It is hard to imagine Elon Musk’s antics lasting more than a day in the People’s Republic of China, where a verbal infraction can get you a visit from the word police and a several-year prison sentence. The brash billionaire picks fights with, insults and ridicules everyone—including U.S. President Joe Biden, the man who effectively underwrites Musk’s world-topping wealth by signing government spending bills containing NASA and U.S. Space Force budgets as well as electric car subsidies.
As we head into 2024 and look around, the space industry is fundamentally different from what it was decades ago, thanks to first- and second-order effects from embracing commercial innovation. SpaceX set a record-breaking cadence of nearly 100 launches last year, heralding a new revolution in access to space.
NASA is wrapping up an effort to collect lessons learned from the Artemis 1 mission that address both technical and programmatic issues that the agency hopes to apply more broadly to the overall Artemis lunar exploration campaign
Joseph Pelfrey was named director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center by Administrator Bill Nelson on Feb. 5. Pelfrey has served as Marshall’s acting director since July 2023, when he stepped in for the retiring Jody Singer.
Since its establishment last spring, the U.S. Space Force’s Commercial Space Office has been busy making connections with industry and creating pathways to deliver off-the-shelf capabilities and services to users. The office is the service’s hub for commercial engagement, overseeing a slew of initiatives, including SpaceWERX — the Space Force’s innovation arm — and Space Systems Command’s Front Door, an online portal companies can use to connect with the acquisition community.
The Space Force expects to begin identifying members for its Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve — an effort to scale up its use of commercial capabilities during a conflict — and get them under contract by 2025, if not sooner.
The Air Force Historical Foundation announced the recipients of its most prestigious awards for 2023 on Feb. 1: The 432nd Wing, which flies the MQ-9 Reaper remotely-piloted aircraft, Ret. Air Force Lt. Gen. and astronaut Susan Helms, Benjamin Lambeth; author, educator and contributor to numerous think-tanks and advisory boards
ORLANDO, Florida—The U.S. Space Force is deep in planning for Rocket Cargo operations, with companies on contract now to build specialized cargo containers as the service looks to first integrate with SpaceX’s Starship ahead of additional providers.
ORLANDO, Fla – A U.S. Space Force initiative aimed at catalyzing the market for on-orbit services is entering a decisive phase. Orbital Prime, now over two years old, awarded study contracts to more than 100 companies focused on In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM). This includes a broad range of technologies, from robotics to advanced sensors to debris-capture devices.
A new era of integration, innovation and collaboration for human, uncrewed and robotic space activity is underway. U.S. preeminence in space may someday expand within this paradigm even to the far reaches of the solar system. This will depend on the advancement of capabilities for in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing (ISAM) and will be manifested by emphasizing a collaborative whole-of-nation approach.
