Space Explored

Thursday, SpaceX CEO and chief engineer Elon Musk, shared that the Starship rocket would not be flying on Friday but will be getting a fresh actuator in its Super Heavy booster. The need to replace this part will slide the launch back one day to Saturday and drop the two hour window to only 20 minutes.

According to Ars Technica, three companies are in the running to purchase United Launch Alliance from its parent companies. One of the companies interested in buying the company is Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos and a major partner of ULA.

After months of investigation and an environmental review, the FAA has given SpaceX the go ahead for its second launch of Starship. Now it’s up to SpaceX to get the vehicle ready to fly.

A lead researcher out of George Mason University (GMU) warns that increasingly violent solar activity could potentially cause an “internet apocalypse” disrupting all electronic communications on Earth, including satellite communications.

Yusaku Maezawa, a Japanese entrepreneur, shared on his Instagram account an update to his dearMoon mission around the Moon. Shocking no one, the flight will not take place this year as the rocket is still very much in development.

This week is a rather slow one with two launches scheduled for SpaceX‘s Falcon 9, yes they’re for Starlink. However, pending regulatory approval, the week could finish with the second launch of the company’s Starship rocket.

Over the weekend, SpaceX launched three Falcon 9 rockets from all three of its launch pads. The missions were all commercially purchased wither by NASA, SES, or in part of a rideshare program. Two out of the three flights featured RTLS landings at LZ-1 and 4, a rare occurrence.

SpaceX stacked its Starship rocket late this week ahead of rumors the FAA will be granting SpaceX another launch soon. While the launch might be another week or so out, the latest step SpaceX has made is attaching flight termination charges on the rocket.

The two founders of Astra Space, Chris Kemp and Adam London, have sent a proposal to the company’s board to take it private with a $30 million valuation. This comes about a week into the search for new funds before its bridge loan comes due on November 17.

Virgin Galactic announced this week it laid off about 185 employees, 18% of its workforce, to better streamline the development of its Delta-class spaceplane. The company also announced during its earnings call that it will begin to slow its flights down before pausing them all together.

This week SpaceX hoisted up and attached a new crew access arm at the company’s SLC-40 pad. The addition of a second crew tower gives SpaceX the flexibility to launching at either of their East Coast launch sites.

Last week Astra Space, a space launch and engine company, defaulted on its debt leading to the need to take on a short term funding round in hope it can find more before running out of cash. The company has been struggling for the past year to keep its stock price above the $1.00 mark and get its Rocket 4 developed.

ABL Space Systems announced Monday that the FAA closed its mishap investigation into the anomaly that took place during its inaugural RS1 launch. The company now has a list of corrective actions to go through before it can attempt to launch its rocket again.

This week we have four launches from SpaceX and from both coats. Not just that, but two of the launches this week will feature RTLS landings. That means only one thing, non-Starlink launches!

Elon Musk shared on X, his social media site formally known as Twitter, that Starlink has achieved breakeven cash flow. While Musk didn’t state any time period, if this means over the operational history of the product, that would be a big deal for the product’s success.

In the remote landscapes of South Australia, a remarkable transformation is unfolding as the Koonibba Test Range, located just a 30-minute drive northwest of Ceduna, is poised to become a beacon of hope, empowerment, and innovation. This story weaves together the aspirations of the Koonibba Aboriginal community, the dreams of space exploration, and the limitless potential of in-space manufacturing. 

Sierra Space showed off its first flight ready Dream Chaser spaceplane this week before it heads off for launch testing at NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio. While there’s still some time before it launches, after years of delays it finally has launch in site.

Most likely outdated renders of SpaceX’s Starship rocket in its Human Landing System configuration show a much more refined design that could show where the company is heading. Although their authenticity is not 100% confirmed yet.

India has set its sights on an inspiring future in space exploration, with plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2040 and to construct a space station by the mid-2030s. These ambitious goals were revealed following a high-level meeting chaired by India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, to assess the progress of the country’s Gaganyaan crew spacecraft. 

The UK Space Agency and Axiom Space have signed a memorandum of understanding to perform a two week spaceflight with an all British crew in the future. No destination or crew have been announced just yet but the UK Space Agency is now working to design the mission around a core of scientific experiments.

The United States and Australia have signed a Technology Safeguards Agreement, or TSA, which aims to pave the way for U.S. commercial space launch vehicles to conduct launch activities Down Under. The TSA not only intends to facilitate collaboration between the two nations but also safeguards sensitive U.S. launch technology and data on Australian soil.

The FAA announced that it has finished its safety review of SpaceX’s Starship rocket. This is another big step in getting an updated launch license for SpaceX to perform Starship’s second launch. However, there is still another step needed before SpaceX can perform that next test.