Short Takes – 7-11-25

Japan’s Interstellar secures $62 million in series F funding. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “The fresh funding follows a series of recent announcements from Interstellar. The company announced July 8 a Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) with Exolaunch, focused on enhancing rideshare launch capabilities for small satellites. The same day it announced an SPA with ATMOS Space Cargo to jointly explore integrated space logistics architectures that combine launch services and orbital return capabilities. Exolaunch is a Berlin-based company specializing in rideshare mission integration, while ATMOS Space Cargo is working on orbital return systems.”

NASA images may help track sewage in coastal waters. ScienceNews.org article. Pull quote: “Maciel cautions that cyanobacteria grow in clean water too, so this method would need to be validated in other water sources where it might be used. But in waters where the color scale is associated with sewage, these space snapshots could take the guesswork out of choosing which locations to sample for testing, says Scrivner, who is now at the University of Connecticut in Groton. That could mean the difference between a nice day at the beach or going home with a stomachache.”

GOP senators fear Musk-Trump beef spells trouble for midterm election. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “Musk, if he moves forward with his plans, is expected to make reducing the federal debt a key plank of his new party, an issue that traditionally appeals to conservative voters. The tech mogul also has threatened to support primary challenges against self-described Republican fiscal conservatives who voted for Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

Hazardous Materials: Information Collection Activities. Federal Register PHMSA 30-day ICR renewal notice. Summary: “n accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Requests (ICRs) discussed below will be forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for renewal and extension. These ICRs describe the nature of the information collections and their expected burdens. A Federal Register notice and request for comments with a 60-day comment period on these ICRs was published in the Federal Register on March 10, 2025 (90 FR 11649) under Docket No. PHMSA-2025-0008 (Notice No. 2025-04). PHMSA received one comment in response to this notice; however, the comment was outside the scope of the ICRs listed for renewal.” Comments due: August 11^th, 2025.