Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- Space official calls for China to seize crucial opportunity to establish lunar infrastructure SpaceNews · 31 Mar 2023 A top Chinese space official has called for the country to speed up its plans to develop lunar infrastructure or miss out on a never-to-be-repeated opportunity.
- Virgin Orbit lays off most employees SpaceNews · 30 Mar 2023 Virgin Orbit announced late March 30 it was laying off the vast majority of its employees after failing to raise additional funding, putting the launch company’s future in jeopardy.
- Virgin Orbit To Cease Operations, Lay Off 90% After Funding Failure The Launch Pad · 30 Mar 2023 Virgin Orbit has informed its employees that the company will be ceasing operations "for the foreseeable future".
- Virgin Orbit fails to secure funding, will cease operations and lay off nearly entire workforce CNBC · 30 Mar 2023 Virgin Orbit is ceasing operations “for the foreseeable future” after failing to secure a funding lifeline, CEO Dan Hart told employees during an all-hands meeting on Thursday afternoon, and will layoff nearly all of its...
- Maxar eyes military customers for satellite images of objects in space SpaceNews · 30 Mar 2023 Maxar, an Earth imaging company, is looking to build a new business imaging objects in space.
- Telesat still bullish on Lightspeed despite funding uncertainty SpaceNews · 30 Mar 2023 Telesat remains committed to developing its Lightspeed low Earth orbit broadband constellation despite ongoing delays to cover the project’s rising costs, CEO Dan Goldberg said March 29.
- New Program Office Leads NASA’s Path Forward for Moon, Mars NASA · 30 Mar 2023 NASA has established the new Moon to Mars Program Office at NASA Headquarters in Washington to carry out the agency’s human exploration activities at the Moon and Mars for the benefit of humanity. Amit Kshatriya will ser...
- NASA Announces Moon To Mars Program Office The Launch Pad · 30 Mar 2023 NASA has announced the establishment of the Moon to Mars Program Office at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC.
- Astronomers Discover Two Closest Black Holes to Earth The Launch Pad · 30 Mar 2023 Astronomers have made an exciting discovery using data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission. They have found not one, but two black holes that are the closest to Earth ever discovered.
- Investing in Space: Boeing’s got to get going CNBC · 30 Mar 2023 “Boeing pushed back the flight schedule of its Starliner capsule by several months, the company said on a conference call with reporters Wednesday.”
- Chinese defense contractor to begin launching VLEO satellites SpaceNews · 30 Mar 2023 A major Chinese state-owned defense contractor is preparing to launch the first satellite for a very low Earth orbit constellation.
- SpaceX ready for launch with initial satellites for Space Development Agency NASASpaceflight · 30 Mar 2023 SpaceX is now scheduled to launch a batch of 10 communications and missile tracking satellites on the Tranche 0 Flight 1 mission for the Space Development Agency (SDA) on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at 7:29 AM PDT (14:29 UTC)...
- NASA releases draft strategy for long-term robotic Mars exploration SpaceNews · 30 Mar 2023 NASA has unveiled a draft strategy for long-term robotic exploration of Mars that emphasizes low-cost missions and potential commercial partnerships.
- Vulcan Experiences Anomaly During Test, Maiden Flight Delayed The Launch Pad · 30 Mar 2023 ULA has experienced an anomaly during testing of a Vulcan Centaur 2nd stage, and an investigation is underway.
- Isar Aerospace Raises $165 Million Ahead Of First Launch The Launch Pad · 30 Mar 2023 Isar Aerospace has raised $165 million in a Series C funding round to scale up production of its Spectrum rocket
- Starliner crewed test flight delayed to July SpaceNews · 29 Mar 2023 NASA and Boeing have pushed back the first crewed launch of the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft with astronauts on board until at least late July because of certification paperwork that has taken longer than expec...
- Rosotics unveils 3D printer for rocket tanks and fairings SpaceNews · 29 Mar 2023 Rosotics developed a new type of 3D printer to reduce the cost and power required to manufacture rocket tanks, fairings and other large aerospace structures.
- US Space Development Agency Ready To Launch First Satellites The Launch Pad · 29 Mar 2023 The Space Development Agency (SDA), a Pentagon initiative created in 2019 to accelerate the use of commercial space technology, is set to launch its first fleet of 10 satellites on March 30th.
- Military space agency created to go fast is about to launch its first satellites SpaceNews · 29 Mar 2023 The Space Development Agency, formed inside the Pentagon in 2019 to help accelerate the use of commercial space technology, is preparing to launch on March 30 its inaugural fleet of 10 satellites.
- NASA delays flight of Boeing’s Starliner again, this time for parachutes Ars Technica · 29 Mar 2023 "It's just a matter of going through all that data."
