In this deep space update, Scott Manley covers a wide range of spaceflight news from late June and early July. The video begins with a comprehensive review of recent rocket launches, including numerous Starlink missions, the final flight of Japan's venerable H2A rocket, and two rapid-turnaround launches by Rocket Lab. Key mission updates include the private Axiom-4 flight to the ISS and the launch of Europe's Meteosat-13 weather satellite on a Falcon 9. The discussion then shifts to significant policy and project news, detailing DARPA's cancellation of the Draco nuclear rocket project and the passage of a controversial funding bill that allocates $85 million to study the relocation of a historic space vehicle to Texas. The summary also touches on scientific highlights, such as the discovery of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, a creative use of weather satellite data to study Venus's atmosphere, and a spectacular photograph of an atmospheric "sprite" taken from the International Space Station.
Scott Manley's Deep Space Update: Launches, Budgets, and Discoveries
0:00:14 - Recent Launch Roundup: The past few weeks saw numerous launches, including six by SpaceX for its Starlink constellation, an Atlas V carrying Kuiper satellites, and a Transporter-14 rideshare mission with a diverse manifest of international payloads.
0:01:47 - Axiom-4 Private Mission: The Axiom-4 mission successfully launched to the ISS on a Falcon 9, carrying a crew of four, including former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson. The crew named their Dragon capsule "Grace" and are expected to return soon.
0:03:04 - Rocket Lab's Rapid Turnaround: Rocket Lab conducted two successful launches from Mahia, New Zealand, just 37 hours apart. The first carried intelligence satellites for Hawkeye 360, and the second, named "Symphony of the Stars," launched a confidential satellite believed to be for EchoStar.
0:04:53 - Final Flight of Japan's H2A Rocket: Japan launched the final mission of its highly reliable H2A rocket, which achieved a streak of 44 consecutive successes. The payload was the GOSAT-GW earth observation satellite. Japan will now transition to the new H3 rocket.
0:10:05 - Draco Nuclear Rocket Project Canceled: DARPA has canceled its Draco project, which aimed to build and test a nuclear thermal rocket in space. The decision was based on a re-evaluation of its cost-effectiveness for DARPA's specific mission needs. NASA's participation in the project is also expected to end.
0:11:30 - Controversial "Big Beautiful Bill" and the Texas Shuttle: A new funding bill passed, allocating billions to human spaceflight programs like SLS and Artemis. It includes a controversial $85 million provision, added by Senator Ted Cruz, to fund a study on transporting a human-rated space vehicle, implicitly a retired Space Shuttle, from Washington D.C. to Texas for display.
0:14:52 - Satellite Tracking System Faces Major Budget Cuts: The TRAX program, a critical system run by NOAA to coordinate satellite traffic and prevent collisions, is facing an 85% budget cut. Major satellite operators, including SpaceX and Amazon, have signed a letter urging that the program's funding be maintained, stating they cannot manage collision avoidance on their own.
0:16:48 - Discovery of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS: A new interstellar object, Comet 3I/ATLAS, was discovered traveling through the solar system at over 60 km/s. It was found just before the Vera Rubin Observatory, designed for such discoveries, began its full survey.
0:19:08 - Studying Venus with Weather Satellites: In a clever use of existing data, Japanese scientists used images from the Himawari Earth-observation satellites to study Venus's atmosphere. By analyzing frames where Venus appeared at the edge of Earth's disk, they were able to measure thermal tides and planetary-scale waves in the Venusian clouds.
0:20:18 - Spectacular "Sprite" Photo from the ISS: Astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann captured what is described as one of the best-ever photos of a "sprite," a large-scale electrical discharge that occurs high above thunderstorm clouds. The image clearly shows the phenomenon over a storm in Texas.
0:21:11 - Upcoming Events: Manley looks forward to the potential return of the Axiom-4 crew, hoping for a nighttime reentry visible from the West Coast, and announces his upcoming appearance at the Open Saws event in San Mateo.