated the first Blue Ring spacecraft's primary structure with its propulsion module ahead of additional testing. Blue Ring is built to deliver, host and transport payloads in orbit and shift between orbits as missions require, supporting the U.S. military's desire for "dynamic space operations" among other applications. The Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) awarded Blue Origin a contract in 2024, of undisclosed value, to help fund Blue Ring's development, and DIU is working with the Space Force for the first operational flight of Blue Ring next spring. [SpaceNews]
Iceye is partnering with Japanese company IHI Corporation on an Earth observation constellation. IHI ordered four synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellites and an associated image acquisition system from Iceye, with the option to purchase 20 additional satellites at a later stage. The first of those satellites will enter service next spring. While Iceye is known for its SAR spacecraft, the company is considering expanding into other areas. [SpaceNews]
Thales Alenia Space will lead an industrial consortium developing a cargo lunar lander for ESA. The agency announced last week a contract with Thales Alenia Space Italy to serve as the prime contractor for the Argonaut lunar lander. It will lead a consortium that includes Thales Alenia Space France, Thales Alenia Space UK, OHB and Nammo Space. Argonaut is designed to carry large payloads to the lunar surface with a first flight by the end of 2030. ESA is seeking 600 million euros ($692 million) for Argonaut at this week's ministerial conference. [SpaceNews]
Germany has outlined a military space policy that calls for investments in projects from space situational awareness to spaceplanes. The German government released its "Space Safety and Security Strategy" report last week, outlining broad aims of the country's military in space. It also included more specific tasks, although without funding or schedule details. The strategy emphasizes the need to develop launch and satellite systems to enable the Germany military to operate in space and to deny its adversaries the use of space. The report comes several weeks after the Germany defense minister announced the country would spend 35 billion euros on military space over the next five years, part of a wave of European defense spending for space. [SpaceNews]
A member of the European Parliament says there is broad support there for the proposed EU Space Act. Speaking at Space Tech Expo Europe last week, Christophe Grudler, a member of the parliament from France, said discussions among political groups have recently started on advancing the act, a draft of which was released in June. He said all the political groups in the parliament believe there needs to be action to address space safety and security concerns, such as the growth in the number of satellites. He noted, though, that the process for enacting the EU Space Act is just starting, and its provisions may not take effect until the end of the decade. [SpaceNews]
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Other News
SpaceX performed two Falcon 9 launches of Starlink satellites over the weekend. One Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 2:53 a.m. Eastern Saturday, putting 29 Starlink satellites into orbit. That launch was the 150th for the Falcon 9 so far this year. SpaceX followed with another Falcon 9 launch at 3:48 a.m. Eastern Sunday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, placing 28 Starlink satellites into orbit. That launch was the first for the Falcon 9 booster B1100, the 100th Falcon 9 booster produced to date. [Spaceflight Now]
China launched a communications technology demonstration satellite Friday. A Long March 3B lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 5:55 a.m. Eastern and put the Shiyan-21 satellite into orbit. Chinese media said the satellite will be used for various communications services as well as unspecified technology tests. [Xinhua]
Space Force officials said the first Starship launch from Florida could occur as soon as the middle of next year. The commander of Space Launch Delta 45, which runs the Eastern Range, said Friday that those launches would likely begin at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A, where SpaceX is in advanced development of Starship launch infrastructure there, followed by Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 37. The two sites could support up to 120 launches annually, along with landings of the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage. The Space Force is bringing launch operators together next month to discuss how to address challenges of operating more frequent launches of larger rockets like Starship from the Cape. [SpaceNews]
A think tank is urging Europe to step up development of space data centers. A study by the European Space Policy Institute released last week noted that Europe risked falling behind China and the United States in this emerging field, one that is attracting interest from Elon Musk and other tech giants, who see such centers as critical to advancing AI. The report recommends the European Commission include a space data center project as part of its "Europe Moonshot Projects" program for 2028-2034, as well as use existing ESA technology development programs to support work in this area. [SpaceNews]
Launch updates: AST SpaceMobile said Friday the first launch of its next-generation BlueBird satellite will take place Dec. 15. The BlueBird-6 satellite, to launch on an LVM3 rocket in India, includes a phased array antenna 3.5 times the size of those flown on its first five satellites. Ariane 6 will launch a pair of Galileo navigation satellites on Dec. 17, Arianespace announced last week. The launch will be the fourth and final flight of the Ariane 6 this year and the first to carry Galileo satellites. South Korean launch startup Innospace has pushed back the inaugural launch of its Hanbit-Nano rocket. The launch, which was scheduled for Nov. 22, is now planned for between Dec. 16 and 22 from Brazil. Innospace said it delayed the launch to resolve "intermittent minor signal irregularities" seen in prelaunch testing. [AST SpaceMobile | Arianespace | Innospace]
Moss flown for nine months in space survived the experience. Japanese researchers sent the moss to the International Space Station, where it spent nine months outside the station before returning to Earth to study how they were affected by the harsh environment there. To the scientists' surprise, most of the moss spores had survived despite the wide temperature ranges and exposure to radiation. Based on the limited degradation that the moss experienced, scientists estimate the moss could have lasted for about 15 years in space. [Space.com]
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The Week Ahead
Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Naro Space Center, South Korea: Planned launch of a KSLV-2 rocket carrying the CAS500-3 satellite at about 11 a.m. Eastern. Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.: Rescheduled launch of a Falcon 9 on the Transporter-15 rideshare mission at 1:18 p.m. Eastern. Wednesday-Thursday: Thursday: Saturday: Sunday: Wenchang, China: Projected launch of a Long March 7A carrying an undisclosed payload at 6 a.m. Eastern. Kourou, French Guiana: Scheduled launch of a Vega C carrying the Kompsat-7 satellite at 12:21 p.m. Eastern. Kennedy Space Center, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 3:11 p.m. Eastern.
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