Firefly to launch Lockheed Martin small-satellite experiment

Firefly Aerospace signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin to launch a small satellite aboard Firefly’s Alpha vehicle. The agreement, announced June 29, is to launch a Lockheed Martin technology demonstration mission. Firefly did not disclose the estimated timeline for this launch. “We are working with Firefly because of their innovative performance in offering access to space for small payloads on Firefly Alpha,” said Dan Tenney, vice president of strategy and business development at Lockheed Martin Space. Lockheed Martin is developing a number of self-funded space experiments to demonstrate technologies for government customers. The company in 2021 signed an agreement to launch up to 58 payloads with ABL Space, a small-satellite launcher in which Lockheed Martin has made a strategic investment. ABL’s first launch attempt in January failed and the company has not yet announced when it will try to launch again. A Lockheed Martin spokesperson told SpaceNews the company continues to work with ABL. “We still have our agreement with ABL and are assisting with their return to flight. While ABL works toward their next flight, we have launch requirements to meet for our tech demos. We look forward to working with Firefly to meet those needs.”

Firefly’s Alpha launch vehicle. Credit: Firefly Aerospace

Two upcoming Alpha launches

Firefly, founded in 2014, has launched its Alpha rocket twice from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.

The Alpha launch vehicle was designed to lift more than 1,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit.

Alpha’s first launch failed in September 2021. The second launch in October 2022 reached orbit although the payloads were inserted into a lower orbit than planned and reentered Earth’s atmosphere after several days.

The company is under contract to launch a Space Force mission called “Victus Nox” sometime this summer, and a demonstration missions for NASA under the Venture Class Launch Services contract.

“We have the infrastructure, technologies, systems, and a dedicated team in place to provide on-demand launch services for both government and commercial customers,” said Bill Weber, CEO of Firefly Aerospace.

NASA identifies potential major cost growth in Mars Sample Return

NASA has confirmed that one scenario for the cost of its Mars Sample Return (MSR) program is far higher than previous estimates, heightening concerns among scientists about its impacts on other missions. In a June 26 statement to SpaceNews, NASA said that one “highly speculative” estimate for the full cost of MSR was in the range of $8 billion to $9 billion. An independent review in 2020 estimated the cost of MSR at $3.8 billion to $4.4 billion, which itself was a significant increase over earlier estimates. Ars Technica first reported on the higher cost estimate for MSR June 23. “NASA evaluates a wide range of funding scenarios every year for its portfolio of missions as part of its annual budget process. Missions in formulation, such as Mars Sample Return, have more variables to consider, providing for a greater range of scenarios to evaluate — all scenarios are highly speculative,” the agency stated. “One included a lifecycle cost range of $8–9 billion, which included launch, operation, and closeout cost estimates.” NASA officials have been careful not to give any estimates of costs for MSR in recent presentations, stating that it will wait until a formal confirmation review for the program, scheduled for the fall, before providing an official cost and schedule baseline. That will come after a series of preliminary design reviews and a review by a second independent board led by Orlando Figueroa, a former director of NASA’s Mars exploration program.

An illustration of the various elements of the overall Mars Sample Return effort. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

“We’re taking a very deliberate approach to confirmation. We’re trying to go back and make sure that we’ve put scrutiny on all of our technical plans and we’ve gotten scrutiny on the associated cost and schedule,” Jeff Gramling, MSR program director at NASA Headquarters, said in a June 7 presentation at a meeting of the National Academies’ Space Studies Board and Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board.

He called NASA’s decision to convene a second independent review before confirmation “unprecedented” and a sign of the emphasis the agency was putting on keeping MSR on track. “We’re taking this very seriously and we’re trying to make sure we have solid plans before we go to confirmation.”

