#WASHINGTON — A #NASA safety panel says the agency is studying issues with the design of the side hatch of the Orion spacecraft that could affect its ability to be opened in an off-nominal situation.

During a Feb. 28 public meeting of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), members said NASA has been looking at “a number of issues” with the Orion side hatch over the last six to nine months.

William Bray, the ASAP member who discussed the status of NASA’s exploration programs at the briefing, did not go into specifics about the hatch issue, only that it could affect “contingency operations” on the launch pad or after splashdown

#WASHINGTON — Boeing was awarded a $439.6 million contract by the U.S. Space Force to build a military communications satellite known as WGS-12.

The contract was announced March 1 by the Defense Department.

WGS-12 will be the 12th #satellite of the Wideband Global Satcom geostationary constellation that provides communications services to the United States and allies.

Boeing builds military #satellites in El Segundo, California. According to the contract announcement, #WGS-12 would be delivered in January 2029.

#WASHINGTON — #NASA has canceled a multibillion-dollar project to demonstrate satellite servicing technologies that had suffered extensive delays and cost overruns.

In a brief statement March 1, #NASA announced it was ending the On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (OSAM) 1 mission. OSAM-1 was being developed to refuel the Landsat 7 spacecraft and then perform the in-orbit assembly of a Ka-band satellite antenna.

NASA said it was canceling OSAM-1 “due to continued technical, cost, and schedule challenges, and a broader community evolution away from refueling unprepared spacecraft, which has led to a lack of a committed partner.”

#WASHINGTON — As decision loom about its funding and architecture, a #NASA review about the Mars Sample Return (MSR) program concluded its problems illustrate ongoing challenges the agency has managing large missions.

NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) published an audit of the #MSR program Feb. 28 that concluded that spiraling cost estimates can be linked to a lack of a stable design for the key elements of the effort and “initial over-optimism” in its development

#WASHINGTON — Global communications company Viasat announced Feb. 29 it has signed an agreement with defense prime contractor Northrop Grumman to support an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) experiment using broadband satellite internet to connect military vehicles and aircraft.

The experiment is part of AFRL’s Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) program, which aims to demonstrate commercial satellite broadband services integrated on platforms ranging from ground vehicles to fighter jets.

Under the agreement, #Viasat will supply high-capacity modems that connect to the company’s geostationary #satellites.

#WASHINGTON — In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, warned that the U.S. faces a “window of vulnerability” over the next few years to defend critical space assets from potential aggression.

At a Feb. 29 hearing alongside Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, Whiting singled out #China and Russia as the leading threats the U.S. space architecture faces in the near future due to their ongoing development of anti-satellite weapons.

U.S. Space Command, established in 2019 in Colorado Springs, is the Defense Department’s combatant command responsible for space operations. It is tasked with monitoring space activity and threats, supporting U.S. and allied military units with space capabilities like communications and surveillance, and responding to crises involving the space domain.

#WASHINGTON — #NASA and Intuitive Machines declared the IM-1 mission, in its final hours, an “unqualified success” despite a hard landing that left the spacecraft askew.

At a press conference Feb. 28, agency and company officials said they had received data from nearly all the payloads on the Nova-C lander, named Odysseus, that landed six days earlier near Malapert A crater in the south polar regions of the moon.

“We had some very high level mission objectives to touch down softly on the surface of the moon — softly and safely — and return scientific data to our customers,” said Steve Altemus, chief executive of Intuitive Machines. “Both of those objectives are met, so in our minds this is an unqualified success.”

#RESTON, Va. — Frank Calvelli, the assistant secretary of the Air Force in charge of Space Force acquisitions, said a top concern for his office this year is the launch tempo of United Launch Alliance.

“I think it’s going to be really important for us to watch two amazing companies: ULA and Blue Origin,” Calvelli said Feb. 27. “They need to scale.”

Speaking at the National Security Space Association’s Defense and Intelligence Space Conference, Calvelli applauded the successful inaugural launch last month of ULA’s new Vulcan rocket and emphasized the need for the company to adapt swiftly to a faster-paced launch schedule

#WASHINGTON — #Rocket #Lab says it could launch its first Neutron rocket before the end of the year as it outlines a long-term vision for the company that involves its own satellite constellation.

In a Feb. 27 earnings call to discuss the company’s fourth quarter and 2023 financial results, Rocket Lab executives said development of its Neutron medium-lift reusable rocket was on schedule and budget, with a goal of a first launch before the end of the year.

“Right now, we have a schedule that closes for a launch by the end of the year,” Peter Beck, chief executive of Rocket Lab, said of Neutron. “But, we’ve got a lot of testing to get through.”

#WASHINGTON — As the U.S. Space Force continues to refine its plan to leverage commercial services, a top general said he expects space domain awareness to be one area where private sector capabilities will be increasingly needed.

With more congestion and threats to satellites in orbit, the Space Force will need more sophisticated space tracking data and analytics capabilities that can transform raw data into actionable intelligence on activities in orbit, said Lt. Gen. #David #Miller, commander of Space Operations Command.

Based at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, the Space Operations Command is responsible for training and fielding combat-ready forces.