NASA WARNS OF “DEVASTATING” IMPACTS OF POTENTIAL BUDGET CUTS - NASA Administrator Bill Nelson claims proposed spending reductions for fiscal year 2024 could have “devastating and potentially unrecoverable” effects on NASA programs, delaying or canceling many missions. In a March 19 letter to Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, Nelson outlined the effects on NASA of two budget-cutting scenarios being considered by House Republican leadership. DeLauro published the letter this week along with similar letters she requested from other federal agencies. More (Source: SpaceNews - Mar 24)
RELATIVITY’S 3D-PRINTED TERRAN 1 ROCKET REACHES SPACE, BUT FALLS SHORT OF ORBIT - Relativity Space’s Terran 1 rocket reached space after lifting off from Cape Canaveral Wednesday night, but a failure on the upper stage prevented the launch from reaching orbit. Relativity Space, a company with ambitions to develop a fully reusable rocket, tried Wednesday night to launch its first 3D-printed, methane-fueled launcher from Cape Canaveral after two scrubbed countdowns earlier this month. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 23)
SPACEX EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH FIRST UPGRADED STARLINK V2 SATELLITES - The first set of larger second-generation Starlink satellites is experiencing problems that could require SpaceX to deorbit at least some of them. In a March 22 tweet, SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said there were “some issues” with the set of Starlink satellites launched Feb. 27, confirming industry speculation over the last several days based on the changing orbits of the spacecraft. “Lot of new technology in Starlink V2, so we’re experiencing some issues, as expected,” he wrote. “Some sats will be deorbited, others will be tested thoroughly before raising altitude above Space Station.” More (Source: SpaceNews - Mar 23)
BOEING DELIVERS FIRST VIASAT-3 SATELLITE AHEAD OF LAUNCH - Boeing delivered the first ViaSat-3 satellite to Viasat ahead of its upcoming launch, the company announced Monday. The satellite, a 702MP+ model, is the most powerful the manufacturer has ever built. The satellite was flown from Boeing’s factory in Florida to Cape Canaveral, Florida, where Boeing and Viasat teams will support launch and mission operations. It is set to launch the week of April 8 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy mission, Viasat announced last month. More (Source: Via Satellite - Mar 22)
ASTRONOMERS SOUND ALARM ABOUT SATELLITES' LIGHT POLLUTION - Astronomers on Monday warned that the light pollution created by the soaring number of satellites orbiting Earth poses an "unprecedented global threat to nature." The number of satellites in low Earth orbit has more than doubled since 2019, when U.S. company SpaceX launched the first "mega-constellation," which comprise thousands of satellites. More (Source: VOA News - Mar 22)
ARKISYS AND PARTNERS TO SHOW HOW THEY WOULD BUILD A SATELLITE IN ORBIT - The U.S. Space Force awarded a $1.6 million contract to a team led by Southern California startup Arkisys to demonstrate robotic satellite assembly. Under a SpaceWERX Small Business Innovation Research contract, Arkisys, Novawurks, Motiv Space Systems, Qediq, iBoss and Texas A&M University will demonstrate how they would assemble a three-axis stabilized satellite with the robotic arm on the Arkisys Port Module. More (Source: SpaceNews - Mar 22)
NASA CLIMATE CHANGE SATELLITE BACK ONLINE AFTER INSTRUMENT SHUTDOWN - A multi-agency mission seeking to map Earth's water in incredible detail is back on track with commissioning following an instrument issue. NASA and the French space agency (CNES) found a solution to turn on the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite's main science instrument. The instrument, called KARIN (Ka-band Radar Interferometer), shut down suddenly in late January. More (Source: Space.com - Mar 22)
INDUSTRY SEES MISSED OPPORTUNITY IN DEORBITING ISS - NASA’s plan to spend up to $1 billion on a tug to deorbit the International Space Station is a missed opportunity to instead repurpose or recycle the station, some in industry argue. NASA announced plans as part of its fiscal year 2024 budget proposal this month to develop the tug to help deorbit the station at the end of its life in 2030. NASA is seeking $180 million in 2024 to start work on the tug, and anticipates spending as much as $1 billion to build it. More (Source: SpaceNews - Mar 21)
RUSSIA’S SPACE PROGRAM IS IN BIG TROUBLE - Crippled by war and sanctions, Russia now faces evidence that its already-struggling space program is falling apart. In the past three months alone, Roscosmos has scrambled to resolve two alarming incidents. First, one of its formerly dependable Soyuz spacecraft sprang a coolant leak. Then the same thing happened on one of its Progress cargo ships. The civil space program’s Soviet predecessor launched the first person into orbit, but with the International Space Station (ISS) nearing the end of its life, Russia’s space agency is staring into the abyss. More (Source: WIRED - Mar 21)
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