TOP NEWS
SpaceX Receives FCC Clearance For Starship Flight 5 Comms & Tests Tower Catch Arms
SpaceX has received the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) approval to communicate with its Starship rocket during the upcoming flight 5 from Texas. The FCC approved SpaceX’s application over the weekend to communicate with the Super Heavy booster, and by the looks of it, SpaceX has expanded its commun
ications capabilities with the Starship booster ahead of the test flight that will see it attempt a booster catch with the launch tower arms for the first time.
Read more: wccftech.com
SPACE HAZARDS and STM
US general urges China to report space debris as G60 satellite network launches
The head of the US Space Command has called on Beijing to step up notification about space debris as China increases rocket launches to build a satellite network rivalling SpaceX’s Starlink. US Space Command chief says Beijing failed to notify about space junk left behind after rocket launches, but notes ‘positive’ moves.
Read more: scmp.com
‘A lot has changed’: NOAA is rewriting the book on how to rank solar storms
“The capabilities, the science and our understanding of the science — a lot has changed.”
Technology has improved, and scientists have gained knowledge about extreme space weather events following historic geomagnetic storms like the Halloween solar storm in October of 2003 and the Gannon event in May 2024. Looking to the future, scientists at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) are now looking for ways to better communicate to the public about space weather events that could impact Earth.
Read more: space.com
Northern Lights Alert: Solar Activity Surges To Strongest In 23 Years
Once-rare displays of Northern Lights at southerly latitudes look set to continue for the foreseeable future as scientists confirmed that August saw the sun at its most active for 23 years.
The average number of sunspots reached 215.5 in August, according to the Solar Influences Data Analysis Center at the Royal Observatory in Belgium. It’s the highest number since Sept.-Dec. 2001, according to SpaceWeather.com. July’s total was 196.5. Last month, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a preliminary statement that solar activity is at its highest since March 2001.
Read more: forbes.com
NASA to Support DARPA Robotic Satellite Servicing Program
NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have signed an interagency agreement to collaborate on a satellite servicing demonstration in geosynchronous Earth orbit, where hundreds of satellites provide communications, meteorological, national security, and other vital functions.
“NASA is excited to support our long-term partner and advance important technologies poised to benefit commercial, civil, and national objectives. Together, we will make meaningful, long-lasting contributions to the nation’s in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) capabilities.” says NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy.
Read more: nasa.gov
COMMERCIAL SPACE
After another Boeing letdown, NASA isn’t ready to buy more Starliner missions
NASA is ready for Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, stricken with thruster problems and helium leaks, to leave the International Space Station as soon as Friday, wrapping up a disappointing test flight that has clouded the long-term future of the Starliner program.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who launched aboard Starliner on June 5, closed the spacecraft’s hatch Thursday in preparation for departure Friday. But it wasn’t what they envisioned when they left Earth on Starliner three months ago. Instead of closing the hatch from a position in Starliner’s cockpit, they latched the front door to the spacecraft from the space station’s side of the docking port.
Read more: arstechnica.com
Aerospacelab opens doors to first US satellite manufacturing facility
European small satellite maker Aerospacelab announced the opening of its first manufacturing facility in the United States Sept. 5 amid efforts to break into the lucrative U.S. government market. The company sees the potential for contracts that would enable the 3,300 square-meter facility in Torrance, California, to reach a capacity to produce an average of two satellites a week in a single shift.
Belgium-headquartered Aerospacelab has been building up its presence in the United States since opening a U.S. administrative office last year in Palo Alto, California.
Read more: spacenews.com
Chinese company launches 10 satellites eyeing Elon Musk’s Starlink
Chinese company Geespace, backed by automaker Geely, announced on Friday that it launched a third batch of satellites as part of its plan to form a mega constellation it described as China’s equivalent of Elon Musk’ owned Space X’s Starlink.
The Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites were launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre, located in the northern province of Shanxi, Geespace said in a statement.
