Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- NASA Innovations Will Help US Meet Sustainable Aviation Goals NASA · 9 Sep 2021 NASA Administrator Bill Nelson joined federal government and industry leaders Thursday at a White House event highlighting sustainable aviation and the administration’s focus on medium- and long-term goals to combat clim...
- NASA Mars Mission Begins a New Chapter of Science With a New Leader NASA · 9 Sep 2021 Dr. Shannon Curry, planetary scientist and the deputy assistant director of planetary science at the Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) at the University of California, Berkeley, has assumed leadership of NASA’s first missi...
- Hanwha Phasor teams up with American product designer for on-the-move antenna SpaceNews · 9 Sep 2021 Hanwha Phasor, a phased-array antenna maker under South Korea’s conglomerate Hanwha Group seeking its own megaconstellation, has partnered with Wisconsin-based product designer Plexus to develop an ultrathin electronical...
- Novitskiy & Dubrov conduct Russian EVA-50 for Nauka module outfitting NASASpaceflight · 9 Sep 2021 ISS Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pytor Dubrov performed an EVA (Extravehicular Activity) at the International Space Station on Thursday, the second in a series of up to 11 spacewalks planned to integ...
- Korean consortium invested $50 million in US launch startup Relativity Space SpaceNews · 9 Sep 2021 The $50 million invested by a South Korean consortium was part of $650 million Relativity Space raised in the Series E funding round in June.
- SpaceX schedules first Falcon Heavy launch in two years in early October Teslarati · 9 Sep 2021 For the first time in more than two years, SpaceX has a firm launch date for its next Falcon Heavy mission: October...
- JWST gets mid-December launch date SpaceNews · 9 Sep 2021 NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is finally scheduled to launch Dec. 18 on an Ariane 5 from French Guiana after years of development delays.
- Firefly says early engine shutdown led to launch failure Spaceflight Now · 9 Sep 2021 Firefly Aerospace says the premature shutdown of one of its Alpha rocket’s four main engines caused the launcher to lose control as it reached supersonic speed during a test flight over California last week. The company...
- BridgeComm and Space Micro reveal strategic partnership SpaceNews · 8 Sep 2021 Optical communications startup BridgeComm announced a strategic partnership with satellite component supplier Space Micro to work together on the design, development and testing of optical communications technology for U...
- Rocket Lab wins multi-launch deal for IoT constellation SpaceNews · 8 Sep 2021 Rocket Lab will deploy an entire constellation of internet-of-things satellites for a French startup under a multi-launch deal announced Sept. 8.
- Pandemic, changing industry affecting satellite manufacturer supply chains SpaceNews · 8 Sep 2021 The pandemic and resulting supply chain issues have forced satellite manufacturers to adopt new approaches, some of which they plan to maintain in a post-pandemic world.
- Satellite connectivity leaders push for interoperability SpaceNews · 8 Sep 2021 More industry partnerships will be key for cutting costs and giving users a terrestrial-like experience with satellite broadband, according to connectivity executives speaking Sept. 8 at the Satellite 2021 conference.
- U.S. military has growing appetite for satellite communications but its needs are complex SpaceNews · 8 Sep 2021 The U.S. Army is in the market for satellite communications but with a complicated twist. It is not just looking to buy broadband for troops in the field but “end to end” services.
- OneWeb and AT&T partner to extend fiberlike coverage across United States SpaceNews · 8 Sep 2021 AT&T has agreed to use OneWeb’s low Earth orbit satellites to extend high-speed broadband services to areas outside its fiber footprint in the United States.
- OneWeb Q&A: Fully funded to craft the art of the possible SpaceNews · 8 Sep 2021 As SpaceX charges ahead with more than 1,700 Starlink satellites launched so far for a consumer broadband service, early mover OneWeb and more recent contenders are developing megaconstellations targeting higher paying e...
- Mars Perseverance Team Members to Be Recognized at Hispanic Heritage Awards NASA · 8 Sep 2021 The three award recipients – Diana Trujillo, Christina Hernandez, and Clara O’Farrell – are engineers from the NASA rover team.
- SpaceX wins contract to launch Yahsat’s Thuraya 4-NGS satellite SpaceNews · 8 Sep 2021 Yahsat has selected SpaceX to launch its next-generation Thuraya mobile connectivity satellite in 2023, the companies announced Sept. 8.
- Swissto12 and Saturn collaborate on small GEO satellites SpaceNews · 8 Sep 2021 Switzerland-based additive manufacturing specialist Swissto12 announced plans Sept. 8 to collaborate with Saturn Satellite Networks, a U.S. firm focused on small geostationary satellite missions, to market small geostati...
- The James Webb telescope has a bona fide launch date Ars Technica · 8 Sep 2021 The telescope is ready. So is the rocket. It's time.
- Isar Aerospace to launch OroraTech wildfire monitoring cubesat constellation SpaceNews · 8 Sep 2021 German launch startup Isar Aerospace has signed a contract with OroraTech to launch the company's wildfire-monitoring cubesat constellation.