- Satellite-imagery venture Planet reports record quarterly revenue to cap strong year CNBC · 29 Mar 2023 Planet on Wednesday delivered another record quarter of revenue, nearing the top end of its full-year revenue forecast.
- Planet acquires Slovenian startup Sinergise SpaceNews · 29 Mar 2023 Planet announced plans March 29 to acquire Sinergise Labs, a Slovenian startup known for making Earth-observation data accessible through cloud-based APIs.
- NASA Awards Snow and Ice Distributed Active Archive Center Contract NASA · 29 Mar 2023 NASA has awarded a contract to the University of Colorado-Boulder, for the management and operations of the Snow and Ice Distributed Active Archive Center, part of NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information Syste...
- 1 Firefighter Dead, 3 Injured at French Guiana Space Center The Launch Pad · 29 Mar 2023 A Paris firefighter has died while working as part of the protection mission of the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.
- NASA Updates Psyche Mission Plan The Launch Pad · 29 Mar 2023 After a one-year delay to complete critical testing, NASA's Psyche mission has been updated as the spacecraft is prepared for launch to explore a metal-rich asteroid.
- Lockheed Martin To Build Lunar Communications And Navigation Network The Launch Pad · 29 Mar 2023 Lockheed Martin will offer a service consisting of a network of satellites located in lunar orbit that will provide communication and navigation services support to spacecrafts on or around the moon.
- Falcon 9 launches for eigth time in March carrying Starlink 5-10 NASASpaceflight · 29 Mar 2023 Falcon 9 B1077-4 launched 56 Starlink v1.5 satellites into low Earth orbit on Wednesday, March 29 at 4:01 PM EDT (20:01 UTC), from SLC-40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
- SES confirms Intelsat merger talks SpaceNews · 29 Mar 2023 SES confirmed March 29 it is in talks about potentially merging with rival satellite operator Intelsat.
- NASA Receives Top Honor of Best Place to Work in Federal Government NASA · 29 Mar 2023 NASA is taking home the honor of the Best Place to Work in the Federal Government among large agencies for 11 years in a row, as ranked by the Partnership for Public Service.
- Space infrastructure company Redwire trims quarterly losses, builds order backlog CNBC · 29 Mar 2023 Space infrastructure company Redwire reported fourth-quarter results on Wednesday, saying it further trimmed its losses and built its order backlog.
- Israel launches Ofek spy satellite SpaceNews · 29 Mar 2023 Israel launched the latest in a series of Ofek reconnaissance satellites March 28 on the country’s Shavit rocket.
- Impact Observatory raises $5.9 million to apply AI to satellite imagery SpaceNews · 29 Mar 2023 Impact Observatory, a company that pairs satellite imagery with artificial intelligence for mapping and monitoring, raised $5.9 million in seed funding.
- H3 failure could delay Japanese science missions SpaceNews · 29 Mar 2023 The failure of Japan’s H3 rocket on its inaugural flight in March could delay several science missions, including two scheduled to launch on another rocket.
- Lockheed Martin subsidiary to offer commercial lunar communications and navigation services SpaceNews · 29 Mar 2023 Lockheed Martin is establishing a new company that will offer communications and navigation services for what it foresees to be a growing number of government and commercial lunar missions.
- Ovzon gets deadline extension for debut satellite SpaceNews · 28 Mar 2023 Mobile satcom services provider Ovzon said March 28 it has secured a deadline extension enabling it to keep priority spectrum rights for its first broadband satellite, as long as it launches early enough in a July-Septem...
- U.S. Space Force ramps up cybersecurity spending SpaceNews · 28 Mar 2023 The head of the U.S. Space Force told lawmakers March 28 that the service is investing heavily in cybersecurity for satellite ground systems in response to increasing threats.
- Air Force Secretary: ‘Haven’t made a decision on U.S. Space Command’ SpaceNews · 28 Mar 2023 The Department of the Air Force has received no official communication from the White House regarding the relocation of U.S. Space Command's headquarters, Secretary Frank Kendall told lawmakers.
- China to begin constructing its own megaconstellation later this year SpaceNews · 28 Mar 2023 China is preparing to launch its first satellites for a national low Earth orbit broadband megaconstellation to challenge SpaceX's Starlink.
- Historic scrubs and aborts that could happen to Starship NASASpaceflight · 28 Mar 2023 There are two words that most people never want to hear at a rocket launch, “abort” and “scrub.” As Starship’s orbital test flight gets closer, it may take multiple attempts to get Booster 7 and Ship 24 off the ground. I...
- NASA’s Jon B. Olansen to Serve as New Gateway Program Manager NASA · 28 Mar 2023 NASA has selected Dr. Jon B. Olansen as the new manager of the agency’s Gateway Program, an international collaboration building humanity's first lunar space station, which will support Artemis missions to the Moon.