In September 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed a new rule for the disposal of upper stages after commercial launches. In short, for most launches to LEO and GTO, operators will either be required to conduct controlled reentries or move their stage to a higher disposal orbit.

As a researcher who has studied uncontrolled reentries for several years, I was pleased to see the FAA finally address the dangerous abandonment of upper stages. The new rule would reduce the growth in orbital collision risk; currently, there are over 2,000 derelict upper stages in orbit, with a net 36 more added each year. #spacenews.

#TAMPA, Fla. — Six-year-old European small #satellite maker Aerospacelab has bought #AMOS, a Belgian company that has provided optics for spacecraft and ground-based telescopes for more than four decades.

The companies did not disclose financial details in their April 15 announcement, but Aerospacelab chief strategy officer Tina Ghataore said the deal expands its workforce from around 200 to 330 people, mainly across Belgium, France and Switzerland.

The acquisition comes two years after Aerospacelab raised around $46 million from venture capitalists to build out a vertically integrated satellite manufacturing and operating business.

#WASHINGTON — The European Commission is delaying two key space initiatives, a space law and a contract for a #satellite constellation, until at least this summer.

At an April 9 meeting of an EU parliamentary committee, Theirry Breton, EU commissioner for the internal market, said the release of a legislative proposal for an EU space law, expected earlier this year, would be delayed likely until after parliamentary elections in June.

“We know we’re heading into an election campaign and we all understand that, therefore, things may take a little longer. Therefore, work will resume after the summer on this question,” he said of the proposed law, which he described as being “in the very early stages” and “not yet mature.

#WASHINGTON — Relativity Space, a company that builds launch vehicles using 3D printing technology, has secured an $8.7 million contract with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to explore real-time flaw detection in additive manufacturing.

Real-time flaw detection in 3D printing is the ability to identify defects as parts are being printed. This is an important technology as additive manufacturing works by laying down thin layers of material on top of each other so each layer adds to the potential for imperfections.

The two-year research contract is from AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The work for this project will be done at Relativity’s factory in Long Beach, California, using the company’s Stargate 3D printing platform, known for its large-scale metal printing capabilities.

“This effort with Relativity Space is in response to a congressional demand signal,” Adam Hicks, a physicist at AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, said in a statement to #SpaceNews.

Star Trek vs Star Wars Debate at 39th Space Symposium: Who Won?

#COLORADO SPRINGS — #Astroscale is moving into the next phase of an inspection mission as its #spacecraft approaches a derelict upper stage in low Earth orbit.

Astroscale announced April 11 that its Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J) spacecraft, launched Feb. 18, had moved to within several hundred kilometers of an upper stage from an H-2A launch in 2009 left in low Earth orbit and was now relying on its own sensors to continue its approach.

The mission milestone was a switch from absolute navigation, where the spacecraft was maneuvered by ground controllers based on knowledge of its position as well as that of the upper stage, to “Angles-Only Navigation,” where ADRAS-J detected the upper stage using onboard cameras and calculated its relative position.

#TAMPA, Fla. — Intelsat is in talks with the U.S. government to help fund 17 medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites to expand the operator’s multi-orbit broadband network.

CEO David Wajsgras said the company, which operates geostationary #satellites but also provides low Earth orbit (LEO) services via leased capacity from OneWeb, is due to pick companies to build its own MEO network before the end of June.

“We’ve been looking at multiple manufacturing partners for the bus, the sensors and for some of the modules,” Wajsgras told SpaceNews in an interview, “and determining the exact construct of the team that would put those satellites on orbit in approximately three-and-a-half to four years from now.”

#HELSINKI — The Queqiao-2 #satellite has completed function and performance tests in lunar orbit, clearing China to launch its upcoming lunar far side sample return mission.

Queqiao-2 completed on-orbit communication testing in recent days, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced April 12.

The spacecraft conducted successful communication tests with Chang’e-4 mission spacecraft on the far side of the moon April 6. This was followed by a test April 8-9 Beijing time with the Chang’e-6 spacecraft back on Earth, which is yet to launch.

SAN FRANCISCO – While constructing its own climate-monitoring #constellation, Silicon startup Muon Space is earning more than $60 million designing, building and operating remote-sensing satellites for customers.

The 10 #satellites under contract, ranging in size from 150 to 500 kilograms, are scheduled to launch in 2025 and 2026 for commercial, government and nonprofit organizations.

Muon Space CEO and co-founder Jonny Dyer declined to identify the customers. “We’ll let them take the lead on sharing that information if and when they would like to,” Dyer told SpaceNews by email

#COLORADO SPRINGS — Commercial space station developer Vast will use SpaceX’s Starlink constellation to provide #broadband connectivity for its Haven-1 station launching next year.

Vast announced April 9 that it will install laser intersatellite link terminals on its Haven-1 station to enable communications with Starlink satellites. The agreement between Vast and SpaceX extends to future space stations Vast plans to develop.

Max Haot, chief executive of Vast, said in an interview during the 39th Space Symposium that his company will use terminals supplied by SpaceX. Gwynne #Shotwell, president of SpaceX, announced at the Satellite 2024 conference March 19 that #SpaceX would sell #laser terminals it developed for Starlink to other customers, a product offering she dubbed “Plug ’n’ Plaser.”