SOME PARTS OF AMERICA STILL WORK: SpaceX launches 20 Starlink satellites with Direct to Cell capabilities. Plus: “The passive fairing half for this mission recently supported a Starlink mission launch on May 22 — less than two weeks ago — marking our fastest launch-to-launch turnaround for fairing refurbishment and reuse.”
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THE NEW SPACE RACE: Chang’e-6: Moon samples collected and launched into lunar orbit.
FINALLY: SpaceX lands FAA license for Starship megarocket launch on June 6. “For Flight 4, SpaceX aims to fly its Starship and Super Heavy booster on a similar trajectory as its Flight 3 test, a mission that would launch the Starship vehicle up to orbital velocity, then reenter the craft over the Indian Ocean. The Super Heavy booster, meanwhile, is expected to return toward South Texas and make a controlled ‘landing’ in the Gulf of Mexico.”
THE NEW SPACE RACE: Peru and Slovakia sign the Artemis Accords.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: China conducts three launches inside two days.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: Chang’e-6 lands on far side of the moon to collect unique lunar samples.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: Chang’e 6 and China’s Lunar Ambitions.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: China spacecraft to try to land on Moon’s far side.
I DON’T THINK THIS IS THE FCC’S BUSINESS: FCC chair calls for stricter ‘space junk’ rules.
Flashback: “The FCC’s claim to jurisdiction rests on a thin reed.”
FASTER, PLEASE: As SpaceX Completes Second Starship WDR, FAA Conducts Safety Investigation Into Flight 3.
The vehicle was successfully detanked, and the stack was unstacked just a day later for final preparations before launch. On the previous flight, there were ten days between the WDR and launch, so a potential launch window as early as Wednesday, June 5, seems feasible.
A capability observed during this test was a 30-minute hold close to T-0. Several indicators showed that the vehicle was below the T-1 minute mark before the hold occurred. At that point, the vehicle remained in a steady state for 30 minutes before the DSS was activated, and the depress vents concluded the test.
It is unclear if this capability is planned and also possible during flight, but it might hint that SpaceX currently has the capability to hold the vehicle for 30 minutes at the very end of the countdown. This is a capability that the company’s previous vehicle, Falcon 9, does not possess.
In addition to hardware readiness, regulatory readiness remains an important item for Flight 4 of Starship. Since Starship triggered a mishap, based on FAA guidelines, a mishap investigation was initiated for Flight 3, grounding the vehicle until completion.
The “faster, please” was addressed to the FAA.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: Chinese reusable rocket maker to cooperate on new MEO constellation.
SHE’S A BEAUTY: SpaceX Starship Dress Rehearsal for Next Week’s Test Flight.
The photos truly are stunning.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: Chang’e-6 set for weekend landing attempt as sun rises over Apollo crater.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: Chinese firm files plans for 10,000-satellite constellation.
In space warfare, the U.S. military is seeking the ultimate high ground.
The satellites central to national defense and global communications have long faced threats from the ground, such as signal jamming and missile attacks. Orbital menaces are the next frontier.
Intelligence disclosures about Russia’s interest in antisatellite weapons and satellite launches from China have energized U.S. efforts to defend its interests hundreds and even thousands of miles above the Earth’s surface.
Defense companies are developing systems ranging from satellites that can chase other satellites in orbit to protecting ground stations that can beam signals to space. Those protections are critical as mobile navigation services and some television and internet services rely on equipment in orbit. Commercial startups are working on technologies, including orbital capsules, sensors and satellite structures, that could have military applications.
Pentagon officials are also doing something unusual: talking more publicly about the weapons that hostile nations might use in space to engage in warfare. Gen. Chance Saltzman, the Space Force’s top operational leader, said adversaries are trying every day to restrict access that the U.S. and its allies have in space. . . .
The Space Force—the newest military branch—has stepped up training of its Guardians, including how to best maneuver U.S. satellites and predict what adversaries may be planning.
It has developed scenarios for countering lasers, jammers, grabbers and nuclear weapons being used in space. U.S. officials oppose placing its nuclear weapons in orbit, pointing to commitments under a decades-old space treaty, but the Pentagon has been looking to further deploy its own set of space-based arms and capabilities.
In the Space Force’s recent budget request, about 25% of the $29.4 billion funding would go toward so-called space superiority, a concept that Saltzman calls “responsible counter-space.”
To be fair, the United States has been working on this stuff for a long time. For an elderly but excellent history of the early days, see Paul B. Stares’ The Militarization of Space: U.S. Policy, 1945-1984. It’s quite impressive what was going on in the 1960s — operational satellite interceptors, AGENA drones tested for capturing enemy satellites, etc.
FASTER, PLEASE: Dear Joe Biden: Get the Hell Out of SpaceX’s Way.
SPACE JUNK, BETTER PUT UP MY UMBRELLA: NASA report identifies cost-effective approaches to dealing with orbital debris.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: China’s secretive spaceplane releases object into orbit.
ROCKET REPORT: SpaceX focused on Starship reentry; Firefly may be for sale.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: SpaceX Fixing Starship to Reach Rapid Reusability.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: SpaceX targeting June 5 for 4th test flight of Starship megarocket. “The company still needs to secure regulatory approval, however.”
SOME PARTS OF AMERICA STILL WORK: SpaceX sends 23 Starlink satellites into orbit on third flight in two days.
AND OF BEING BOEING: NASA and Boeing’s Starliner delays expose the challenges of space travel.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: SpaceX nears next Starship test flight as Starbase expansion continues.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: China to expand commercial spaceport to support upcoming launch surge.