Plus: ESA begins two-day ministerial
By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: ESA begins two days of discussions on agency budgets, Space Force makes awards for space-based interceptor prototypes, a NASA cubesat mission comes to an end and more.
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Top Stories
European Space Agency member states have started two days of deliberations on the agency's budget for the next three years. The ministerial conference in Bremen, Germany, is bringing together ESA's 23 member states to discuss funding a proposed 22.2 billion euro ($25.7 billion) budget for the agency. ESA leaders said they were optimistic going into the ministerial that they will get most, if not all, of the proposal funded by members. This meeting carried added weight as Europe works to increase space spending given shifting geopolitics and concerns Europe is falling behind other nations in space. ESA contributions may include more funding from defense ministries for certain priorities, such as the new European Resilience from Space initiative. [SpaceNews]
The Space Force has selected several companies to work on space-based interceptor prototypes for Golden Dome. Space Systems Command said Tuesday it had issued multiple awards for prototype work, but did not disclose the companies, citing "enhanced security measures." The command is using Other Transaction Agreements for the awards, which provide more flexibility on requirements, cost, data rights and schedules. The work is separate from a planned procurement of kinetic midcourse interceptor concepts, a solicitation for which will be released by Dec. 7, the command said last week. [SpaceNews]
ESA and Lithuanian space startup Astrolight are building the first optical ground station in Greenland. Based on laser technology, the station is intended to provide greater space-to-ground connectivity than traditional radio-frequency communications and better protection against interference. Astrolight specializes in laser-based communication systems for space, ground, air and sea domains. The company expects the new facility to be constructed by the end of 2026, enabling it to serve as a crucial node between satellites in polar orbits and ground-based data networks. [SpaceNews]
Northrop Grumman will provide cargo missions for the final phase in the life of the International Space Station. NASA issued a procurement notice last week awarding Northrop two Cygnus missions to the ISS in 2028 and 2029 under a sole-source arrangement. NASA justified the award since docking ports on the ISS used by SpaceX's Dragon will be unavailable once the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle arrives at the ISS, taking one of the ports and leaving the other for commercial crew vehicles. Cygnus is also a leading contender for a separate ESA award for a cargo mission to the ISS to fulfill its requirements for cargo transportation in exchange for ESA astronaut missions there. [SpaceNews]
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Other News
An Angara rocket launched a Russian military satellite Tuesday. The Angara 1.2 rocket lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 8:42 a.m. Eastern, placing three satellite into an orbit at 1,500 kilometers and an inclination of 82.5 degrees. The satellites are most likely part of the Rodnik military communications satellite system. [RussianSpaceWeb.com]
A NASA cubesat mission to study tropical storms has ended. NASA said Tuesday the last two of the four Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) cubesats were shut down earlier this month ahead of reentry. The four satellites were launched in 2023 to study tropical cyclone development. TROPICS was scheduled to last one year but extended through the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season even as their orbits decayed. [NASA]
A NASA asteroid mission is working well in its extended phase. NASA released images Tuesday taken by the OSIRIS-APEX as it flew past Earth two months ago. The spacecraft is an extension of the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission that will now visit the asteroid Apophis after it makes a very close approach to Earth in 2029. The September flyby was one of three gravity-assist maneuvers planned to put the spacecraft on course for Apophis. OSIRIS-APEX is continuing even though NASA proposed canceling the mission in its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal. [Univ. of Arizona]
Astronomers said they may have directly detected dark matter for the first time. A new study says that gamma rays observed near the center of the Milky Way by NASA's Fermi spacecraft are likely created by the collision of hypothesized dark matter particles known as WIMPs. The gamma-ray pattern seen by Fermi matches the distribution of dark matter indirectly detected at the heart of the Milky Way, the study claims. Other astronomers, though, cautioned that similar detections have not been made around other galaxies. [The Guardian]
Note: First Up will not publish Thursday or Friday because of the Thanksgiving holiday. We will be back on Monday. Happy Thanksgiving!
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A Good Sign
| "Usually on the evening before the first day, which was last night, there's a reception to welcome the people who are already on site. And yesterday evening, we did not have emergency sessions somewhere or splinter sessions, so we could actually enjoy meeting our colleagues when they came on site in Bremen, which is a good sign."
| – ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, discussing final preparations for the ESA ministerial conference in Bremen, Germany, Wednesday morning.
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