Spaceflight

> A Chinese official expressed willingness to cooperate with the United States in space exploration, interest that appears unlikely to be reciprocated. > > Speaking at the Beyond Earth Symposium here Nov. 13, Zhou Guolin, minister counselor for science and technology at the Chinese Embassy here, said China was open to some level of cooperation with the United States on spaceflight, without going into specifics. > > “China welcomes participation from space agencies all over the world, including the United States of America, of course,” he said. “History has proved that isolation is not a solution, and that cooperation is the only solution to go forward.” > > Interaction between NASA and China has historically been limited. It includes a 2006 visit by then-administrator Mike Griffin to China as well as working group meetings from 2008 to 2010 on topics such as the exchange of Earth and space science data. That was largely severed with the passage by Congress 2011 of the so-called “Wolf Amendment” that sharply restricted bilateral cooperation between NASA and Chinese organizations.

> The Wolf Amendment has persisted in annual appropriations bills since 2011 with little effort to remove or significantly change it. NASA’s current administrator, Bill Nelson, told a House committee in 2023 he supported the provision. > > “I think the Wolf Amendment, as it’s written, is adequate,” he said in an April 2023 House appropriations hearing. “I think the Wolf Amendment is sufficient for where it is right now.” > > Nelson has, on other occasions, warned of China landing humans on the moon ahead of NASA’s own human lunar return, suggesting that China might lay claim to desirable locations at the lunar south pole and prevent NASA from accessing them. He also used an image from China’s Zhurong Mars rover at a 2021 House hearing to warn the U.S. “about our need to get off our duff” on lunar exploration.

> Boeing has shipped the first pair of O3b mPower satellites with fixes addressing power issues that have hobbled the initial six in SES’s next-generation medium Earth orbit (MEO) broadband network. > > Boeing said Nov. 13 the satellites with redesigned power modules were sent via truck from its facilities in El Segundo, California, and are due to arrive at Cape Canaveral in Florida next week for their December SpaceX launch.

We shouldn't overreact, as Berger points out none of the relevant appointments have been made. It's still a stunning report with huge implications. Here's the full quote:

> To be clear we are \far\ from anything being settled, but based on what I'm hearing it seems at least 50-50 that NASA's Space Launch System rocket will be canceled. Not Block 1B. Not Block 2. All of it. There are other ways to get Orion to the Moon.

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A gentle space mystery with a little light learning about space debris too

> China’s Long March 10A rocket is set to have its first flight in 2026, in what will be a crucial step in the country’s efforts to get astronauts on the moon. > > A model of the Long March 10A, a single-core rocket for launching crew, is set to be unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow in southern China, due to open Nov. 12. The rocket is set to have its debut launch in 2026, according to a Nov. 5 report from Science and Technology Daily, an official Chinese ministry newspaper. > > The 67.4-meter-long, 5.0-meter-diameter Long March 10A will be used to launch a new generation crew spacecraft to the Tiangong space station in low Earth orbit. It will be capable of lifting 14,200 kilograms to LEO when recovering the first stage. The rocket will be 66.4-meters-long when used to launch cargo missions to Tiangong.

> Also on display at Zhuhai will be a model of the Long March 9, which will be China’s rocket for launching space infrastructure, including to the moon. Images on Chinese social media Sina Weibo and reported by Ars Technica show a model on display with a reusable upper stage, akin to the SpaceX Starship.

> Designs and models for CALT’s Long March 9 have evolved in recent years, from an expendable kerosene-fueled 10-meter-diameter rocket with four 5.0-meter-diameter side boosters, to various methane-fueled designs for reusability.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/27672211

> > Latitude announced Nov. 5 that it hired Aurélie Bressollette as chief executive. She succeeds Stanislas Maximin, co-founder of the company, who moved into the role of executive chairman. > > > > Bressollette comes to Latitude from Rivada Space Networks, where she was vice president of the procurement office for the constellation company. She previously worked for Redwire, OHB System and Airbus. > > > > In an interview, Maximin said he hired Bressollette to handle day-to-day operations of the company as Latitude grew. “As a founder, you’ve got to fire yourself from multiple jobs through the course of building the company,” he said, noting he had previously handed over responsibilities of being chief financial officer and salesman to others at the company. > > > Latitude, based in the French city of Reims with 140 employees, is developing a small launch vehicle called Zephyr designed to place up to 200 kilograms into low Earth orbit. Maximin said in the interview that the company will start received flight hardware this week for the first Zephyr rocket as it prepares for a series of engine hotfire tests late this year, with a first orbital launch attempt around the end of 2025. > > I hope some of these European startups pan out. Arianespace could use some competition.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/27631025

> > “We’re excited to bid this time round for NSSL Lane 1, and we think Neutron is a really good vehicle for it,” Rocket Lab’s founder and CEO Peter Beck told SpaceNews. > > > > The U.S. Space Force last week released a request for proposals from launch companies seeking to challenge SpaceX, United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin in the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 program. > > > > The NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 program is structured as an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, enabling the Space Force to on-ramp providers on a yearly basis, and award individual task orders as needed. > > > > The Space Force requires the next round of Lane 1 bidders to be ready for a first launch by December 2025, a timeline Beck says Neutron can meet.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/27630358