1 big thing: Private space companies' 2022 promises to keep

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2. Who wants to go to the Moon?

3. The JWST's road ahead

A view of the James Webb space Telescope after separating from the upper stage of its ride to space

4. Out of this world reading list

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5. Weekly dose of awe: A crescent Moon rising

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Please send your tips, questions and 2022 musings to miriam.kramer@axios.com, or if you received this as an email, just hit reply.

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Axios Space: Private human spaceflight's crucial tests

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Axios Space

1 big thing: Redefining NASA's astronaut corps

2. Starlink's streaks 

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3. NATO reveals how it will operate in space

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4. A bubble of stars

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5. Out of this world reading list

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6. Weekly dose of awe: An extreme eruption

An explosive volcanic eruption near Tonga

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1 big thing: It's time to take sex in space seriously

Illustration of a stork carrying a baby bundle and wearing an astronaut helmet. The helmet has a small hole in the visor for the stork's beak to fit through.

2. The JWST is in position

Artist's illustration of the James Webb Space Telescope deployed in space

3. An ocean within Saturn's "Death Star moon"

A view of Saturn's pock-marked moon Mimas

SpaceX Dragon attached to the International Space Station with the limb of the Earth stretching behind

5. Weekly dose of awe: A creative black hole

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🚨 Situational awareness: This is going to be the final Axios Space for a while... because I'm about to have a baby! I'll be back here slinging space news again in a few months. In the meantime, follow the Axios stream for your space news fix. 

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1 big thing: To the Moon or bust in 2022

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2. The JWST is here to last

The James Webb Space Telescope in a clean room on Earth with its gold-plated primary mirror unfurled.

3. Black hole eats a star

Artist's illustration of a black hole eating a star with black clouds around it.

Bits of rock on the lip of the Perseverance rover's sample collection system

5. Weekly dose of awe: A volcano poking through the clouds

Mount Vesuvius seen poking through the clouds by a satellite

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Please send your tips, questions and "Don't Look Up" reviews to miriam.kramer@axios.com, or if you received this as an email, just hit reply.

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1 big thing: The JWST's time has come

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2. A brand new spaceport

A rendering of a spaceport recently approved in Georgia

3. Listen to Jupiter's moon Ganymede

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5. Weekly dose of awe: Flying solo on Mars

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This will be the last Axios Space of 2021. It's been a joy to write this newsletter this year. I'll see y'all again on Jan. 4. 

Please send your tips, questions and JWST launch predictions to miriam.kramer@axios.com, or if you received this as an email, just hit reply.

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Before humans can settle off-Earth, scientists need to figure out how — or even whether — people can reproduce in space.

Why it matters: Powerful figures in the space industry like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have dreams of a future where millions of people live in space, which would naturally require a self-sustaining population of humans somewhere other than Earth. 

"It has been [more than] 20 years since the last systematic experiments on vertebrate reproduction and development in spaceflight," Gary Strangman, the scientific lead at the Translational Research Institute for Space Health, told me. 

"Yet we are now actively planning missions and building rockets to reach the Moon and Mars. Reproduction will almost certainly be relevant to a three-year mission to Mars. And we don’t want to discover serious adverse effects by accident."

What's happening: Scientists have sent a number of experiments to the International Space Station in recent years to try to answer various questions about what it might take for mammals, and eventually humans, to reproduce in space.

A study published in June found freeze-dried sperm from mice sent to the ISS weren't adversely impacted by the environment in low-Earth orbit, producing healthy pups back on Earth after its return.

An earlier Russian experiment sent male and female rats to orbit, allowing them to breed. Two of the female rats became pregnant, but neither resulted in a live birth.

Yes, but: More in-depth studies are needed in order to figure out just what it would take for humans and other species to have babies off-Earth, and some scientists say there hasn't been enough attention paid to funding and performing these types of studies.

"There's always been a bigger problem to solve," Virginia Wotring, a professor at the International Space University, told me. The focus instead has been on the technology needed to get to orbit, life support and funding for deep space efforts.

"The risks of spaceflight are (reasonably) well-understood, but the consequences of those risks on conception, pregnancy, birth and development are barely understood at all — in any species, but particularly in mammals, and even more so in humans," Strangman said via email.

Women have been historically underrepresented among astronauts, making it harder to study how important parts of reproduction like birth control, menstruation and ovulation may work.

The big question: What are the major factors that could limit how and whether humans can have healthy babies in space? 

Mouse sperm and embryos haven't been adversely impacted by the radiation environment on the ISS, but as humans push to farther-afield destinations like Mars, that could change as the radiation environment gets worse. 

