#NASA safety panel warns of increasing risks to #ISS operations .Members of a NASA safety panel said they were “deeply concerned” about the safety of the aging International Space Station, citing long-running issues and funding shortfalls.

During a public meeting of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) April 17, members expressed concerns about growing risks as the station nears its projected end in 2030.

“The ISS has entered the riskiest period of its existence,” said Rich Williams, a member of the panel, arguing there were “increasing risks” to the station.

Some of those risks are problems the station has been facing for years, such as leaks in a vestibule of the station’s Zvezda module called PrK. Russian and American experts have been investigating small cracks seen in PrK for several years, with no resolution on their cause or how to best address them.

Williams said officials from NASA and Roscosmos are scheduled to meet later this month in Moscow to update efforts to mitigate risks on the cracking. In the meantime, he said ISS managers have implemented procedures such as limiting repressurization of the vestibule, which links a docking port to the rest of the station. “The panel has considered this one of our highest concerns,” he said.

Another concern is developing deorbit plans for the ISS, particularly in an emergency before its scheduled retirement at the end of the decade before the arrival of the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle (USDV) that NASA has contracted SpaceX to build. “If there is a deorbit of the ISS before the USDV is delivered, the risk to the public from ISS breakup debris will increase by orders of magnitude,” Williams said.

The station is dealing with several other issues, such as keeping sufficient spare parts for life support systems and delays with cargo resupply vehicles. That latter concern involves both the delays in the first flight of Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser vehicle, now expected no earlier than late summer. and Northrop Grumman scrapping its NG-22 Cygnus mission to the ISS, which was scheduled to launch in June, because of damage to the spacecraft incurred during shipping.

White House proposal would slash #NASA science budget and cancel major missions

NOAA budget proposal would affect weather satellite, other space programs .

The White House’s budget proposal for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would seek to make major changes in a weather satellite program as well as transfer space weather and space traffic management efforts.

NOAA received a draft of the fiscal year 2026 budget proposal from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) April 10. The document, known as a passback, offers the agency a chance to seek any final changes in the proposal before the budget proposal is formally released by the administration.

Like the NASA budget passback, which proposed severe cuts in its science programs, the NOAA passback would make major changes to many of its space-related activities. Among them is the Geostationary Extended Observations, or GeoXO, program that will develop a new generation of weather satellites operating in geostationary orbit starting in the early 2030s

#NASA offers US$3 million in race to recycle poop in space.

Forget moon rocks – NASA’s looking for gold in astronaut poop and there’s US$3 million up for grabs if you can crack the code.

As part of its new Lunar Innovation Initiative, the LunaRecycle Challenge aims to solve one of the most overlooked challenges in long-duration space missions: waste management.

Announced in partnership with the University of Alabama as part of NASA’s Centennial Challenge, the space agency is calling on innovators around the globe to propose systems that recover resources from various types of garbage astronauts would generate on the moon. This includes food packaging, used clothing, broken tools, human waste and more.

NASA estimates that astronauts on the Artemis missions could generate nearly 96 bags of fecal waste during a four-person, 30-day mission.

The competition is split in two separate tracks: Track 1 is to design a digital model of a full resource-recovery system that can operate in harsh lunar environments. Track 2 is to build and demonstrate a working prototype of a key component or subsystem that could be used in such a system.

“We are very excited to see what solutions our global competitors generate, and we are eager for this challenge to serve as a positive catalyst for bringing the agency, and humanity, closer to exploring worlds beyond our own,” said LunaRecycle’s challenge manager Kim Krome in a news release.

Participants can either enter one or both tracks. Each track carries its own share of the prize money. The challenge encourages participants to consider lunar-specific constraints such as limited gravity, vacuum conditions and temperature extremes.

The challenge is open to teams and individuals worldwide, and participation is free.

Entrants do not need to have prior experience working with NASA or other space agencies.

Startups are preparing for the launch of space-based solar power .

Electrical engineer Ed Tate was skeptical of proposals for space-based solar power when he initially heard about the concept seven years ago.

“My first reaction was, ‘That really sounds like science fiction. I don’t think that will work,’” Tate said in March at the Satellite 2025 conference.

Now, Tate said, he’s “personally invested in making it happen” as chief technology officer for Virtus Solis Technologies, a Michigan startup planning to assemble a solar array in orbit in 2027.

