Plus: Leonardo's plans for Earth imaging
| By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: a second Artemis 2 practice countdown on tap, Leonardo's plans for an Earth imaging satellite system, Starbase seeks to expand and more.
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| | | | | | Top Stories
NASA has scheduled a second wet dress rehearsal for the Artemis 2 mission this week. The agency said Monday that the two-day practice countdown will start Tuesday, culminating in a fueling test of the Space Launch System core and upper stages late Thursday. NASA conducted a wet dress rehearsal early this month but encountered hydrogen leaks in lines feeding liquid hydrogen into the SLS core stage. That forced an early end to the test. NASA has since replaced seals in liquid hydrogen interfaces and conducted "confidence tests" to see if the new seals would prevent the leaks. [NASA]
NASA is waiting to complete responses to a space policy executive order before moving ahead with some key programs. Some projects, like support for commercial space stations or development of a nuclear reactor for lunar missions, have effectively been on hold since late last year. In a recent interview, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency was working on responding to a White House executive order last December, which called on the agency to develop plans for achieving policy directives in that order, such as returning humans to the moon by 2028. Once those plans are submitted, he said NASA will then publicly announce its intention for moving forward on those programs. [SpaceNews]
Leonardo is developing its own Earth observation satellite system. In a speech at the SmallSat Symposium last week, an executive with Leonardo's space division said the company was investing nearly 500 million euros ($590 million) in the Leonardo EO Constellation, which will have about 20 satellites with radar and optical imaging payloads. The satellites will have optical intersatellite links, with one or more dedicated to communications using lasers to other satellites or to optical ground stations. The constellation, slated to launch in 2027 or 2028, is designed to show Leonardo's end-to-end space capabilities as well as provide proprietary data for its geospatial intelligence business, and could be a model for future European imaging satellite constellations to be funded by ESA and the European Commission. [SpaceNews]
Spanish company Sateliot will launch two satellites with another Spanish company, PLD Space. The companies announced Tuesday a launch contract to fly two of Sateliot's Tritó satellites on a dedicated Miura 5 launch in 2027. Tritó is Sateliot's next-generation satellite announced last fall, capable of both Internet of Things and direct-to-device services. PLD Space is developing Miura 5, a small launch vehicle, with a first launch planned by the end of the year. The companies said the contract was the first fully private Spanish mission. [SpaceNews]
Voyager Technologies will cooperate with a European company developing reentry vehicles. Voyager announced Monday a partnership with Atmos Space Cargo, providing Atmos with integration and implementation support. Atmos is developing a line of spacecraft with reentry vehicles to return cargo, such as microgravity research and manufacturing payloads, from orbit. [Voyager Technologies]
| | | | | | Other News
SpaceX's Starbase wants to triple in size by annexing land from government and private owners. Starbase, incorporated as a city last year, is seeking to annex 7,100 acres of land, a move to be discussed at a city meeting this week. More than half the land is owned by the federal government and the state, including a federal wildlife refuge, while the rest is owned by SpaceX and other private organizations. Starbase city officials have not commented on why they want to annex the land. [San Antonio Express-News]
The government of Western Australia is seeking to support development of spaceports in the state. The state government is offering 1.75 million Australian dollars ($1.25 million) in grants to prospective spaceport operators to fund site selection and related studies. The government will also fund studies to identify the best potential locations for a spaceport in Western Australia. [The National Tribune]
NASA is scaling back operations of an astronomy satellite ahead of a planned reboost mission. NASA said last week that it temporarily suspended most science observations of the Swift spacecraft, a gamma-ray observatory. The move will allow the spacecraft to maintain an orientation that minimizes atmospheric drag. That will buy time for a mission, scheduled to launch as soon as June, to attach to Swift and raise its orbit. Without the reboost mission, Swift's orbit will decay and the spacecraft will reenter late this year or next year. One instrument on Swift, its Burst Alert Telescope, will continue to operate to detect gamma-ray bursts. [NASA]
Former President Barack Obama is not saying it's aliens. In a podcast interview published over the weekend, Obama was asked if aliens were real. "They're real," he responded, but added he hasn't seen any evidence of them. After the exchange attracted widespread attention, Obama clarified his comments, saying that "the universe is so vast that the odds are good there's life out there" but that "the chances we've been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!" [AP]
| | | | | | | FROM SPACENEWS |  | | Join Leidos and SpaceNews on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. ET to hear how the U.S. Space Force is partnering with industry to accelerate new approaches for collapsing space kill chains through rapid commercial integration and unclassified technology cohorts. In this virtual event, experts from the Space Force and industry will explore how advanced sensors, analytics and workflow automation can deliver faster decision advantage and operational impact. Register now. | | | | | | Crime and Punishment and Legislation
| | "The annual bill is about the size of a Dostoevsky novel, like Crime and Punishment."
"With an emphasis on punishment."
| | – John Rood, CEO of Momentus, and Chris Quilty, co-CEO and president of Quilty Space, discussing defense authorization and appropriations bills at the SmallSat Symposium last week.
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