Gravity may also be important in physically arranging the cells in an embryo. Researchers are now analyzing an experiment on the space station where astronauts cultured frozen mouse embryos to see if they needed gravity to develop. (The results of that research haven't yet been made available.)

But it could be even more simple: Mammals are sensitive to stress, making it difficult to mate even on the ground, Teruhiko Wakayama, a researcher focusing on reproduction in space, told me.

The ethical issues surrounding studies of human reproduction also limit experiments in space, according to Strangman.

What's next: A number of studies being proposed in the coming years could help answer those outstanding questions around reproduction in space. 

Wakayama and his research team are hoping to send freeze-dried sperm to the Gateway, a planned facility that would orbit the Moon, to understand how it fares in a more radiation-intense environment. 

Another proposed experiment, which likely still has decades to go before launch, would send tardigrades — microscopic extremophiles that are hardened to the space environment — and nematodes on an interstellar journey to see how they behave, including how they might reproduce far from Earth.

Editor's note: This story originally published on Jan. 25.

It's time to take reproduction in space seriously

Researchers say that more science is needed on how humans and other mammals can reproduce in space

International Space Station

Space

Before humans can settle off-Earth, scientists need to figure out how — or even whether — people can reproduce in space.Why it matters: Powerful figures in the space industry like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have dreams of a future where millions of people live in space, which would naturally require a self-sustaining population of humans somewhere other than Earth.

A look at the scientific breakthroughs changing the world, explorations in space and in worlds beyond our own and the threats posed to us by our own planet, both out of our control and of our own making.

Science

Boeing's uncrewed Starliner capsule has officially made it to the International Space Station. 

Why it matters: The uncrewed test Friday paves the way for human missions aboard Starliner to the ISS in the future, and acts as a re-do of a 2019 mission that failed to make it to the station.

What's happening: The Starliner docked to the space station at 8:28 pm ET on Friday after launching from Florida Thursday. 

During its time in space, mission controllers tested out a number of its systems, including its thrusters and communications.

While the spacecraft had a couple thrusters shut off early just after reaching space, that didn't adversely impact its ability to make it to the station.

Background: During the 2019 test, the Starliner wasn't able to make it to the ISS due to a number of issues. 

Those malfunctions were so severe that they could have resulted in the loss of the spacecraft.

What's next: The Starliner is expected to stay docked to the space station for the next four to five days before heading back to Earth.

Once Boeing begins flying astronauts to the ISS, it will mean that three different systems — Starliner, SpaceX's Dragon and Russia's Soyuz — are able to ferry people to and from the space station.

Boeing's Starliner docks to ISS for the first time

The uncrewed test paves the way for human missions aboard Starliner to the ISS in the future.

A full view of the Boeing Starliner capsule shining in white and blue against the blackness of space on approach to the ISS

Boeing's Starliner on approach to the International Space Station. Photo: NASA TV

Boeing

Boeing&#x27;s uncrewed Starliner capsule has officially made it to the International Space Station. Why it matters: The uncrewed test Friday paves the way for human missions aboard Starliner to the ISS in the future, and acts as a re-do of a 2019 mission that failed to make it to the station.

SpaceX's most recent batch of Starlink satellites has been severely impacted by a solar storm that struck Earth's magnetic field on Friday.

Why it matters: Starlink — SpaceX's satellite internet venture — is expected to be a major source of revenue for the company, with hundreds of satellites already launched and functioning in orbit.

What's happening: The solar storm made atmospheric drag at least 50% higher than during other missions, according to SpaceX, effectively pulling the satellites back down to Earth not long after launch.

At least 40 of the satellites launched Thursday from Florida are expected to re-enter the atmosphere or have already re-entered. 

"The de-orbiting satellites pose zero collision risk with other satellites and by design demise upon atmospheric reentry — meaning no orbital debris is created and no satellite parts hit the ground," SpaceX said in a statement.

How it works: SpaceX sends Starlink satellites to a low orbit and monitors the spacecraft for failure after launch. 

That low altitude allows the company to de-orbit the satellites relatively quickly if a problem were to occur after launch.

The big picture: SpaceX isn't the only company working to build a fleet of internet-beaming satellites around Earth. 

Amazon and others also have plans to launch satellites in the coming years, stoking fears that these small spacecraft could create more orbital debris if they fail and pollute the night sky with light that astronomers will have to contend with.

SpaceX loses dozens of Starlink satellites to solar storm

A solar storm caused at least 40 newly-launched Starlink satellites to fail.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites to orbit

The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink satellites. Photo: SpaceX

SpaceX

SpaceX&#x27;s most recent batch of Starlink satellites has been severely impacted by a solar storm that struck Earth&#x27;s magnetic field on Friday.Why it matters: Starlink — SpaceX&#x27;s satellite internet venture — is expected to be a major source of revenue for the company, with hundreds of satellites already launched and functioning in orbit.

