Vol 45, Week 29

NASA & COMMERCIAL PARTNERS

• SpaceX Starship Flight 13 automatically aborted as multiple raptor engines failed to ignite. May attempt flight as early as July 20.
• NASA and Draper cancel lunar lander CLPS CP-12 contract – this mission was the Team Draper Commercial Mission 1 (aka ispace Mission 3) to Schrödinger Basin on the Moon’s far side.
• Orion capsule will have two SpaceX’s Starlink mini laser terminals installed externally to support Artemis III mission’s communications. 

GLOBAL REPORTS

• China’s Long March 5 being prepped for final integration and testing with Chang’e-7 probe at Wenchang, aiming for late August. 
• ISRO updates rules for key mission personnel amid numerous requests for voluntary retirement and resignation.
• Roscosmos agrees to funding ISS operations through 2030, astronaut seat swap arrangements and to coordinate satellite tracking to avoid collisions. 

BEYOND EARTH

• A newly located supermassive black hole sets a record for the most distant ever found at 662 million years after the Big Bang.
• Miniature X-ray machine tested during 2025 Fram2 Crew Dragon flight became first-ever X-rays taken in space.
• Titan’s abundance of hydrocarbons and water ice could be vital for a refueling station supporting long-term deep space exploration.