Rocket Lab has called on NASA’s incoming administration to reconsider the agency’s approach to the Mars Sample Return (MSR) program, proposing a faster and more cost-effective alternative. NASA announced on January 7 that it will spend the next year and a half evaluating two new potential architectures for its Mars Sample Return mission. These options include using a version of the “sky crane” landing system developed for the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, or a “heavy lander” designed by commercial partners. These new options follow a review of studies commissioned in mid-2024, including one by Rocket Lab, which was awarded a…
Author: Hendra
While SpaceX founder Elon Musk has expressed a preference for focusing on missions to Mars over the Moon, NASA experts argue that lunar exploration is critical for the development of technologies necessary for human missions to the Red Planet. Musk, in a January 2 post on X (formerly Twitter), made it clear that he believes the Moon is a distraction from the goal of reaching Mars. “No, we’re going straight to Mars. The Moon is a distraction,” Musk wrote in response to a suggestion about producing liquid oxygen on the Moon for Starship missions to Mars. His comments did not…
Japanese startup Interstellar Technologies announced on January 6 that it has secured a 7 billion yen ($44 million) investment from Woven by Toyota, the mobility technology arm of the automobile giant Toyota. The partnership aims to bolster Interstellar’s capacity for rocket and satellite manufacturing, in response to the growing global demand for launch vehicles and satellite communications. Takihiro Inagawa, CEO of Interstellar Technologies, expressed confidence in the strategic partnership, stating, “Woven by Toyota, a leader in driving mobility transformation within the Toyota Group, is the ideal partner to help us evolve our rocket production from one-of-a-kind manufacturing to a scalable…
Satellite operator AST SpaceMobile has entered into a partnership with Ligado Networks, which filed for bankruptcy in 2023 due to GPS interference issues related to its terrestrial 5G plans. The deal, announced on January 6, grants AST SpaceMobile access to up to 40 MHz of L-band Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) spectrum in the United States and Canada, plus an additional 5 MHz of spectrum in the U.S. In return, Ligado will receive warrants convertible into AST SpaceMobile shares valued at approximately $120 million, alongside $80 million in annual cash payments under a lease agreement spanning at least 80 years. The…
SpaceX is preparing for its seventh test flight of the Starship/Super Heavy vehicle, scheduled as soon as January 10, with several key upgrades and the first payload deployment from the spacecraft. The upcoming test flight will feature a new generation of Starship, which includes significant modifications to its design and performance. In a statement released on January 3, SpaceX outlined the objectives for the flight, including the first deployment of Starship’s payloads, as well as multiple reentry experiments and a mission to launch and return the Super Heavy booster. “The upcoming flight test will launch a new generation ship with…
he European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing for an upcoming European launch competition, which will serve as an early test of its efforts to revise its long-standing policy of georeturn, where member states are guaranteed contracts in proportion to their contributions to ESA programs. The georeturn policy has faced criticism, particularly from European companies, who argue that it creates inefficiencies that hinder competitiveness. A report from the European Commission in September, known as the Draghi report, concluded that georeturn harms the European space industry’s competitiveness and recommended that ESA move away from the policy. “The policy is a source of…