However, even before this estimate there were warning signs about cost growth on MSR. “Mars Sample Return costs are expected to increase beyond what is shown in the outyear profile in this budget,” the agency stated in its fiscal year 2024 budget request, which seeks $949.3 million for MSR. That budget proposal paused work on a heliophysics mission, the Geospace Dynamics Constellation, citing the “high budgetary requirements” of other missions like MSR.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, testifying before Senate appropriators in April, said he had been informed during a recent visit to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the lead center for MSR, that the program would need an additional $250 million in both the current fiscal year and in 2024. Other NASA officials have declined to confirm that budget increase.

MSR cost growth was also a topic at a recent meeting of NASA’s Planetary Science Advisory Committee, or PAC, a group of scientists that advises the agency on its planetary science initiatives. While not discussing specific figures, like the cost estimate of up to $9 billion, members were clearly concerned about the effects of any MSR cost growth on the overall portfolio of missions.

“I get it that everybody is anxious about this. We’re all anxious about it,” said Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s planetary science division, during a June 23 discussion with committee members, who were considering a recommendation regarding potential MSR cost growth.

“We have existing policies and processes in place” if the costs of MSR do grow, particularly after its confirmation review, she said. However, there may be few options other than accept the cost increase or cancel MSR entirely.

“There are not really any significant descopes available to us here,” Gramling said at the National Academies meeting, meaning things that could be dropped from the mission while allow it to achieve its overall goal. One option, he said, would be to remove one of two helicopters that would pick up cached samples is Perseverance is not able to deliver samples directly to the Sample Retrieval Lander. That would likely not significantly change the cost of the overall MSR program.

“NASA understands the importance of balancing science research, including objectives supported by the National Academies’ decadal survey, with fiscal responsibilities,” the agency said in its statement about the new cost estimate. The latest planetary science decadal survey endorsed MSR as a top priority among large missions, but recommended that NASA keep the cost of MSR to no more than 35% of the overall planetary science budget in any fiscal year.

“It’s a good rule,” Glaze said of that 35% recommendation at the June 23 PAC meeting. “I support it.”

Ovzon 3 on course to miss regulatory deadline after latest delay

Ovzon will likely need another deadline extension to keep priority spectrum rights for Ovzon 3, the Swedish satcom service provider’s first broadband satellite now slated to launch no earlier than late 2023. The company said June 22 that Ovzon 3 will miss a July-September launch window because of final assembly and testing delays, in addition to work taking longer than expected to change launch providers from Arianespace to SpaceX. Ovzon 3 was already at risk of missing a Dec. 31 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) deadline to start providing services from its designated geostationary orbit slot if it was deployed late in the previous launch window. Because the Maxar Technologies-built satellite will rely on electric propulsion, it will take several months to climb to its slot at 59.7 degrees East after reaching geostationary transfer orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. Ovzon announced in February that it had switched launch providers after manufacturing delays caused Ovzon 3 to miss a ride on one of Arianespace’s last remaining Ariane 5 missions. A month later, Ovzon said the satellite’s Dec. 15, 2022, Bring into Use deadline had been extended a year by the ITU, a United Nations affiliate. Ovzon 3 was originally planned to launch in 2021 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy before the company secured a more attractive deal with Arianespace and encountered manufacturing delays that have been attributed to pandemic-related supply chain issues.

Ovzon 3 is being built by Maxar using a Legion-class bus. At 1,500 kilograms, Ovzon’s first custom-built satellite is small compared to traditional geostationary communications satellites. Credit: Maxar/Ovzon/Proventus AB

Systems-level dynamics tests that Maxar is due to start in early July will significantly reduce schedule risk and enable Ovzon to give a more accurate launch date, Ovzon said in a June 22 news release announcing the delay.

Ovzon described these tests as the last major milestone for finalizing the spacecraft.

“Maxar is in the final stages of integration and test on Ovzon 3 after addressing modifications related to the change of launch vehicle,” Maxar spokesperson Mark Lewis said in response to questions about the satellite’s latest delay.

“Like Ovzon has said, we are working together to ensure the satellite is ready for launch as soon as possible.”

Per Norén, Ovzon’s CEO, said in a statement that he does not anticipate any further lengthy delays for the program.

“We are excited to be in this final phase and for the overall high quality of the satellite, but this is not the time for haste nor being overly optimistic about the importance of the remaining tasks,” he said.

