Commercial Crew, Commercial Space Station and Methane Detection
Unpacking the Top Stories from the Journal of Space Commerce for the Week Ending 10/20
NASA and its industry partners Boeing and SpaceX continue planning next year’s missions to the International Space Station for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. While significant work remains to prepare for these flights, the agency expects a busy year of in-orbit activities and is planning windows of opportunity for mission teams to target, pending operational readiness and station traffic.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission is targeting no earlier than February 2025. The mission will carry NASA astronauts Anne McClain, commander, and Nichole Ayers, pilot, along with mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov to the space station.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 will be the second crew rotation flight of 2025 and is targeted for no earlier than July to benefit the space station needs, including accommodating resupply flights and other operations aboard the orbiting laboratory.
And Boeing is still in the mix. The timing and configuration of Starliner’s next flight will be determined once a better understanding of Boeing’s path to system certification is established.
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Meanwhile, a proposed successor to the International Space Station (ISS) was unveiled by US-based space habitation technology company Vast at the 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC). Haven-2 is the next step in the company’s vision to pioneer a path to long-term living and thriving in space.
With the planned retirement of the International Space Station (ISS) by 2030, NASA conceived the Commercial LEO Destination (CLD) program, and is expected to select its Phase 2 winner(s) in mid-2026.
If selected in 2026, Vast plans to have the first module of Haven-2, an evolved and NASA-certified version of Haven-1, fully operational in orbit by 2028. Following the deployment of the first Haven-2 module, Vast plans to build and launch three additional modules over a two-year period.
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Satellogic is one of eight companies selected to participate in NASA’s Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition Program (CSDA) On-Ramp1 Multiple Award contract, with a maximum cumulative value of $476 million for all award winners. This award, announced on September 6, 2024, highlights Satellogic’s commitment to delivering high-quality Earth observation data to advance scientific research and enhance life on Earth.
Under the CSDA On-Ramp1, Satellogic will provide NASA with high-resolution multispectral imagery under a multiple-award contract in effect until November 15, 2028. The program aims to offer NASA a cost-effective solution for augmenting or complementing the Earth observation data gathered by the agency, other U.S. government entities, and international agencies. This data will be pivotal in efforts to understand and mitigate the effects of climate change and monitor environmental trends.
The CSDA program is a strategic initiative designed to leverage the rapidly evolving commercial space sector.
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One Boeing spacecraft that is flying is the unmanned X-37B, which is set to perform a series of advanced aerobraking maneuvers that will take the dynamic spaceplane from a Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) where it’s been operating since December 2023 and lowering its altitude using minimal fuel.
This will be the first time Boeing, the United States Space Force (USSF) and the X-37B attempt to accomplish this novel demonstration. During aerobraking, the X-37B will use the drag of Earth’s atmosphere to slow it down, reducing the vehicle’s energy and changing the orbit while expending minimal fuel. The Service Module disposal will be conducted in accordance with established standards for space debris mitigation, and the X-37B’s orbit change will occur in a safe and responsible manner. Once aerobraking is complete, the X-37B will resume its test and experimentation objectives.
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The first methane and carbon dioxide (CO2) detections by the Tanager-1 satellite have been released by the Carbon Mapper Coalition. This is the culmination of years of effort from a public-private partnership, funded by philanthropy, to make emissions data available globally and actionable on a local scale.
These observations are a preview of what’s to come as Carbon Mapper will leverage Tanager-1 to scale-up emissions observations at unprecedented sensitivity across large areas. Data at this level of granularity can empower enhanced transparency and guide mitigation actions that benefit our climate.
This milestone was achieved quickly, in just over one month since Tanager-1 launched on August 16. This is the first of a series of satellites being developed through a unique coalition which is led by Carbon Mapper in partnership with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Planet Labs PBC.
Tanager-1 is currently undergoing commissioning by Planet and Carbon Mapper, which includes performing calibration and validation of key systems and data platforms, in addition to other routine spacecraft maneuvering.