Plus: $1.6B in new launch contracts for SpaceX
Welcome to our roundup of top SpaceNews stories, delivered every Friday! This week, the Department of Transportation proposed waiving environmental regulations for commercial launch licenses, the Space Force awarded SpaceX $1.6 billion in launch contracts, there's trouble with the Swift reboost mission and more.
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OUR TOP STORY
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By Jeff Foust The Department of Transportation is proposing to exempt commercial space launch licensing from many environmental regulations, a move praised by industry but criticized by environmental groups.
The department announced July 28 its intent to file a proposed rule for public comment that would exempt Federal Aviation Administration licenses for commercial launches and reentries, as well as launch sites, from 13 federal laws and associated regulations.
The rule would invoke the statutory authority of the secretary of transportation to waive requirements of those laws in the licensing process after consulting with the heads of the agencies responsible for enforcing those laws, and after concluding those requirements are “not necessary to protect the public health and safety, safety of property, and national security and foreign policy interests of the United States,” the rule stated.
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FROM SPACENEWS |
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LAUNCH
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A spacecraft launched nearly a month ago in a high-risk bid to boost the orbit of a NASA astrophysics satellite is suffering from attitude control problems that could jeopardize its mission.
SpaceX launched Starship on its 13th suborbital test flight July 24, correcting some of the issues seen on the previous flight while deploying functioning satellites for the first time.
Rocket Lab will establish a new launch site in Alaska under a $266 million U.S. Space Force contract for up to 18 suborbital missions, expanding the company’s role in military launch services as the Pentagon seeks more capacity for weapons testing.
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MILITARY
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The U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX two launch task orders worth $1.6 billion to deploy military satellite constellations, marking the largest publicly announced batch of missions yet under the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 program.
The U.S. Space Force awarded Sphinx Defense a $287 million contract to develop ground software for the next generation of military satellite communications that will underpin the nation’s strategic nuclear command, control and communications system.
The U.S. Space Force awarded All Points Logistics a $250 million contract to expand satellite processing capacity at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The award, announced July 29, calls for additional spacecraft processing capacity — facilities where satellites are prepared for launch — to be available at Vandenberg by 2029. |
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COMMERCIAL
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K2 Space has raised $500 million in new funding, more than doubling its valuation in seven months as the satellite manufacturer prepares to move from orbital demonstrations to large commercial and military orders.
Sophia Space announced the award July 30 of a patent, shared with the California Institute of Technology, covering large, modular space-based data centers. The patent, issued July 14, covers the architecture for a modular, scalable, passively cooled, computing and data storage unit designed for assembly into large computing data centers powered by solar energy.
L3Harris Technologies is postponing the initial public offering of its Missile Solutions business, concluding that Wall Street is undervaluing a business that is expanding rapidly to meet one of the Pentagon’s highest priorities: rebuilding U.S. missile production. |
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Latest Press Releases
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