TAMPA, Fla. — Astranis said Jan. 10 that all four of its recently launched broadband satellites have passed early tests and begun using electric propulsion to reach #geostationary orbit in the coming months.

The #satellites launched on a Falcon 9 rocket Dec. 29 and feature multiple upgrades over Arcturus, the San Francisco-based manufacturer’s debut spacecraft, which malfunctioned during final testing after reaching orbital position in May 2023.

The failure of both solar array drive assemblies on Arcturus, used to position solar panels that power the satellite, meant it could not fulfill its original mission to provide continuous broadband over Alaska for local telco Pacific Dataport.

Astranis said initial tests for its latest four in-house-built satellites, collectively called Block 2, included placing them in a sun-pointing mode to maximize power generation.

“We’ve spent a week and a half checking out and testing every subsystem on the spacecraft and everything looks fantastic,” Astranis CEO John Gedmark said via email.

“We are now through initial commissioning, with all systems operating nominally, and we’ve kicked off electric orbit raise. Many potential mission risks are now behind us, and all four satellites came out the other side in great shape.”

Astranis said it also tested new software-defined radios on each Block 2 spacecraft, a gimbal set to extend operational life from seven to at least eight years, and a reflector designed to provide 12 gigabits per second of Ka-band throughput that successfully deployed.

The company, which is operating the spacecraft on behalf of customers that have leased their broadband capacity, expects to bring Block 2 services online by the middle of this year.

Two of the satellites, NuView Alpha and NuView Bravo, are intended to provide coverage across the Americas for inflight connectivity provider Anuvu.

Agila is designed to deliver broadband services across the Philippines for local internet service provider HTechCorp. Meanwhile, the multi-mission spacecraft UtilitySat will initially cover Mexico for Apco Networks, a Mexican telecommunications company that has also ordered two of the five Block 3 satellites Astranis plans to launch together this year on an undisclosed rocket.

The Block 3 series would include a replacement satellite for Pacific Dataport, another spacecraft for Orbits Corp, and a satellite for Thai fleet operator Thaicom.

Each 400-kilogram satellite, roughly the size of a dishwasher, is scaled for smaller regional coverage, compared with traditional GEO satellites that are typically the size of a school bus.

WASHINGTON U.S. military satellites manufactured by York Space Systems and SpaceX successfully demonstrated cross-vendor laser communications link in low Earth orbit, marking a milestone for the Pentagon’s next-generation satellite network.

The satellites are part of the U.S. Space Force’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), a network designed to enhance military communications and missile tracking capabilities.

The demonstration involved satellites from PWSA’s Tranche 0, an initial phase comprising 27 satellites operating at approximately 1,000 km altitude. The program represents a shift from the military’s traditional reliance on fewer, larger satellites to a more distributed network of smaller spacecraft.

Denver-based York Space Systems announced Jan. 9 that one of its Tranche 0 Transport satellites transmitted data to a Tranche 0 Tracking satellite developed by SpaceX using laser communications terminals. The satellites utilized terminals supplied by Tesat-Spacecom. SpaceX uses internally developed terminals for its commercial satellites.

#WASHINGTON — A defunct military weather #satellite has broken up in orbit and created more than 50 pieces of debris, the latest in a series of similar incidents involving that line of spacecraft.

The U.S. Space Force reported Dec. 19 that it had identified a “low-velocity fragmentation event” involving the DMSP-5D2 F14 spacecraft. The event took place at 9:10 p.m. Eastern Dec. 18 at an altitude of 840 kilometers, but the announcement did not disclose how much debris had been created by the event.

Two commercial space situational awareness companies, LeoLabs and Slingshot Aerospace, said they were also tracking the breakup event. Slingshot, in a Dec. 19 social media post, said they believe the breakup took place before 8:15 p.m. Eastern on the 18th, an hour earlier than the Space Force’s estimate, based on tracking from its optical ground stations.

LeoLabs, in a Dec. 20 statement to SpaceNews, said its network of radars was tracking more than 50 objects from the fragmentation of #DMSP-5D2 F14.

