|
Companies are seeking more support from the Space Force on a proposed commercial space reserve. The Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve (CASR) would allow the military to tap into commercial space assets during a crisis, and is modeled on the Civil Reserve Air Fleet. During a panel at the Spacepower Conference this week, executives said while they feel CASR is going in the right direction, they want more details and firmer commitments from the service on how it would use CASR. That could include early, meaningful contracts to support training and collaboration, as well as clearer guidance on the requirements for commercial players. [SpaceNews]
The military is increasingly relying on commercial capabilities to gain intelligence on space threats. Gen. Stephen Whiting, head of U.S. Space Command, emphasized at the Spacepower Conference the Commercial Integration Cell (CIC), a collaborative platform that has become a key mechanism for sharing sensitive information about space-based disruptions. Companies are using the CIC to provide early warning of interference or other threats. The CIC allows the military and selected companies to share that information in a classified setting. [SpaceNews]
L3Harris is scaling up satellite manufacturing to meet military demand. The company has secured orders for 38 satellites from the Space Development Agency (SDA) Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture program, which is leading the company to move from bespoke production models to high-rate manufacturing. A new factory opening next spring will focus on the production of infrared payloads on an automated assembly line. Growing demand from the SDA's constellations and others marks a turning point for the space manufacturing sector, the company argues, as the industry is forced to take new approaches to meet that demand. [SpaceNews]
A NASA Mars smallsat mission that missed its launch window this fall is looking at new options for launches in 2025 and 2026. The ESCAPADE mission was to send two smallsats to Mars on the first flight of Blue Origin's New Glenn in October, but NASA called off launch plans in September when it concluded the rocket would not be ready in time for a narrow launch window. The mission's principal investigator said at the AGU annual meeting this week that they are now looking at launch options in 2025 and 2026, with the spacecraft flying around the Earth-sun L-2 point before making an Earth gravity assist and going to Mars, arriving in September 2027. That change won't affect the overall science mission for ESCAPADE, to study the interaction of the solar wind with Mars' magnetosphere, and does not require changes to the spacecraft. [SpaceNews]
The Space Force plans to test "plug-and-play" modular satellite technology on an upcoming mission. Space Systems Command will test a modular interface system called Handle, developed by The Aerospace Corporation, in a future Tactically Responsive Space mission. Handle is a standardized electrical interface designed to integrate satellite payloads into a modular architecture, which simplifies the integration of payloads onto satellite platforms and could accelerate satellite integration work. [SpaceNews]
Virgin Galactic will work with Italian regulators on potential suborbital launches from Italy. The company announced Thursday it signed an agreement with ENAC, the Italian civil aviation regulator, to study technical and operational issues for flights of its Delta-class suborbital spaceplanes from Grottaglie Spaceport, an airport in southern Italy. A second phase of the study will also study economic and market issues for flights there. Company executives said earlier this year they were interested in expanding operations from Spaceport America in New Mexico but noted that would be a several-year effort. [SpaceNews]
|