Ovzon’s current broadband business relies on leasing capacity from other satellite operators.

Despite the delays, Norén said the operational and commercial model for its first satellite remains solid and is “more relevant today than ever.”

Ovzon said the satellite’s latest delay would also not affect its current commercial activities.

The company has previously said Ovzon-3’s manufacturing delays have increased the project’s overall cost by around $25 million.

Scout Space announces new investors

Scout Space, a startup developing technologies for space situational awareness, announced June 21 it has secured undisclosed funding from the venture capital firm Decisive Point and from government contractor Noblis. Noblis Ventures is the majority investor in Scout’s recently closed seed round led by Decisive Point, the company said. Scout Space said it could not disclose the value of the seed round. Other participating investors included VIPC and Fusion Fund. A Scout spokesperson said the company, based in Alexandria, Virginia, has raised about $5.5 million in venture funding since it was founded in 2019. Noblis, based in Reston, Virginia, is a federal contractor focused on science and technology. It was formed as a spinoff of the nonprofit MITRE Corp.

Space tracking software application developed by Scout Space. Credit: Scout Space

Sensors for spacecraft navigation

Scout developed a sensing payload that helps spacecraft in orbit see and understand the environment around them. The company has won Air Force and Space Force small business innovation research contracts.

“Now more than ever, space-based situational awareness is critical to our national security and economy,” said Mile Corrigan, Noblis’ president and CEO.

Eric Ingram, Scout’s co-founder and CEO, said the new round of investments signal “confidence in our vision and technological capabilities in the space situational awareness domain. Space-based sensing and software technologies are key to enabling spacecraft autonomy and national security.”

China attracts moon base partners, outlines project timelines

China says a number of countries have committed to join its International Lunar Research Station moon base initiative. Russia, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) have signed agreements to engage in the ILRS, with more than ten further countries and organizations currently negotiating agreements, according to a report by the state-owned Ta Kung Pao newspaper. Malaysia is one of the countries discussing terms of the project, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based China Press. Venezuela has also spoken positively to an invitation to join the ILRS. The ILRS project aims to construct a permanent lunar base in the 2030s with a series of stepping stone missions before the end of this decade. China announced in April that it was establishing the International Lunar Research Station Cooperation Organization (ILRSCO) to coordinate and manage the project. According to a recent presentation by the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL) under the China National Space Administration (CNSA), China aims to complete the signing of agreements and memorandums of understanding with space agencies and organizations for founding members of ILRSCO by October this year. First signatories will enjoy more favorable terms and more rights as founding members, according to DSEL.

 

Illustration displaying the China-led ILRS concept. Credit: DSEL

The organizations’ headquarters will be located in the Deep Space Science City, in Hefei in Anhui province, with centers focusing on design simulation, operation control, data processing, sample storage and research, and international training centers. The centers will be named after Chinese names for the planets of the solar system.

China aims to define ILRS task sharing and sign and approve intergovernmental agreements among founding countries of the ILRSCO before the end of 2024.

Wu Weiren, director of DSEL, in April reiterated that all countries and organizations around the globe are welcome to join the ILRS. DSEL was founded in 2022 and acts as a contractor for lunar exploration and is engaged in the ILRS and international cooperation.

“As with the United States’ Artemis programme, the devil is in the detail of the agreements between China and smaller partners or participants in their respective lunar projects, “ Bowen, an associate professor at the University of Leicester, told SpaceNews.

“These are symbolic gestures today, whilst the actual contributions and returns in material, financial, political and human terms remain to be seen. The precedents both ILRS and Artemis may set for the future governance of the moon within the Outer Space Treaty (OST) framework make it increasingly attractive for many smaller states or emerging space powers to sign up to one or both lunar projects and have a say in the moon’s political future, and that of the OST’s implementation as the Moon gets busier.“

The ILRS base itself will be constructed in the 2030s by five planned missions. These will establish nuclear energy, communications, astronomical observation and other infrastructure for an initially robotic research station which will later host astronauts. A later stage will see ILRS used to validate technology and capabilities for a crewed mission to Mars, according to DSEL.

