SpaceNews This Week | SpaceX vs. ULA; OneWeb defends full coverage rule; NASA joins Ariane 5 investigation; Potential end of ISS raises concerns

February 2, 2018 View this email in your browser SpaceX and ULA poised to face off in the next round of military launch competition Sandra Erwin, WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force announced plans to award space launch contracts later this year for five satellites that include some of the military's most sensitive big-ticket payloads. The competition comes less than two years since SpaceX became a legitimate competitor in a market that used to be entirely owned by United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Lockheed Martin and The Boeing Company. If SpaceX is able to win at least one or two launches in this next round of contracts, it would further cement its standing as a market disruptor and set the stage for the company to win even more military work when the larger Falcon Heavy rocket gets certified to fly government payloads. More military space headlines Air Force attempts to bring private-sector investment, innovation to space   Senior military official: Space secrets becoming harder to keep   A space corps in the U.S. military a 'no brainer,' says former astronaut   NOAA continues weather satellite discussions with the Air Force   Military innovation demands state-of-the-art satellite connectivity for maritime applications OneWeb spars with SpaceX, Boeing, SES and Space Norway over FCC coverage rule Caleb Henry, WASHINGTON —  A U.S. Federal Communications Commission requirement that developers of non-geostationary-orbit (NGSO) satellite systems provide full coverage of the United States to get market access has  prospective megaconstellation operators pitted against each other. The FCC, in a notice of proposed rulemaking that closed Jan. 29, asked for input on whether it should maintain the nationwide coverage requirement, noting that some proposed systems are not designed to reach all of the continental U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  OneWeb, with investors Intelsat and Hughes, and Alaska's governor were alone in showing favor for the rule. On Jan. 29, the three companies wrote the FCC saying that removing the rule would negatively impact the development of rural connectivity. More satellite telecom headlines  Global Eagle submits overdue SEC filings, details $223 million loss   Quika promises (mostly) free satellite broadband service   Thaicom reports sharp revenue decline, blames weak broadcast market   Boeing satellite workers keeping busy with commercial orders while awaiting defense work   Sigfox's CTO on where satellite fits in an IoT-only network NASA to be part of Ariane 5 anomaly investigation Jeff Foust, WASHINGTON — NASA, whose James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to launch on an Ariane 5 next year, will be included in the European investigation into an anomaly suffered by the rocket on its most recent launch. Arianespace announced Jan. 26 the formation of an "independent enquiry commission," to be chaired by the European Space Agency's inspector general, that will study the anomaly during the Jan. 25 launch that placed two communications satellites into the wrong orbits. Both satellites will be able to achieve their desired geostationary orbits, but later than planned and with some potential reduction in spacecraft lifetime. Neither Arianespace nor ESA have released details about the investigation since that announcement. Reports in French media claim a programming error in the vehicle's computers may have caused the "trajectory deviation" announced by Arianespace. More launch headlines SpaceX launches GovSat-1 with previously flown Falcon 9 booster   Spain's Indra teams up with balloon operator and launch startup Zero2Infinity   UK-Ukrainian launch vehicle developer Skyrora to establish smallsat launch site CASIS focuses on near-term ISS utilization despite long-term uncertainty Jeff Foust, WASHINGTON — Despite reports that the administration will seek to end NASA involvement in the International Space Station in the mid-2020s, the nonprofit organization that operates the national laboratory portion of the ISS is more concerned with near-term utilization issues. The annual meeting of the board of directors of the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), held Jan. 30 in League City, Texas, focused primarily on the progress the organization was making in opening up the station to a growing number of users, amid concerns by NASA's Office of Inspector General that the organization is falling short of expectations in its agreement with NASA. "By many measures, fiscal [year] '17 was a banner year for the ISS National Lab," said Greg Johnson, president and executive director of CASIS, in a presentation at the board meeting. "Demand from the commercial sector for the use of the lab is expanding rapidly." More civil space headlines Potential end of the ISS raises concerns, presents opportunities   The James Webb Space Telescope finally takes shape   Former astronaut nominated to run U.S. Geological Survey Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Advertise with Us | Privacy Policy | Subscribe Copyright © 2018 SpaceNews Inc., All rights reserved. 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