Plus: A dizzying saga for two-time NASA nominee Isaacman
By Dan Robitzski
The space industry, or at least a vocal contingent of it, breathed a collective sigh of relief last year when Pam Melroy, then NASA deputy administrator, announced that the agency would pursue a "continuous heartbeat" — a permanent human presence in LEO — rather than merely maintaining the "continuous capability" to send humans into orbit on the International Space Station's commercial successors.
But now, it appears there may be gaps in humanity's presence in orbit after all, SpaceNews' Jeff Foust wrote in a feature article for our November magazine issue. A July 31 memo signed by Sean Duffy, NASA's acting administrator, said that the "Full Operational Capability" — defined by NASA as having four crewmembers including two NASA astronauts on the ISS at all times — "required by NASA will no longer be binding."
The question, now, is whether that actually matters. And based on Jeff's reporting, it varies depending on who you ask.
On one hand, there's former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who said "it would be catastrophic from a diplomatic presence if we didn't have a permanent human presence in space. It would be catastrophic from a science perspective."
And on the unbothered side, there's former NASA commercial space division director Phil McAlister, who said "The way some people refer to a potential 'gap' in continuous U.S. presence in space, you'd think it was the title of a new horror movie."
What people did agree on is that NASA's 180 was a surprise and now there are more questions on what humanity's future in space will look like.
By the way, magazine subscribers saw this story first. But now, moving forward, digital editions of SpaceNews Magazine are included with all online subscriptions. You can subscribe here.
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HE NOMINATES ME; HE NOMINATES ME NOT...
| The latest in the dizzying saga of Jared Isaacman's shot at leading NASA came late Tuesday, when President Trump announced he was renominating the billionaire astronaut as NASA Administrator. The move came just five months after Trump pulled Isaacman's original nomination for the same job.
As SpaceNews' Jeff Foust wrote, "The statement did not explain why Trump decided to renominate him. The description of Isaacman was identical to what Trump wrote in December 2024 when he first announced his intent to nominate the billionaire businessman and private astronaut."
Now, and for the second time, it will be up to Congress to decide whether Isaacman should helm NASA, an agency that's been without a dedicated Administrator since Trump took office in January. That assumes Congress reconvenes any time soon.
| | | SIMPLIFYING ARTEMIS
| SpaceX came under fire recently when two former NASA administrators criticized the agency's plan for the Artemis 3 crewed lunar landing, which involves launching multiple Starship vehicles to repeatedly refuel the crewed spacecraft on its journey.
So, faced with the risk of NASA deciding to "open up" its contracts, SpaceX announced that it's working on a "simplified" approach to a lunar landing that should get astronauts to the moon sooner than the current plan. SpaceX didn't share any details of the plan, nor did it clarify whether it involves making changes to Starship or other Artemis elements such as Orion or the Space Launch System.
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| | | Intuitive Machines, a company that develops lunar landers and other vehicles, announced Nov. 4 it is buying Lanteris Space Systems, the satellite manufacturer formerly known as Maxar Space Systems.
| | | | A Chinese institute recently completed ground tests on what it describes as a reconfigurable, flexible on-orbit manufacturing platform, targeting future large-scale, low-cost space manufacturing.
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| | Rocket Lab's proposed acquisition of German laser communications firm Mynaric is under review by Germany's government amidst concerns over the country's sovereign space capabilities.
| | | | China launched a new Yaogan reconnaissance satellite Nov. 2, expanding the country's capability to monitor land management, disaster relief and meteorology alongside its military reconnaissance network.
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