Plus: ISRO's first launch since January
By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: the Space Force has a new commanding general, ISRO launches its first mission since a January failure, U.S. companies drop out of a French space conference and more.
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Top Stories
The U.S. Space Force has a new commanding general. In a ceremony Thursday at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Gen. Douglas Schiess took over as the U.S. Space Force's third chief of space operations, succeeding Gen. Chance Saltzman. In his first message to the force, Schiess portrayed his tenure as the next stage in the development of the Space Force, which was established in 2019 and has been moving from its initial focus on building a new military service toward preparing forces for combat. This phase, Schiess said, will require the Space Force to expand while improving how it develops, tests and operates new systems. His comments at the change-of-command ceremony signaled continuity with Saltzman, who during his tenure put greater emphasis on preparing guardians for warfare in space and on developing capabilities to protect U.S. satellites and counter adversaries' use of space systems. [SpaceNews]
The Space Force is using its latest round of small-business research contracts to pursue technologies that are closer to operational use. The service's newest Small Business Innovation Research solicitations, released this week, cover on-orbit logistics, satellite self-protection, cyber defense and artificial intelligence for missile warning and tracking. Three of the four are Direct-to-Phase 2 opportunities, which allow companies with sufficiently mature technology to bypass the initial feasibility-study phase of the SBIR process. This approach reflects a shift from the open-ended research projects that have sometimes fueled industry skepticism of the Pentagon's SBIR program. [SpaceNews]
German launch company HyImpulse has raised additional funding ahead of a suborbital launch. HyImpulse announced Wednesday it raised more than 50 million euros ($58 million) in an extension of a Series A round from last October. The company said the additional funding will accelerate work on its SR75 suborbital rocket, slated to make its second launch later this year from SaxaVord Spaceport, and its SL1 small orbital launch vehicle under development. Both use hybrid propulsion with liquid oxygen and solid paraffin as propellants. HyImpulse is part of a tier of European launch companies continuing work on vehicles despite missing out on the European Launcher Challenge. [SpaceNews]
Earth observation company Satellogic is partnering with SynMax to provide maritime intelligence. Under the agreement announced Thursday, Satellogic will provide data from its new Merlin constellation for maritime intelligence exclusively through SynMax's Theia platform. In June, the companies announced plans to develop AI-powered intelligence products for the Merlin constellation. Satellogic's Merlin constellation will acquire daily global imagery with a resolution of one meter along with Automatic Identification System (AIS) information. The first Merlin satellite is scheduled to launch in October with additional satellites reaching orbit in February and July. [SpaceNews]
A NASA astrophysics smallsat has started science operations. NASA announced recently that the Pandora spacecraft, launched on a SpaceX rideshare mission into sun-synchronous orbit in January, had completed commissioning and started collected science data. Pandora will observe exoplanets as they pass in front of their stars, enabling astronomers to better understand those planets' atmospheres. Pandora is also the first spacecraft mission in NASA's Astrophysics Pioneers program of low-cost missions, with a cost cap of $20 million. A project official said at last week's Small Satellite Conference that they have collected lessons learned during the development and operations of Pandora, such as how to manage risk, to help future Pioneers missions. [SpaceNews]
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Other News
The Indian space agency ISRO successfully launched an Earth imaging satellite in its first mission since a January failure. A GSLV Mark 2 rocket lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 5:25 p.m. Eastern Thursday, deploying the EOS-05 satellite into a transfer orbit nearly 20 minutes later. EOS-05 will operate from geostationary orbit, providing continuous but low-resolution imaging of India using multispectral and hyperspectral instruments. The launch was the first by ISRO since a January failure of the PSLV rocket. After the launch, ISRO said it plans six more launches through the end of the fiscal year in March 2027, including the first uncrewed test flight of the Gaganyaan human spaceflight vehicle. [SpaceNews]
The French government said four American companies have pulled out of next week's International Space Summit, reportedly at the urging of the U.S. government. A spokesperson for France's ministry for higher education, research and space said that Blue Origin, SpaceX, Starcloud and Stoke Space no longer plan to attend the two-day event in Paris next week. The announcement came after reports that White House officials had recommended American companies not participate, arguing that doing so might endorse European space policy positions. The spokesperson said of the companies' withdrawals that it's "hard not to link it to the rumors of pressure." Philippe Baptiste, the French minister overseeing the conference, said on social media that American companies and government officials were more than welcome to attend: "we want you there." [Le Monde]
One Jeff Bezos company is luring satellite engineers away from another. Blue Origin has hired nearly 50 people who had been working on the Amazon Leo constellation. Many of those people are now working on TeraWave, Blue Origin's own constellation to provide broadband connectivity for enterprise users. Both companies are working on their constellations in the Seattle area, where there is high demand for engineers. [Bloomberg]
A private mission to Venus is waiting on a rocket. The Rocket Lab Mission to Venus is a private effort to send a small spacecraft into the atmosphere of Venus in an attempt to detect any organic molecules that may be present there. The mission was originally planned to launch on the company's Electron rocket, but a scientist involved with the mission said the company has moved it to its larger Neutron rocket. The company has not disclosed when it expects to launch the mission on Neutron, but scientists said while they wait they are planning potential follow-on missions. [Space.com]
A joint ESA-JAXA mission is approaching its destination, Mercury. The BepiColombo spacecraft separated from its transfer stage Thursday as they approached Mercury. The transfer stage had provided power and propulsion since the mission's launch in 2018 but is no longer needed. BepiColombo will enter orbit around Mercury in November and then split into two independent orbiters, one developed by ESA and the other by JAXA, to study the planet and its magnetosphere. [AP]
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Depends on How It's Combusting
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"I would text him and be, like, 'Why are you in the middle of nowhere?' And he would reply with, 'We're testing. A rocket just combusted.' And I would think to myself, 'Is that bad? Are you OK? What does that mean?'"
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– Taylor Funari, describing conversations with her brother Chenzo when he was an intern at Masten Space Systems testing rocket engines. Chenzo later worked for Blue Origin and SpaceX but left the space industry, and is now on the coaching staff of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings. [The Athletic]
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