- NASA Readies James Webb Space Telescope for December Launch NASA · 8 Sep 2021 NASA plans to launch the James Webb Space Telescope into orbit Dec. 18, 2021, to serve as the premier deep space observatory for the next decade.
- South Korea to spend $593 million on public-to-private transfer of rocket technologies SpaceNews · 8 Sep 2021 Starting next year, South Korea’s government will transfer state-owned space launch vehicle technologies to domestic aerospace companies in a move to help them penetrate an expanding global space launch market.
- SpaceX reveals first Starlink ‘Dishy’ production figures, teases major expansion Teslarati · 8 Sep 2021 A SpaceX executive has revealed the first concrete Starlink user terminal (dish) production figures and plans for imminent upgrades. Speaking at 2021’s...
- China launches Gaofen environmental monitoring satellite Spaceflight Now · 8 Sep 2021 China launched an Earth observation satellite on top of a Long March 4C rocket Tuesday to monitor land surfaces, water resources, and air quality.
- Bradford’s Comet production moves to Luxembourg SpaceNews · 7 Sep 2021 Bradford Space is updating its Comet electrothermal propulsion technology and transferring production of the small satellite thrusters from the United States to Luxembourg.
- Exotrail to provide thrust for York cislunar mission SpaceNews · 7 Sep 2021 York Space Systems plans to rely on Exotrail electric propulsion for a mission to provide Earth-to-moon communications services from cislunar orbit.
- Space Force awards ManTech $476 million contract for launch systems engineering services SpaceNews · 7 Sep 2021 The U.S. Space Force’s launch enterprise awarded ManTech a $476 million contract to provide systems engineering and integration services for the next 10 years.
- DARPA awards Lockheed Martin $25 million contract modification for integration of Blackjack satellites SpaceNews · 7 Sep 2021 The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency increased Lockheed Martin’s contract for satellite integration work for the Blackjack program by $25.3 million.
- Inmarsat Q&A: Orchestrating a new multi-orbit broadband constellation SpaceNews · 7 Sep 2021 British satellite operator Inmarsat plans to spend $100 million over the next five years preparing to enter the increasingly competitive low-Earth-orbit market. SpaceNews caught up with Todd McDonell, Inmarsat’s presiden...
- Starbridge raises $12M in fresh capital for application-focused space startups SpaceNews · 7 Sep 2021 Starbridge Venture Capital is set to announce Sept. 8 that it has closed its second fund with $12.1 million in new capital.
- UN space office seeks consensus on space traffic management SpaceNews · 7 Sep 2021 The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs is poised to assist the international community in tackling the challenges posed by an increasingly diverse set of actors launching and operating spacecraft.
- NASA to Host Briefing on Successful Sample Collection of Martian Rock NASA · 7 Sep 2021 NASA will hold a virtual media briefing Friday, Sept. 10, at noon EDT to provide an update on the agency’s Perseverance Mars rover, which recently completed its first successful rock sampling.
- SpaceX to increase Starlink antenna production rate SpaceNews · 7 Sep 2021 SpaceX plans to introduce a new version of its user terminal for its Starlink system later this year that will be less expensive to produce while also scaling up production.
- Launch providers argue against a “magic number” for price to orbit SpaceNews · 7 Sep 2021 Companies offering smallsat launch services argue there is no “magic” price per kilogram that allows them to unlock greater demand, with customers willing to trade off price for responsiveness or other capabilities.
- DoD a challenging customer for fast-moving satellite broadband industry SpaceNews · 7 Sep 2021 Companies that provide low Earth orbit satellite broadband view the U.S. Defense Department as a key customer but are being challenged to make their networks compatible with government ground systems and user terminals.
- NASA chief on Blue Origin protest: “They have every right” to sue Ars Technica · 7 Sep 2021 "We are a nation of laws and as such we want to follow the law."
- Kymeta announces successful OneWeb antenna tests SpaceNews · 7 Sep 2021 Kymeta said Sept. 7 that it successfully tested its u8 broadband terminal on OneWeb’s low-Earth-orbit constellation, achieving 200 megabits per second (Mbps) downlink speeds ahead of the network’s partial launch this yea...
- Satellite operators see acquisition opportunities SpaceNews · 7 Sep 2021 Companies that operate both geostationary satellites and low Earth orbit constellations say they see opportunities to acquire complementary firms but cautioned that a long-projected consolidation of the industry isn’t li...
- Chang Zheng 4C lifts Gaofen-5-02 satellite to orbit NASASpaceflight · 7 Sep 2021 On Tuesday, September 7 China launched the second Gaofen-5 remote imagery satellite into a 705 km sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). The launch took place at 03:01 UTC on a Chang Zheng 4C and was conducted from Launch Complex...
- The Space Force is starting to lean into innovative launch concepts Ars Technica · 7 Sep 2021 "The biggest threat to our success is moving too slowly and refusing to change."