By Jeff Foust
In this today's edition: Spain commits to IRIS² and a new GEO military communications satellite, Space Force awards contracts for training systems, a repurposed Mars rover could cost more than promised and more.
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Top Stories
The Spanish government has agreed to commit up to $2.3 billion in support of Europe's IRIS² constellation. The Spanish government announced last week it will allocate between 1.6 billion and 2 billion euros ($1.8 to $2.3 billion) to develop a national military satellite communications constellation that could be integrated into the planned IRIS² multi-orbit satellite internet constellation. Spanish officials did immediately release the number of satellites in the constellation. Spain's announcement comes days after another EU member state, Poland, declared it would commit around $750 million to participate in IRIS². [SpaceNews]
Spain is also buying a replacement GEO military communications satellite. Airbus Defence and Space announced Friday it won a contract to be the prime contractor for SpainSat NG 3, scheduled to enter service by early 2031. The satellite will provide services over the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Thales Alenia Space will provide part of the spacecraft's communications payload. SpainSat NG 3 is a replacement for SpainSat NG 2, which was disabled by a "space particle" strike early this year while still in its transfer orbit. Airbus and Thales are two of the three partners on the Project Bromo space joint venture, along with Leonardo. In recent earnings calls only Leonardo executives discussed Bromo in detail, stating that the companies were working on an antitrust filing with the EU. [SpaceNews]
The U.S. Space Force selected 15 companies to compete for as much as $981 million in orders for systems that will improve military space training. The six-year contracting vehicle, known as NITE-STAR, will support development of the National Space Test and Training Complex, a network of physical ranges and simulated environments where operators can practice responding to threats against U.S. satellites. The program covers a broad mix of equipment and software, including spacecraft that can mimic adversary behavior in orbit and ground systems capable of reproducing cyberattacks, communications jamming and other forms of electronic warfare. [SpaceNews]
The Space Force Association is working to better demonstrate military space activities to members of Congress. The group led the development of the National Spacepower Center, an industry-backed education and simulation center. Its developers are building an unclassified digital environment that combines orbital tracking data, spacecraft engineering models, command-and-control software and immersive displays to illustrate how satellites operate and how they affect military operations on land, sea and air. The center is intended to allow officials to experience simulated military space scenarios in a setting that presents orbital activity alongside its effects on terrestrial operations. [SpaceNews]
The Space Force awarded K2 Space a $22.9 million contract to test laser terminals designed to transmit data directly between satellites in orbit. Under a contract announced Friday, K2 Space will procure, integrate, launch and operate two Enterprise Space Terminals, with each terminal carried as a hosted payload on a separate K2 satellite. The demonstration is scheduled to be completed by 2028. The terminals are being developed by CACI International, General Atomics and Viasat using common technical standards. The announcement did not state which company or companies would provide the terminals for this demonstration. [SpaceNews]
Converting an engineering model of a Mars rover into an actual lunar rover could cost NASA more than $1 billion. NASA announced at the end of June it was studying turning an engineering model of the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers into PROMISE, or Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping and In-Situ Exploration, to be sent to the south polar region of the moon. NASA billed it as a potentially low-cost way to reuse existing hardware to support its lunar base effort. However, an analysis published last week by The Planetary Society estimated that turning that engineering rover into PROMISE could cost between $723 million and $1.33 billion. The engineering rover would need modifications to operate on the moon as well as new instruments and a RTG nuclear power source. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman pushed back against the cost estimate on social media, stating that "if PROMISE costs even 20% of your low-end estimate, we simply will not fly it." [SpaceNews]
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Other News
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites Friday night. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 11:08 p.m. Eastern, putting 24 Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch was scheduled for Monday but delayed four days for reasons SpaceX did not disclose. [Spaceflight Now]
A pair of secretive Chinese satellites launched last week may be used for naval surveillance. The TJS-27A and -27B satellites launched on a Long March 6A last Wednesday, with no details disclosed about their mission. The spacecraft have since been tracked in 1,153-kilometer altitude orbits with an inclination of 64.8 degrees. The orbits are characteristic of time-delay-of-arrival electronic intelligence satellites, with the U.S. version being the classified Naval Ocean Surveillance System (NOSS) network of U.S. reconnaissance satellites. [SpaceNews]
The Air Force Research Lab has added $11.7 million to a Blue Origin "rocket cargo" contract. Under the agreement, Blue Origin will define technical and mission requirements for adapting its systems to support "point-to-point" cargo transport. The contract, which started with a roughly $1.3 million contract awarded to the company last year, remains focused on studies and systems analysis rather than an operational launch or a demonstration of a complete cargo-delivery system. Blue Origin is one of several companies receiving funding through the AFRL's Rocket Experimentation for Global Agile Logistics program, known as REGAL, alongside Anduril Industries, Sierra Space and Rocket Lab. [SpaceNews]
An announcement is expected soon on a potential new SpaceX launch site in Louisiana. According to an official familiar with negotiations, SpaceX will take control of 130,000 acres of land on Louisiana's central coast owned by ExxonMobil, using part of it to construct a new Starship launch site. An announcement by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry is expected later this month. [Nola.com]
A leading candidate to be Florida's next governor has outlined his space plans. At an event Friday, Byron Donalds said he would work to speed up permitting of space development plans at 10 "strategic development sites" in the state and back space industry workforce training plans. He said he would create an Office for Space Industry within the governor's office and hold a "Space Race Summit." He added he will also push to move NASA Headquarters to Florida, although the Trump administration appears set to keep the headquarters in Washington, including scouting for new office space in the city. Donalds, a U.S. congressman, is leading in polls for the Republican nomination for governor ahead of an Aug. 18 primary. [Florida Politics]
SpaceX investors have some unusual questions for the company as its first earnings call approaches. The company set up an online form for individual investors to submit and vote on questions to be asked in the company's earnings call Tuesday afternoon. As of early Monday, four of the top six questions involved "Asteroid," a quasi-official mascot of the company based on a Shiba Inu dog. A fifth question asked simply, "Can we paint the rocket pink?" Only one of the questions dealt with SpaceX business, its work on a lunar lander version of Starship for NASA. [Reuters]
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