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SpaceX is under pressure to keep its part of the bargain as close to the schedule as possible with providing its Starship rocket as NASA’s Artemis Human Landing System. A major component of both that mission and Starship’s Mars mission will be orbital refueling.

Just a couple of weeks ago, SpaceX launched its fifth Starship rocket on its most successful and daring mission yet. It now has a regulatory open lane for a sixth mission, and if recent activity has anything to show for it, it could be sooner rather than later.

NASA shared that it has finished an analysis on the cause of more than expected erosion on the Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft’s heat shield from two years ago. However, the agency hasn’t yet shared any details with the public as to what might have caused the issue.

This week we discuss the political tension for NASA and the possible conflict of interest that is Elon Musk. A recent report yet again confirmed that the billionaire has talked with US adversaries and has been asked to do something that would either harm his business-wise or the US strategically with Starlink.

NASA is moving forward with critical decisions on its Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, aiming to reduce costs and expedite the return of samples from the Red Planet. On October 15, NASA received the final reports from 12 studies commissioned to explore alternative architectures.

The national airline of Qatar, Qatar Airways, has equipped the first Boeing 777 long-range aircraft with Starlink service and is ready for service. The airline also plans to equip its entire fleet of 777s by the end of 2025.

This week, SpaceX hit its first triple-digit launch year and continues to extend that number in the remaining months of 2024. Blue Origin might finally get its NS-27 mission off the ground to certify its new New Shepard rocket. Finally, NASA’s Artemis program is once again under fire for being behind schedule and so much… so much… over budget.

This week, a significant event is unfolding as leading figures in space architecture gather in Milan. The aim is to formally establish space architecture as a discipline. Interest in space-related architecture has been growing rapidly in recent years, as developments in off-Earth construction methods, zero-gravity design, and academic programs dedicated to this field have gained traction. 

Sunday, SpaceX successfully launched and caught its Starship booster down in Starbase, Texas. A feat that many didn’t think would come true when watching the renders. However, SpaceX once again defied the odds and made fiction a reality and can now move on with its much more ambitious Starship plans.

Defying all belief in the previous timelines, SpaceX and what sounds like both local and federal agencies have begun preparations for Starship Flight 5 for no earlier than October 13. The mission will be full of high stakes both for SpaceX and NASA, which is hoping to keep the program on the right course ahead to meet Artemis Program deadlines.

HALO Space, a Spanish startup focused on near-space tourism, is preparing to expand its testing and assembly operations to Saudi Arabia. The company plans to conduct a series of test flights for its Aurora capsule, a stratospheric balloon system designed to carry passengers to the edge of space. 

This week SpaceX returns with the FAA‘s okay to resume launches, starting with ESA‘s Hera mission to the asteroid Didymos. Late-week weather around the Florida Peninsula will, however, likely delay several missions the company has.

For the next couple months, Earth will have a temporary “mini-moon.” Known as asteroid 2024 PT5, this small celestial body is approximately 33 feet (10 meters) in diameter and was only detected on August 7 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System in South Africa. It was captured by Earth’s gravity September 29 and is expected to remain bound to the Earth-Moon system until November 25 before continuing on its heliocentric trajectory.

ULA launched its Cert-2 mission on its brand new Vulcan rocket early Friday morning. While there was an obvious anomaly in one of its solid rocket motors, the company states the mission was a success. Now ULA and the Space Force will have to review flight data in order to gain certification for its lucrative National Security Space Launch missions.

SpaceX has run into another issue with its Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage, this time having an “off-nominal” reentry burn after Crew-9‘s orbit insertion. This comes just a short time ahead of two important science missions for both NASA and ESA that have October launch windows.

It will be another quiet week with SpaceX having yet another issue with its second stage. On Friday, SpaceX hopes to return, but the more exciting mission will be Vulcan‘s second flight, also on Friday. This mission will be its second and hopefully final certification flight for NASA and the Space Force.

SpaceX launched the two person crew of Crew-9 for NASA early Saturday afternoon from SLC-40. The mission is sending a NASA astronaut and Russian cosmonaut to the ISS for a six month stay, the two spare seats will be used to bring Starliner’s crew back at the completion of their mission.

The launch of Crew-9 is underway and is set to launch at 1:17 P.M. ET from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Update: Launched!

This week, Blue Origin made another step in the right direction in getting its New Glenn rocket to the pad for launch. On Thursday, the company fueled up its New Glenn second stage and conducted a 15-second risk reduction static fire.

SpaceX is set and prepared to launch the two-person crew of Crew-9 on their Falcon 9 rocket to the ISS for a six-month stay. This marks two historic firsts for SpaceX and the US space program, SLC-40‘s first human spaceflight and the first Russian to be at the controls of an American spacecraft.

One mission concluded, one moved into its next phase, and another is getting ready to launch. Here’s a brief recap of the last few days’ worth of human spaceflight stories.

Agile Space Industries is making strides in the space propulsion sector, securing a new round of investment led by Lockheed Martin Ventures. The funds are set to fuel the expansion and development of Agile’s Mobile Payload Processing Center, with the potential for additional matching support from the Air Force Work Project, which if granted could further accelerate the development of these mobile processing units.

SpaceX is back in the Starship launch testing zone with its Starship rocket down in Starbase, Texas. The company just did its first fully stacked fueling test with the hardware intended for Flight 5. However, SpaceX is still over two months away from getting FAA approval to launch.

SpaceX recovered at least the booster engine section of its most recent Starship flight, per a photo shared by Elon Musk on X. The flight was an overall success for the company, but they are still far away from getting to where they need to be.