Finally, a Decision on Starliner, SpaceX Has a Down Day

Top Stories from The Journal of Space Commerce for the Week Ending Aug 31

NASA and Boeing finally came to a decision on how to bring Starliner back to Earth, but the decision was not unanimous. Starliner will return to Earth in an uncrewed configuration.

In a media briefing last Saturday, NASA officials said that while Boeing believed that it would be safe for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to return on its space capsule "in an emergency", the agency determined that the better option would be to have Starliner return to Earth uncrewed and Williams and Wilmore would remain aboard the ISS as part of Expedition 71. That means their return to Earth will not happen until February of next year.

There are a lot of things that have to happen for that plan to be carried out, including a modification of the Crew-9 Dragon that was supposed to ferry four crewmembers to ISS.

The situation is the subject of a deeper dive on our new podcast Ex Terra Extra, which premiers this coming Thursday.

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Meanwhile, SpaceX also had something of a down day this week when it attempted to launch multiple missions within hours of one another.

Due to unfavorable weather forecasted in Dragon’s splashdown areas off the coast of Florida, SpaceX stood down from Falcon 9's launch opportunities of Polaris Dawn on Wednesday and Thursday. SpaceX says its teams will continue to monitor weather for favorable launch and return conditions.

Then, on an attempted launch of a batch of Starlink satellites, a Falcon 9 booster tipped over on landing on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which caused the company to postpone a second launch that day from California, and the FAA to ground the company's Falcon 9 boosters pending an investigation. The FAA did not give any timeline for its investigation, releasing a statement which read "A return to flight of the Falcon 9 booster rocket is based on the FAA determining that any system, process, or procedure related to the anomaly does not affect public safety. In addition, SpaceX may need to request and receive approval from the FAA to modify its license that incorporates any corrective actions and meet all other licensing requirements."

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There was better space commerce news this week. A new report from MarketsandMarkets forecasts that the Satellite Communication Market is expected to reach $33.2 billion by 2029 from $16.9 billion in 2024, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.5 % from 2024–2029, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. Increased expenditure of emerging economies and rapid development of communications equipment and technology have led to the growth of the market.

Other factors, such as the growing need for broadband connectivity, expanding coverage of cellular networks, rising demand for IoT connectivity, and increasing government investments in SATCOM infrastructure, also drive the market. Satellite communication services play a critical role in providing reliable and high-speed broadband services, particularly in rural and remote areas where terrestrial infrastructure may be limited. This demand is driven by the need to bridge the digital and ensure connectivity for underserved communities. The expansion of 5G networks is contributing to the growth of the Satellite Communication Market.

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The first demonstration of a novel very low Earth orbit (vLEO) Space Domain Awareness (SDA) capability aboard a reusable, taskable, suborbital spaceplane platform is being planned by Scout Space. This proof-of-concept mission, dubbed “Morning Sparrow”, represents a significant leap in responsive space operations and introduces a first-of-its-kind capability developed in partnership with Dawn Aerospace. Scout signed a flight agreement with Dawn in August, covering this initial demonstration and a series of future flights.

Scout’s Sparrow payloads deployed for vLEO observations offer critical advantages for defense operators with taskable intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. Scheduled to fly in November 2024 out of Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre near Christchurch, New Zealand, Dawn Aerospace's Mk-II Aurora.

During the proof of concept mission, Scout will calibrate and demonstrate core functionality of the Sparrow sensors integrated into the Mk-II, capturing imagery, diagnostic, and environmental data throughout the mission.

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On the Ex Terra Podcast this week, Tom Patton talked with Jules Ross, the founder and CEO of Joules Space Technology, a new entrant in the private space station arena.

The EO space station is unique in that it will have the capability of providing artificial gravity in orbit. The company hopes to be the first aerospace company to conquer NASA's five hazards of human spaceflight - Space Radiation, Isolation, Distance from Earth, Gravity Field, and Hostile/Closed Environment. Space Station EO ... for Earth One ... would solve those problems with private living quarters, an electromagnetic radiation shield, Earth simulation technology to give astronauts more of a feeling of home, and be a self-sustaining dual gravity platform for science and more.

Ross envisions a future where people of ordinary means can experience space in a safe and comfortable environment, and Space Station EO could be the first step in making that vision a reality.

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In the very near future, we will begin asking for paid subscriptions for some premium content. The Ex Terra Extra podcast will become one of those feature, as well as more in-depth articles looking at the issues at the forefront of space commerce. The daily news will continue to be available to all subscribers, but we're looking forward to taking a deeper dive into some complex issues, and we hope you'll come along for the ride.

Mike and Tom have been bootstrapping The Journal of Space Commerce thus far. Our hope now is that there are a few more pairs of boots that will want to join us as we continue with this project. Look for more details in the next few weeks.