The ILRS was first presented in 2021 as a joint project by China and Russia. It is now described as a project proposed by China and to be jointly built by many countries. The change follows Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

China also envisions building a Queqiao constellation to provide communication, navigation and remote sensing services for its lunar and deep space exploration plans.

China’s next step in its lunar exploration plans will be the launch of the Queqiao-2 lunar relay satellite early next year. This will be followed by the Chang’e-6 lunar far side sample return mission scheduled to launch in May 2024.

Chang’e-7, consisting of an orbiter, lander, rover and hopping spacecraft designed to seek out water-ice in permanently shadowed craters, will launch in 2026 and target a landing site Shackleton crater. Chang’e-8 will launch two years and land nearby Chang’e-7, carrying a robot designed to test 3D printing bricks from lunar regolith. These missions will serve as a basis for the full ILRS project to follow in the 2030s.

The ILRS project and ILRSCO are somewhat analogous to the U.S.-led Artemis program and its political underpinning, the Artemis Accords, to which 25 countries, most recently Spain, have signed up.

The countries so far attracted by China are those with established ties with Beijing and its space endeavors.

“Many of these countries are not surprisingly leaning towards the ILRS as they are already partnered with China in space projects or on other economic and technological fronts, and China’s leadership do not want ILRS to be seen as less internationally-oriented than Artemis,” says Bowen.

The emergence of two separate, nascent moon projects within a tense geopolitical context suggests potential issues and friction as the future of lunar exploration unfolds. Yet, both may develop alongside each other.

“Some of those states are also members of the Artemis Accords, which reminds us that since both projects are ostensibly exploratory and scientific in nature, we do not need to adopt a zero-sum mentality to the Artemis – ILRS situation on the Moon,” says Bowen.

“However, as we have seen with the UAE, it fell foul of ITAR regulations when developing its contribution to the ILRS, meaning that members of both the ILRS and Artemis need to walk a fine line between the streams of both initiatives.”

The UAE had signed an MoU to participate in the Chang’e-7 through a small rover, but it is reported that U.S. export control rules meant that components needed for the spacecraft could not be used, leading to the withdrawal of the UAE from the project.

UK Space Agency prioritizes sustainability

The UK Space Agency has a direct message on space sustainability. “We’re going to stop making it worse. And we’re going to start making it better,” Julie Black, UK Space Agency director of missions and capability for discovery and sustainability, said June 13 at the Secure World Foundation’s Space Sustainability Summit. Toward that goal, the UK Space Agency is continuing to encourage and prioritize space sustainability, both domestically and internationally. “A cross-agency space sustainability program is designed to mitigate the risks caused by space debris and promote the responsible use of space through a combination of regulation, standards development technology development, and national and international missions,” Black said. For example, the UK divisions of Japan-based Astroscale and Switzerland-based ClearSpace are conducting design studies for a UK mission in 2026 to deorbit a piece of UK space debris. “Crucially, at the end of that mission, the service that will be refuelable and will be ready to be used again,” Black said. In 2028 the UK plans to send a satellite to repair, replenish or refuel a UK spacecraft. And by the end of the decade, the UK intends “to have developed orbital assembly or manufacturing, where we’re using the spacecraft previously launched to remove debris or perform the servicing mission,” Black said. Investing in companies working to address space sustainability through innovation is a UK Space Agency priority, Black said.

An artistic impression of ClearSpace's servicer approaching its target, the upper part of a Vespa (Vega Secondary Payload Adapter) left after a 2013 launch. Credit: ClearSpace

Space Surveillance and Tracking

For the first time, the UK is establishing a space surveillance and tracking service for UK-licensed satellite operators. The service will warn operators of potential collisions so they can maneuver as necessary.

International partnerships with the European Space Agency and global organizations will help the UK achieve its space sustainability goals, Black said.