Incremental progress

Tate is not alone in reconsidering the promise of space-based solar power (SBSP). Long deemed unaffordable because of the massive orbital infrastructure required, SBSP is gaining credibility as the SpaceX Starship and Blue Origin New Glenn seem poised to slash launch costs and offer room for modular SBSP antennas. Those antennas could be connected robotically in geostationary orbit to form kilometer-scale arrays.

In recent years, solar champions have focused on incremental progress, breaking down technical hurdles to make the concept more feasible instead of racing to establish space solar farms.

The Air Force Research Laboratory and Northrop Grumman, for example, proved the ability to beam radio-frequency energy toward various antennas in 2022 ground testing.

Florida startup Star Catcher demonstrated a similar feat March 21, sending concentrated sunlight more than 100 meters to power off-the-shelf solar arrays. China’s dominant satellite builder, China Academy of Space Technology, is preparing to demonstrate high-voltage transfer and wireless-power transmission from a spacecraft in low Earth orbit in 2028. And the United Kingdom plans to launch a space-based solar power prototype by 2030.

“Space solar has been a difficult challenge to solve, not just because of the engineering side, but also the finance side,” Tate said. “Interest in some of these incremental solutions is turning it into an investment class.”
Early revenue

Companies also are bringing in money from SBSP component and subsystem development.

With 1.2 million pounds ($1.6 million) in U.K. government funding, Space Solar Ltd. is working with the University of Cambridge to develop lightweight thin-film gallium arsenide photovoltaics for Constant Aperture, Solid-State, Integrated, Orbital Phased Array (Cassiopeia), a lightweight microwave antenna for SBSP.

Reducing the weight of antennas and making sure they can be packed tightly in a rocket fairing are critically important tasks because launch costs, while falling, remain a major capital expenditure.

“It’s not just about mass, it’s about volume as well,” said Martin Soltau, the co-CEO of Space Solar.

Space alliances hold strong despite broader geopolitical tensions. Officials insist that U.S. and allies are keeping space cooperation on track .

Despite ongoing trade disputes and disagreements between Washington and European capitals over Ukraine strategy, U.S. Space Force officials said international space cooperation remains largely unaffected by these broader tensions.

“It’s been business as usual in terms of the collaboration with the partners and allies this week,” said Air Marshal Paul Godfrey, former commander of the U.K. Space Command who currently serves at the Pentagon on the U.S. Space Force staff as assistant chief of space operations for future concepts and partnerships.

“The space domain is different to the other domains,” he told reporters April 9 at the Space Symposium, suggesting that rifts that affect other aspects of transatlantic cooperation don’t impact space issues as much.

This resilience of space partnerships mirrors previous instances where space collaboration has transcended geopolitical conflicts. A notable example is NASA and Russia’s continued joint operations at the International Space Station after the U.S. and Russia severed many other relationships following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Saltzman to meet with military chiefs

Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations of the U.S. Space Force, echoed this sentiment while speaking to reporters alongside Godfrey. He emphasized the importance of maintaining and strengthening international partnerships.

Saltzman this week is hosting an annual meeting with military air and space leaders from around the world. He used a keynote address at the Space Symposium to emphasize the Space Force’s push to deepen international partnerships, a move he said is essential to staying ahead of threats and maintaining technological interoperability.

“With regard to military-to-military relationships,” said Saltzman, “especially with my counterparts that I deal with on routine basis, just as as the air marshal said, ‘it’s business as usual.'”

“We’re still discussing the same challenges,” he said, including declassification concerns and initiatives for joint training and educational courses.

When addressing European cooperation specifically, Saltzman emphasized that the U.S. approach remains NATO-centric. “That’s really what we support,” he said.

The Space Force chief also noted the strategic advantages of these partnerships, pointing out that European allies are making significant investments in space technologies and have developed vibrant commercial space industries that the U.S. can leverage.

TAMPA, Fla. — International space agencies stressed the importance of partnerships with the United States and each other at the Space Symposium April 9, as geopolitical shifts and an escalating trade war challenge the space industry.

The annual gathering in Colorado Springs, Colorado, came at a time when heightened tensions between major space powers are creating uncertainty over future collaborations and investments.

