Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- SpaceX fires employees involved in letter rebuking Musk Reuters · 17 Jun 2022 SpaceX has fired employees who helped write and distribute an open letter criticizing Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk's behavior, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing three employees with knowledge of the situ...
- Astronomers want “strong finish” for SOFIA SpaceNews · 17 Jun 2022 The organization that operates an airborne astronomical observatory that NASA is shutting down this year wants to end the project on a high note.
- German military radar satellite ready for SpaceX rocket ride Spaceflight Now · 17 Jun 2022 The first satellite in a billion-dollar program to provide the German military with improved radar surveillance imagery from space is set to rocket into a polar orbit Saturday from California’s Central Coast on a SpaceX...
- VP Hosts NASA for Family STEM Event, Disney Pixar’s Lightyear Viewing NASA · 17 Jun 2022 Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff hosted an evening of NASA STEM activities Friday at the Naval Observatory for military families and local students and their families, which included a spe...
- NASA assigns two astronauts to Starliner test flight SpaceNews · 16 Jun 2022 NASA has assigned two veteran astronauts to the first crewed flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in the latest reshuffling of personnel assigned to the long-delayed mission.
- Europe’s major new rocket, the Ariane 6, is delayed again Ars Technica · 16 Jun 2022 "This is a source of challenge in every launcher development."
- NASA Updates Astronaut Assignments for Boeing Starliner Test Flight NASA · 16 Jun 2022 NASA will fly two astronaut test pilots aboard the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission to the International Space Station, where they will live and work off the Earth for about two weeks.
- Quadsat gets ESA funding for ready-to-fly antenna testing kits SpaceNews · 16 Jun 2022 Danish startup Quadsat said June 16 it has secured European Space Agency funding to productize the drones it uses to calibrate and test satellite antennas.
- Euroconsult anticipates growing demand for last-mile logistics SpaceNews · 16 Jun 2022 Euroconsult forecasts 120 orbital transport vehicles to be in operation by 2031, according to the consulting firm’s latest Space Logistics Markets report.
- SpaceX planning another trifecta of launches this weekend Spaceflight Now · 16 Jun 2022 SpaceX teams in Florida and California are preparing for three missions from three launch pads in three days, beginning Friday with a launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with a reusable Falcon 9 booster flyin...
- First tower segment for SpaceX’s Starship launch site moves to pad 39A Spaceflight Now · 16 Jun 2022 The first segment of a new launch tower for SpaceX’s behemoth Starship rocket moved across the Kennedy Space Center late Wednesday to pad 39A, where the company is poised to erect one of the tallest structures at the Cap...
- Firefly co-founder Markusic to step down as CEO SpaceNews · 16 Jun 2022 Firefly Aerospace announced June 15 that Tom Markusic, co-founder of the launch vehicle and spacecraft developer, will step down as its chief executive but remain with the company as it prepares for its second launch.
- Senate Armed Services Committee proposes $45 billion funding boost for DoD SpaceNews · 16 Jun 2022 The Senate Armed Services Committee on June 16 voted 23-3 to advance its version of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.
- House Armed Services chairman calls on Space Force to change how it buys launch services SpaceNews · 16 Jun 2022 House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) in a draft version of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act pushes for changes in military launch services procurement.
- SpaceX considers second Crew Dragon launch pad to reduce risk from Starship Teslarati · 16 Jun 2022 Reuters reports that SpaceX has proposed modifying a second Florida launch pad to support Crew Dragon missions after NASA raised concerns about...
- D-Orbit charts ambitious course for space logistics business SpaceNews · 15 Jun 2022 D-Orbit has ambitious plans to offer a wide variety of satellite services from active debris removal to space-based cloud computing.
- Fourth SLS countdown test set for June 20 SpaceNews · 15 Jun 2022 NASA is gearing up for a fourth attempt to perform a fueling test and practice countdown of its Space Launch System ahead of a launch now no earlier than the latter half of August.
- OneWeb tests inflight connectivity on Boeing 777 SpaceNews · 15 Jun 2022 OneWeb said June 14 it successfully tested high-speed services on a commercial airliner last month using its low Earth orbit network.
- House appropriators approve funding increase for DoD, support space programs SpaceNews · 15 Jun 2022 The House Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee on June 15 approved by voice vote a defense funding bill for fiscal year 2023.
- Tensions mount between Russia and Europe over joint Spektr-RG telescope NASASpaceflight · 15 Jun 2022 The Russian scientific community is speaking out unanimously against the unauthorized activation of the German eROSITA telescope aboard the Russian Spektr-RG space observatory, as suggested by Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogo...
- NASA, Partner Agency Leaders to Talk to Space Station Astronauts NASA · 15 Jun 2022 NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Italian Space Agency (ASI) President Giorgio Saccoccia, and leadership from the U.S. Embassy in Rome will speak with astronauts aboard the International Sp...
