NASA and SpaceX Set a Dragon Cargo Launch With the Station's Last Roll-Out Solar Arrays, L3Harris Books a $250M Rocket Motor Order, and Norway Funds a Second Andøya Launch Pad

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The briefing

NASA and SpaceX scheduled the 35th Dragon cargo flight to the International Space Station (ISS) for 6:33 a.m. EDT on Tuesday from Cape Canaveral, with more than 6,300 pounds of cargo. The capsule's trunk holds the final pair of ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays and a clamshell to house the failed Canadarm2 joint removed during a June 30 spacewalk, and docking is planned for about 11 a.m. EDT on October 15. On Monday a Falcon 9 launched 27 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg on a booster flying for the 20th time.

Lockheed Martin gave L3Harris a follow-on contract valued at $250 million to manufacture propulsion units for the standard-range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), the highest quantity in the program's history, to be built at a new plant in Camden, Arkansas, that opens later this year. Norway's proposed 2027 budget allocates NOK 323.3 million, about €30 million, to a second orbital launch pad at Andøya Spaceport, out of a total project budget of NOK 646 million.

MDA Space will fly Jena-Optronik's new ASTRO HP star sensor on a low Earth orbit mission, the sensor's first. Sidus Space said Larry G. Swets Jr., who joined its board on October 5, will chair its audit committee. Regional operators ABS, Hellas Sat and Arabsat said governments' demand for sovereignty over their satellite links is working in favor of geostationary fleets.

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The headlines

NASA and SpaceX set the 35th Dragon cargo launch for Tuesday with the station's last roll-out solar arrays

SpaceX

NASA and SpaceX scheduled the 35th Commercial Resupply Services mission for 6:33 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, October 13, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, with Cargo Dragon C211 on its fourth flight and Falcon 9 booster B1096 on its eighth. The capsule's unpressurized trunk holds the final pair of ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays, which add to the station's power generation, and a clamshell to house the failed Canadarm2 joint removed during a June 30 spacewalk. Dragon is to dock at the Harmony module's space-facing port at about 11 a.m. EDT on October 15 and stay for about a month.

L3Harris books a $250M follow-on from Lockheed Martin for GMLRS rocket motors

LMT LHX

L3Harris Technologies received a follow-on contract from Lockheed Martin valued at $250 million to manufacture propulsion units for the standard-range GMLRS rocket, which the company called the highest quantity in the program's history. The work will be done at its new 60,000-square-foot Arsenal of Freedom facility in Camden, Arkansas, scheduled to open later this year with automation and robotics across solid rocket motor production. L3Harris is the program's solid rocket motor provider, also makes the rocket's safe-and-arm device and proximity sensor, and says it has doubled its GMLRS motor output in recent years.

Norway's 2027 budget puts NOK 323.3M toward a second Andøya launch pad

Norway's proposed 2027 state budget, published on October 7, allocates NOK 323.3 million, about €30 million, to a second orbital launch pad at Andøya Spaceport: NOK 223.5 million from the Ministry of Defence and NOK 99.5 million from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, which is reallocating money approved in 2020. The project's total budget is NOK 646 million, with the rest expected in the 2028 budget, and the pad is targeted for completion in 2028. The state will build and own the infrastructure and lease it to Andøya Space, and the Norwegian Armed Forces are expected to take over security around the spaceport.

SpaceX launches 27 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg on a booster's 20th flight

SpaceX

A Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 5:28 p.m. PDT on Monday, October 12, heading for an orbit inclined 70 degrees to the equator with 27 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites. Booster B1088 flew for the 20th time and landed on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You about eight and a half minutes after liftoff.

MDA Space will fly Jena-Optronik's new ASTRO HP star sensor on a low Earth orbit mission

MDA

MDA Space will use Jena-Optronik's ASTRO HP star sensor on a low Earth orbit mission, the first mission for the German company's new optical head, and the first flight-ready version will be built for this program. The sensor pairs a radiation-hard Faintstar2 detector with fast optics in a compact, lightweight design for small and medium-sized satellites, and reuses electronics and software from Jena-Optronik's earlier ASTRO sensors.

Sidus Space names Larry Swets chair of its audit committee

SIDU

Sidus Space announced on October 12 that Larry G. Swets Jr., who joined its board as an independent director on October 5, will chair the audit committee, overseeing financial reporting, internal controls and risk management. Chief executive Carol Craig said his experience running public companies through capital raises is what the board wants as Sidus puts the capital it raised in the second quarter to work. Swets has been chief executive, chairman or director of more than a dozen listed companies.

[ 03 / +10 / -34 ]

Market pulse

Archived snapshot from this edition. Prices and moves are not live.

Gainers+10

Decliners-34

Big mover SATL-8.5%

SIDU: Sidus Space announced on October 12 that Larry G. Swets Jr., who joined its board as an independent director on October 5, will chair the audit committee, overseeing financial.

Asset	Snapshot	Move
PKEPark Aerospace	$27.22	+3.2%
RBCRBC Bearings	$510.00	+1.3%
TDGTransDigm	$1,119.94	+1.1%
SATLSatellogic	$4.71	-8.5%
PLPlanet Labs	$15.96	-7.1%
SIDUSidus Space	$1.44	-7.1%