Space Industry News: Headlines from Across the Industry

36,861 headlines. We show the headline and the publisher's own teaser; the full story is at the source.

Inspiration4 launch nears as intense training schedule continues NASASpaceflight · 23 Aug 2021 Just weeks from launch, SpaceX has started final preparations for the crewed Inspiration4 (I4) mission. I4 will be the first free flight Crew Dragon mission and the first orbital, all private crewed mission. I4 will also...
The US military may soon declassify a secret space weapon Ars Technica · 23 Aug 2021 The primary goal US military leaders have is deterring attacks on its satellites.
Virgin Orbit to go public in SPAC merger SpaceNews · 23 Aug 2021 Small launch vehicle developer Virgin Orbit will go public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in a deal that includes an investment by Boeing, the company announced Aug. 23.
Millennium Space in an experiment de-orbited a satellite in eight months SpaceNews · 23 Aug 2021 Millennium Space Systems announced Aug. 23 it successfully demonstrated the use of a deployable tether to de-orbit a satellite after it completes its mission.
Nelson: Blue Origin lawsuit adds further delays to Artemis SpaceNews · 23 Aug 2021 NASA Administrator Bill Nelson talks Artemis, HLS, budget prospects and more in an exclusive interview with SpaceNews.
SpaceX Starship factory breaks ground on an even bigger ‘high bay’ Teslarati · 23 Aug 2021 SpaceX appears to have more or less broken ground on a new, even bigger ‘high bay’ assembly facility at its Boca Chica,...
Analysts: Space SPACs can be a steal or a shot in the dark SpaceNews · 23 Aug 2021 The SPAC trend in the space industry does not appear to be letting up, says a new report by Avascent and Jefferies, but analysts caution that these deals, while attractive for space companies, can be risky for investors.
Ship 20 primed for pre-flight testing amid future refinements NASASpaceflight · 22 Aug 2021 Following the iconic first view of a fully integrated Starship stack during fit checks on the Orbital Launch Site (OLS) mount, both Ship 20 and Booster 4 are being prepared for testing ahead of the milestone orbital laun...
SpaceX President reveals 600,000 global Starlink internet preorders Teslarati · 22 Aug 2021 SpaceX COO and President Gwynne Shotwell says that the company has secured more than half a million preorders for Starlink satellite internet...
OneWeb constellation nears 300 satellites after Arianespace launch SpaceNews · 22 Aug 2021 Arianespace launched its ninth mission for broadband startup OneWeb Aug. 21, expanding its low Earth orbit constellation to 288 satellites.
Soyuz rocket delivers in ninth launch for OneWeb Spaceflight Now · 22 Aug 2021 Another 34 satellites for OneWeb’s internet network successfully launched on Russian Soyuz rocket Saturday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, giving the UK-based company a fleet of 288 spacecraft.
Preparing for a Space Symposium like no other SpaceNews · 22 Aug 2021 The 36th annual Space Symposium expects to attract 7,500 to 8,000 attendees to the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs and a virtual platform streaming presentations and discussions.
ExoMars 2022 mission in final testing, ESA & Roscosmos prepare for approaching launch NASASpaceflight · 21 Aug 2021 The European Space Agency (ESA) and Roscosmos are preparing for the 2022 launch of the next mission in their joint ExoMars program, which is currently undergoing final testing before shipment to Kazakhstan for a launch i...
Chinese astronauts complete second spacewalk outside space station Spaceflight Now · 21 Aug 2021 Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming accomplished a nearly six-hour spacewalk Friday outside the core module of the country’s new space station, installing a coolant pump and lifting a panoramic camera to provi...
Shareholders approve Rocket Lab SPAC deal SpaceNews · 20 Aug 2021 Shareholders of a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) voted Aug. 20 to merge with Rocket Lab, giving the small launch vehicle and spacecraft developer an infusion of cash.
Chinese Space Station taikonauts conduct second spacewalk NASASpaceflight · 20 Aug 2021 The crew of Shenzhou-12 has conducted the second spacewalk of the mission, and the second spacewalk of the new Chinese Space Station’s lifetime. The extravehicular activity (EVA) comes two months into their planned 90-da...
Space Force to establish new command in Colorado focused on training and education SpaceNews · 20 Aug 2021 The U.S. Space Force on Aug. 23 will establish the Space Training and Readiness Command at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs.
Tropical Storm Henri will make landfall in the northeastern United States Ars Technica · 20 Aug 2021 Inland flooding is likely from Henri.
PNT alternatives champion open-market approach SpaceNews · 20 Aug 2021 Competing positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) companies are joining forces to accelerate efforts to back up global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).
Space Force awards $32 million in contracts to startups and small businesses SpaceNews · 20 Aug 2021 At a virtual pitch event Aug. 19, the U.S. Space Force selected 19 companies that each will receive $1.7 million Small Business Innovation Research Phase 2 contracts.
Rocket Report: Firefly completes static fire, Blue Origin gets HLS stay Ars Technica · 20 Aug 2021 "This requirement is in alignment with our U.S. government customer."
