Plus: What comes after the Starliner report
| By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: NASA completes a second Artemis 2 fueling test, Starliner report finds technical and organizational failures, Ursa Major gets a new CEO and more.
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| | | | | | Top Stories
NASA completed a second wet dress rehearsal for the Artemis 2 mission without the hydrogen leaks seen on the first test. NASA completed the fueling test and practice countdown Thursday night, reporting only minor issues throughout the day. The agency noted that any hydrogen leaks "remained under allowable limits" after workers replaced seals thought to be the source of leaks seen during fueling of the Space Launch System on the first wet dress rehearsal earlier this month. NASA plans to discuss the wet dress rehearsal and launch plans at a briefing later today. The four-person Artemis 2 crew will enter pre-launch quarantine today ahead of the earliest possible launch date of March 6. [SpaceNews]
NASA released a report Thursday describing serious technical and organizational failures during the Starliner crewed test flight in 2024. That flight suffered multiple thruster failures during its approach to the International Space Station, and NASA ultimately decided to bring the spacecraft back uncrewed. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the biggest problem with the flight was not any technical failures but "decision-making and leadership that, if left unchecked, could create a culture incompatible with human spaceflight." That included debates about what to do with Starliner once it docked at the station that "deteriorated into unprofessional conduct" as well as a lack of engagement from agency leadership at the time. NASA said it was formally classifying the flight as a "Type A" mishap, its most serious, and Isaacman vowed to implement "leadership accountability" for the incident. He added that Starliner would not fly again until all the issues with the spacecraft are identified and corrected. [SpaceNews]
Boeing has opened a new facility to increase production of missile-tracking sensors for satellites. The 9,000-square-foot production area in El Segundo, California, will focus on electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) payloads that detect light in the visible spectrum and heat in the infrared spectrum, enabling spacecraft to capture detailed imagery and identify thermal events such as missile launches. Boeing said the added capacity is intended to support satellites currently in production by its subsidiary Millennium Space Systems and projected future demand. [SpaceNews]
An Indian Gaganyaan spacecraft could visit the International Space Station. According to a report, India's space agency ISRO proposed sending an uncrewed Gaganyaan spacecraft to the ISS as part of efforts to further cooperation between the United States and India in space. The proposal will be discussed at a working group meeting of Indian and American officials on civil space cooperation in May or June. Gaganyaan is India's crewed spacecraft under development. The first uncrewed orbital flight of the spacecraft was scheduled for March but is likely to be delayed. [The Times of India]
| | | | | | Other News
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites Thursday on a mission that featured a booster landing in The Bahamas. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 8:41 p.m. Eastern, placing 29 Starlink satellites into orbit. The Falcon 9 booster landed on a droneship in Bahamian waters, the second such landing there. Booster landings in The Bahamas open up new trajectories for Falcon 9 launches. [Spaceflight Now]
Scientists say they have measured atmospheric pollution linked to a Falcon 9 upper stage reentry. German researchers used a lidar instrument to study the upper atmosphere after a Falcon 9 upper stage reentered over Europe last year. The instrument detected a cloud of lithium, likely from aluminum-lithium alloys and lithium batteries in the upper stage as it disintegrated. Scientists said they don't know if lithium deposited in the upper atmosphere has any adverse impacts, with most research focusing on the effects of aluminum instead. [Space.com]
The European Space Agency will launch a pair of navigation satellites on a Rocket Lab Electron next month. ESA said Thursday the two demonstration satellites will launch on an Electron from New Zealand on March 24. The satellites are part of Celeste, intended to test technologies for a future low Earth orbit navigation satellite constellation. The first two cubesat-class satellites are intended to secure frequencies for use in the program and to test signals. Eight additional, larger spacecraft are under development for launch in 2027. ESA selected Electron to launch the satellites because of a lack of near-term European launch options for the satellites. [ESA]
Rocket engine manufacturer Ursa Major has a new CEO. The company announced Thursday it named Chris Spagnoletti as CEO. He has been at the company since 2022, most recently as president of its liquid systems unit overseeing development of engines for hypersonic and space applications. He succeeds Dan Jablonsky, who had been CEO since August 2024. The company didn't give a reason for Jablonsky's departure. [Ursa Major]
Canadian company MDA Space has created a subsidiary to focus on defense applications. The new business, 49North, will focus on providing C4ISR and related capabilities outside of space, including land, sea, air and joint operations. That includes work on advanced sensing and radar technologies, autonomous systems and secure digital mission systems, among other areas. 49North will be led by Joe Armstrong, who was previously an executive at Canadian aerospace and defense company CAE. [MDA]
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| "A lot of people would say, 'Which was your favorite launch, Tory?' And I would always say, 'Well, I love all my children.' But I'm going to tell you the truth. I have one that I love more than the others, and it was the Parker Solar Probe."
| | – Tory Bruno, former CEO of United Launch Alliance and now president of the national security group at Blue Origin, during a webinar by the National Space Society Thursday night. He said the Delta 4 Heavy launch of that NASA mission was his favorite because of its namesake, space scientist Eugene Parker, who got to attend the launch.
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