Still No Return Date for Starliner
Still No Return Date for Starliner
Top Stories from The Journal of Space Commerce for the Week Ending 6/28
Starliner remains docked to the International Space Station after arriving on June 6. The Boeing space capsule has been beset with several issues that have delayed its return to Earth after what was supposed to have been a week-long mission.
The integrated Starliner team continues to evaluate the spacecraft’s propulsion system performance and complete other forward work before scheduling undocking from the International Space Station. “Our goal is to bring Butch and Suni home aboard Boeing’s spacecraft, and we are working to confirm Starliner will perform as designed to return them safely to Earth,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Space station gives us the luxury of time, allowing us to look at data we gathered on the way uphill and conduct some additional testing. We’re still in the middle of a test mission, and we want to spend more time with the data before we make the final call to put the crew aboard the spacecraft for return.”
Since Starliner’s arrival on June 6 with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard, mission teams have been working to complete open work related to managing five small leaks in the spacecraft’s service module helium manifolds while reaffirming the health of the spacecraft’s reaction control system thrusters. Starliner remains available in case of an emergency on the space station that would require the crew to leave orbit immediately and return to Earth.
They also are evaluating recent ground test results that showed better than expected performance of Starliner’s thruster instrumentation. Based upon these results, engineering teams have confidence that Starliner’s thruster pressure transducers are not overheating in flight and causing premature deselects of the thrusters in orbit, which was initially considered to be a possibility. Meanwhile, simulated propulsion system contingency scenarios continue to be worked in the lab to ensure expected performance of Starliner’s backup systems and thruster combinations for use during the return if needed.
U.S. Space Force (USSF), Space Systems Command (SSC) has awarded a Phase 1 contract for its Enterprise Space Terminal (EST) program to General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS). The EST program will increase the mission effectiveness of future Department of Defense (DoD) platforms by providing a mesh laser communication network for resilient, high-capacity communications paths for spacecraft in beyond Low Earth Orbit (bLEO) regimes at crosslink ranges up to 80,000 km (≈50,000 miles).
As prime contractor, GA-EMS will utilize its extensive OCT design expertise and on-orbit optical communication mission experience to deliver an OCT design to meet the EST Phase 1 program requirements. Phase 1 EST program tasks include designing the payload support system, electrical hardware, laser terminal design, optical design and subsystem, thermal control, command and data handling, and cybersecurity. GA-EMS is teaming with L3Harris to provide the communications module design, and with Advanced Space to provide the space navigation and time transfer capabilities.
A new contract with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (“IIAS”) has been announced to fly three research astronauts as part of a future crew aboard Virgin Galactic's Delta Class spaceship.
It will be the second research mission that IIAS has conducted with Virgin Galactic. It follows ‘Galactic 05’ in November 2023, which tested novel healthcare technologies and examined how fluids behaved in low gravity to help inform designs for future medical technologies and life-support systems. The mission is anticipated to take place within the first year of Delta commercial service, which remains on track to commence in 2026.
The IIAS astronaut crew expected to participate in the research mission includes:
Kellie Gerardi, a bioastronautics researcher and IIAS Director of Human Spaceflight Operations from the U.S. Gerardi previously flew as a payload specialist on the ‘Galactic 05’ research mission.
Dr. Shawna Pandya, a physician, aquanaut, bioastronautics researcher, and Director of IIAS’s Space Medicine Group, from Canada.
Dr. Norah Patten, an aeronautical engineer and bioastronautics researcher from Ireland.
A sea trial of Eutelsat OneWeb low Earth Orbit (LEO) SATCOM service will be conducted aboard the U.S. Navy's USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). The evaluation is intended to showcase OneWeb Technologies’ and Kymeta’s innovative satellite communications solutions tailored to meet the rigorous demands of maritime connectivity.
Through the evaluation, OneWeb Technologies and Kymeta will showcase their capacity to deliver resilient, high-bandwidth, low-latency SATCOM services within the challenging maritime environment. The trial provides critical insights into the integration of OneWeb Technologies and Kymeta’s solutions with existing Navy systems, paving the way for potential future procurement opportunities.
OneWeb Technologies and Kymeta are participating in a sea trial that can support Navy programs dedicated to making their operations and personal communications easier and more secure, such as its “Sailor Edge Afloat and Ashore” program. The trial will feature the Kymeta u8 LEO terminals which offer high-speed, low-latency pole-to-pole broadband connectivity over the Eutelsat OneWeb network.
An agreement to collaborate on satellite image data analysis services has been announced by NEC and Ursa Space. By combining services and technologies, the two companies will provide solutions for various applications for enterprises.
In recent years, the use of satellite image data has been rapidly expanding for various applications, including disaster prevention, infrastructure management, resource exploration, agriculture, and environmental monitoring.
Against this backdrop, NEC provides a monitoring service that analyzes image data from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites to support infrastructure maintenance management and disaster countermeasures.
Ursa Space has also established a "virtual constellation" consisting of several hundred SAR and optical satellites in collaboration with satellite operating companies, and provides a global one-stop analysis service for image data acquired by multiple satellites.
The NATO Innovation Fund has made its first direct investment in a satellite service launch provider. Satellite launch service company Isar Aerospace recently announced a significant extension of its Series C round by more than €65 million (≈$70 million), now totaling more than €220 million (≈$236 million).
This marks the first-ever direct investment in a satellite service launch provider from the NATO Innovation Fund and highlights the multifaceted importance of space technologies, which are pivotal for both civilian innovation and defense capabilities.
In May 2024, Isar Aerospace announced the establishment of a commercial launch vehicle production facility near Munich, Germany. In collaboration with the pan-European real estate company VGP Group who will develop and build the facility, Isar Aerospace will be able to produce 40 Spectrum launch vehicles per year in the future.
This latest funding will enable Isar Aerospace to continue investing in the build-up and equipment for its series production. The company’s high degree of automation and scalability positions Isar Aerospace to serve the increasing private and public sector demand for transporting small and medium-sized satellites and satellite constellations into space.
