SpaceX and Beyond: Highlights from the Latest Science News

Catch up on the latest science news: SpaceX launches spy satellites, Australia trials gene-edited wheat, Amazon deorbits successful test satellites, and NASA & Boeing target June for Starliner's crew launch despite helium leak issues. These developments promise significant advancements in surveillance, agriculture, telecom, and space travel.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

SpaceX launches first satellites for new US spy constellation

SpaceX on Wednesday launched an inaugural batch of operational spy satellites it built as part of a new U.S. intelligence network designed to significantly upgrade the country's space-based surveillance powers, the first deployment of several more planned this year. The spy network was revealed in a pair of Reuters reports earlier this year showing SpaceX is building hundreds of satellites for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, an intelligence agency, for a vast system in orbit capable of rapidly spotting ground targets almost anywhere in the world.

Australian trial of gene-edited wheat aims for 10% bigger yields

The groundwork for a major trial of gene-edited wheat has begun in Australia, where a state company is growing hundreds of varieties it says could be up to 10% more productive and make farming more sustainable. Gene-editing is an emerging technique its advocates say could create more nutritious, hardier crops with higher yields and less need for water, fertiliser and chemicals.

Amazon to deorbit pair of prototype satellites, calling tests successful

Amazon will begin a process to discard two prototype satellites it launched to space in 2023, it said on Thursday, following an early test campaign of its Kuiper broadband internet constellation, a planned network of over 3,000 satellites that will compete with SpaceX's Starlink. The tech giant said the tests of KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2 in low-Earth orbit produced a "100% success rate across our key mission objectives, with every major system and subsystem on board performing nominally or better on orbit."

Boeing targets June 1 for Starliner's debut crew launch amid helium leak probe

NASA and Boeing are targeting June 1 for the company's first crewed launch of its Starliner spacecraft as engineers investigate the cause of a helium leak and examine how it could affect crucial parts of the mission, the agency said Wednesday. The helium leak on Starliner's propulsion system has held up the spacecraft's first mission to space carrying humans, initially planned for May 7 but successively delayed as NASA and Boeing attempt to fix the issue and run new tests on the spacecraft.

NASA, Boeing clear two technical hurdles for Starliner's debut crew flight

Boeing and NASA quelled two technical issues on the company's Starliner spacecraft, including a "design vulnerability" requiring a temporary workaround, to get the capsule back on track for its first mission carrying two astronauts to space, officials said on Friday. Starliner's debut crewed mission, a high-stakes test now planned for June 1, was derailed earlier this month by a small helium leak detected in its propulsion system hours before it was due to lift off from Florida. Over two weeks of extra scrutiny found that the leak poses no major risk to the astronauts, officials said.

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