Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- Startups call for streamlined US regulations for emerging space capabilities SpaceNews · 2 Feb 2024 The United States risks taking a backseat in emerging space capabilities if regulations fail to catch up to industry progress, according to executives speaking here at the SpaceCom conference.
- Launch Roundup: NASA’s PACE mission, Chinese art satellites, and more Starlink missions NASASpaceflight · 1 Feb 2024 February is set to get off to a busy start with two Chinese launches. A Chinese multistage solid rocket, Jielong-3, will launch from a barge in coastal waters off Yangjiang in the South China Sea on Feb. 2 at around 03:0...
- Good night, SLIM SpacePolicyOnline.com · 1 Feb 2024 Lunar night has descended on JAXA’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, in the Shioli crater on the Moon. For the next 14 Earth days, temperatures will drop below
- Congressional letter asks White House to reverse MSR spending cuts SpaceNews · 1 Feb 2024 More than 40 members of Congress from California have asked the White House to reverse cuts NASA has imposed on the Mars Sample Return (MSR) program, warning of job losses and a “decade of lost science.”
- Investing in Space: NASA panel warns astronaut moon plan may be too ambitious CNBC · 1 Feb 2024 NASA’s Artemis moon mission program regularly faces a wide swath of questions – from legislators, auditors, companies and even just the American public – about goals, timeline, cost and more.
- Starlab—with half the volume of the ISS—will fit inside Starship’s payload bay Ars Technica · 1 Feb 2024 "Building and integrating in space is very expensive."
- Air Force rocket cargo initiative marches forward despite questions about feasibility SpaceNews · 1 Feb 2024 The U.S. Air Force is pressing forward with plans to demonstrate point-to-point rocket travel perhaps in a few years.
- For the first time NASA has asked industry about private missions to Mars Ars Technica · 1 Feb 2024 "I'm curious to see if this request brings many new players to the table."
- Orbital Composites and Virtus Solis announce space-based solar power demonstration SpaceNews · 1 Feb 2024 Silicon Valley startup Orbital Composites and Michigan-based Virtus Solis plan to conduct a 2027 space-based solar power demonstration.
- POLARIS Spaceplanes Conduct First Rocket-Powered Roll Test European Spaceflight · 1 Feb 2024 German startup POLARIS Spaceplanes has completed the first rocket-powered roll test of its MIRA demonstrator. MIRA is 4.25 metres long and is equipped with four kerosene-fed turbine engines and one of the company’s AS-1...
- NASA workshop to examine options for Apophis asteroid mission SpaceNews · 1 Feb 2024 NASA is hosting a workshop later this month to learn about options for low-cost missions to an asteroid that will make a close approach to the Earth in 2029, a move that has confused some scientists who believe a shelved...
- Final preparations underway for launch of first Intuitive Machines lunar lander SpaceNews · 1 Feb 2024 Intuitive Machines and NASA say they are in the final stages of preparations for the launch of that company’s first lunar lander mission, but exactly when the spacecraft will lift off remains unclear.
- ESA to Begin Dismantling Ariane 6 Test Article European Spaceflight · 1 Feb 2024 With the completion of fuel line and umbilical disconnection testing, the European Space Agency and its project partners have successfully completed all major Ariane 6 ground tests, paving the way for a mid-year debut. O...
- Starship Gets Another Customer — The Starlab Space Station SpacePolicyOnline.com · 1 Feb 2024 Voyager Space and Airbus announced today they will launch their Starlab commercial space station on SpaceX’s Starship. Unlike the International Space Station and other space station concepts, Starlab can be
- Office of Space Commerce seeks SpaceX’s constellation coordination expertise SpaceNews · 1 Feb 2024 The Office of Space Commerce has entered into a research partnership to explore how SpaceX’s automated satellite collision avoidance software could support plans for a civil space traffic coordination system.
- Space Systems Command weather group to review requirements and long-term plans SpaceNews · 1 Feb 2024 Over the next couple of months, the U.S. Space Force organization responsible for delivering weather information to Defense Department customers will take a hard look at weather data requirements.
- ISS Roundup: new Axiom crewmates, robotic hops, and long-duration mission research NASASpaceflight · 31 Jan 2024 This month, the Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) crew joined the seven existing astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) from the Expedition 70 mission, comprised of the crews of Crew-7 and MS-24 — becoming the first al...
- Space Force seeks to clear up confusion over selection of Northrop Grumman’s refueling tech SpaceNews · 31 Jan 2024 Col. Joyce Bulson said the Space Systems Command ontinues to evaluate other refueling solutions for potential use.
- China’s secretive spaceplane raises its orbit, but yet to deploy satellites SpaceNews · 31 Jan 2024 China’s experimental reusable spacecraft recently performed maneuvers to raise its orbit but is apparently yet to release objects as it did in previous flights.
