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NASA • Jessica Taveau

Jared Isaacman sworn in as NASA's 15th administrator; pledges salary to Space Camp

Jared Isaacman was sworn in this week as NASA's 15th administrator by District Judge Timothy J. Kelly during a ceremony at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, filling a long‑vacant post. Isaacman said he will donate his NASA salary to Space Camp to inspire future explorers.

2025-12-18T10:11:06.248552-08:00

Bloomberg

NASA chief: whichever company builds a moon lander fastest — SpaceX or Blue Origin — will carry astronauts

2025-12-18T14:29:38.648297-08:00

Bloomberg

Trump signs executive order to protect Artemis and direct plans for a lunar outpost

2025-12-18T13:18:46.282079-08:00

Reuters

Starlink satellite 35956 suffers in-orbit anomaly at 418 km, tumbles and generates trackable debris

2025-12-18T09:55:24.907042-08:00

Space Policy & International Cooperation News Timeline

SpaceNews.com

Charging for Space Situational Awareness: what problem does it solve? This analysis examines the case for monetising Space Situational Awareness (SSA): proponents argue charging users fills funding gaps and enables higher‑fidelity, near‑real‑time tracking, while critics warn it risks fragmenting access to data that underpins collision avoidance and broader orbital safety. The piece weighs those trade‑offs.

2025-12-18T15:22:44.017587-08:00

Charging for Space Situational Awareness: what problem does it solve?

Bloomberg

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NASA chief: whichever company builds a moon lander fastest — SpaceX or Blue Origin — will carry astronauts NASA's new administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency will select whichever company — SpaceX, Blue Origin or another contractor — that completes a crewed lunar lander first to return humans to the lunar surface, prioritizing speed over previous awards as Artemis seeks the first crewed landing in more than 50 years.

2025-12-18T14:29:38.648297-08:00

NASA chief: whichever company builds a moon lander fastest — SpaceX or Blue Origin — will carry astronauts

Bloomberg

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Trump signs executive order to protect Artemis and direct plans for a lunar outpost President Donald Trump signed an executive order to protect NASA’s Artemis program and direct plans for a Moon outpost, reaffirming U.S. commitment to return astronauts to the lunar surface and build a sustained, permanent lunar presence as agency teams advance mission milestones.

2025-12-18T13:18:46.282079-08:00

Trump signs executive order to protect Artemis and direct plans for a lunar outpost

Space Intel Report

ESA to start system-definition work on EU military satellite constellation in January despite missing EU specs The European Space Agency will begin system-definition work in January on an EU military and security satellite constellation, moving ahead despite member states not having finalized formal technical specifications. ESA plans to seek member-state backing and funding in February, advancing Europe’s sovereign defence space timetable.

2025-12-18T12:11:05.765738-08:00

ESA to start system-definition work on EU military satellite constellation in January despite missing EU specs

NASA

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Jared Isaacman sworn in as NASA's 15th administrator; pledges salary to Space Camp Jared Isaacman was sworn in this week as NASA's 15th administrator by District Judge Timothy J. Kelly during a ceremony at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, filling a long‑vacant post. Isaacman said he will donate his NASA salary to Space Camp to inspire future explorers.

2025-12-18T10:11:06.248552-08:00

Jared Isaacman sworn in as NASA's 15th administrator; pledges salary to Space Camp

Reuters

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Starlink satellite 35956 suffers in-orbit anomaly at 418 km, tumbles and generates trackable debris On Dec. 17, 2025 SpaceX reported an in-orbit anomaly that cut communications with Starlink satellite 35956 at about 418 km and caused the release of a small number of trackable, low-relative-velocity debris. The satellite is tumbling and SpaceX expects it to re-enter and burn up.

2025-12-18T09:55:24.907042-08:00

Starlink satellite 35956 suffers in-orbit anomaly at 418 km, tumbles and generates trackable debris

Space.com

X‑rays from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS reveal solar‑wind interaction and hidden gases Two X‑ray space telescopes — ESA's XMM‑Newton and a JAXA instrument — have detected X‑ray emission from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it approaches Earth. The high‑energy glow, extending roughly 250,000 miles, indicates solar‑wind charge‑exchange and reveals otherwise hidden volatile gases in the comet's coma.

2025-12-18T07:09:56.656558-08:00

X‑rays from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS reveal solar‑wind interaction and hidden gases

Scientific American

CRASH Clock: LEO collision-avoidance window shrinks to 5.5 days; solar storms could cut it to ~2.8 days A new “CRASH Clock” model finds average collision-avoidance windows for satellites in low Earth orbit have collapsed to 5.5 days (June 2025), down from 164 days in January 2018, and warns a severe solar storm could reduce time to the first collision to roughly 2.8 days.

2025-12-18T06:14:12.772671-08:00

CRASH Clock: LEO collision-avoidance window shrinks to 5.5 days; solar storms could cut it to ~2.8 days

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