The 750-kilogram satellite was launched in 1997 as part of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, operating in a sun-synchronous orbit. The spacecraft was retired in 2020 but remained in its sun-synchronous orbit.

DMSP-5D2 F14 is part of a family of spacecraft that have suffered breakups in orbit. The F12 satellite broke up in October 2016, following the breakup of F13 in February 2015. In 2004, the F11 spacecraft broke up, creating 56 pieces of tracked debris. All the satellites had a battery assembly with a design flaw that made them vulnerable to explosion.

A similar spacecraft design was used for a line of civilian polar-orbiting weather satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The NOAA-16 satellite broke up in November 2015, followed by NOAA-17 in March 2021.

Many of those satellites broke up despite going through a “passivation” process at the end of their lives, which includes draining batteries and venting fuel tanks. That process is designed to remove energy sources in a satellite that could cause it to break up long after being decommissioned.

Industry experts have noted that the passivation process may not be fully effective on some older satellites designed before orbital debris mitigation practices were enacted.

#SpaceX launched the Thuraya-4 voice and data connectivity satellite Jan. 3 for Space42, the United Arab Emirates’ recently formed AI-powered space technology champion.

The first Falcon 9 mission of 2025 placed the satellite in a geostationary transfer orbit, shortly lifting off at 8:27 p.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

Based on the Airbus Eurostar Neo Platform, the all-electric Thuraya-4 is equipped with a 12-meter L-band antenna to provide narrowband connectivity for mobile devices across Europe, Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East.

Yahsat, the UAE-based satellite operator merger that merged with local artificial intelligence provider Bayanat in October to form Space42, ordered Thuraya-4 in 2020 to succeed two aging Boeing-built spacecraft in geostationary orbit (GEO).

The contract included an option for a second satellite that would replace mobile satellite services over Asia, but this option has not been exercised.

Thuraya-4 was initially slated to launch in 2023, before Airbus ran into schedule and cost issues in its space business. Until recently, the satellite was also lined up for a launch in December, in a year SpaceX had hoped to perform a total 148 missions to orbit.

SpaceX ultimately closed out 2024 with 134 Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches, up from 96 in 2023 and more than the rest of the world combined.

Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer at SpaceX, recently said the company is targeting 175-180 launches in 2025.

Ali Al Hashemi, CEO of Space42’s Yahsat Space Services division, said in a statement that Thuraya-4 will help the company “unlock innovative AI-powered services for our global client base,” but did not elaborate.

#HELSINKI — A #Chinese commercial Kinetica-1 solid rocket failed late Thursday, with the launch attempt setting a new domestic record for launches in a calendar year.

The #Kinetica-1 (Lijian-1) solid rocket lifted off at 8:03 p.m. Eastern Dec. 26 (0103 UTC Dec. 27) from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Area at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Rocket operator CAS Space confirmed the failure hours after liftoff.

“We can confirm that the first two stages were nominal. Stage 3 lost attitude three seconds after ignition and the self-destructing mechanism was activated,” CAS Space said in a statement. It added that the investigation into the cause of the anomaly is ongoing. CAS Space is a launch spinoff from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, aiming to secure contracts to launch domestic and international payloads.

Aboard were an undeclared number of satellites. These are known to include CASAA-Sat from the Marseille Astrophysics Laboratory (LAM), supported by French space agency CNES, a cubesat intended to study the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly, and DEAR-3 (B300-L01), a 300-kilogram cargo spacecraft from Chinese commercial space firm AZSpace. The spacecraft carried science payloads.

#BlueOrigin test fires New Glenn first stage ahead of inaugural launch .
The seven BE-4 #engines in the first stage of New Glenn ignited shortly before 8 p.m. Eastern at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The engines fired for 24 seconds, Blue Origin said in a statement, including 13 seconds at 100% thrust.

