Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- Space Council condemns “irresponsible” Russian ASAT test SpaceNews · 1 Dec 2021 Administration officials used a National Space Council meeting to issue a new round of criticism of Russia’s antisatellite weapon test and call for a halt to future ASAT tests that create debris.
- SpaceX confirms Starlink launch plans hours before Thursday liftoff Teslarati · 1 Dec 2021 Update: Waiting longer than it ever has before, SpaceX finally confirmed it will attempt to launch Starlink 4-3 less than seven hours...
- Soyuz launch to add two more satellites to Europe’s Galileo navigation network Spaceflight Now · 1 Dec 2021 Two more Galileo navigation satellites are set for liftoff Thursday night from French Guiana on a Soyuz rocket, the first mission in more than three years to add to Europe’s space-based positioning and timing network.
- Here’s why Elon Musk asked his SpaceX employees to work Thanksgiving Ars Technica · 1 Dec 2021 A fully operational Starship solves many of SpaceX's problems.
- White House releases space priorities framework SpaceNews · 1 Dec 2021
- NASA to Air VP Harris’ First National Space Council Meeting NASA · 1 Dec 2021 NASA will air live coverage of the first National Space Council Meeting held under the Biden-Harris Administration at 1:30 p.m. EST today, Wednesday, Dec. 1, from the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington.
- Planetary scientists are starting to get stirred up by Starship’s potential Ars Technica · 1 Dec 2021 "It could provide a revolutionary new way of exploring these worlds."
- SpaceX grapples with Raptor production problems SpaceNews · 1 Dec 2021 Problems increasing production of the Raptor engines that power SpaceX’s Starship vehicle have led to personnel shakeups at the company and a warning from founder Elon Musk that the company risked “bankruptcy” if the com...
- NASA inspector general warns of space station gap SpaceNews · 1 Dec 2021 Concerns about the long-term viability of some existing International Space Station modules and the potential of delays in development of commercial space stations heighten the risk of a gap in low Earth orbit destinatio...
- Lightfoot to lead Lockheed Martin space unit SpaceNews · 30 Nov 2021 Lockheed Martin has named a former acting administrator of NASA as the new head of its space business unit.
- China launches surge of space missions Spaceflight Now · 30 Nov 2021 China has launched four space missions from three different spaceports in the span of a week, hauling cargo into orbit for military communications, radar surveillance, and optical imaging.
- Elon Musk says SpaceX could soon face bankruptcy – here’s why that’s unlikely Teslarati · 30 Nov 2021 In a new leaked email, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that the company could go bankrupt if, by the end of 2022,...
- NASA TV to Air IXPE Prelaunch Activities, Launch NASA · 30 Nov 2021 NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission, the first satellite dedicated to measuring the polarization of X-rays from a variety o...
- Anuvu raises $50 million for small GEO mobility constellation SpaceNews · 30 Nov 2021 Investors that rescued Anuvu from bankruptcy in March have thrown $50 million behind plans for the mobile connectivity provider to have its own constellation of small geostationary-orbit (GEO) satellites.
- Airbus Ventures leads Q-Ctrl’s $25 million quantum sensor funding round SpaceNews · 30 Nov 2021 Australian startup Q-Ctrl has raised $25 million to develop software for space-qualified quantum sensors in a funding round led by Airbus Ventures, the venture capital arm of European aerospace and defense giant Airbus.
- NASA calls off spacewalk due to possible risk of space debris Spaceflight Now · 30 Nov 2021 A planned spacewalk outside the International Space Station by astronauts Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron was called off early Tuesday after NASA received an overnight warning about possibly threatening space debris.
- NASA Sets Live Launch Coverage for Laser Communications Demonstration NASA · 30 Nov 2021 NASA is taking a step toward the next era of space communications with the launch of its Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) on Sunday, Dec. 5.
- Seeing the universe in the Mid-Infrared with James Webb’s MIRI instrument NASASpaceflight · 30 Nov 2021 The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), presently tracking toward a launch no earlier than December 22 on an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in South America, will revolutionize in-space astronomy, particular...
- Biden taps former Air Force procurement official LaPlante to run Pentagon acquisitions SpaceNews · 30 Nov 2021 President Biden has nominated William LaPlante to be the Defense Department’s top procurement official, the White House announced Nov. 30.
- Russia threatens criminal charges against a NASA astronaut Ars Technica · 30 Nov 2021 Russia continues to deflect from embarassing situation that occurred three years ago.
- NASA postpones ISS spacewalk because of debris SpaceNews · 30 Nov 2021 NASA postponed a spacewalk outside the International Space Station by two astronauts just hours before it was scheduled to start after getting a warning that debris would pass close to the station.
