Plus: Starlink passes 10,000 satellites in orbit
| By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: Canada invests in domestic launch capabilities, Nvidia rolls out new processors for orbital data centers, Starlink passes 10,000 satellites in orbit and more.
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The Canadian military is making a major investment in building the country's sovereign launch capabilities. The Department of National Defence announced Monday it signed a 10-year lease valued at 200 million Canadian dollars ($146 million) for a dedicated launch pad at Spaceport Nova Scotia, a launch site under development by Maritime Launch Services. The military is also providing a combined 25 million Canadian dollars to three startups developing small launch vehicles — Canada Rocket Company, NordSpace and Reaction Dynamics — as part of a multi-year program valued at 105 million Canadian dollars. Canada's defense minister, David McGuinty, described the spaceport and launch company awards as part of an effort to develop a sovereign launch capability to reduce Canadian reliance on foreign launch services. [SpaceNews]
Nvidia has announced processors designed for orbital data center centers and other space missions. The company announced Monday it is developing the Space-1 Vera Rubin Module, a computing system intended to bring more powerful AI processing to satellites and other space platforms. The system is designed to deliver significantly more computing power than the Nvidia H100 GPU, a chip already being tested on spacecraft. Nvidia is working with partners on computers for orbital data centers but acknowledged that technical hurdles remain, including radiation exposure and thermal management in orbit. Companies such as Aetherflux, Axiom Space, Kepler Communications, Planet Labs, Sophia Space and Starcloud are using or plan to use the new Nvidia processors. [SpaceNews]
French satellite analytics provider Kayrros is being acquired amid a growing demand for geospatial intelligence data. Energy Aspects announced plans March 12 to buy Kayrros for an undisclosed sum, pending regulatory approval. Kayrros uses artificial intelligence, machine learning and geoanalytics to analyze raw data from more than 20 satellite constellations, producing insights on oil production, storage levels, supply chains, environmental risks and other energy market indicators. The company said traders and analysts are increasingly turning to geospatial intelligence in the region after Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz. [SpaceNews]
Korean launch company Innospace has completed the investigation into the failure of its first launch. Innospace said Monday that the investigation into the first Hanbit-Nano launch in December found that exhaust leaked out of the first stage's combustion chamber, causing the chamber to rupture 33 seconds after liftoff and breaking apart the rocket. Innospace said it will improve assembly processes and quality management procedures, as well as make other unspecified design changes. The next Hanbit-Nano launch is planned for the third quarter from Brazil. [SpaceNews]
NASA is delaying the return of Artemis 2 to the launch pad by a day. The agency announced Monday that the rollout of the vehicle to Launch Complex 39B was now planned for this Friday, a one-day slip because of work over the weekend to replace an electrical harness in the rocket's flight termination system. The delay does not hinder the planned launch of Artemis 2, which remains scheduled for as soon as April 1. [NASA]
| | | | | | Other News
SpaceX now has more than 10,000 Starlink satellites in orbit after a launch overnight. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 1:19 a.m. Eastern, deploying 25 Starlink satellites. The launch brings the number of Starlink satellites in orbit to 10,020, the first time the company has had more than 10,000 satellites in orbit. [Spaceflight Now]
Chinese astronauts performed a spacewalk outside the Tiangong space station Monday. Zhang Lu and Wu Fei spent about seven hours outside the station, installing space debris protection for the station among other work. The spacewalk was the sixth in Zhang's career, making him one of the most experienced Chinese spacewalkers. [Xinhua]
A Progress cargo spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station Monday. The Progress MS-31 spacecraft, designated Progress 92 by NASA, undocked from the station as planned at 9:24 a.m. Eastern and reentered several hours later. Its departure opens a docking port for a new Progress cargo spacecraft scheduled to launch on Sunday. [NASA]
The government of Ontario has reached a confidential settlement with SpaceX over a canceled Starlink contract. The provincial government announced in November 2024 a contract with SpaceX worth 100 million Canadian dollars to provide rural broadband services, but canceled the contract several months later amid tensions between the U.S. and Canada. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said last week that the government reached a settlement with SpaceX over the contract but that the amount it paid SpaceX as a kill fee would remain confidential. [Canadian Press]
A space weather company is interested in acquiring some of the assets of a national lab the Trump administration is proposing to dismantle. The White House is pushing to shut down the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and transfer some of its capabilities. Lynker, a space weather company, said it submitted a proposal to take over NCAR's High Altitude Observatory, which studies the sun and space weather. The breakup of NCAR is strongly opposed by the science community as well as officials in Colorado, where NCAR is based. [New York Times]
| | | | | | Liftoff, Not Laugh-Off
| "You could even say I'm over the moon to be here today with you all at this out-of-this-world announcement. Okay, enough with the puns. I'm just going to launch into my remarks."
| | – Brian Gallant, CEO of Space Canada, at an event Monday about investment by the Canadian Department of National Defence into launch capabilities.
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