LEO satellites usually operate at altitudes of 300-2,000 km (186-1243 miles) above the Earth’s surface and have the advantage of being cheaper and provide more efficient transmission than satellites at higher orbits.
Read more: www.geo.tv
NASA and Blue Origin Delays New Glenn Escapade Mars Mission to 2025
The NASA New Glenn Escapade Mars launch, previously scheduled for Oct. 13, 2024, will now take place in spring of 2025 at the earliest. The NASA escapade spacecraft are small, so they can be launched outside of the optimal Earth-Mars window with a more powerful rocket.
Read more: nextbigfuture.com
NGSO revenue to overtake geostationary market by 2028
Constellations in non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) are set to overtake geostationary satellites in revenue by 2028, according to Novaspace research published Sept. 15.
The geostationary Earth orbit market represented around 85% of the $12 billion in total satellite capacity revenue in 2023, despite a recent slowdown in GEO orders from operators waiting to see how the rise of Starlink and other NGSO constellations shake out.
However, Novaspace expects NGSO capacity revenues to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27% to around $18 billion by 2033, representing more than two-thirds of the market as Amazon’s Project Kuiper and other large constellations join the fray.
Read more: spacenews.com
Vietnam says Musk’s SpaceX plans US$1.5 billion Starlink investment
Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to invest US$1.5 billion in Vietnam in the near future, the government of the Communist-run nation said on Thursday (Sep 26), which could help resolve a stalemate over the launch of its Starlink satellite services there.
Months of talks on the offer of Starlink’s satellite internet connection and other communications services were put on hold at the end of 2023, sources familiar with the matter had told Reuters earlier this year, although they resumed later.
“The Vietnamese government is considering the (investment) proposal of SpaceX,” a report on the government portal on Thursday quoted President To Lam as saying, asking the company to work closely on completing preparations for the investment.
Read more: channelnewsasia.com
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Nasa makes discovery ‘as important as gravity’ about Earth
A new planet-wide electric field that is as fundamental to Earth as gravity has been discovered in a major scientific breakthrough. The ambipolar electric field, which begins 150 miles above the planet, has been described as a “great invisible force” that lifts up the sky and is responsible for the polar winds.
The polar winds interact with the jet streams to help drive the majority of weather patterns across the globe.
Until now, the field had only been theorised, but a Nasa team, which includes scientists from the University of Leicester, has now sent a rocket into the field and measured it for the first time.
Read more: yahoo.com
Nasa unfurls giant solar sail – and you can see it from Earth
NASA has unfurled a solar sail in space for the first time, aiming to harness the propulsive power of sunlight for interstellar travel.
The US space agency revealed that it had deployed the solar sail 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) above Earth on Thursday, four months after launching it into space. The first images from the craft are expected to be available on Wednesday.
Measuring 80 square metres – roughly the same size as six parking spaces – NASA said the craft will be visible from Earth and as bright as the brightest star in the night sky under ideal viewing conditions.
Read more: independent.co.uk
Europe’s Vega rocket prepares for lift off on final ESA mission before retirement
Europe’s Vega small-satellite launcher is preparing to lift off on its final mission. The European Space Agency (ESA) will launch the Vega’s swansong mission, the VV24, around 3.50 am CET on Thursday. Vega is carrying a 2-C Copernicus satellite that will send images back for various types of scientific research, like monitoring the decline of Earth’s ice, according to ESA.
Read more: euronews.com
First metal part 3D printed in space
ESA’s Metal 3D Printer has produced the first metal part ever created in space.
The technology demonstrator, built by Airbus and its partners, was launched to the International Space Station at the start of this year, where ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen installed the payload in the European Drawer Rack of ESA’s Columbus module. In August, the printer successfully printed the first 3D metal shape in space.
Read more: esa.int
China is taking a keen interest in lava tubes as possible lunar habitats
Chinese researchers are taking a serious look at detecting and utilizing lava tubes on the moon as China plans its development of an extensive lunar base.
