Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- William Shatner safely goes to space and back [Updated] Ars Technica · 13 Oct 2021 "Everybody in the world needs to do this."
- To the Final Frontier: NS-18 shepherds William Shatner, three others to edge of space NASASpaceflight · 13 Oct 2021 Blue Origin flew their second crewed suborbital tourism flight on their New Shepard capsule and rocket with four passengers, including Star Trek’s William Shatner.
- Deep Blue Aerospace conducts 100-meter VTVL rocket test SpaceNews · 13 Oct 2021 Chinese private launch Deep Blue Aerospace completed a 100-meter level launch and landing test with its Nebula M1 VTVL test stage Wednesday.
- First-look weather forecast favorable for launch of Lucy asteroid mission Saturday Spaceflight Now · 13 Oct 2021 NASA and United Launch Alliance officials met Wednesday and cleared an Atlas 5 rocket for launch from Cape Canaveral before dawn Saturday with the Lucy asteroid mission, a robotic spacecraft to visit unexplored asteroids...
- Australia to provide rover for future NASA lunar lander mission SpaceNews · 13 Oct 2021 NASA and its Australian counterpart have agreed to cooperate on a future robotic lander mission where Australia will provide a small rover as part of a test of resource utilization technologies.
- SpaceLink hires OHB to build data relay satellites SpaceNews · 13 Oct 2021 SpaceLink has awarded OHB System AG a contract with an anticipated value of more than $300 million to manufacture four satellites for its commercial space data relay constellation.
- Maxar files protest over Space Development Agency’s satellite procurement SpaceNews · 12 Oct 2021 Maxar Technologies filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office Oct. 8 challenging a Space Development Agency solicitation seeking industry bids for 126 satellites.
- NASA Awards Agency/Multi-Location Fire Services Contract NASA · 12 Oct 2021 NASA has awarded a contract to Chenega Global Protection LLC of Chantilly, Virginia, an 8(a) small business, to perform fire services at the agency’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, Kennedy Space Cen...
- Eyes in space monitor La Palma volcano Spaceflight Now · 12 Oct 2021 Satellites and astronauts orbiting Earth have been tracking the eruption of a volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma for the last three weeks, revealing a red-hot river of lava pouring out of the ground and flowing in...
- NASA Awards Regional/Multi-Location Protective Services Contract NASA · 12 Oct 2021 NASA has awarded a contract to Chenega Global Protection LLC of Chantilly, Virginia, an 8(a) small business, to provide protective services at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, White Sands Testing Facility an...
- ESA welcomes Webb in French Guiana for launch on Ariane 5 ESA · 12 Oct 2021 The James Webb Space Telescope has arrived safely at Pariacabo harbour in French Guiana. ESA in close collaboration with NASA will now prepare this once in a generation mission for its launch on Ariane 5 from Europe's Sp...
- With First Martian Samples Packed, Perseverance Initiates Remarkable Sample Return Mission NASA · 12 Oct 2021 NASA, along with the European Space Agency, is developing a campaign to return the Martian samples to Earth.
- National Reconnaissance Office releases solicitation for commercial space radar imagery SpaceNews · 12 Oct 2021 The National Reconnaissance Office on Oct. 12 published its first solicitation for commercial space radar imagery.
- Planet unveils Pelican Earth-imaging constellation SpaceNews · 12 Oct 2021 Planet unveiled “very high resolution” Pelican Earth-imaging satellites and announced plans to bring synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) into its Planet Fusion Monitoring data stream.
- ‘Captain Kirk’ heading to space on Blue Origin’s second human launch Spaceflight Now · 12 Oct 2021 Fifty-five years after his debut as Captain Kirk in the cult-classic TV series Star Trek, William Shatner, now 90, is finally launching to the final frontier for real Wednesday, becoming the oldest person to fly in space...
- NASA’s Webb Space Telescope Arrives in French Guiana After Sea Voyage NASA · 12 Oct 2021 NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope successfully arrived in French Guiana Tuesday, after a 16-day journey at sea.
- UAE appoints new director-general of national space agency SpaceNews · 12 Oct 2021 The United Arab Emirates named Salem Butti Salem Al Qubaisi to replace the founding director-general of the UAE Space Agency.
- Adapter structure with 10 CubeSats installed on top of Artemis moon rocket Spaceflight Now · 12 Oct 2021 Workers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center have lifted the Orion Stage Adapter on top of the Space Launch System moon rocket, adding the structure housing 10 CubeSat rideshare payloads heading into deep space on the Artemis...
- A new test facility for the new Vega E engine SpaceNews · 12 Oct 2021 On Tuesday October 5th Avio has inaugurated the Space Propulsion Test Facility at the Experimental Range for Joint Training of Salto di Quirra
- India’s PM vows broader public-private space cooperation as OneWeb eyes Indian launches SpaceNews · 12 Oct 2021 India's prime minister said Oct. 11 his government will widen cooperation with industry, young innovators and startups to bring about “exponential innovation” in the country’s space sector. OneWeb, meanwhile, signaled it...
