Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- You Can Help Train NASA's Rovers to Better Explore Mars NASA · 26 Oct 2021 Members of the public can now help teach an artificial intelligence algorithm to recognize scientific features in images taken by NASA’s Perseverance rover.
- SpaceX given green light to launch Crew-3 mission to ISS, Crew-2’s return date set NASASpaceflight · 26 Oct 2021 Having completed the Flight Readiness Review for the United States Crew Vehicle 3 (USCV-3) mission, NASA, ESA, JAXA, and SpaceX teams have given the green light for Crew-3 to launch on October 31 at 02:21 EDT (06:21 UTC)...
- Critical tests for NASA’s large rocket remain as launch day edges closer Ars Technica · 26 Oct 2021 "We’re absolutely committed to taking it a step at a time."
- Hedron, formerly Analytical Space, raises $17.8 million SpaceNews · 26 Oct 2021 Hedron, the company formerly called Analytical Space, raised $17.8 million in a Series A fundraising round.
- Rogozin says Crew Dragon safe for Russian cosmonauts SpaceNews · 26 Oct 2021 The head of Roscosmos says he is now satisfied that SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is safe enough to carry Russian cosmonauts, clearing a major obstacle for an agreement to exchange seats between Soyuz and commercial crew vehicles...
- SpaceX’s newest Crew Dragon spacecraft arrives at launch site Teslarati · 26 Oct 2021 Right on schedule, SpaceX has rolled a new Crew Dragon spacecraft to the pad for its first astronaut launch. Known as Crew-3,...
- Japan successfully launches replacement for decade-old navigation satellite Spaceflight Now · 26 Oct 2021 A replacement for an aging satellite in Japan’s regional navigation network successfully launched Monday from Tanegashima Space Center aboard an H-2A rocket, heading to an orbit more than 20,000 miles above Earth.
- Japanese H-2A rocket ready for launch with navigation satellite Spaceflight Now · 25 Oct 2021 Japan is set to launch a replacement satellite Monday for a navigation spacecraft that has been in space since 2010, augmenting the U.S. military’s GPS network to provide more precise positioning and timing services over...
- Japan launches H-IIA with QZS-1R satellite NASASpaceflight · 25 Oct 2021 Japan’s H-IIA rocket launched on October 26 at 02:19 UTC from LA-Y1 at the Tanegashima Space Center, carrying the QZS-1R satellite. This was 44th launch of the H-IIA rocket for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and the Japan A...
- SES-17 takes flight with eyes on soaring commercial aviation market SpaceNews · 25 Oct 2021 Arianespace has successfully launched the heaviest satellite SES has ever ordered, marking a cornerstone for a multi-orbit network that is seeing surging demand from commercial aviation customers.
- Blue Origin and Sierra Space announce plans for commercial space station SpaceNews · 25 Oct 2021 An industry group led by Blue Origin and Sierra Space, and including several other companies and organizations, announced plans Oct. 25 to cooperate on the development of a commercial space station.
- Blue Origin and Sierra Space team up for commercial space station Spaceflight Now · 25 Oct 2021 Blue Origin and Sierra Space announced Monday they are leading development of a commercial space complex named Orbital Reef that officials said will be operational by the time NASA and its partners retire International S...
- 'Roving With Perseverance': NASA Mars Rover and Helicopter Models on Tour NASA · 25 Oct 2021 Catch Mars mania as a traveling exhibit visits more than a dozen towns across the U.S. with lifelike models of NASA’s Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter.
- China says it has launched a space debris mitigation tech demo satellite Spaceflight Now · 25 Oct 2021 China launched the classified Shijian 21 satellite Saturday on what government officials described as an experimental “space debris mitigation” mission.
- NASA to Host Briefing to Reveal New Findings from Jupiter’s Atmosphere NASA · 25 Oct 2021 NASA will hold a virtual media briefing at 3 p.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 28, to discuss the latest results from the agency’s Juno spacecraft.
- ABL Space Systems raises $200 million SpaceNews · 25 Oct 2021 Small launch vehicle developer ABL Space Systems has raised an additional $200 million, just seven months after a $170 million round.
- Firefly completes design of Moon mission, aiming for 2023 launch Ars Technica · 25 Oct 2021 "We’ve picked good partners, and we’ve watched them carefully."
- Airbus Ventures invests in Tokyo-based ispace SpaceNews · 25 Oct 2021 Airbus Ventures announced an investment Oct. 25 in ispace, the Toyko-based company preparing to send its first lander to the moon next year.
- SpaceX fires up first upgraded Starship engine Teslarati · 25 Oct 2021 CEO Elon Musk has implicitly revealed that SpaceX recently conducted the first test of Starship’s new Raptor 2 engine. Aside from kicking...
- IAI announces new small GEO satellite bus SpaceNews · 25 Oct 2021 Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has developed a small geostationary orbit communications satellite bus intended to provide a low-cost spacecraft with an advanced payload to customers that don’t require a larger satelli...