China is leading the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). The project envisions a basic robotic south polar base built by five missions across the early 2030s. An extended ILRS would include an expanded base, as well as an orbital station and nodes elsewhere on the moon. The latter will be capable of hosting short term human stays.
Read more: spacenews.com
A Distant Spacecraft Has Confirmed That Earth Is Habitable
A spacecraft en route to the frozen moons of Jupiter has taken a very close look at Earth, and found that our homeworld is, in fact, habitable.
During an August 20 flyby, the European Space Agency’s Juice probe turned its MAJIS imaging spectrometer and SWI submillimeter spectrometer to Earth’s atmosphere, looking for molecules and elements that, together, indicate that life could not only emerge and survive on a world, but may even be there right now. Of course, we know that life is crawling around on Earth. But that, in fact, is precisely why astronomers looked.
Juice is going to the moons of Jupiter that are most likely to harbor life as we know it – so scientists wanted to make sure that its instruments are able to make the relevant detections once they get there.
Read more: sciencealert.com
SPACE POLICY
FAA Proposes $633,009 in Civil Penalties Against SpaceX
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposes $633,009 in civil penalties against Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) for allegedly failing to follow its license requirements during two launches in 2023, in accordance with statutorily-set civil penalty guidelines.
“Safety drives everything we do at the FAA, including a legal responsibility for the safety oversight of companies with commercial space transportation licenses,” said FAA Chief Counsel Marc Nichols. “Failure of a company to comply with the safety requirements will result in consequences.”
Read more: faa.gov
Congress, industry criticize FAA launch licensing regulations
Members of Congress and the space industry criticized the Federal Aviation Administration for implementation of launch licensing regulations they claim threaten American competitiveness in space.
A Sept. 10 hearing by the House Science Committee’s space subcommittee on “encouraging commercial space innovation while maintaining public safety” became a forum for complaints about a set of commercial launch and reentry regulations at the FAA, known as Part 450, intended to streamline the licensing process.
Read more: spacenews.com
Turkey Wants Ballistic Missile Test Range, Spaceport in Somalia
Turkey has long aspired to join a space race traditionally dominated by global powers, and plans to launch a rocket have been underway for some years. That could potentially be fired from Somalia, the people said. Turkish officials are confident Somalia will agree to its request, the people said. Turkey’s defense ministry declined to comment.
Along with the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, Turkey is among the middle-tier powers making inroads across Africa as Chinese investment slows and the US plays catch up.
While Russia has become a symbol of anti-Western sentiment in some places, its Wagner Group mercenaries aren’t as coveted as Turkey’s TB2 Baykar drones, which 11 African nations have purchased.
Read more: bloomberg.com
FAA to complete orbital debris upper stage regulations in 2025
The Federal Aviation Administration is moving ahead with efforts to develop rules for the disposal of upper stages as another Centaur upper stage breaks apart in orbit.
Slingshot Aerospace, which operates a network of telescopes to track objects in orbit, said Sept. 6 that a Centaur upper stage left in a geostationary transfer orbit from the March 2018 Atlas 5 launch of the GOES 18 weather satellite had broken up. The company noted that the stage appeared intact in one image taken at 1:16 a.m. Eastern that day but another taken 16 minutes later showed a debris cloud.
Read more: spacenews.com
China sets historic Mars mission for 2028 as US plan remains in limbo
China is on track to launch its Tianwen-3 mission to Mars in 2028, two years earlier than previously planned, while the US’ sample mission to the planet is in limbo amid major delays and ballooning budgets.
On Thursday, Liu Jizhong, chief designer of China’s Mars mission, told the Second International Conference on Deep Space Exploration in Huangshan, Anhui province, that the team aimed to bring back around 600 grams (21 oz) of Martian soil.
Read more: scmp.com
Managing space debris through space law
t’s becoming increasingly crowded in the orbits around Earth that are popular for space travel. And that’s not just due to satellites—there’s also more waste material, which is compromising safety. Ph.D. candidate Zhuang Tian is conducting research into the legal aspects of discarded space equipment. Whoever leaves debris behind should take responsibility and clean it up.