- NASA says it’s ready for a fourth attempt to fuel the massive SLS rocket Ars Technica · 15 Jun 2022 "The teams have really done a great job addressing the issues we saw."
- ESA and NASA to cooperate on Earth science and lunar mission SpaceNews · 15 Jun 2022 NASA and the European Space Agency announced agreements to cooperate on Earth science and a lunar mission June 15, but agency leaders said they’re still discussing more substantial cooperation on the Artemis program and...
- Retired four-star general John Hyten joins Blue Origin as strategic advisor SpaceNews · 15 Jun 2022 Blue Origin announced June 15 that former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Hyten, will join the company as executive director of the firm’s Club for the Future foundation and as a strategic advisor.
- NASA, ESA Finalize Agreements on Climate, Artemis Cooperation NASA · 15 Jun 2022 NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and ESA (European Space Agency) Director General Josef Aschbacher signed two agreements Wednesday at the ESA Council meeting in Noordwijk, Netherlands, further advancing the space agencies’...
- NASA agrees to provide launcher for UK-built lunar communications satellite Spaceflight Now · 15 Jun 2022 NASA and the European Space Agency have agreed that a pathfinder data relay satellite to support missions on the polar regions and the far side of the moon will be launched on a commercial rocket from the United States,...
- An In-Orbit Game of Cat and Mouse: Close approaches prompt calls for communications and norms SpaceNews · 15 Jun 2022 Close approaches between U.S., Chinese, and Russian satellites are prompting calls for norms and better communications.
- SpaceX CEO Elon Musk claims Starship will be ready for first orbital launch in July Teslarati · 15 Jun 2022 CEO Elon Musk claims that SpaceX could be ready to attempt Starship’s first orbital launch as early as July. While SpaceX has...
- Momentus increasingly pessimistic about first Vigoride mission SpaceNews · 14 Jun 2022 The first orbital transfer vehicle launched by Momentus continues to experience problems and the company says its confidence that the spacecraft can complete its mission has “substantially declined.”
- Momentus orbital transfer vehicle suffers power problem after launch Spaceflight Now · 14 Jun 2022 The first test flight of a commercial orbital transfer vehicle from Momentus is suffering from a problem with its solar panels after launching last month on a SpaceX rocket, and the company said Monday that its confidenc...
- Starlink and OneWeb reach spectrum coordination plan SpaceNews · 14 Jun 2022 SpaceX and OneWeb said June 13 they have reached a spectrum coordination plan that would enable their current and second-generation broadband megaconstellations to coexist.
- Aerospacelab to build “megafactory” in Belgium SpaceNews · 14 Jun 2022 Belgian startup Aerospacelab announced plans June 14 to establish a new satellite "megafactory” large enough to produce 500 satellites annually.
- Lockheed talks OSIRIS-REx success, readiness for APEX mission to Apophis NASASpaceflight · 14 Jun 2022 The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is on its way back to Earth after a multi-year, successful mission to the Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) Bennu. The spacecraft is now bringing a sample of Bennu’s surface back for a drop-off at Earth...
- Sierra Space to start astronaut training program SpaceNews · 14 Jun 2022 Sierra Space is creating an astronaut training program led by a company executive and former NASA astronaut as another step in developing a crewed version of its Dream Chaser vehicle and a commercial space station.
- Explosion at Chinese space launch center revealed by satellite imagery SpaceNews · 14 Jun 2022 An explosion hit rocket facilities at China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in October 2021, commercial satellite imagery shows.
- NASA, Partner Establish New Research Group for Mars Sample Return Program NASA · 14 Jun 2022 Sixteen scientists from the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Japan have been chosen to help future samples from the Red Planet achieve their full potential.
- NASA Invites Media, Public to View Webb Telescope’s First Images NASA · 14 Jun 2022 NASA, in partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency), will release the James Webb Space Telescope’s first full-color images and spectroscopic data during a televised broadcast beginning a...
- Ninth asteroid added to Lucy mission; optimism grows on solar array issue Spaceflight Now · 14 Jun 2022 Engineers have made progress in attempts to fully unfurl a solar array wing that snagged on NASA’s Lucy asteroid explorer shortly after launch last October, adding to optimism that the spacecraft can complete its 12-year...
- Northrop Grumman demonstrates Mynaric laser terminals for military constellation SpaceNews · 14 Jun 2022 Using Mynaric terminals,, Northrop Grumman conducted a ground demonstration of optical communications for the U.S. Space Development Agency's low Earth orbit constellation
- South Korean ground station operator Contec raises Series C round for global expansion SpaceNews · 14 Jun 2022 Contec said June 10 that it had raised 61 billion won ($47.3 million) in a Series C funding round to pursue its goal of building a global ground station network and operating its own Earth observation satellites.