By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: ESA gets nearly all the funding it asks for from its member states, a key Russian launch pad is damaged in a Soyuz launch to the ISS, a new China policy seeks to accelerate the development of commercial space and more.
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Top Stories
The European Space Agency secured nearly 22.1 billion euros ($25.6 billion) from its member states last week. ESA concluded its two-day ministerial conference Thursday in Bremen, Germany, by announcing that its members agreed to provide that funding for programs over the next three years. The final amount was very close to the agency's request of 22.25 billion euros and a 17% increase, when adjusted for inflation, from what it received at the previous ministerial in 2022. ESA said some programs, such as navigation and space transportation, received more money than requested, including a "highly oversubscribed" European Launcher Challenge to support new entrants. Germany provided the most money of any ESA member, at just over five billion euros, followed by France and Italy. [SpaceNews]
One ESA program that fell short of its funding request at the ministerial, though, was exploration. That part of ESA received about 80% of its requested funding. The Human and Robotic Exploration program covers efforts ranging from human spaceflight to participation in Artemis and the Mars Sample Return program. The ESA director responsible for those programs said that some priorities, like work on the Argonaut lunar lander and completion of the Rosalind Franklin Mars rover, were funded, and the agency was studying what programs might be hurt by the funding shortfall. [SpaceNews]
The only Russian launch pad capable of supporting missions to the International Space Station was damaged in a launch last week. A Soyuz-2.1a rocket lifted off from the pad, known as Site 31/6, at 4:27 a.m. Eastern Thursday. It placed the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft into orbit, which docked with the ISS about three hours later. The launch, which delivered two Russians and one American to the station for an eight-month mission, went as planned, but a service platform in the base of the pad fell into the flame trench below. Roscosmos acknowledged the pad suffered damage but claimed it could be quickly repaired. However, outside observers say it could take up to two years to repair or replace the platform. Site 31/6 is the only pad currently able to support Progress and Soyuz missions to the station, raising questions about Russia's ability to support upcoming missions. The next launch from the pad is a Progress cargo spacecraft currently scheduled for mid-December. [SpaceNews]
China's experimental Shijian-21 and Shijian-25 satellites have separated in geosynchronous orbit after a months-long refueling experiment. The two spacecraft performed rendezvous and proximity operations during the first half of the year before apparently docking in late June or early July, then conducted fuel-intensive orbital plane change maneuvers, reducing their orbital inclination. S2a systems, a Swiss company which develops and operates customized systems for optical space surveillance worldwide, said that observations it made Saturday showed the two spacecraft had separated. The separation could mark a successful conclusion to a world-first refueling operation in GEO, but Chinese officials have not commented on the mission. [SpaceNews]
China's space administration has published a policy blueprint aimed at accelerating development of commercial space. The policy, published last week, sets out 22 key measures to boost innovation, improve the efficiency of resource use, expand industrial capabilities and strengthen safety supervision across the commercial space domain. The policy calls for creating by 2027 a coordinated commercial space ecosystem. The overall thrust of the policy notice appears to be establishing commercial space as a pillar in China's national space architecture, rather than commercial space existing as an auxiliary to the state sector. [SpaceNews]
SmartSky Networks does not plan to seek an injunction to block Gogo's 5G air-to-ground network despite winning a patent-infringement case. SmartSky, which ran out of money in 2020 and was sold to software firm Apcela, said it would instead seek royalties from Gogo for use of the technology after a federal jury last month found Gogo liable for infringement and awarded $22.7 million in damages. Gogo said it will pursue post-trial motions and appeals to overturn the decision. The 5G terrestrial network is intended to augment Gogo's satellite connectivity options for aircraft. [SpaceNews]
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Other News
China launched a classified satellite Sunday while the first flight of a new rocket faces delays. A Long March 7A rocket lifted off at 7:20 a.m. Eastern Sunday from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, placing the Shijian-28 satellite into orbit. The satellite was built by the China Academy of Space Technology but officials provided no other information about the spacecraft. Meanwhile, the first flight of the Zhuque-3 rocket, developed by Landspace, was scheduled for the weekend but postponed for undisclosed reasons. Zhuque-3 is designed to place up to 21,000 kilograms into orbit and land its first stage. [SpaceNews]
SpaceX launched 140 payloads into orbit on its latest rideshare mission Friday. A Falcon 9 lifted off at 1:44 p.m. Eastern on the Transporter-15 rideshare mission. The launch carried 140 payloads, second only to the 143 payloads on the first Transporter flight in 2021. The payloads included dozens of satellites for Planet and several satellites for Iceye and Spire. D-Orbit flew two of its ION transfer vehicles while Varda Space Industries launched its fifth reentry vehicle. More novel payloads on the launch included a privately funded astronomy spacecraft and three cubesats that will test a blockchain protocol for decentralized communications. [SpaceNews]
South Korea conducted the fourth launch of its KSLV-2 or Nuri rocket last week. The rocket lifted off from the Naro Space Center at 11:13 a.m. Eastern Wednesday, successfully deploying the CAS 500-3 technology demonstration satellite into low Earth orbit. The launch also carried 12 cubesat secondary payloads. The launch is the third consecutive successful launch of Nuri after the failure of the inaugural launch in 2021 and the first where South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace oversaw the production of the rocket. [Yonhap]
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites early Monday. A Falcon 9 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 2:44 a.m. Eastern. It deployed 29 Starlink satellites into orbit a little more than an hour later. [Spaceflight Now]
ESA signed an agreement with Norway to study establishing an Arctic research center in the country. ESA said Thursday it signed a letter of intent to study a proposed ESA Arctic Space Center in Tromsø, Norway, with a goal of setting up the center by 2027. The center is expected to focus on Earth observation, navigation and telecommunications, with a strong emphasis on using space-based data to support sustainable development in the Arctic region. [SpaceNews]
A British startup is working on an orbital manufacturing system with an unusual approach to launch. ACME Space is developing the Hyperion Orbital Factory Vehicle, designed to support production of protein crystals and optical fibers in orbit, then returning them to Earth. The vehicle would launch on a rocket first lofted to high altitudes on a hydrogen balloon; such "rockoon" concepts have been proposed for decades but have yet to be demonstrated as feasible. Tomas Guryca, a Czech entrepreneur who founded the company, is funding it through proceeds of the sale of a previous AI venture and claims the system could be ready for commercial missions as soon as 2027. [SpaceNews]
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| The Week Ahead
Monday: Kourou, French Guiana: Scheduled launch of a Vega C carrying the Kompsat-7 imaging satellite at 12:21 p.m. Eastern. Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 9:55 p.m. Eastern. Monday-Tuesday: Tuesday: Tuesday-Wednesday: Tuesday-Thursday: Wednesday: Wednesday-Thursday: Wednesday-Saturday: Thursday: Turin, Italy: The Lunar Economy Summit will examine the development of commercial activities on and around the moon. Washington: The House Science Committee's space subcommittee holds a hearing on "Strategic Trajectories Assessing China's Space Rise and the Risks to U.S. Leadership" at 9 a.m. Eastern. Washington: Italian Space Day 2025 at the Italian Embassy will discuss collaboration between space companies in Italy and the U.S. Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 1:12 p.m. Eastern. Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand: Scheduled launch of an Electron rocket carrying the Japanese RAISE-4 satellite at 10 p.m. Eastern. Thursday-Friday: Saturday: Sunday: Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 11:13 a.m. Eastern. Kennedy Space Center, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 4:40 p.m. Eastern.
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