“Space agencies such as ESA could encourage the development of active debris removal (ADR) missions and their exploitation,” he says.
Read more: phys.org
Undeclared space race between US and China needs guardrails
Besides threatening other functioning satellites, vehicles and space stations, of which there are currently two, space junk can drop into decaying orbits and break into bits and pieces that pose a serious danger to life, limb and property when they reenter the atmosphere but fail to completely burn up.
As it’s usually the case, the US loves to point fingers at other countries, especially China, while ignoring often worse problems of its own making.
ITU publishes updated global treaty to optimize radio spectrum management and advance technological innovation
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) released today an updated version of the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the global use of radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits.
Entering into force on 1 January 2025, the 2024 edition of the ITU Radio Regulations is the result of a four-year process that culminated in four weeks of negotiations during the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-23), hosted last year in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The ITU Radio Regulations govern the global use of radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits for all radio services, systems and applications, including fixed and mobile broadband, satellite systems, sound and TV broadcasting, radionavigation, meteorological monitoring and prediction, space research and Earth exploration, amateur radio services and other topics.
Read more: itu.int
SPACE DEFENCE
China’s secretive reusable spaceplane lands after 267 days in orbit
China’s experimental reusable spaceplane returned to Earth late Thursday, completing its third orbital mission.
State media Xinhua issued a brief report on Sept. 5 (Eastern), confirming the spacecraft’s return to Earth. The report provided no images, nor information regarding the mission and its landing site.
The “success of the experiment demonstrates the growing maturity of China’s reusable spacecraft technologies, which will pave the way for more convenient and affordable round-trip methods for the peaceful use of space in the future,” the report read.
Read more: spacenews.com
Sixty countries endorse ‘blueprint’ for AI use in military; China opts out
U.S. military investing in reentry vehicles for space-to-Earth cargo delivery
The U.S. military is investing in reusable reentry capsules designed by space startups to return cargo from space and deliver it to precise locations on Earth. These vehicles are seen as key tools for future space operations and logistics, as the Pentagon explores new methods to streamline transportation in space.
“Autonomous reentry vehicles that can be called to Earth on demand will transform logistics and provide rapid access to even the most remote parts of the globe,” said Justin Fiaschetti, chief executive of Inversion Space.
Read more: spacenews.com
Iran launches new research satellite Chamran-1 into orbit
Tehran says its satellite launches are civilian in nature but the West warns the technology can be used for ballistic missiles.
Iran has launched a new research satellite into orbit, state media reported, taking another step in advancing its aerospace programme while defying criticism and objections from Western countries.
The primary mission of the Chamran-1 research satellite, which weighs 60kg (132 pounds), “is to test hardware and software systems for demonstrating orbital manoeuvring technology in height and phase”, state media said on Saturday following what it said was a “successful” launch.
Read more: spacenews.com
France plans low-orbit demonstrator that can target other satellites
France plans to launch a maneuverable satellite into low Earth orbit in the next two years that can target other satellites, something French Space Command said is necessary to show the country can take action to protect its space assets.
French nanosatellite builder U-Space will supply the demonstrator in partnership with missile maker MBDA, French Space Command boss Maj. Gen. Philippe Adam and company executives said at an industry conference in Paris on Tuesday. They didn’t detail the satellite’s offensive capabilities, though a presentation video showed the satellite targeting another orbiter with a green laser beam.
Read more: defensenews.com
VARIOUS
NASA reaffirms decision to cancel OSAM-1
NASA is proceeding with plans to shut down a satellite servicing mission at the end of the month after rejecting a proposal to revise the mission to meet a 2026 launch date.
In a statement posted online Sept. 5, NASA announced it would proceed with closing out the On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 (OSAM-1) project, ending work on the mission at the end of the current fiscal year, which concludes Sept. 30.