- Starlab Set to Launch on SpaceX’s Starship Space Scout · 31 Jan 2024 Starlab Space, a joint venture of Voyager Space and Airbus Space and Defense, announced Jan. 31 it reached an agreement with SpaceX to launch the consortium’s Starlab space station on the currently under development Star...
- Cygnus and Falcon Spread Their Wings Space Scout · 31 Jan 2024 On January 30th, at 12:07:15 PM Eastern Time, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lofted the Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft as part of the NG-20 mission in a historic first for both Commercial Cargo providers. This mission is the firs...
- Space, the final (construction) frontier SpaceNews · 31 Jan 2024 The construction industry must adapt and evolve in order to capitalize on and do its part to further the space economy.
- Lockheed Martin’s misplaced satellite to fall back to Earth next month SpaceNews · 31 Jan 2024 Despite a much shortened mission, the company said it successfully accomplished many of the objectives of the technology demonstration..
- Starlab, meet Starship: Private space station buys SpaceX launch for later this decade CNBC · 31 Jan 2024 A contract written in the stars.
- Starlab commercial space station to launch on Starship SpaceNews · 31 Jan 2024 Starlab Space, the joint venture developing the Starlab commercial space station, has selected SpaceX’s Starship to launch the station on a single flight.
- Exotrail developing space tug to carry small satellites to geostationary orbit SpaceNews · 31 Jan 2024 Exotrail plans to introduce a new orbital vehicle aimed at small satellites that need to transit from geostationary transfer orbit to their final destination.
- Daily Telescope: Webb telescope reveals breathtaking structure of galaxies Ars Technica · 31 Jan 2024 "These holes may have been created by one or more stars that exploded."
- Electron launches NorthStar satellites in latest recovery test SpaceNews · 31 Jan 2024 Rocket Lab launched the first four satellites for space situational awareness (SSA) company NorthStar Earth and Space Jan. 31 in another test for the company’s efforts to recover and eventually reuse Electron boosters.
- Italy’s Space Agency and Armed Forces Sign Agreement to Collaborate European Spaceflight · 31 Jan 2024 Italy’s Joint Forces Operational Command (COVI) has signed an operational agreement with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for collaboration in the area of space. COVI was established in 1998 as a mechanism to allow the cou...
- Rocket Lab set to kickoff 2024 with “Four of a Kind” satellite mission NASASpaceflight · 31 Jan 2024 Rocket Lab is preparing for its first launch of 2024, with its Electron launch vehicle poised to launch four Space Situational Awareness (SSA) satellites into low-Earth orbit from the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand. Name...
- Satellite-services industry awaits critical demand signal from U.S. military SpaceNews · 31 Jan 2024 Diane Howard: "The industry has to have a “clear demand signal from government users"
- Space Force’s Orbital Prime program looking to turn R&D into commercial products SpaceNews · 30 Jan 2024 SpaceWERX is now weighing next steps for the program, trying to gauge the maturity of technologies, their utility and possible commercialization paths.
- New Glenn hardware assembling at Launch Complex 36 NASASpaceflight · 30 Jan 2024 As the first month of 2024 closes, Blue Origin is well into production with its orbital rocket, New Glenn. The company continues to check off major milestones as high-fidelity hardware arrives at Launch Complex 36 (LC-36...
- U.S. Space Force wary of China’s expanding spy satellite fleet SpaceNews · 30 Jan 2024 Chief Master Sgt. Ron Lerch, of the Space Systems Command’s intelligence directorate, said China's rapidly advancing military space-based reconnaissance capabilities are worrisome.
- SpaceX Falcon 9 sends Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft to ISS Teslarati · 30 Jan 2024 SpaceX successfully sent Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) today in a launch that left Cape Canaveral Space...
- Space weather: One major event from a fully funded program SpaceNews · 30 Jan 2024 Government agencies are struggling to obtain sufficient funding for space weather observations.
- ESA’s Vigil space weather mission balances operational and scientific demands SpaceNews · 30 Jan 2024 Vigil could provide notice of four to five days of high-speed winds streaming toward Earth.
- Falcon 9 launches Cygnus cargo spacecraft to space station SpaceNews · 30 Jan 2024 A SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launched a Northrop Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station for the first time Jan. 30.
- Quindar raises $6 million for automation of satellite constellation operations SpaceNews · 30 Jan 2024 Quindar has raised an additional $6 million to further development of software to automate operations of satellite constellations.
- DLR Validate Miniaturized Satellite Laser Ranging Solution European Spaceflight · 30 Jan 2024 Following a year of testing, the German space agency DLR has validated that its miniaturized satellite laser ranging (SLR) solution is a realistic alternative to traditional solutions. With SLR, a ground station fires a...