Chemical Facility Security News: Short Takes – 1-17-26

Saturday, January 17, 2026

Short Takes – 1-17-26 – Space Geek Edition

The countdown to clean orbits has begun with ESA’s Zero Debris Charter. SpaceNews.com commentary. Pull quote: “And even if humanity were to stop launching new satellites tomorrow, orbital debris would still multiply for years to come. Over 140 million fragments smaller than one centimeter now orbit Earth, joined by more than 1.2 million between one and ten centimeters in size. Only a tiny fraction, roughly 1%, can be tracked with any reliability. These may seem small and insignificant, but they are anything but. For instance, a clear example from the European Space Agency reported a 7 mm chip was found in one of the windows on the International Space Station’s Cupola, caused by “a tiny piece of space debris, possibly a paint flake or small metal fragment no bigger than a few thousandths of a millimeter across”.”

Congress passes minibus spending bill that rejects proposed NASA cuts. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: ““This is another area where we rejected the very deep cuts proposed by the Trump administration, including the 47% cut they had proposed to NASA’s science budget,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “We won’t have a space program if we don’t understand what’s happening in space.””

NASA pessimistic about odds of recovering MAVEN. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “Recovery efforts are complicated by the current solar conjunction period, when Mars is behind the sun and radio communications are disrupted. NASA paused communications with all Mars missions on Dec. 29 and plans to resume them Jan. 16.”

TrustPoint demonstrates non-GPS navigation for LEO satellites. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “The company developed a ground station called LEONS, shorthand for low Earth orbit navigation system, designed to provide GPS-independent positioning, navigation and timing signals to satellites in space, said TrustPoint’s chief executive and co-founder Patrick Shannon.”

ESA’s Comet Interceptor mission moves up launch. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “Comet Interceptor is unusual in that its target may not be identified until after launch. The spacecraft will loiter at the Earth-sun L2 point for up to several years, waiting for a suitable target. The mission aims to fly by a long-period comet originating in the distant reaches of the outer solar system.”

Indian startup Aule Space enters satellite servicing market. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “Aule Space hopes to do so less expensively, though, than other companies. “Operating out of India, and having our engineering base here, will help give us the cost advantages that are required in such a cost-sensitive economy,” said Jay Panchal, co-founder and chief executive of the company, in an interview. “To make the business case for life extension, cost is the biggest factor.””

When allies can’t count on U.S. ISR, commercial space becomes strategic. SpaceNews.com commentary. Pull quote: “In practical terms, allies face three options. They can accept reduced access to U.S. ISR. They can build sovereign space architectures of their own — an expensive, multi-year undertaking. Or they can pursue alternative models that deliver intelligence effects faster, at lower cost and with greater resilience.”