- NASA clears next SpaceX crew mission for launch, pending review of toilet system Spaceflight Now · 25 Oct 2021 NASA managers at Kennedy Space Center gave the go-ahead Monday to continue preparations for a Halloween launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station, pending more analysis of a modification to the toilet...
- SpaceX’s path to refueling Starships in space is clearer than it seems Teslarati · 24 Oct 2021 Perhaps the single biggest mystery of SpaceX’s Starship program is how exactly the company plans to refuel the largest spacecraft ever built...
- Chang Zheng 3B lifts Shijian 21 to orbit NASASpaceflight · 24 Oct 2021 Without any prior announcements, China launched another Chang Zheng 3B/E rocket with the Shijian 21 payload to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). The rocket took off at 01:27 UTC on October 24 from the Xichang Satellite...
- IAC conference seeks to build interest in space among elected officials SpaceNews · 24 Oct 2021 An international group of elected officials is using a conference this week to build awareness about the importance of space among other politicians.
- BepiColombo completes first Mercury flyby, science provides insight into planet’s unique environment NASASpaceflight · 24 Oct 2021 On October 1, 2021, the joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) BepiColombo spacecraft successfully performed its first flyby of the solar system’s innermost planet, Mercury. The f...
- Nanoracks announces plans for commercial space station Spaceflight Now · 24 Oct 2021 Nanoracks announced Oct. 21 it is teaming with Lockheed Martin to develop a commercial crewed space station named Starlab that officials said could reach initial operational capability by 2027.
- China launches classified space debris mitigation technology satellite SpaceNews · 24 Oct 2021 China launched the Shijian-21 satellite from Xichang late Saturday with the stated aim of testing space debris mitigation technologies.
- Arianespace breaks payload mass record on final Ariane 5 launch before Webb Spaceflight Now · 24 Oct 2021 A European Ariane 5 rocket fired into space Saturday night from French Guiana with a commercial broadband satellite for SES and a French military telecom craft, setting a new payload mass record for geostationary transfe...
- Ariane 5 launches civilian, military satellites; mission to clear way for James Webb launch NASASpaceflight · 23 Oct 2021 In an important prelude to the James Webb Space Telescope launch, planned for no earlier than mid-December, the Ariane 5 rocket has made its second flight of 2021 and its 111th mission overall with the VA255 flight to ta...
- Under watchful eye of NASA, teams prep for final Ariane 5 flight before Webb Spaceflight Now · 23 Oct 2021 Arianespace is counting down to the blastoff of an Ariane 5 rocket Saturday night from French Guiana, the final flight of Europe’s workhorse launcher before NASA and the European Space Agency entrust it to launch the $10...
- NASA sets Artemis 1 launch for no earlier than February SpaceNews · 23 Oct 2021 NASA officials said they’re now targeting no earlier than February for the Artemis 1 launch as the completed vehicle enters the final phase of launch preparations.
- L3 Harris wins $120 million contract to upgrade Space Force electronic jammers SpaceNews · 22 Oct 2021 The U.S. Space Force awarded L3Harris Technologies a $120.7 million contract to upgrade a ground-based communications jammer used to block adversaries’ satellite transmissions.
- NASA targets February launch for Artemis 1 moon mission Spaceflight Now · 22 Oct 2021 With NASA’s powerful new 322-foot-tall moon rocket fully stacked at Kennedy Space Center, managers said Friday that Feb. 12 is the soonest the unpiloted Artemis 1 mission could blast off toward lunar orbit, a date that h...
- NASA Commits $28 Million to Underfunded US Jurisdictions NASA · 22 Oct 2021 NASA has awarded $28 million to fund the next five years of research infrastructure development across 28 jurisdictions.
- Ship 20 completes milestone RVac Static Fire – Musk cites ambitious path to launch NASASpaceflight · 22 Oct 2021 Ship 20 completed another milestone with two Static Fire tests on Thursday evening. Following a preburner test earlier in the week, the RVac engine fired up for the first time on a Starship. Then, it fired up again, this...
- Space Adventures no longer planning Crew Dragon flight SpaceNews · 22 Oct 2021 Space Adventures has dropped plans to fly space tourists on a high-altitude Crew Dragon flight but has not ruled out revisiting the mission concept in the future.
- China’s hypersonic vehicle test a ‘significant demonstration’ of space technology SpaceNews · 22 Oct 2021 China’s reported tests of a hypersonic orbital glide vehicle show notable advances in reusable space technology, an industry expert said.
- NASA Invites Media to Launch of IXPE Mission to Study X-rays in Space NASA · 22 Oct 2021 Media accreditation is open for the upcoming launch of NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission, which will measure polarized X-rays from exotic cosmic objects, such as black holes and neutron stars, to b...
- Ariane 5 launch delayed for more ground systems checks Spaceflight Now · 22 Oct 2021 Arianespace delayed the launch from French Guiana of a European Ariane 5 rocket with two geostationary communications satellites Friday to conduct more checks of ground support equipment at the spaceport. The mission, se...
- How SpaceX ignited a new Raptor engine on Starship without an explosion Ars Technica · 22 Oct 2021 So why don't all rocket engines have giant nozzles?