SpaceX’s moonshot hits turbulence

This weekly newsletter preview explores the people, policy fights and political battles behind America’s new space age, and it’s just an introduction. Subscribe to POLITICO Pro for the full newsletter plus the complete platform, which delivers authoritative news, powerful tools, and in-depth analysis you need to understand the business of government.

WELCOME TO POLITICO PRO SPACE. NASA launched its Apollo 12 mission 56 years ago today, putting humans on the moon for the second time. Decades later, the agency is struggling to do it again. As always, send tips, pitches and feedback at mail adecker@politico.com, on X at @audrey_decker9 and Signal adecker.59.

Oh, and did you watch Blue Origin stick the landing Thursday? The company’s rocket booster landed on Earth in one piece — a feat only SpaceX has accomplished before.

The Spotlight

SpaceX is planning to tell NASA it won’t be able to land humans on the moon until at least the end of 2028 — more than a year later than the White House wanted.

The company is under pressure to ready its Starship mega-rocket for a lunar landing after President Donald Trump made the mission a political priority in his first term. But SpaceX is pushing off the launch planned for mid-2027 to September 2028, according to an internal document marked “SpaceX proprietary information” and obtained by POLITICO.

Industry Intel

Launch delay: Rocket Lab’s new rocket won’t take its first flight this year, an unsurprising delay for the company.

If all goes well, the medium-lift rocket Neutron will get to the company’s pad in Wallops Island, Virginia, during the first quarter of next year and fly “thereafter,” CEO Peter Beck said this week during the company’s earnings call.
...

Galactic Government

Shutdown pain: NASA used the government shutdown to shutter buildings at a key science center in Maryland, congressional Democrats allege in a new letter.

The agency has been closing facilities at Goddard Space Flight Center without notifying Congress, raising fears from some Democrats that NASA is enacting budget cuts proposed by the White House.
...

Reading Room

What would a “simplified” Starship plan for the Moon actually look like? — Ars Technica

Funding for SDA’s next missile tracking contracts diverted to troop payments: Sources — Breaking Defense

China Breaks Its Own Yearly Launch Record — Payload

Key antenna in NASA’s Deep Space Network damaged — Space News

China’s stranded astronauts ‘in good condition’ after space debris delays planned return — AP

Event Horizon

MONDAY

The CyberSat summit will run through Thursday in Reston and Chantilly, Virginia.

The Connect Everyone Coalition will host a webinar on the impact of the space industry on the U.S. economy.

THURSDAY

CSIS and Hudson will hold a summit with Space Force officials in Washington D.C.

RAND will hold briefings on space-related research for the U.S. government space community.

Photo of the Week