The static-fire test was the culmination of a test campaign that involved loading propellants into both stages of the launch vehicle and going through practice countdowns. The company appeared to outside observers to be preparing to ignite the engines several times earlier in the day but did not do so. The company did not provide details about the tests while in progress during the day, or during similar tests Dec. 21 that also did not culminate with a static fire.

The company said the test campaign demonstrated “day-of-launch” operations of the rocket and validate vehicle and ground systems before an actual launch attempt. “The campaign met all objectives and marks the final major test prior to launch,” the company stated.

The test came hours after the Federal Aviation Administration granted a launch license to Blue Origin for New Glenn. The license authorizes the company to carry out New Glenn launches from Cape Canaveral, although with few details about specific trajectories or other conditions for such launches.

“By working closely with Blue Origin, the FAA issued this new launch license well in advance of the statutory deadline for the historic maiden flight of New Glenn,” Kelvin Coleman, associate administrator for commercial space transportation at the FAA, said in a Dec. 27 statement.

#WASHINGTON — Startup Turion Space has been awarded a $32.6 million contract by the U.S. Space Force to launch three small satellites designed to monitor and track objects such as space debris.

The contract is part of a Strategic Financing Initiative (#STRATFI) agreement from SpaceWERX — the Space Force’s technology innovation arm — that matches government funds with private investment to accelerate the development and deployment of commercial space systems.

#SpaceWERX first announced the agreement with Turion Space in August, with the formal contract award on Dec. 18.

Based in Irvine, California, Turion Space specializes in satellites and software solutions for space situational awareness, debris removal, and other in-orbit services. The company won prior Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts from SpaceWERX and NASA to advance its technology.
Space domain awareness missions

Under the STRATFI agreement, Turion Space will develop three small satellites scheduled for launch in 2026 and 2027, said the company’s CEO and co-founder Ryan Westerdahl. They will perform missions in both low Earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary orbit (GEO), carrying payloads for space surveillance and debris tracking.

He said the satellites will be equipped with commercial optical communication terminals for high-data-rate, real-time command and control capabilities. “Each vehicle will carry three space domain awareness payloads and a long-range imager for non-Earth imaging,” Westerdahl said. “Get your Apple Vision Pro ready for live debris capture feed,” he added, referencing Apple’s mixed-reality headset.

Turion launched its first small satellite, Droid.001, in June 2023. The spacecraft was designed for space situational awareness and data it collected has been integrated into the Space Force’s Unified Data Library — a centralized repository of commercial and government data. The new STRATFI contract enables Turion to scale its technology for more complex missions and operational scenarios.

The Space Force contract focuses on demonstrating rendezvous and proximity operations which are key capabilities for potential debris removal missions. These operations require precise maneuvering near other objects in space.

#HELSINKI — Chinese launch startup Landspace has secured major funding from a state-backed investment initiative to boost its development of reusable launchers.

Landspace received 900 million yuan ($123 million) from China’s National Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading Fund, according to Chinese media reports Dec. 25.

The company stated that the funds will primarily be used for the development, testing, and production of its Zhuque reusable methane-liquid oxygen launch vehicles.

In November Landspace successfully launched its first enhanced Zhuque-2 rocket, capable of launching 4,000 kg of payload to a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. That followed a 10-kilometer-altitude vertical liftoff, vertical landing test at Jiuquan spaceport in September for the much larger, stainless steel Zhuque-3 launcher.

Landspace is aiming for a first orbital launch of the Zhuque-3 in 2025. The first recovery and reuse of the first stage is to follow in 2026. The rocket, with its reusability and medium-lift capability, would greatly boost China’s ability to launch more mass to orbit and could play a big role in Chinese megaconstellation plans.

The two-stage rocket will be 4.5 meters in diameter and have a total length of 76.6 meters. Payload capacity to low Earth orbit (LEO) will be 21,000 kilograms when expendable. It will carry up to 18,300 kg when the first stage is recovered downrange. Alternatively, it can carry 12,500 kg when returning to the launch site. China’s current most capable rocket for LEO launches is the expendable Long March 5B which launches from Wenchang.