- NASA wants SpaceX to dock Dragons at new Russian space station ‘node’ Teslarati · 30 Nov 2021 State media agency RIA says that NASA and Roscosmos are negotiating an agreement that would eventually allow SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and other...
- Mike Griffin critical of U.S. response to China’s advances in hypersonic weapons SpaceNews · 30 Nov 2021 In the global race for geopolitical dominance, hypersonic glide weapons level the playing field “not by improving their own capabilities, but by removing ours,” said Mike Griffin.
- Two BlackSky satellites hitching ride on Starlink mission Spaceflight Now · 30 Nov 2021 BlackSky said Tuesday it is launching two optical Earth observation satellites as rideshare payloads on a SpaceX Starlink mission planned for liftoff this week from Cape Canaveral. The mission is set for launch Thursday,...
- DARPA to launch DoD’s first in-space manufacturing research program SpaceNews · 29 Nov 2021 The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in a new program will explore options to conduct biomanufacturing in space, using biological systems like microbes to construct materials for use in orbital operations.
- Space Force official: Satellites in orbit have become pawns in geopolitical chess games SpaceNews · 29 Nov 2021 China and Russia have watched the United States display its military power, much of it enabled by satellites in space. China’s recent demonstration of an orbital hypersonic weapon and Russia blowing up a satellite are ex...
- SpaceX drone ship heads to sea for record-breaking Starlink launch Teslarati · 29 Nov 2021 SpaceX’s newest drone ship is on its way out into the Atlantic Ocean for a Starlink mission that will break the company’s...
- India orders halt on Starlink presales until it gives regulatory approval SpaceNews · 29 Nov 2021 India’s government has told SpaceX to stop taking preorders for Starlink broadband services in the country until it has a license to operate there.
- Russian military launches new missile warning satellite Spaceflight Now · 29 Nov 2021 Russia’s military successfully deployed a spacecraft in orbit Nov. 25 to join a constellation of satellites circling the globe to monitor for missile launches.
- James Webb Space Telescope cleared for late December launch Ars Technica · 29 Nov 2021 Webb will launch on a European-built Ariane 5 rocket no earlier than Dec. 22.
- ADA Space raises $55.6 million in Series B round SpaceNews · 29 Nov 2021 Chinese satellite operator and remote sensing data firm ADA Space raised $55.6 million in a Series B investment round for its artificially intelligent satellite network plans.
- Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic select astronauts for future flights SpaceNews · 29 Nov 2021 Virgin Galactic has selected the winner of a contest to fly on a future SpaceShipTwo suborbital flight while Blue Origin prepares for its first New Shepard launch with a full six-person crew.
- SpaceX rocket sails into California port after interplanetary launch Teslarati · 29 Nov 2021 The first SpaceX Falcon 9 booster to help launch a payload directly into interplanetary space has safely arrived at a California port....
- Weather forecast favorable for SpaceX launch this week Spaceflight Now · 29 Nov 2021 Forecasters predict a 90% chance of good weather Wednesday night at Cape Canaveral for launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a fresh group of Starlink internet satellites.
- Astronaut Alan Shepard’s daughter and Michael Strahan named to spaceflight Spaceflight Now · 28 Nov 2021 The third piloted flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital spacecraft will launch December 9 with a crew of six, including a network morning anchor and the eldest daughter of Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, the fir...
- NASA gives green light to fuel James Webb Space Telescope Spaceflight Now · 28 Nov 2021 NASA engineers have cleared teams at the Guiana Space Center in South America to begin loading 63 gallons of fuel and oxidizer into the James Webb Space Telescope, after extra testing showed the observatory suffered no d...
- NASA and CNES to begin SWOT testing as its launch date approaches NASASpaceflight · 27 Nov 2021 With less than one year to launch, France’s Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and NASA are completing the final spacecraft assembly of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft. SWOT is a joint NAS...
- Starbase setting the stage for ambitious 2022 launch campaign NASASpaceflight · 26 Nov 2021 SpaceX is lining up a fleet of vehicles for an ambitious 2022 test campaign, opening with the first orbital velocity test in January or February, followed by the potential of around 12 flights during the year.
- China successfully launches tactical military communications satellite NASASpaceflight · 26 Nov 2021 Continuing a recent streak, Friday saw the fourth successful orbital launch from China in one week. This time, the Zhongxing-1D (ChinaSat-1D) satellite was inserted into orbit by a Chang Zheng 3B rocket launched from the...
- Russian node module docks with International Space Station Spaceflight Now · 26 Nov 2021 Russia’s Prichal docking module linked up with the International Space Station Friday, adding the final planned piece of the Russian segment of the outpost to provide a new connection for future crew and cargo ships.