Plus: Bankers line up to back SpaceX's IPO
By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: the head of the Space Development Agency gets an expanded portfolio, Isaacman warns of a Chinese lunar mission in 2027, bankers line up to back SpaceX's IPO and more.
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Top Stories
The head of the Space Development Agency is taking on broader roles for missile warning at the Space Force. Gurpartap "GP" Sandhoo will serve as both director of the SDA and the portfolio acquisition executive, or PAE, for missile warning and tracking, the agency announced Tuesday. Sandhoo has led SDA as acting director since September 2025 and reports indicated he would be named to the PAE role. Under the arrangement, Sandhoo will continue overseeing Tranches 1 and 2 of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, or PWSA, that remain under SDA management, while also overseeing future tranches of the missile-warning portion of the architecture as those programs transition into the Space Force's new acquisition structure. The Transport Layer of communications satellites that SDA had also been overseeing will not continue, and that work will be folded into a larger initiative known as the Space Data Network. [SpaceNews]
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman says he expects China to send astronauts around the moon next year. In a speech at the ASCEND conference Tuesday, Isaacman said the next people to fly around the moon after Artemis 2 will be Chinese taikonauts in 2027, meaning the U.S. "will no longer be the exclusive power to send humans into the lunar environment." He did not elaborate on that assessment, but repeated it at another event later in the day. China has not formally announced plans for a circumlunar mission but is rumored to be considering one as part of efforts to land humans on the moon by the end of the decade. Isaacman has previously warned of a space race between China and the United States to be the next to land humans on the moon, stating that "the difference between success and failure will be measured in months, not years." [SpaceNews]
A startup argues that combining multiple low Earth orbit satellite constellations will provide better communications services than multi-orbit approaches. Some satellite operators have promoted systems that combine satellites in low, medium and geostationary orbits to produce more resilient systems. However, Contrivian, a telecommunications software company founded in 2023, says that approach introduces technical complications that degrade performance for modern internet applications, and instead believes a better approach is to combine multiple LEO networks. The company is developing technology to combine LEO networks, offering it to military customers in a ruggedized case slightly larger than a carry-on suitcase. [SpaceNews]
Quindar will provide mission management services for Portal Space Systems' maneuverable spacecraft. The agreement announced Tuesday covers multiple missions, including operations support for Portal's planned launches of its Starburst and Supernova spacecraft. Quindar provides cloud-hosted mission operations software that automates satellite command, planning and ground operations, replacing traditional customized solutions. [SpaceNews]
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Other News
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites Tuesday night. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 10:46 p.m. Eastern, placing 24 Starlink satellites into orbit. With this launch, SpaceX now has nearly 10,500 working Starlink satellites in orbit. [Space.com]
Goldman Sachs is expected to be the lead bank for SpaceX's IPO. According to multiple reports, Goldman will have the "lead left" position on the IPO, overseeing the process of taking the company public. Other banks expected to be involved include Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase. SpaceX is expected to publicly release its IPO prospectus as soon as today ahead of going public around June 12. [CNBC]
German space company OHB is partnering with AI firm Helsing on a space-based reconnaissance system. The joint venture between the companies, called KIRK from the German acronym for Artificial Intelligence and Space Competence, would involve satellite systems from OHB utilizing AI technologies from Helsing to provide near-real-time tactical targeting. It builds on an earlier agreement among Helsing, Kongsberg and Hensoldt. The companies did not provide a timeline or cost for fielding the system KIRK would develop. [OHB]
NASA's Psyche spacecraft successfully flew by Mars. The agency said Tuesday that the gravity-assist flyby on Friday went as planned, putting Psyche the spacecraft on a trajectory to reach the metallic main-belt asteroid of the same name in 2029. The spacecraft passed 4,609 kilometers above the Martian surface during the flyby while taking images and other data of the planet. [NASA/JPL]
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Space Plumbing Woes
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"I think at least one is broken on the International Space Station right now, and, at least on my two missions to space, if you got it working 50% of the time you were doing OK."
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– NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, discussing problems with toilets on Orion, the ISS and his Crew Dragon flights during a fireside chat at the AIAA ASCEND conference Tuesday.
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