- NASA Sets Landing Coverage for Russian Cosmonaut, Actress, Producer NASA · 12 Oct 2021 NASA will provide complete coverage as three space travelers living aboard the International Space Station, including a Russian actress and her producer-director, return to Earth just after midnight on Sunday, Oct. 17.
- Astra prepares for next launch after identifying cause of August launch failure SpaceNews · 12 Oct 2021 Small launch vehicle company Astra has identified the cause of an August launch failure and says it will make its next attempt as soon as late this month.
- Astra completes investigation and schedules next orbital launch attempt NASASpaceflight · 12 Oct 2021 Astra has completed the investigation into the terminated launch of LV0006 in August 2021. A propellant leak caused an engine failure at liftoff, resulting in insufficient thrust to achieve orbit. Design changes have bee...
- Astra explains previous failure, sets October date for next launch attempt Ars Technica · 12 Oct 2021 "The issue we encountered was something we hadn’t seen before."
- SpaceX to launch Varda Space’s first Rocket Lab-derived ‘space factory’ satellite Teslarati · 12 Oct 2021 Startup Varda Space says it has contracted with SpaceX to launch its first satellite – based on a Rocket Lab bus called...
- Hiber partners with Inmarsat for IoT satellite network SpaceNews · 12 Oct 2021 Days after acknowledging it would no longer operate its own satellite network, Dutch internet-of-things startup Hiber says it is partnering with Inmarsat to provide those services.
- Webb completes sea voyage to launch base in French Guiana Spaceflight Now · 12 Oct 2021 The James Webb Space Telescope, a successor to Hubble, arrived at the European Space Agency’s launch base Tuesday in Kourou, French Guiana, for final checkouts and fueling ahead of blastoff in December on top of an Arian...
- SpaceX installs Raptor Vacuum engine on first orbital-class Starship Teslarati · 11 Oct 2021 Update: Providing the best views yet of the Raptor Vacuum installation process, SpaceX began installing one of Starship S20’s six engines (one...
- Ship 20 prepares for Static Fire – New Raptor 2 factory rises NASASpaceflight · 11 Oct 2021 The new Raptor factory is now rising out of the ground at SpaceX’s Rocket Development and Test Facility in McGregor, Texas. Tasked with supplying Raptor 2 engines to the Starship Program, SpaceX is laying the foundations...
- On the verge of another Soyuz launch, OneWeb looks to flights on Indian rockets Spaceflight Now · 11 Oct 2021 OneWeb announced Monday it is working on an agreement to launch future broadband internet satellites on Indian rockets, the same day the next batch of 36 OneWeb spacecraft moved into position at a Russian spaceport for l...
- Space Development Agency seeks proposals for 18 satellites with experimental payloads SpaceNews · 11 Oct 2021 The Space Development Agency on Oct. 8 issued a draft request for bids for 18 satellites that will carry experimental payloads.
- Elon Musk trolls Amazon’s Jeff Bezos after claiming title of ‘World’s Richest Person’ Teslarati · 11 Oct 2021 Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk trolled Amazon’s Jeff Bezos on Twitter earlier today after reclaiming the title of World’s Richest Person,...
- Varda Space selects SpaceX for launch of first space manufacturing satellite SpaceNews · 11 Oct 2021 Space manufacturing starting Varda Space will launch its first spacecraft on a Falcon 9 in early 2023 to demonstrate the ability to produce a wide range of materials in microgravity.
- The first Arab mission to Mars is delivering some interesting science Ars Technica · 11 Oct 2021 "Our goal is clear: to accelerate the development of innovation."
- Rocket Lab to launch NASA smallsat using SBIR award SpaceNews · 11 Oct 2021 Rocket Lab will launch a NASA technology demonstration satellite under an unconventional arrangement as the agency works on a more standardized approach for launching smallsats.
- SpaceX’s rocket-catching ‘Mechazilla’ arms are almost ready to join Starship launch tower Teslarati · 10 Oct 2021 Update: SpaceX has now lifted, flipped, and staged all three components of Starbase’s Mechazilla rocket-catcher, including two giant arms measuring some 36m...
- Secondary payloads launched with Landsat begin commissioning Spaceflight Now · 10 Oct 2021 Ground teams are stepping through testing of three small CubeSats launched with the Landsat 9 remote sensing satellite last month, preparing the small spacecraft for exoplanet observations and communications experiments....
- Boeing and NASA continue to investigate Starliner valve problem SpaceNews · 9 Oct 2021 NASA and Boeing are targeting the first half of 2022 to launch the rescheduled test flight of the CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle as engineers continue to investigate a valve problem that postponed the mission...
- As Martian spacecraft experience solar conjunction, Perseverance confirms Jezero Crater’s watery past NASASpaceflight · 9 Oct 2021 On October 2, 2021, all actively operating spacecraft at Mars ceased major communication with Earth as the planet entered its solar conjunction — an event wherein Mars crosses behind the Sun, limiting communication with...
- NRO establishes licenses and cybersecurity rules for commercial imagery providers SpaceNews · 8 Oct 2021 The National Reconnaissance Office roadmap for bringing commercial satellite imagery into its hybrid space architecture emphasizes cybersecurity and licenses that enable the agency to share data with partners inside and...