Elon Musk’s claim SpaceX’s fundamental mission is to get humanity to Mars isn’t just rhetoric, Musk biographer Walter Isaacson said Tuesday at an Economic Club of Washington event. “I think he truly believes that mission -- he’s mission driven,” Isaacson said. Once Musk has a mission, he backfills around it, such as using SpaceX to also make money via internet connectivity from low earth orbit, said Isaacson, professor of American History and Values at Tulane University, and formerly CNN chairman and Aspen Institute CEO. “That’s just a way to fund the mission,” he said. Asked about when SpaceX might go public, Isaacson said the SpaceX CEO “hates taking things public. I think he has zero desire to take SpaceX public.”
Oral argument is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Nov. 20 before a U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit panel in the consolidated International Dark-Sky Association and Dish Network challenges to the FCC's partial approval of SpaceX's second-generation satellite constellation (see 2304170005), per a clerk's order Monday (dockets 22-1337, 23-1001).
Rocket Lab's Tuesday Electron rocket mission failed, according to the company. The vehicle was carrying a synthetic aperture radar satellite for earth observation company Capella Space. Rocket Lab postponed its next scheduled launch. "We are deeply sorry to our partners Capella Space for the loss of the mission," Rocket Lab said. It said it's working with the FAA and other agencies to investigate the cause of the mission failure.
SES urged tweaks to the FCC Space Bureau application streamlining draft order on the agency's September agenda. In a docket 22-411 filing Monday, it recapped a meeting with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel at which SES suggested changes to language about granting points of communications under a streamlined procedure. It also said language in the accompanying Further NPRM asking about certain satellite operators changing antenna parameters without prior authorization would benefit from examples of what types of operators such a provision would imply.
As the FCC looks at duplicative coordination requirements in its space application processing Further NPRM on the September agenda, one opportunity is the requirement that satellite licensees using certain bands coordinate with federal users each earth station with which they plan to communicate, Microsoft representatives told an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Space Bureau staffers, per a docket 22-411 filing Friday.
Astroscale is urging the FCC to initiate an in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing NPRM as a step toward creation of ISAM licensing and technical rules. In a docket 22-271 filing Friday, it recapped a meeting with Space Bureau Chief Julie Kearney in which it also urged the agency to specify spectrum allocations that in-space servicing satellites could use for communications and to craft an "appropriately-limited" annual regulatory fee for in-space servicing satellites.
Adopting shot clocks for satellite and earth station applications would promote satellite competition and innovation while providing certainty to operators, SpaceX representatives told aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Nathan Simington, per a docket 22-411 filing Tuesday. Pointing to the space application processing draft order on circulation for September's meeting (see 2308310059), SpaceXers also urged the agency to seek comment on further changes to the unbuilt system rule and to improve the processes in the new Section 25.117(i) for adding a non-geostationary orbit satellite system as a point of communication to an earth station authorization.
Intelsat and optical networking company Aalyria have signed a memorandum of understanding about partnering on optical uplinks and downlinks, the satellite operator said Tuesday. Intelsat Chief Technology Officer Bruno Fromont said the collaboration "will enable enhanced mobile broadband connections and represents another step forward towards our Next Generation Unifying Network vision enabled by software-defined networking, 5G and multi-orbit operations."
Telesat has contracted with SpaceX for 14 Falcon 9 launches for Telesat's Lightspeed low earth orbit constellation, the two said Monday. Each will carry up to 18 Lightspeed satellites to LEO, they said. The launches will start in 2025, with Lightspeed to begin providing global service in 2027, they said.
Before SpaceX resumes launches of its Starship Super Heavy rocket at its Boca Chica, Texas, launch site, the company must take 63 corrective actions, the FAA said Friday, announcing it concluded its investigation into the rocket's April explosion during testing. The agency said SpaceX also must get a license modification that addresses safety and environmental requirements before another Starship launch. CEO Elon Musk posted on X, formerly Twitter, last week that Starship was "ready to launch" and awaiting FAA approval.