SpaceX is planning to launch at least three private missions in the coming years, culminating in the first crewed flight of the company's Starship next-generation rocket.

Why it matters: These privately-funded missions — collectively known as the Polaris program — are further evidence that private companies are now occupying a domain once reserved for the wealthiest nations.

What's happening: The first mission, Polaris Dawn, is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of this year and will be commanded by Jared Isaacman — the billionaire leader of last year's Inspiration4 mission that became SpaceX's first private, crewed mission to orbit.

Polaris Dawn will make use of SpaceX's Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket, the same system used for Inspiration4.

Isaacman said during a press call Monday that the missions are funded with contributions from both him and SpaceX, though the exact financial details were not disclosed.

The big picture: "Dragon and the Polaris Dawn crew will spend up to five days in orbit, flying higher than any Dragon mission to-date and endeavoring to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown," according to a mission description. The crew will also conduct a spacewalk and perform experiments.

Isaacman will be joined on the mission by pilot Scott Poteet and two mission specialists from SpaceX: Sarah Gillis, an astronaut trainer who helped get Isaacman ready for Inspiration4, and Anna Menon, who will serve as the medical officer.

Gillis and Menon said they were specifically asked to join the mission by Isaacman.

Polaris Dawn's objectives will include in-space tests of Starlink satellite communications, research on human health and a spacewalk with spacesuits developed by SpaceX.

What's next: The next Polaris mission will also fly using the Dragon capsule, with the third mission in the series making use of Starship. 

Timing for those two missions hasn't yet been made public.

Isaacman, who helped St. Jude Children's Research Hospital raise over $240 million through Inspiration4, said Polaris program missions will continue to help raise funds and awareness for the hospital.

Go deeper: Listen to the Axios podcast How it Happened: The Next Astronauts for an in-depth look at the Inspiration4 mission.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with new details throughout. 

SpaceX to launch three additional private missions

The first mission, called Polaris Dawn, is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of this year and will be commanded by billionaire Jared Isaacman

A close-up of a rocket launching to space

A Falcon 9 rocket takes off. Photo: SpaceX

SpaceX is planning to launch at least three private missions in the coming years, culminating in the first crewed flight of the company&#x27;s Starship next-generation rocket.Why it matters: These privately-funded missions — collectively known as the Polaris program — are further evidence that private companies are now occupying a domain once reserved for the wealthiest nations.

Boeing on Thursday launched an uncrewed Starliner capsule on a mission to the International Space Station.

Why it matters: The launch is a crucial moment for Boeing, which plans to use its Starliner capsule to take NASA astronauts to the space station in the coming years and compete with SpaceX.

What's happening: The Starliner took flight atop its Atlas V rocket from Florida at about 6:54 p.m. ET.

The capsule is now making its way through space, with docking to the space station expected on Friday.

You can watch docking coverage Friday via NASA TV starting at 3:30 pm ET, with docking expected at about 7:10 pm ET. 

Background: At the moment, SpaceX is the only U.S. company able to fly people to the ISS. 

Both Boeing and SpaceX were awarded NASA contracts to help develop their human spaceflight systems in order to end the space agency's reliance on Russian systems after the end of the space shuttle program in 2011. 

Between the lines: Boeing's first uncrewed Starliner mission to the space station in 2019 ended after major issues prevented the capsule from making it to the orbiting outpost. 

The malfunctions that thwarted the first test were so severe that they could have resulted in the loss of the capsule.

This week's test was initially expected in August 2021, but issues with the Starliner capsule delayed it until this year.

Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect the launch of the Starliner to orbit.

Boeing launches redo mission to the International Space Station

A rocket standing on a launch pad against a blue sky

The Atlas V rocket carrying Boeing Starliner. Photo: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Boeing on Thursday launched an uncrewed Starliner capsule on a mission to the International Space Station.Why it matters: The launch is a crucial moment for Boeing, which plans to use its Starliner capsule to take NASA astronauts to the space station in the coming years and compete with SpaceX.

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Boeing's Starliner docks to ISS for the first time

Boeing launches redo mission to the International Space Station

SpaceX to launch three additional private missions

SpaceX loses dozens of Starlink satellites to solar storm

It's time to take reproduction in space seriously

Newsletter editions

Axios Space: Babies... in... space!

Axios Space: Calling all astronauts

Axios Space: To the Moon

Axios Space: 2022 promises

Axios Space: NASA's next great telescope