Plus: The Space Force ends an antenna contract
| By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: Firefly Alpha returns to flight, AeroVironment loses a Space Force antenna contract, NASA's inspector general criticizes HLS delays and more.
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| | | | | | Top Stories
Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket returned to flight Wednesday evening, more than 10 months after a launch failure. The Alpha lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 8:50 p.m. Eastern, successfully reaching low Earth orbit. The rocket carried a demonstration payload for Lockheed Martin, but neither Lockheed nor Firefly disclosed additional details about it. The launch was the first for Alpha since an April 2025 failure. The launch was also the last for the current version of Alpha as Firefly plans to introduce an upgraded Block 2 version of the rocket later this year. [SpaceNews]
The U.S. Space Force has terminated an estimated $1.7 billion contract with defense technology firm AeroVironment to build antennas for ground stations. The contract covered the Satellite Communications Augmentation Resource program, known as SCAR, an effort to field mobile phased-array antennas to supplement the military's aging Satellite Control Network. Company executives said in an earnings call this week that the government ended the agreement after unsuccessful renegotiations. The company said it still plans to pursue whatever new procurement the Space Force launches to replace the contract and intends to adapt its design into a commercially offered product. [SpaceNews]
York Space Systems is acquiring satellite propulsion company Orbion Space Technology. York announced the acquisition Thursday but did not disclose terms of the deal. Orbion develops Hall-effect electric propulsion systems for small satellites. With the acquisition, York is bringing that capability in-house as part of a broader effort to control more of its satellite supply chain. Orbion had been a supplier to York, delivering 33 propulsion units in January for a military satellite program. Orbion will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of York. [SpaceNews]
An SES teleport in Israel was damaged in a missile strike. SES said a small portion of the geostationary antenna field was damaged in an attack Monday, adding that no injuries were reported and the impact did not affect the main facility at Emek Ha'ela. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group based in Lebanon, said in a statement released through an affiliated media outlet that it targeted the teleport because it was an Israeli army facility, but the site was privatized in 2008. SES says the teleport serves government and commercial customers. [SpaceNews]
NASA's inspector general said that the agency's approach to Artemis lunar lander development has controlled costs but not schedule. A report this week by the inspector general said there has been only minor cost growth on its Human Landing System (HLS) contracts with Blue Origin and SpaceX, and that growth has been linked in large part to changes to other elements of Artemis. However, the report found significant schedule delays by both companies, particularly as they struggle with key technologies such as management of the cryogenic propellants their landers will use. The report did not incorporate recent changes to Artemis announced in the last few weeks, but the study raises questions about the ability of NASA and the companies to accelerate development of their landers. [SpaceNews]
Austrian satellite propulsion company Enpulsion has raised its first major funding round. The company recently announced raising 22.5 million euros ($26 million) in a round led by German fund Nordwind Growth. Enpulsion said the funding will allow it to expand, including moving from sales of electric propulsion systems for smallsats to more complete mobility solutions for spacecraft. The company also is looking to expand its presence in the United States. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | | Other News
A new startup unveiled plans to develop satellites that would provide solar power to other spacecraft. New Mexico-based Mantis Space said Wednesday it has raised a $10 million seed round, along with a $24 million award from the state of New Mexico to set up operations there. Mantis Space plans to develop a satellite constellation that will beam power to other spacecraft. The company disclosed few details about those satellites or its schedule for deploying them. [SpaceNews]
Retired Air Force Gen. John Hyten will lead a new advisory board for satellite manufacturer Astranis. Hyten is a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and spent much of his career overseeing military space programs, including as head of Air Force Space Command. He frequently criticized the military's reliance on a small number of large satellites, or "big, fat, juicy targets" that he believed were vulnerable to attack. Astranis is a manufacturer of small GEO satellites that is a response to those concerns. The company said Hyten will advise the company on strategy, business and technology. [SpaceNews]
Canadian company MDA Space is raising money with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The company, whose shares currently trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange, plans to raise $300 million in a sale of stock that will see its shares also listed on the NYSE. MDA says the dual listing will allow it to tap American institutional investors as it seeks to go after growing opportunities in defense, such as Golden Dome. [Wall Street Journal]
SpaceX is pursuing going public on the Nasdaq exchange. The company, planning an initial public offering in June, is interested in doing so on the Nasdaq provided it gains inclusion into the exchange's Nasdaq 100 index, reserved for its largest companies like Apple and Nvidia. Current rules require companies to wait a year after going public to be added to the Nasdaq 100, but the exchange has proposed a "fast track" rule to allow SpaceX to join it early. [Reuters]
A NASA spacecraft harmlessly reentered Wednesday. The Van Allen Probe A spacecraft reentered at 6:37 a.m. Eastern over the eastern Pacific Ocean, well to the west of the South American coast. Pieces of the 600-kilogram spacecraft were expected to survive reentry. The two Van Allen Probe spacecraft launched in 2012 to study the Van Allen radiation belts, and ended their mission in 2019. The twin Van Allen Probe B satellite is expected to reenter in 2030. [NASA]
The next Cygnus cargo mission to the International Space Station will be named after a former astronaut. Northrop Grumman announced this week that the NG-24 Cygnus spacecraft will be called the S.S. Steven R. Nagel, a former NASA astronaut who died in 2014. Nagel joined the astronaut corps in 1978 and flew on four shuttle missions, commanding two of them. The Cygnus is scheduled to launch to the station next month. [collectSPACE]
| | | | | | | FROM SPACENEWS |  |  | | A new way to work with SpaceNews: SpaceNews Brand Studio brings together editorial expertise, trusted reputation and unparalleled industry reach to create high-impact custom content, campaigns and experiences for the global space community. From bespoke features to custom events, surveys and digital series, we help brands turn complex ideas into influential industry moments. Start a conversation today. | | | | | | Cringey
| "Demonstrating a cringey lack of self-awareness, Amazon claimed just days ago that its competitors' applications should be dismissed when they are a 'facially incomplete,' 'speculative placeholder' that simply describe 'a lofty ambition' rather than a 'genuine and imminent plan.'"
| | - from a SpaceX filing with the FCC this week, criticizing Amazon's opposition to SpaceX's proposed million-satellite orbital data center constellation when Amazon has so far deployed only a small fraction of its 3,200-satellite Amazon Leo constellation.
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