Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos has concluded that Luna-25 failed because the onboard control system did not receive required data from the accelerometer to trigger an engine shutdown at the correct time. Russia’s first lunar probe in almost 50 years, Luna-25 was trying to lower its orbit around the Moon in preparation for landing two days later, but instead crashed into the surface.
Elon Musk thinks Starship has a “decent chance” of reaching space on the next launch after he changed the design of how the first and second stages separate. On the only launch attempt so far, the stages failed to detach from each other contributing to the loss of the vehicle about four minutes into flight. SpaceX is awaiting regulatory approval to try again. Musk also forecasts an uncrewed Starship landing on Mars in about 4 years and hopes to keep the “tiny candle of consciousness that is humanity” burning.
A small group of ultra-conservative House Republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy as their party leader today. Eight House Freedom Caucus members joined all Democrats in voting in favor of a motion offered by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to remove McCarthy. Historically each party chooses its own leader and while theoretically some Democrats could have voted for McCarthy, none did, so the decision was left to the Republicans themselves. The vote was 216-210 to remove him.
The Federal Communications Commission issued a fine today for violating space debris requirements. The DISH satellite television company must admit liability and pay $150,000 for not properly disposing of its EchoStar-7 satellite at the end of its lifetime. It is the first time the FCC has taken an enforcement action regarding space debris.
Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com in the last week, September 25-October 1, 2023, including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on each title to read the entire article.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of October 1-7, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
In a dizzying day of developments, the House and Senate approved a Continuing Resolution to keep the government funded at current FY2023 level until November 17, averting a shutdown at midnight tonight. The bill does not provide additional funding for Ukraine, a priority for many on both sides of the aisle, but a non-starter for ultra-conservative Republicans. But it also doesn’t impose draconian spending cuts as those ultra-conservatives wanted. The legislation also reauthorizes the FAA and continues a prohibition on new commercial human spaceflight regulations for three months.
With only 12 hours remaining in FY2023, the question of whether the government will be fully open tomorrow remains up in the air. Neither the House nor the Senate has passed a Continuing Resolution to provide temporary funding while work continues on the 12 regular appropriations bills. Two efforts in the House failed in recent days and the Senate is still deciding exactly what will be in their bill. …
The long simmering feud between the Alabama and Colorado congressional delegations over the location of U.S. Space Command headquarters erupted again today at a House Armed Services Committee hearing. Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) bitterly condemned the process by which President Biden decided to keep it in Colorado instead of moving it to Alabama as promised by then-President Trump. Rogers wants another Inspector General investigation akin to the one the Colorado delegation demanded following the Trump decision two years ago.
The FAA closed its investigation into Blue Origin’s New Shepard-23 launch failure today. The flight carried a variety of scientific payloads but no people when it lifted off just over a year ago. The capsule detached from the rocket as programmed after computers detected a problem and landed safely, but the rocket was destroyed. Blue Origin has not conducted any launches since then.