Blue Origin lawsuit forces SpaceX, NASA to stop joint work on Starship Moon lander Teslarati · 20 Aug 2021 Days after Jeff Bezos space startup Blue Origin sued NASA over its decision to solely award SpaceX a contract to turn Starship...
Astronauts conduct second Chinese space station spacewalk SpaceNews · 20 Aug 2021 Two Chinese astronauts embarked on a second Shenzhou-12 spacewalk late Thursday to carry out work on a space station robotic arm.
Blue Origin suit stops work on NASA HLS contract with SpaceX SpaceNews · 19 Aug 2021 NASA will stop work on a Human Landing System award to SpaceX through the end of October as a federal court takes up a suit filed by Blue Origin protesting the contract.
SpaceX says Starship will launch the next generation of Starlink satellites Teslarati · 19 Aug 2021 SpaceX has submitted an FCC application modifying what it calls Starlinks Generation 2 (Gen2) constellation and laying out plans to launch some...
Space surveillance sensor supplier Geost acquired by private equity firm SpaceNews · 19 Aug 2021 Geost, a company that supplies space surveillance sensors to the U.S. military and intelligence agencies, has been acquired by ATL Partners, a private equity firm.
SpaceX wants to give Starship lead role in revised second-gen Starlink plan SpaceNews · 19 Aug 2021 SpaceX is proposing to use Starship to rapidly deploy its second-generation Starlink constellation, providing denser rural coverage without needing more than the 30,000 satellites it previously envisioned for the follow-...
China launches two radar mapping satellites Spaceflight Now · 19 Aug 2021 China launched a Long March 4B rocket Wednesday carrying two Tianhui radar mapping satellites into orbit more than 300 miles in altitude.
Europe, Russia launch 9th OneWeb mission NASASpaceflight · 19 Aug 2021 In collaboration with Starsem and Roscosmos, Arianespace has launched 34 new internet communication satellites aboard a Soyuz 2.1b for the OneWeb 9 mission. The flight marks the 8th operational launch of OneWeb satellite...
Startup raises funding to provide high-resolution imagery from balloons SpaceNews · 19 Aug 2021 A Colorado startup has raised a seed round of funding to further develop a system that can provide imagery from high-altitude balloons at much higher resolution than satellites.
Redwire opens digital engineering facility aimed at national security space agencies SpaceNews · 19 Aug 2021 Redwire is opening a digital engineering facility where government agencies and aerospace companies can prototype hardware, design space architectures and concepts of operations.
South Korea to invest $13.6 billion to bolster defenses capabilities in outer space SpaceNews · 19 Aug 2021 South Korea will invest 16 trillion won ($13.6 billion) over the next 10 years in bolstering its defense capabilities in outer space. This includes 1.6 trillion won to be used to develop “core technologies” for military...
Blue Origin to perform first New Shepard launch under updated license SpaceNews · 19 Aug 2021 Blue Origin will conduct its next New Shepard suborbital mission Aug. 25 with a set of research payloads, but not people, on board on the vehicle’s first flight under a revised launch license.
SpaceX to shrink, tweak Starship’s forward flap design, says Elon Musk Teslarati · 19 Aug 2021 SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that there is a “slight error” with the current design of Starship’s forward flaps, necessitating a few...
South Korea touts Artemis Accords as a way to settle international space issues SpaceNews · 19 Aug 2021 South Korea’s vice foreign minister said last week that the most effective way to settle space disputes is through an international diplomatic framework like the Artemis Accords.
Chang Zheng-4B launches with two Tianhui 2 satellites NASASpaceflight · 19 Aug 2021 China has launched a Long March/Chang Zheng-4B from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 22:32 UTC on August 18 carrying the second group of Tianhui 2 satellites into orbit.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft returns to processing facility for valve work Spaceflight Now · 19 Aug 2021 After valve problems caused it to miss an opportunity to launch earlier this month on a test flight to the International Space Station, Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule returned to a processing facility at the Kennedy Spa...
Update: NASA Spacewalk Briefing to Highlight New Solar Array Installation NASA · 18 Aug 2021 Two astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station Tuesday, Aug. 24, for a spacewalk to install a support bracket in preparation for future installation of the orbiting laboratory’s third new solar array...
NASA Seeks Student Tech Ideas for Suborbital Launch NASA · 18 Aug 2021 NASA is calling on all sixth through 12th-grade educators and students to submit experiments for possible suborbital flights as a way of gaining firsthand experience with the design and testing process used by NASA resea...
La NASA busca propuestas tecnológicas de estudiantes para lanzamientos suborbitales NASA · 18 Aug 2021 La NASA hace un llamado a todos los educadores y estudiantes de grados 6.º a 12.º para que presenten experimentos para posibles vuelos suborbitales como una forma de obtener experiencia de primera mano en el proceso de d...

Launch and satellite data: Jonathan McDowell's GCAT (CC BY 4.0) and CelesTrak. Rockets, spacecraft and agencies: Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs and Wikidata. News headlines link to their publishers via the Spaceflight News API and RSS feeds. Records come from several sources and are matched automatically, so treat the directory as a research aid, not an authority. How the data is built and checked.