NASA announced March 1 that it had decided to cancel the mission, which was years behind schedule and far over budget. A fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill enacted later that month, though, directed NASA to develop a plan that would revise OSAM-1 in a way that could allow it to launch in 2026.
Read more:spacenews.com
Artemis 3 astronauts will walk on the moon with 4G-equipped spacesuits
When NASA’s Artemis 3 crewed mission lands on the lunar surface a few years from now, the first astronauts to walk on the moon since the Apollo age will be able to take advantage of something their antecedents could not: cellular network technology.
Artemis 3‘s astronauts will wear spacesuits equipped with 4G connecti
vity — the same 4G that makes up the majority of Earth’s mobile phone networks today. The spacesuits, Axiom Space’s AxEMU models, will be able to connect to a 4G network designed by Nokia. Astronauts can use the network to perform feats like broadcasting high-definition video.
Read more: space.com
ESA delays BepiColombo orbital insertion because of thruster problem
The European Space Agency is adjusting the trajectory of its BepiColombo mission to Mercury, delaying its insertion into orbit around the innermost planet by nearly a year to compensate for reduced performance from its electric thrusters.
ESA announced Sept. 2 that the spacecraft, a joint mission with the Japanese space agency JAXA that launched in 2018 and since made several flybys of the Earth, Venus and Mercury, will take a slightly different trajectory during its next flyby of Mercury on Sept. 4. The spacecraft will pass just 165 kilometers from Mercury’s on this flyby, 35 kilometers closer than previously planned.
Read more: spacenews.com
Prediction: It’s Time to Cancel Boeing’s Mega Space Launch System Rocket
Boeing helped win the space race in 1969. Today, it may lack “a sufficient number of trained and experienced aerospace workers” to repeat the feat.
Uh-oh. It looks like NASA’s Office of Inspector General is mad at Boeing (BA 0.04%) again. And this time it could be serious.
Maybe serious enough to finally get rid of NASA’s white elephant Space Launch System, and replace it with cheaper rockets from SpaceX and Blue Origin.
Read more: fool.com
NASA’s cancellation of VIPER cedes leadership in lunar exploration
Two months ago, NASA cancelled VIPER, a science rover mission to the moon’s south pole to explore for water ice. This decision was made despite the fact that the rover is fully built and has completed final testing. As professional lunar scientists and engineers unaffiliated with VIPER, we maintain that the cancella
tion is a mistake. It indicates that NASA is not serious about sustainable space exploration through Artemis, its return to the moon program, and that the United States is willing to let China become the world leaders in lunar science, exploration and resources.
Read more: spacenews.com
SpaceX Flights In 2024 Will Emit More CO2 In The U.S. Than Tesla Will Save
It’s pretty obvious by now that Elon Musk doesn’t really care about the environment. While he was once a warrior in the battle against climate change, or claimed to be, he has evolved into a climate denialist and seems intent on kneecapping whatever environmental and emissions gains Tesla may have made. So far this year SpaceX has launched Falcon 9 rockets 90 times, in addition to two launches for Starship and one for Falcon Heavy. The company has plans for at least 27 more by the end of the year. These 120 rockets will combine to produce an astonishing estimated 3.71 million metric tons of CO2.
Read more: jalopnik.com
There’s a Reason Why The Ozone Hole Will Keep Opening Up For Decades
At this time of year, as the sun rises over Antarctica, a “hole” opens up in Earth’s ozone layer. The ozone layer is a vital planetary boundary that protects all life on Earth from the sun’s damaging ultraviolet radiation. But as our research shows, a series of unusual events in recent years caused ozone holes that lasted longer.
The Montreal Protocol, which came into force just four years after the ozone hole was discovered in 1985, has been enormously successful in preventing many ozone-depleting gases from entering the atmosphere. But the hole will continue to open each year for at least another four decades because of the long lifetimes of gases emitted last century.
Read more: sciencealert.com
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