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As Russia, India Reach for Moon, NASA Supporters Work to Stop Budget Cuts

As India and Russia race to land spacecraft on the Moon’s south pole, America’s space agency is staring down proposed budget cuts that could threaten its ambitions to return astronauts to the lunar surface.

As India and Russia race to land spacecraft on the Moon’s south pole, America’s space agency is staring down proposed budget cuts that could threaten its ambitions to return astronauts to the lunar surface.

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Pentagon Pivots with Big Bet on Commercial LEO Satellites

An illustration of commercial satellites in low Earth orbit shows Space Systems Command's future Plans. Credit: Space Force

The Pentagon placed a big bet on commercial space services when it issued its first open-ended contracts worth as much as $900 million to 16 companies offering communications and remote sensing services from low-Earth orbit.

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As LEO Popularity Surges, Concern Escalates Over Debris Risk

Starting with Sputnik, humankind has littered low Earth orbit with clouds of debris, with as many as 170,000 objects ranging in size from poppy seeds to defunct satellites of school-bus size whizzing around the planet in uncontrolled orbits. With an historic surge in demand for satellites in low Earth orbit, including plans that could add more than 50,000 spacecraft, and planned space stations, the debris problem could grow exponentially.

Starting with Sputnik, humankind has littered low Earth orbit with clouds of debris, with as many as 170,000 objects ranging in size from poppy seeds to defunct satellites of school-bus size whizzing around the planet in uncontrolled orbits. With an historic surge in demand for satellites in low Earth orbit, including plans that could add more than 50,000 spacecraft, and planned space stations, the debris problem could grow exponentially.

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