Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- Falcon 9 completes launch, has now lifted 550 satellites into orbit [Updated] Ars Technica · 13 Jan 2022 This was the booster's 10th flight to space.
- SpaceX launches 105 customer satellites on third Transporter rideshare mission Spaceflight Now · 13 Jan 2022 SpaceX launched 105 small satellites from Cape Canaveral on the company’s third Transporter rideshare mission Thursday, deploying payloads for commercial remote sensing companies, communications and data relay startups,...
- SpaceX stress-tests Starship-catching arms with giant water balloons Teslarati · 13 Jan 2022 SpaceX has begun testing Starbase’s rocket-catching arms with ballast to simulate the weight of Starship and Super Heavy. SpaceX started the process...
- NASA holding out hope for first SLS launch in March SpaceNews · 13 Jan 2022 NASA officials are holding out hope that the first Space Launch System launch can still take place as soon as March despite a delay in the rollout of the vehicle for a key test until mid-February.
- SpaceX Falcon booster completes 10th launch and landing in 19 months Teslarati · 13 Jan 2022 Falcon 9 booster B1058 has successfully completed SpaceX’s Transporter-3 mission, acing its tenth orbital-class launch and landing in record time in the...
- Virgin Orbit launches seven cubesats on third operational mission SpaceNews · 13 Jan 2022 Virgin Orbit placed seven cubesats for three customers into orbit Jan. 13 on the third consecutive successful operational flight of its LauncherOne air-launch system.
- NASA to start astrophysics probe program SpaceNews · 12 Jan 2022 NASA is starting to implement recommendations of the astrophysics decadal survey by announcing plans for a new line of missions and laying the groundwork for future large space telescopes.
- NASA, White House Initiative to Spur Entrepreneurial Spirit of HBCU Scholars NASA · 12 Jan 2022 NASA and the Department of Education are collaborating to enhance the federal Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Scholar Recognition Program using NASA entrepreneurial expertise.
- Testing underway for Astra’s first launch from Cape Canaveral Spaceflight Now · 12 Jan 2022 Tests are beginning this week at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for the first flight of Astra’s small satellite launcher from the Florida spaceport, following the company’s successful November demonstration mission f...
- SpaceX Falcon 9 booster to launch for the 10th time on Wednesday Teslarati · 12 Jan 2022 Update: SpaceX has confirmed reports that Falcon 9 B1058 will launch for the 10th time on Transporter-3, a rideshare mission carrying 100+...
- NASA Invites Media to Northrop Grumman’s February Launch from Virginia NASA · 12 Jan 2022 Media accreditation is open for the launch of Northrop Grumman’s 17th commercial resupply services mission for NASA to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station aboard its...
- Pentagon warns hundreds of programs in limbo until Congress passes full-year budget SpaceNews · 12 Jan 2022
- Space Force on track to absorb Space Development Agency this fall SpaceNews · 12 Jan 2022 The Space Development Agency, created in 2019 as a separate entity under the Office of the Secretary of Defense, will be transferred to the U.S. Space Force in October, the agency’s director confirmed Jan. 12.
- China’s megaconstellation project establishes satellite cluster in Chongqing SpaceNews · 12 Jan 2022 A group leading China’s national low Earth orbit communications megaconstellation has founded two new firms to help develop the project, but overall plans remain vague.
- New images of the International Space Station reveal that it is still a jewel Ars Technica · 12 Jan 2022 Now that astronauts can fly around the space station again, we can appreciate it anew.
- Multi-orbit constellation startup Mangata Networks raises $33 million SpaceNews · 12 Jan 2022 U.S.-based startup Mangata Networks has raised $33 million from an international mix of investors for its multi-orbit connectivity constellation plans.
- Intelsat orders two flexible GEO satellites for post-bankruptcy growth plan SpaceNews · 12 Jan 2022 Intelsat has ordered two software-defined satellites from Thales Alenia Space as the operator edges closer to emerging from bankruptcy.
- New NASA chief scientist to focus on climate change SpaceNews · 12 Jan 2022 NASA has hired a climate scientist as its new chief scientist, a move that reflects the greater emphasis the agency is placing on climate change studies.
- SpaceX rocket to land back at Cape Canaveral Thursday Spaceflight Now · 12 Jan 2022 SpaceX plans to land a Falcon 9 rocket booster back at Cape Canaveral around eight-and-a-half minutes after launch Thursday in the company’s first onshore rocket recovery since last June.
- SpaceX preps for first of four ‘Transporter’ rideshare launches this year Spaceflight Now · 12 Jan 2022 With its small satellite launch business booming, SpaceX is set to double its cadence of dedicated rideshare missions this year, beginning with the liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket Thursday morning from Cape Canaveral with 1...