Agency leaders emphasized that strong, cooperative relationships are essential for achieving ambitious missions and ensuring space remains a peaceful domain for exploration and commerce.

Representatives from Germany, Japan, France, Israel, Australia and India highlighted the critical role of shared innovation, scientific research and infrastructure as they outlined visions for their space programs.

The discussions underscored a collective recognition that mutual trust and coordinated action are key to addressing both global challenges and opportunities in space exploration and technology development.

Protecting the Artemis generation

Walther Pelzer, head of Germany’s space agency, highlighted the country’s partnership with NASA through the Artemis lunar program as he emphasized the critical role of international commitments.

He welcomed NASA’s ongoing commitment to the Artemis lunar exploration campaign as Mars grows in priority within the U.S. administration.

“What I learned so far is that Mars is a goal, but Moon is the next step,” Pelzer said.

“And from my point of view, this is extremely important that we stick this way, because I do not want to picture another foot on the moon other than a U.S. one as the next one,” pointing to concerns about potentially ceding ground to China.

A U.S.-Russian crew of 3 arrives at the International Space Station.

#MOSCOW — NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and two Russian crewmates arrived at the International Space Station on Tuesday on board a Russian spacecraft.

A Soyuz booster rocket lifted off as scheduled from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan to put the Soyuz MS-27 carrying the trio in orbit. They docked at the station just over three hours later.

Kim and Russia’s Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky are scheduled to spend about eight months at the space outpost.

NASA said Kim will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare the crew for future space missions and provide benefits to people on Earth. A native of Los Angeles, Kim is a U.S. Navy lieutenant commander and dual-designated naval aviator and flight surgeon.

Kim, Ryzhikov and Zubritsky are joining NASA astronauts Don Pettit, Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s astronaut Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner and Kirill Peskov on the space outpost.

#Airbus wins contract for ExoMars lander platform ,
Airbus Defence and Space will build the landing platform for the European Space Agency’s #ExoMars rover, replacing a critical component originally to be provided by Russia.

Airbus announced late March 28 (Eastern time) that it was selected by ESA and Thales Alenia Space, the prime contractor for the mission, to build the landing platform for that rover mission, scheduled to launch in 2028.

The landing platform is the part of the ExoMars spacecraft that handles the final phases of its descent to the Martian surface in 2030, including performing the final landing burn. After landing, the platform will deploy ramps to allow the ExoMars rover, named Rosalind Franklin, to roll onto the Martian surface.

Airbus did not disclose the value of the contract, but the U.K. government stated it was worth £150 million ($194 million). ESA awarded a contract worth 522 million euros ($565 million) to Thales Alenia Space in April 2024 to restart work on the mission, which was paused in March 2022 weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia was to provide the landing platform as well as launch the mission on a Proton rocket.

“Getting the Rosalind Franklin rover onto the surface of Mars is a huge international challenge and the culmination of more than 20 years’ work,” Kata Escott, managing director of Airbus Defence and Space U.K., in a statement about the award. Airbus will build the landing platform at its facility in Stevenage, England, where it also assembled the Rosalind Franklin rover.

“We are proud to have built the rover in our state-of-the-art Stevenage clean room and delighted now to develop the project to ensure its safe delivery to Mars,” she said.

#Geopolitical shifts are driving government interest in Telesat’s low Earth orbit plans, according to the Canadian operator, validating its move beyond geostationary satellites as LEO frontrunner Starlink erodes its legacy broadband business.

Rising global defense priorities and a push for sovereign-controlled communications are making customer demand for Lightspeed “much more concrete” and urgent, Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg said during a March 27 earnings call.

Telesat has disclosed a revenue backlog of 600 million Canadian dollars ($419 million) for Lightspeed, comprising mostly a commitment from Canada’s federal government in 2020 to provide subsidized broadband services to rural communities.

However, Goldberg said it is very likely LEO commitments will surpass the 1.1 billion Canadian dollar backlog Telesat recorded for its geostationary orbit (GEO) business at the end of 2024.

“We’re having some advanced discussions with customers about Lightspeed commitments,” he said, adding “we’re still about a year and a half out from our first launch, but the market just feels like it’s moving in our direction.”

Canada’s MDA is under contract to build 198 satellites for Lightspeed, which Starlink owner SpaceX is scheduled to deploy across 14 launches within a year, starting from mid-2026.