Short Takes – 3-11-25 – Space Geek Edition

Emerging launch companies see strong demand but look for government support. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “He said current funding levels for space mobility of $25 million a year is “not a real commitment” to that effort. Asked to define what would be a realistic commitment, he said there needed to be sufficient funding for programs to demonstrate on-orbit refueling and mobility as well as reentry systems. “So, real programs of record with significant dollars.””

What’s behind the recent string of failures and delays at SpaceX? ArsTechnica.com article. Pull quote: “In the United States, SpaceX's historic launch competitor, United Launch Alliance, has yet to fly a single rocket this year. In fact, the company has not launched in 156 days. During that time, SpaceX has launched 64 Falcon 9 rockets. So yes, SpaceX has had some technical issues. But it is also flying circles around its competition.”

Working around ongoing supply-chain bottlenecks. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: ““Supply chains are critical to both speed and scale for proliferated architectures,” David Gauthier, chief strategy officer for consulting firm GXO Inc., said March 10 at the Satellite 2025 conference. “Reliable supply is fundamental for a healthy and vibrant industrial base that enables government space missions.””

Planetary defense may get a boost from Jared Isaacman. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “The person likely to be NASA’s next administrator appears receptive to boosting planetary defense. “There is a lot of taxpayer-funded science that should be reviewed & potentially reduced, but planetary defense against NEO threats seems disproportionately underfunded relative to the likelihood and magnitude of the associated risks & consequences,” Jared Isaacman wrote on social media Feb. 14, near the peak of interest in 2024 YR4.”

Remember that Asteroid That Isn't Going to Hit Earth? We Could Send A Mission to Explore it! UniverseToday.com article.  Pull quote: “This also presents opportunities for a close flyby mission to study YR4 up close, thus providing insight into the early Solar System. In a recent paper, Adam Hibberd and Marshall Eubanks explore the feasibility of various mission architectures. The mission could encounter the asteroid as early as 2028, but multiple launch windows are identified. This mission could also conduct a sample return, complementing the Hayabusa I and I, OSIRIS-REx missions, and future attempts to explore NEAs.”

NASA begins mass firings of scientists ahead of Trump team’s deadline. Nature.com article. Pull quote: “These are NASA’s first firings since Trump took office, and they have taken a different pattern to those at other federal agencies in the past few weeks. NASA was spared, for unknown reasons, from the extensive lay-offs of probationary employees — those with little job protection because they have been in their positions for less than two years — seen at other agencies. The move makes NASA the first agency under the current Trump administration to pre-emptively fire career employees, beginning the required ‘reductions in force’ (RIFs) sooner than many observers had anticipated. It remains unclear whether other agencies might follow NASA’s lead.”