Polaris

A Tale of Two Mission Authorization Plans

Senior officials from the administration and Capitol Hill defended dueling plans to regulate novel space activities at Payload’s Space Capitol III event on Monday night.

ISAM

Orbit Fab Starts Shipping RAFTI Ports

Orbit Fab’s RAFTI satellite fueling ports have officially been qualified, and the hardware is beginning to ship to customers, two senior leaders at the startup told Payload.

EuropeInternationalPolarisPolicy

US, French Space Industry Meeting in DC This Week

The US is hosting the second US-France Comprehensive Space Dialogue this Wednesday, and most of the American space heavy hitters will be attending. 

Policy

National Space Council Hosting Space Week Events in April

The National Space Council is hosting “Find Your Place in Space Week” next month with 90+ events across the country designed to show the significant role space plays in life on Earth.

Polaris

What’s Next For the FY25 Budget Proposal

The dust has settled from the Biden administration’s budget drop yesterday. Now what?

CivilPolicy

White House Requests $25.4B for NASA in FY25

The Biden administration has requested $25.4B for NASA in its fiscal 2025 budget, which prioritizes investment in Earth science, climate research, and the return to the Moon.

StartupsVC/PE

Lumen Orbit Raises $2.4M to Speed Up Downlink

Lumen Orbit, a startup that aims to speed up downlink times by processing data in space, is emerging from stealth today with $2.4M in funding. 

EO

ICEYE Unveils Ocean Vision Product Line

Finnish SAR company ICEYE announced a new family of products today that will use its existing satellite constellation to help customers locate, track, and characterize assets at sea.

Civil

Congrats To Astronaut Class 23

A SpaceX alum is among the 12 astronauts who earned their wings on Tuesday.

Polaris

Lawmakers Revive Planetary Science Caucus

The Planetary Science Caucus is back from the dead, and the revival of the group couldn’t come at a more critical time for scientific pursuits in the cosmos that often find themselves in the budgetary crosshairs.

Business

Iridium Announces Plan To Acquire Satelles

Iridium is acquiring Satelles to expand its positioning, navigation, and timing services, with the aim of complementing GPS services—or providing a backup should GPS fail.

Military

China Moving Quickly To Boost Space Capabilities, General Says

China is advancing so “breathtakingly fast” in space that America is at risk of losing its advantage if officials don’t prioritize investment in the national security space architecture, the chief of US Space Command told Congress on Thursday. 

LaunchPolarisPolicy

FAA Space Chief Talks Mission Authorization, Part 450, Starship

The clock is ticking to get a legislative fix for mission authorization approved, according to Kelvin Coleman, the FAA’s associate administrator for commercial space transportation.