Thanks for reading Axios Space. At 1,195 words, this week's newsletter will take you about 4 minutes to read.
Please send your tips, questions and satellite constellation designs to miriam.kramer@axios.com, or just reply to this email.
Thanks for reading Axios Space. At 1,195 words, this week's newsletter will take you about 4 minutes to read.
Please send your tips, questions and satellite constellation designs to miriam.kramer@axios.com, or just reply to this email.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
SpaceX, Amazon and others have high hopes for launching constellations of satellites that will provide internet to the globe, while some startups hope to nearly continuously beam back images from space.
Why it matters: Investments in the roughly $277 billion satellite industry are mostly funneled into space-based assets, not the ground infrastructure needed to keep those satellites functioning.
What's happening: A number of companies are looking to build out that infrastructure, including receiving and relaying stations, and capitalize on increasing demand from governments and companies.
The catch: Earth itself comes with a host of challenges.
"I think the market is a lot smaller than most of these systems anticipate, and the reality is that they're going to run out of customers before they run out of technology," industry analyst Tim Farrar told Axios.
The bottom line: As the satellite industry grows, infrastructure on the ground needs to expand and improve to keep those spacecraft healthy and functional in orbit.
"The Pillars of Creation." Photo: NASA/ESA/STScI/AURA
Four groups of competing astronomers and astrophysicists have teamed up to present a grand vision for NASA as the community grapples with what the agency's science program should prioritize.
Driving the news: Billed the "New Great Observatories," the teams behind the Lynx, LUVOIR, HabEx and Origins missions are advocating that NASA commit to building all four of these expensive, large space telescopes.
The big picture: The lobbying comes as the astronomy and astrophysics communities work to set priorities for NASA's next 10 years of astronomy in its decadal survey.
Details: If all four missions are developed and funded, it could allow NASA the opportunity to have all of them up and running together in the next few decades, giving scientists a chance to peer into the universe as never before.
Yes, but: It won't be cheap to make this plan happen. According to the collaboration, it would take about $1 billion in extra annual funding to have three of these missions in space by the mid-2040s.
The new class of 11 NASA astronauts and two Canadian astronauts. Photo: NASA
Newly graduated NASA astronauts are looking to the Moon, the International Space Station and even Mars as possible destinations.
Why it matters: Astronauts are NASA's charismatic public face, and the new class of 11 — known as the Turtles — will be at the forefront of the space agency's plans to return to the Moon as part of its Artemis program.
Details: The Turtles graduated in the first-ever public astronaut graduation ceremony held by NASA on Friday.
What's next: The new astronauts now await flight assignments as they rotate through various jobs supporting their colleagues on the space station and on the ground.
Artist's illustration: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith
An influential female astronomer is getting her due (Marina Koren, The Atlantic)
New NASA discovery is one special world (Meghan Bartels, Space.com)
Study of launch market says Air Force should support three providers (Sandra Erwin, SpaceNews)
NASA intern discovers new exoplanet (Orion Rummler, Axios)
Photo: NASA
The sheer size and scale of the fires raging in Australia can perhaps best be seen from space.
The big picture: Australia's extreme fires have been made worse by climate change, which exacerbated the country's hot and dry conditions.
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Editor's note: Story 2 was corrected to show the time frame in which these telescopes could launch to orbit is by the mid-2040s (not within 10 years).