The funding is a major boost to Landspace, which previously raised $175 million in 2020. Other major Chinese launch startup funding rounds this year include Space Pioneer securing $207 million and Orienspace with $83.5 million. The companies are among an array of startups and state-owned entities developing reusable launches.

Landspace is one of the first launch startups to have emerged following a Chinese central government decision in late 2014 to open up portions of the space sector to private capital.

Navigating the legal landscape of #space mining: interpreting international space law ?

As I write this, NASA’s Psyche #spacecraft is making its long journey to an asteroid named 16 Psyche. When it arrives, it may confirm the presence of minerals which, when multiplied by the current market rate, hold an astonishing theoretical value of around $100 quintillion. This, of course, ignores the basic economic principle of supply and demand, but highlights the immense mineral wealth that exists within our cosmic backyard.

In reality, it is unlikely that terrestrially abundant materials will be mined and brought back to #Earth. Instead, we may see #businesses aiming to source and use materials in space that are otherwise rare or too expensive to extract and transport from the Earth’s crust.

Space mining may also be used to prolong missions. As humans voyage further into outer space, it becomes increasingly important to be able to generate usable products with local materials. This practice is called in-situ resource utilization.

Making commercial space mining a viable reality will rely on a whole series of technological advances and an understanding of the relevant legal framework. As an intellectual property professional, I am interested in both these aspects. Patents are national intellectual property rights, but the matter of applying these national laws and rights to space is a still-developing area.

From a national perspective, the United States, Japan, and perhaps more surprisingly, Luxembourg and the United Arab Emirates, have enacted national laws permitting ownership of extracted space resources. Although, as far as I am aware, only the U.S. has enacted a specific provision linking patents, jurisdiction and territory for space technology. With the uncapped potential for growth that outer space provides, other countries will likely introduce similar legislation to the U.S. in order to encourage development while the sector is still nascent.
The Outer Space Treaty (1967)

The bedrock of space law remains the Outer Space Treaty (OST), which was made effective in 1967. Its wording reflects the tensions at the time. While the OST primarily achieved its objective of avoiding violence in outer space, its drafters could not foresee every development that would take place. Legally, one of the main obstacles for commercial space mining today is the issue of appropriation.

As stated in Article II of the OST, “Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.”

There are various interpretations of what national appropriation means in the context of resource extraction from celestial bodies. Although the scope of Article II remains unclear, it is unlikely that it was intended to impose an outright ban on resource acquisition and ownership in outer space. Given the Cold War-era context in which the OST was drafted, the fundamental goal of Article II was likely an attempt to prevent national sovereign claims of territory in space, rather than to restrict the use of its resources.
Artemis Accords (2020)

The Artemis Accords, a set of principles primarily concerned with sustainable space exploration and use, were first established in October 2020. According to NASA, the “Artemis Accords reinforce that space resource extraction and utilization can and will be conducted under the auspices of the Outer Space Treaty, with specific emphasis on Articles II, VI, and XI.”. Notably, section 10, paragraph 2 of the Artemis Accords stipulates that “the extraction of space resources does not inherently constitute national appropriation.” This is perhaps the first time that the national appropriation contained in the OST has been directly addressed. Although some level of clarification has been provided, the definition of what particular resource-extracting activities would constitute national appropriation remains to be determined.

One provision of the Artemis Accords that may prove to be problematic in a legal sense is the provision of so-called safety zones around mining sites. Even though space is essentially infinite, the reality is that there will be competition for the same resources, such as water and helium-3 on the moon. The purpose of the zones is to enhance safety of space missions and prevent conflict in proximity operations. Signatories to the Accords have committed to four guiding principles when creating safety zones. The principles relate to size, scope and duration, while being supplemented by provisions on information disclosure. However, given their relatively novel nature, limited literature exists to define their exact scope and definition with regard to mining.