The UK intends to “be a thought leader by championing change, but we just can’t do that alone,” Black said. “We’re here to work together as sustainability champions to take collective action now, to mitigate the effects reduce the burden on future generations and ultimately, to ensure the safe and responsible use of space.”

Air Force orders a Viasat-3 terminal to demonstrate space relay service

The Air Force Research Laboratory has ordered a Viasat-3 space terminal that will be used to demonstrate communications services for low-Earth orbit spacecraft. Viasat will deliver a space-qualified Ka-band terminal that will be launched to orbit on a LEO satellite and serve as a data communications relay to the ViaSat-3 network. AFRL will use the terminal for high data rate LEO-to-GEO communications, said Lt. Col. David Johnson, head of the lab’s Integrated Experiments and Evaluations Division. Viasat received a $10 million task order from AFRL for the Viasat-3 space terminal, Johnson said in a statement to SpaceNews. The task order is part of a seven-year contract worth up to $50 million that AFRL awarded Viasat in 2020 for satellite communications technologies and services. Satellite operator Viasat on April 30 launched the first of three planned Viasat-3 Ka-band broadband satellites.

Data transfer via Viasat-3

LEO satellites that collect Earth observation data, for example, would use Viasat’s space relay service to send data through the Viasat-3 high-throughput satellite.

“Having the persistent capability to communicate to LEO spacecraft by relaying through a constellation of spacecraft in geosynchronous Earth orbit can enable the ability to maintain almost near constant communication with those LEO spacecraft,” Johnson said.

The relay service using the Viasat-3 satellite, “once proven, would enable reduced response time for mission-tasking or spacecraft anomalies and frees up bandwidth on government ground communications assets,” he said.

AFRL’s project, Johnson said, is “focused on providing 24-7 persistent command and control capabilities to LEO spacecraft by utilizing GEO constellations that are always in view of ground stations.”

Viasat in a June 7 news release said the AFRL mission will be the first pathfinder demonstration of the company’s space relay service expected to become available in late 2025.

In addition to a Ka-band space relay payload, Viasat will provide engineering analysis, integration and test support for the on-orbit demonstration.

Craig Miller, president of Viasat Government Systems, said this “real-time space relay capability will offer an efficient method of moving LEO satellite data to the ground for operations.”

Ursa Major confirms layoffs: ‘Necessary workforce reductions’

Rocket propulsion startup Ursa Major confirmed on June 9 that it has laid off workers as it reorganizes the company. Ursa Major is a venture-funded maker of rocket engines for small and medium launch vehicles. The company was founded in 2015 and manufacturers engines in Berthoud, Colorado. The company has won several U.S. Air Force contracts to support the development of its liquid engine for hypersonic and small launch vehicles. CNBC reported on Friday that 27% of the company’s 250-employee workforce was laid off. A spokesperson for Ursa Major told the company could not confirm the number of layoffs but said the management is “reorganizing the company and realigning our workforce to better meet the needs of our national security customers.” “As part of this realignment, we made some necessary workforce reductions to reallocate and focus on our priorities,” the spokesperson said. “While we cannot discuss the number of reductions made as part of the reorganization, we do want to acknowledge contributions of every current and former Ursa Major professional.” No engine programs will be terminated as a result of this reorganization, the spokesperson said.

 

Drop in venture investment

Layoffs in the space industry have been expected as investment in the sector has fallen in recent quarters due to factors such as the rise in interest rates and the poor performance of some companies. A recent report by Space Capital calculated that $2.2 billion was invested in space companies in the first quarter of 2023, the lowest quarterly total by its metrics since 2015.

Ursa Major CEO Joe Laurienti has said the company is producing about 30 Hadley engines a year for the U.S. Air Force and several commercial customers, including small launcher startup Phantom Space and Stratolaunch.

The Air Force Research Laboratory is supporting the development of Arroway, a reusable liquid oxygen and methane staged combustion engine for medium and heavy launch vehicles, expected to hotfire in 2025.

The engine was introduced in August 2022 with the goal of supporting next-generation heavy launch.