Rachael Zisk
White House Releases FY23 Budget Request
Less than a month after the budget for FY22 was finally approved, President Biden has released his budget request for FY23. NASA funding: The budget proposes $26B for NASA in 2023, $2B (~8%) increase over FY22 enacted levels. Here’s how that breaks down, taking the broad view: $7.5B for Deep Space Exploration Systems $4.3B for…
Arianespace May Experience Vega C Engine Shortages
Arianespace’s Vega C rocket’s upper stage uses engines built by Ukrainian space contractor Yuzhmash, Stéphane Israël, Arianespace CEO, said on a panel at Satellite last week. The company has three engines in storage, ESA officials said March 17. That’s not much of a strategic stockpile, especially as doubts linger that the Europeans will be able…
Geek Out: Quantum Communication
NASA dreams of a future network in which superfast, globally distributed quantum computers transmit data back and forth from space nearly instantaneously, without any packet loss. Enter SEAQUE. The Space Entanglement and Annealing QUantum Experiment (SEAQUE), developed by JPL along with a team of researchers from across the world, is the next step in making…
NASA Solicits New Human Landing System Concepts
NASA announced yesterday that it plans to issue a call for concepts for another human lunar lander, aiming to give its original awardee, SpaceX, some competition on the Moon. New lander concept NASA plans to release a draft solicitation soon and award a second Human Landing System (HLS) contract in the new year. The new…
SpaceX Increases Launch and Starlink Prices
ICYMI: SpaceX is hiking up prices for launch, satellite internet, and end user terminals, the company told customers Tuesday (H/T CNBC). The increases are certain to have cascading ripple effects across the space industry, while also affecting the ~250,000 consumers/businesses that use Starlink. The fine text Starlink: The broadband-via-megaconstellation service bumped up the cost of…
Euroconsult Releases High Throughput Satellite Report
Projected HTS capacity demand in 2030. Graphic: Euroconsult Euroconsult has released the 6th edition of its report on the High Throughput Satellite (HTS) market. The takeaway: Business is booming. The HTS market has seen major growth since 2019, and that growth is expected to continue booming over the next few years. Euroconsult predicts growth in…
OneWeb and SpaceX Sign Launch Services Agreement
In an absolute plot-twist of a partnership, OneWeb and SpaceX have let bygones be bygones and signed a launch services agreement. OneWeb had an outstanding agreement with Roscosmos through European launcher Arianespace to launch aboard Soyuz rockets. But those satellites became stranded amid sanctions and rising tensions between the West and Russia. A batch of…
Scientists Ask NASA for GEDI Extension
Climate scientists are asking NASA to extend the lifetime of the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) sensor, a project on the ISS that provides vital forest health tracking information, The Guardian reports. The $150M sensor has been attached to the ISS since April 2019. It’s scheduled to be deorbited next January. GEDI: The sensor, developed…
ESA Votes to Suspend Roscosmos Partnerships
It’s officially official for ExoMars: The ESA’s Mars rover mission will not fly this year. Yesterday, ESA’s member states voted unanimously to suspend all operations with Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. In response to heavy sanctions, Roscosmos announced Feb. 26 that it would nix future Soyuz launches from French Guiana and pull staff from the…
Geek Out: Asteroid Tracking
Last week, an asteroid struck the Earth. And for only the fifth time ever, an astronomer found it—and tracked it—before it hit our planet. There are constantly asteroids on a collision course with Earth. Most of these are small, and they burn up upon entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Big ones, like the one that killed…
Satellites Reveal Further Destruction in Ukraine
Imagery shows destruction of a neighborhood in Moschun, Ukraine. Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies. Satellite imagery is continuing to prove a trustworthy source and rare window into the tolls of war. New Maxar imagery shows massive destruction by Russian attacks across Ukraine, as well as the movement of Russian military forces. The damage: Ukraine’s cities…
Biden Signs FY22 Federal Appropriations Bill
After months of delays in Congress, POTUS has signed the FY22 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which funds the federal government through the end of September. The bill introduces some changes into funding levels for NASA, NOAA, and USSF for the next year (ahem…six months). Here’s our rundown of those changes. NASA The agency is slated to…
Payload CEO Moderates Space Force Panel at SXSW
On Sunday, Payload CEO Mo Islam hosted a SXSW panel—“Space Force: More than a Meme”—with a decorated bench of panelists: Maj. Gen. Kim Crider (Ret.), head of Deloitte’s government and public services unit’s AI practice. Crider is also former CTO of USSF. Eric Fanning, CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association and 22nd secretary of the…