It will be interesting to see how the concept of safety zones will be employed in space mining. The mines and the surrounding safety zones may need to be addressed more coherently in view of Article II of the OST. For example, a situation could arise where latecomers are excluded from prime mining areas by other nations, thereby giving rise to de facto national appropriation.

Perhaps we can look towards the Antarctic Treaty and the Prior-appropriation Water Rights Doctrine for an insight into how the issue of mining on the moon will be tackled, as both conceptualize land ownership in a way that is analogous to outer space, and they tackle the issue of resource extraction.
Distinguishing resource extraction from appropriation

The prevailing mindset is that extraction of outer space resources can be lawful in view of Article II of the OST, as long as you don’t claim ownership of any territory. An analogy can be drawn to fishing in international waters. No one can make a claim to own international waters, but if you sail out to sea, cast a net and catch some fish, you own those fish — as long as you haven’t done so in a way that violates any governing treaty, like the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Seabed Act. So, looking back to space, if you are on the moon and you extract some water, in theory, you own that water — as long as your activities have not violated any treaties governing space.

Since the OST was enacted, the clouds are slowly parting as to what constitutes appropriation in outer space. Based on the adoption of the Artemis Accords, which promote resource acquisition and use, by a number of space faring nations (48 signatories as of Nov. 13, 2024), it is clear that many countries and businesses alike have aims to acquire resources in outer space.

The idea of asserting sovereignty or ownership of a celestial body is generally repudiated by the international space community. In light of this, I am interested to see how patents, which are territorial rights, will be enforced in space. Given the high-tech nature associated with space mining, and the large amounts of capital and investment required by companies operating within it, space mining companies will expect appropriate enforcement mechanisms to be in place to prevent infringement of their patented innovations.

#WASHINGTON — #NASA selected Firefly Aerospace for a third lunar lander mission, this one including a rover, to launch in 2028.

NASA announced Dec. 18 it awarded Firefly a task order though its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program for a mission to the Gruithuisen Domes region on the near side of the moon. The task order is valued at $179.6 million.

The mission, using Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander, will deliver to the moon six payloads to perform imaging, spectroscopy and other observations, as well as sample lunar regolith. Some of the instruments will be mounted on a rover that Firefly is offering from an unnamed “industry provider.”

A key goal of the mission is to help scientists understand the formation of the Gruithuisen Domes, a region with rocks that appear to be made from magma rich in silica, similar to granite. On Earth, granite forms from plate tectonics and in the presence of water, both of which are lacking on the moon, making scientists unsure how the Gruithuisen Domes formed.

“Understanding the formation of the Gruithuisen Domes, as well as the ancient lava flows surrounding the landing site, will help the U.S. answer important questions about the lunar surface,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, in a statement.

The award is among the largest CLPS task orders to date, behind only the award to Astrobotic for its Griffin lander originally slated to carry NASA’s VIPER lunar rover. That award, originally valued at $199.5 million, has since grown to more than $300 million.

This was the second of two major CLPS task orders NASA officials previously indicated they planned to award this year after a long gap to incorporate lessons learned from the first CLPS missions to fly, Astrobotic’s Peregrine and Intuitive Machines’ IM-1. NASA awarded a task order to Intuitive Machines in August for the IM-4 mission that will go to the lunar south pole region in 2027.

NASA also awarded a task order to Blue Origin in August to fly a camera payload on that company’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander that is flying a commercial demonstration mission in 2025.

The CLPS task order is the fourth for Firefly. That includes three lunar landers as well as one to provide radio frequency calibration services from orbit to support a radio science payload on the second lander mission.

The first mission, Blue Ghost 1 or “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” is scheduled for launch in mid-January, with a landing in the Mare Crisium region of the near side of the moon about 45 days after launch. Blue Ghost 2 will follow in 2026, landing on the lunar farside. That mission will also deploy ESA’s Lunar Pathfinder communications satellite into orbit.

Both the second and third Blue Ghost missions will use Firefly’s Elytra Dark as an orbital transfer vehicle, delivering the landers to lunar orbit. Those vehicles will remain in lunar orbit to provide communications services.