Deep Space Updates: Skylon Reborn, Starship, SLS, and More (July 25th, 2025)

Space Launch and Mission Updates

• 🚀 Starlink had a quiet couple of weeks with only one launch from SLC-40 and three from Vandenberg, with one launch coinciding with the OpenSauce event.
• 🛰️ SpaceX achieved its 500th successful launch on July 13th with a Falcon 9 carrying the DR1 geostationary communication satellite for Israel.
• 📦 China's Long March 7 launched the Tangio 9 cargo ferry to their space station on July 14th.
• 📡 Amazon's Kuiper satellite constellation is utilizing SpaceX launches, with three planned after investor complaints about reliance on other launch vehicles.
• 🛰️ The SCES communication satellites (03BM power numbers 9 and 10) were launched on July 22nd for medium Earth orbit communication.
• 🛰️ The TRACERS mission, two spacecraft studying solar wind interaction with Earth's atmosphere, launched on July 23rd, delayed by an FAA power outage.
• 🛰️ Russia launched the Ionosphera mission satellites 3 and 4 on July 25th, also studying magnetosphere-atmosphere interactions, alongside Iranian and Russian cube satellites.
• 🧑‍🚀 The Axiom 4 mission successfully returned to Earth on a Monday night, with spectacular recovery views.
• 🛰️ The Shien 28b mission's unusual 11° inclination orbit suggests complex launch maneuvers were employed.

NASA, Politics, and Future Programs

• 🧑‍💼 Shawn Duffy has been named acting NASA administrator, with his time allocation between this and his role as Secretary of Transportation yet to be determined.
• 💰 Congress is rejecting White House budget cuts, aiming to keep NASA funding constant and restoring funds for Artemis 4 and 5.
• ⚠️ There's a risk of NASA missions shutting down if funding isn't finalized by October 1st, with potential difficulties in restarting some operations.
• 🚀 Boeing is progressing on the Exploration Upper Stage for SLS, a much larger stage than the interim version, with a test piece being used for structural verification.
• 🧑‍🚀 Lockheed Martin is open to commercial customers for the Orion spacecraft, designed for deep space with a regenerative life support system, though it currently relies on SLS for launch.

Commercial Space and Technology Developments

• 🚀 Firefly Aerospace has filed paperwork to go public, reporting a $1.1 billion backlog and $16 million in revenue against a $230 million net loss.
• 🚀 Astra is testing its Rocket 4 engine, derived from Firefly's Reaver design, with significant 3D printing and modifications.
• 🚀 Relativity Space showcased its AONR engine on the test stand, featuring thrust vectoring and a performance increase to 120 tons, with 13 engines planned for Terran R.
• 🚀 Blue Origin is preparing for the second flight of New Glenn, which will carry the Escapade mission to Mars to study atmospheric interactions.
• 🚀 Rocket Lab is building a landing barge named 'Return on Investment' for Neutron, modifying an existing 400 ft vehicle.
• 🚀 Starship Booster 13 was recovered from the Gulf of Mexico, revealing details about its propellant intake grids designed to manage ice formation.
• 🔬 Intuitive Machines has partnered with Space Forge for semiconductor manufacturing in space, focusing on materials like Gallium Arsenide that benefit from microgravity.

European and Martian Aviation Concepts

• ✈️ The Skylon spaceplane concept is being revived as Invictus, a project by ESA and Fraser Nash, aiming to develop a reusable spaceplane incorporating Reaction Engines' precooler technology.
• ✈️ Dassault Aviation announced Vortex, a European demonstrator spaceplane with a similar flight envelope to Invictus.
• 🚁 Airbus is proposing Skyfall, a mission to deploy six helicopters on Mars, offering an alternative to traditional rocket-based landings.

Network and Astronomical Observations

• 🌐 A 2.5-hour Starlink outage affected a significant portion of the network, suspected to be due to ground equipment or software issues.
• 🌟 A new paper suggests a potential stellar companion to Betelgeuse, based on imaging data from the Gemini North telescope, though further confirmation is needed.
• 🛰️ The NISAR mission, a collaboration between NASA and ISRO for Earth observation using synthetic aperture radar, is scheduled to launch on July 30th.