Plus: The German military proposes a European space command
By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: a launch pad explosion destroys a New Glenn rocket, Germany proposes a unified European military space command, Chinese reusable rockets prepare for launch and more.
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Top Stories
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded on its launch pad Thursday night during a static-fire test. The rocket exploded at Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 36 at about 9 p.m. Eastern just as its seven BE-4 first-stage engines ignited for the test. Blue Origin and the Space Force said there were no injuries. Blue Origin was testing the vehicle ahead of a launch for Amazon Leo scheduled for next week, the fourth for the rocket and the first since an upper-stage malfunction in April. The extent of damage to ground infrastructure is unclear, although one of the lightning towers at the pad appears to have collapsed. The explosion will likely take New Glenn out of service for many months, dealing a setback to the company as well as its customers, including NASA. [SpaceNews]
The German military wants to create a unified European space command. Maj. Gen. Wolfgang Ohl, speaking at the SmallSat Europe conference in Amsterdam, said Germany has proposed the idea of a European Space Component Command that would coordinate space operations among European militaries. Ohl said the idea remains in a preliminary phase and consists of open discussions among Germany and neighboring countries on how such an alliance could be structured, coordinated and what capabilities it should include. The announcement comes six months after Germany unveiled a 35 billion euro ($40 billion) investment package to accelerate the development of its defense space sector, including deployment of a 100-satellite communications constellation. [SpaceNews]
The U.S. Space Force wants to build out ground infrastructure needed for its new space systems. Brig. Gen. Christopher Fernengel, director of plans and programs on the Space Force headquarters staff, said at the State of the Space Industrial Base conference this week that one focus for the service is creation of resilient operations centers. Those facilities are intended to ensure military space missions can continue during wartime when command-and-control sites become targets. The Space Force envisions building as many as 10 such operations centers across the United States, creating a distributed architecture capable of supporting overseas combatant commands while preserving continuity of operations if individual sites are disrupted. The service is seeking $1 billion for four centers in its fiscal 2027 budget proposal. [SpaceNews]
Observable Space raised $90 million and won a Space Force contract for optical systems. The company announced Thursday it raised a Series A round led by Lux Capital with participation from several other investors. The company develops optical systems used for laser communications ground stations and for telescopes used in space domain awareness. The company tested its laser communications system during Artemis 2, successfully receiving high-bandwidth laser transmissions from the Orion spacecraft in cislunar space. Observable Space also said it received a Space Force contract with a maximum value of $94 million for space domain awareness work. The Space Force issued $22 million in immediate task orders for that contract. [SpaceNews]
Revolv Space won a contract from French satellite servicing company Infinite Orbits for solar-array drive assemblies. Revolve Space, based in Italy and the Netherlands, said Infinite Orbits ordered the assemblies, which control solar arrays to maximize power output, for its GEO servicing spacecraft. The value of Revolv Space's contract with Infinite Orbits was not disclosed. Revolv has flown more than 20 of the units on low Earth orbit spacecraft. [SpaceNews]
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Other News
Several Chinese reusable rockets are nearing launch. Rockets from state-owned CASC and commercial entities including Galactic Energy, iSpace and more are in various states of readiness for long-awaited debuts. Those vehicles are needed to deploy Chinese megaconstellation satellites. CASC’s Long March 12B recently appeared vertical on the pad with landing legs attached, but it is unclear if CASC will attempt a first-stage landing on its upcoming flight. Other vehicles nearing flight include Galactic Energy's Pallas-1, iSpace's Hyperbola-3 and the Long March 10B. Another recovery attempt is expected from Landspace with its Zhuque-3, which successfully reached orbit late last year but failed in the latter stages of a first stage powered descent and landing attempt. [SpaceNews]
SpaceX is reportedly dialing back the valuation it is seeking in its IPO. The company is now seeking to go public at a valuation of $1.8 trillion, less than the $2 trillion or more previously reported, after discussions with investors and advisers. The company is seeking to raise up to $75 billion in the IPO, which would be the largest ever for any company. The company is expected to go public by mid-June after releasing its prospectus last week. [Bloomberg]
Firefly Aerospace will raise nearly $200 million in an additional stock sale. The company, which went public last year, said Thursday it will sell four million shares at $48 each, raising $192 million before expenses. The company said it will use the funds for company operations, including to support growth of its core business and recently awarded programs and initiatives. Firefly shareholders also plan to sell an additional eight million shares, but the company will not receive the proceeds of those sales. [Firefly Aerospace]
A Japanese cargo spacecraft has completed its mission with a destructive reentry. The HTV-X1 spacecraft burned up over the South Pacific Ocean on Tuesday as planned, the Japanese space agency JAXA announced. HTV-X1, the first flight of the upgraded HTV-X cargo spacecraft, launched to the International Space Station last October and was unberthed from the station in March. The spacecraft performed additional tests after leaving the station, including deployment of a smallsat. [Japan Times]
NASA astronaut Drew Morgan has retired from the agency. NASA selected Morgan, a U.S. Army officer, to join the astronaut corps in 2013. He flew a 272-day mission to the ISS in 2019 and 2020, participating in seven spacewalks while there. He served in various other NASA roles after that mission and, for the last two years, had been on assignment to the Army in the Pacific. NASA said Morgan will continue his military career after leaving the agency. [NASA]
Virgin Galactic has signed a new research customer for its suborbital spaceplane. The company said Thursday that the nonprofit Operation Period will conduct a suborbital research mission in 2027 on what the company called the first dedicated research mission to study menstruation in microgravity. Manju Bangalore and Priya Abiram will conduct the research on the flight, becoming the youngest South Asian women to go to space. [Virgin Galactic]
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A Great Time for Space Geeks
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"It's going to be a great time for the space geek community to have this new world first using a spacecraft weighing 50 kilograms."
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– Clement Cangelosi, head of sales at French propulsion company Thrust Me, discussing at SmallSat Europe on Thursday the upcoming rendezvous and docking by Starfish Space's Otter Pup 2 spacecraft, using thrusters from Thrust Me, with a Gilmour Space satellite.
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