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Axiom
Space Forge
In-space manufacturing could help humanity fight climate change, startup says
Space Forge plans to launch it's first returnable and reusable, ForgeStar, in-orbit manufacturing demonstration mission this year. CEO and co-founder, Josh Western, said at the ‘Towards a Space Enabled Net Zero Earth’ conference in London, "The applications that we're focused on at Space Forge are really in the advanced material sphere, and that allows us to develop new types of semiconductors, new types of composites that can leapfrog the state of the art about 100 times in terms of performance through improvements in thermal capacity and power handling."
General Space News
Crew-3 splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico
Crew Dragon spacecraft splashed down on May 6th, returning NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, Kayla Barron, and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer back to Earth after 6 months on the ISS.
Nelson criticizes “plague” of cost-plus NASA contracts
NASA Administrator, Bill Nelson, called out cost-plus contracts as a “plague” on the industry while testifying at a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing on May 3rd. Cost-plus contracts allow for a government contractor to be reimbursed a fixed amount plus additional fees vs. a fixed-price contract where the contractor receives a fixed amount.
* The above image above is an edited meme replacing Benji Reed, Senior Director of Human Spaceflight Programs at SpaceX, with Administrator Bill Nelson explaining to Boeing and Lockheed what fixed-price contracts mean.
In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing National Strategy
In one of the first examples of how the Biden administration views the development of a new space policy within the Executive Branch, the White House has published the product of a nearly four-year-old interagency working group on in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) and designated it a National Strategy. The document is worth reading but it isn’t clear what actual impacts it will have on authorizations or budgets. The White House is soliciting comments on how to implement the new strategy
Falcon 9 is busier than ever as Starship reviews are delayed again
SpaceX successfully completed 6 launches in April marking the most successful launches in a month. Two of the six launches were Starlink satellites, the others were the Ax-1 and Crew-4 crewed missions, the Transporter-4 rideshare mission, and the NROL-85 classified mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. SpaceX Senior Director of Human Spaceflight Programs, Benji Reed, noted that “This is the kind of flight rate that we need to be thinking about as an industry. We should all look forward to the day soon when we are launching every day, every hour, every minute.” Meanwhile, Starship was delayed yet again with the FAA stating that it needed to complete an environmental assessment for orbital launches of Starship out of Boca Chica, Texas.
DARPA moving forward with the development of nuclear-powered spacecraft
DARPA issued a request for proposals for the next phase of their ‘Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations’ (DRACO) to focus on the design, development, fabrication, and assembly of a nuclear thermal rocket engine. DARPA previously selected designs by General Atomics, Blue Origin, and Lockheed Martin.
Satellogic to launch 68 satellites with SpaceX
Satellogic announced its agreement with SpaceX to launch 68 satellites starting in 2023. This news came the day after they published their 2021 Financial Report which shows reported revenue of $4.2 million, a net loss of $117.7 million, and adjusted EBITDA of –$30.7 million. Satellogic previously projected revenues of $7 million and adjusted EBITDA of –$32 million for 2021. Satellogic went public through a SPAC merger in January.
Space Force leaders questioned on their plans to invest in technology and workforce
During a hearing for the Department of the Air Force’s 2023 budget request, Chief of Space Operations General John Raymond said that their priorities are to modernize the missile-warning space architecture to defend against increasingly advanced hypersonic missiles and glide vehicles, and to keep track of objects orbiting in space that could be a potential threat.
First Dream Chaser vehicle takes shape
Sierra Space shared images of their first Dream Chaser vehicle and noted that it has completed structural testing and was beginning final integration and testing before being shipped to Ohio for thermal vacuum testing. Following that, they will integrate Dream Chaser onto the Vulcan Rocket at Kennedy Space Center with a launch planned for next year.
Much to the relief of Space Force personnel, the Netflix TV show Space Force has been canceled.
Other Space News
This week's picks of space sector news compiled from Jeff Foust's FIRST UP newsletter are:
FAA delays environmental review of SpaceX’s Starship launches from Texas for a fourth time
Boeing will move its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia.
The Space Force also has an "insatiable" appetite for geospatial intelligence, a general said.
Arabsat has ordered its first fully software-defined satellite from Thales Alenia Space.
An Emirati astronaut will fly a long-duration space station mission in 2023.
A senator and former astronaut played down the threat posed by Russian ASAT weapons.
Sierra Space says it is making good progress on the first Dream Chaser vehicle.
A Ukrainian government minister says there are 150,000 Starlink users in the country.