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• Jeff Foust
Boeing says it remains in coordination with NASA to determine when the CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle can fly its next mission to the International Space Station as a cargo flight. The update centers on scheduling decisions tied to readiness and mission planning.
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Boeing says it remains in coordination with NASA to determine when the CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle can fly its next mission to the International Space Station as a cargo flight. The update centers on scheduling decisions tied to readiness and mission planning.
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Katalyst Space Technologies’ private Link satellite—launched nearly a month ago to reboost and stabilize NASA’s Swift Observatory—has encountered attitude control problems. Preliminary results indicate two of Link’s three reaction wheels are not operable, and thruster problems have pushed the spacecraft into an uncontrollable spin that is disrupting communications.
NASA has secured the fuel supply for its next-generation Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, positioning the observatory for an August launch. The fueling milestone advances Roman’s final countdown work, building on its recent arrival at Kennedy Space Center for prelaunch servicing.
The White House released a broad strategy for America’s R&D enterprise, outlining priorities that carry direct downstream implications for how space science programs are funded, structured, and scaled. The plan’s scope signals potential shifts in research focus areas, timelines, and coordination across relevant space science stakeholders.
NASA has selected Advanced Space to build and fly a successor mission to CAPSTONE, targeting cislunar smallsats. The effort will test rendezvous and proximity operations around the Moon, validating mission techniques needed for future lunar logistics and more complex spacecraft interactions.
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Despite recent breakthroughs, the path to frequent, rapid reuse—such as SpaceX’s Starship approach—remains constrained by re-entry/thermal protection gaps. NASA indicates thermal protection research has not received substantial investment for decades, raising questions about the technical depth behind next-generation reusability timelines.
NASA outlines the development of the Habitable Worlds Observatory as the next “Great Observatory,” moving from earlier proposal stage to a more defined mission plan. The focus: observing and characterizing potentially habitable exoplanets, building on multi-year work to define objectives and approach.
Blue Origin says it will use NASA’s Stennis Space Center to test New Glenn upper stages as it rebuilds its Cape Canaveral launch complex. The move shifts part of New Glenn’s development and validation work to Stennis infrastructure while Blue Origin continues ground-site recovery and integration planning.
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