SpaceNews This Week | O3b MEO constellation grows to 16 with latest Soyuz launch; Trump praises commercial space at Cabinet meeting

March 9, 2018 View this email in your browser O3b MEO constellation grows to 16 with latest Soyuz launch Caleb Henry, WASHINGTON — A Soyuz rocket from Arianespace successfully delivered four telecommunications satellites into medium Earth orbit for fleet operator SES. The rocket took off from Europe's spaceport in French Guiana at 12:11 p.m. Eastern March 9 after a 33-minute delay caused by high altitude winds. The four 700-kilogram satellites separated from the rocket's upper stage two hours after liftoff in pairs 20 minutes apart. The launch is Arianespace's second launch of the year and first since an inertial More satellite telecom headlines LEO momentum builds with Eutelsat smallsat purchase, Optus-Telesat partnership Global Eagle raises $150 million, appoints new CEO Surge of new space companies has impressed even veteran industry observers SES' Sabbagh takes CEO job at UAE cyber firm SpaceX launches Hispasat satellite, completes 50th Falcon 9 mission Xtar hires Comtech exec as CEOcooperation with human and commercial missions Trump praises commercial space at Cabinet meeting Jeff Foust, WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump offered praise for the U.S. commercial space industry in comments March 8 that appeared to cement previous policy on the issue rather than create new policy. Near the end of a 20-minute session with the media during a Cabinet meeting, Trump discussed commercial spaceflight, prompted by the presence of models of several launch vehicles, including United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 and SpaceX's Falcon 9, on the table. The status of the National Space Council, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence, was one of the topics of the Cabinet meeting. Trump appeared particularly interested in last month's successful inaugural launch of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, which featured the synchronized landings of the rocket's two side boosters back at Cape Canaveral. "To me that was more amazing than watching the rocket go up, because I've never seen that before," he said. More civil space headlines  Congressmen criticize stalled NASA administrator nomination House members question balance of NASA programs in 2019 budget proposal Safety panel warns of "bottleneck" of reviews for exploration and commercial crew vehicles Polish Space Agency eyes $420M program to develop satellites, space R&D NASA sees strong international interest in lunar exploration plans Gen. Hyten wants more allies to fight alongside U.S. in space Sandra Erwin, WASHINGTON — The United States could use more allies in space, not only to help deter common enemies but also to share the financial burden of developing and launching systems into orbit, Air Force Gen. John Hyten told lawmakers on Wednesday. Hyten is commander of U.S. Strategic Command, responsible for strategic deterrence, nuclear operations, space operations and missile defense. He testified alongside Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John Rood at a hearing of the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee. Trying to fight alone in space would be a mistake, said Hyten, a longtime advocate of multinational efforts to secure space. The United States needs teammates that will share capabilities and information, he said. "Cost-sharing agreements, hosting U.S. national security payloads on foreign systems, and data-sharing arrangements to bolster shared space situation awareness are just a few of the opportunities that are our allies and partners provide." More military space headlines DoD delivers report to Congress on space reforms: Air Force acquisition system a big problem Air Force changing how it buys weapons and satellites, but software still a headache Aerospace Corp.'s iLab encourages out-of-the-box thinking without leaving home Classified cyber event focuses on common threats, common solutions Griffin rails at DoD procurement culture: 'We make things expensive that don't need to be' Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Advertise with Us | Privacy Policy | Subscribe Copyright © 2018 SpaceNews Inc., All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: SpaceNews Inc. 1414 Prince St, Suite 204 Alexandria, VA 22314