- Atomos Space secures funding to develop space tug business SpaceNews · 12 Jan 2022 Denver-based startup Atomos Space announced Jan. 12 it has raised the $5 million it had been seeking since 2020 to develop its space-tug business, following an investment from early-stage investor Cantos Ventures.
- NASA's InSight Sees Power Levels Stabilize After Dust Storm NASA · 11 Jan 2022 The lander has taken measures to conserve energy; engineers aim to return to normal operations next week.
- Media Invited to see NASA Mega Moon Rocket Roll Out for First Time NASA · 11 Jan 2022 For a limited time, NASA has reopened media registration to capture images and video of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft rolling out for the first time.
- SpaceX working on several Starship, Super Heavy upgrades and design changes Teslarati · 11 Jan 2022 Not long after Elon Musk confirmed plans to add three more Raptor engines to Starship and stretch the upper stage’s propellant tanks,...
- NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Releases 2021 Annual Report NASA · 11 Jan 2022 The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), an advisory committee that reports to NASA and Congress, issued its 2021 annual report Tuesday examining the agency’s safety performance over the past year and highlighting acc...
- Air Force Cadets to Hear from NASA Astronaut Aboard Space Station NASA · 11 Jan 2022 Cadets from the U.S. Air Force Academy will have an opportunity this week to hear from a NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station.
- SpaceX to leverage Starship for second generation Starlink constellation NASASpaceflight · 11 Jan 2022 SpaceX has provided some interesting context into its plans to launch vast numbers of next-generation “Gen2” Starlink satellites on its Starship launch system, in response to questions from the Federal Communications Com...
- NASA, NOAA to Announce 2021 Global Temperatures, Climate Conditions NASA · 11 Jan 2022 Climate researchers from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will release their annual assessments of global temperatures and discuss the major climate trends of 2021 during a media teleco...
- Orbit Fab secures deal to refuel Astroscale’s satellite-servicing robots SpaceNews · 11 Jan 2022 Astroscale U.S., a provider of on-orbit services to extend the life of satellites, has signed an agreement to use Orbit Fab’s in-space fuel tankers.
- HawkEye 360 wins $15.5 million AFRL contract SpaceNews · 11 Jan 2022 The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) awarded HawkEye 360 a $15.5 million contract to provide radio frequency analytics research and development, and to help the government test and evaluate its hybrid space inte...
- Launch ranges lack spare parts to support growing demand SpaceNews · 11 Jan 2022 The Space Force lacks spare parts for much of the equipment needed to support launches from the Eastern and Western Ranges, an issue that could loom larger as launch activities at both spaceports increase.
- Breakup of China’s Yunhai-1 (02) satellite linked to space debris collision SpaceNews · 11 Jan 2022 U.S. space tracking has linked the breakup of Chinese satellite Yunhai-1 (02) to a collision with a small piece of debris from a Russian satellite launch, according to NASA.
- SpaceX “intends” to start launching next-generation Starlink satellites in March Teslarati · 11 Jan 2022 In a new Q&A with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), SpaceX says it still “plans” and “intends” to begin launching the next...
- Virgin Orbit to demonstrate air-launch flexibility on upcoming mission SpaceNews · 11 Jan 2022 Virgin Orbit is preparing to launch a set of smallsats as both a demonstration of the flexibility of its air-launch system and its ability to increase its cadence of launches.
- IXPE X-ray observatory completes commissioning, eyes Cassiopeia A for calibration NASASpaceflight · 11 Jan 2022 The pioneering Imaging X-ray Polarimeter Explorer (IXPE) telescope, the first observatory in space to perform detailed polarimetry of some of the highest-energy objects the universe has to offer, has ended its highly-suc...
- SpaceX goes all-in on Starship configuration for second-gen Starlink SpaceNews · 10 Jan 2022 SpaceX has dropped a plan to use Falcon 9 to launch the 30,000 satellites in its proposed second-generation Starlink broadband constellation, and is instead focusing on a configuration leveraging its upcoming Starship ve...
- Biden nominates Navy admiral to run National Geospatial Intelligence Agency SpaceNews · 10 Jan 2022 President Biden has nominated U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth to be the next director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, the. Defense Department announced Jan. 10.
- NASA Invites Media to Meet New Chief Scientist, Climate Advisor NASA · 10 Jan 2022 NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. EST Tuesday, Jan. 11, to introduce and discuss the role of the agency’s new chief scientist and senior climate advisor.
- Defense Innovation Unit taps Lyten to develop high-performance batteries for small satellites SpaceNews · 10 Jan 2022 Lyten, a battery manufacturer based in California, has prototyped an advanced battery design for small satellites under a contract from the Defense Innovation Unit.
- Astronomers relieved with final Webb telescope deployment milestone Spaceflight Now · 10 Jan 2022 Still cruising toward its operating orbit nearly a million miles from Earth, the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope completed a transformation into its final dimension Saturday with the last of some 50 post-launch de...