Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- Rocket Lab announces three back-to-back launches for BlackSky Spaceflight Now · 15 Aug 2021 Rocket Lab is gearing up for three back-to-back missions beginning later this month from its New Zealand launch base, each carrying two commercial BlackSky Earth-imaging satellites.
- Development of spacesuits for Artemis moonwalks lagging Spaceflight Now · 15 Aug 2021 The next-generation spacesuits needed by the first moonwalkers in NASA’s Artemis program will not be available until 2025 at the earliest and will have cost more than $1 billion to develop, according to the agency’s Offi...
- End of an era: Space and Missile Systems Center is now Space Systems Command SpaceNews · 13 Aug 2021 The U.S. Space Force on Aug. 13 official renamed the Space and Missile Systems Center as the Space Systems Command.
- Boeing to ground Starliner indefinitely until valve issue solved Ars Technica · 13 Aug 2021 "I know this is very, very hard on our NASA and Boeing teams."
- Intuitive Machines adds third mission following first lunar landings in 2022 NASASpaceflight · 13 Aug 2021 Intuitive Machines (IM) has selected SpaceX to launch their third mission to the Moon. Named IM-3, the company’s Nova-C lander will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 currently targeted for the first quarter of 2024 followi...
- NASA stands by its astronaut after incendiary Russian claims Ars Technica · 13 Aug 2021 "I fully support Serena, and I will always stand behind our astronauts."
- Astra to fly upgraded rocket on next launch SpaceNews · 13 Aug 2021 Astra will introduce an upgraded version of its small launch vehicle on its next flight later this month intended to increase the vehicle’s payload capacity.
- Starliner test flight faces months-long delay SpaceNews · 13 Aug 2021 A test flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle will be delayed for likely several months to fix a problem with valves on the spacecraft.
- Startup wants to develop cargo services for Chinese space station SpaceNews · 13 Aug 2021 A Chinese startup is aiming to developing spacecraft capable of sending cargo to China’s space station, with a first small demonstration launch set for 2022.
- Rocket Report: NASA installs SLS software, India’s GSLV fails to reach orbit Ars Technica · 13 Aug 2021 "I was really expecting to see a slowdown in the number of new launch vehicles."
- SpaceX’s first Falcon Heavy launch in two years is finally coming together Teslarati · 13 Aug 2021 For the first time in more than two years, SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy launch and dual-booster landing appears to be right around...
- Ultra-precise tracking virtually rules out near term impact by asteroid Bennu Spaceflight Now · 13 Aug 2021 In September 2135, the 1,600-foot-wide asteroid Bennu will pass between the Earth and the moon and while scientists said Wednesday there is no chance of a collision, Earth’s gravity will alter the interloper’s trajectory...
- Boeing opts to haul Starliner back to hangar, delays flight indefinitely Spaceflight Now · 13 Aug 2021 Around-the-clock work to fix valve problems that derailed an Aug. 3 attempt to launch Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule on an unpiloted test flight was called off Friday, delaying another try until after NASA launches a hi...
- Russia’s space program just threw a NASA astronaut under the bus Ars Technica · 12 Aug 2021 "The Americans refused to perform a polygraph examination."
- NASA, Boeing to Provide Update on Starliner’s Orbital Flight Test-2 NASA · 12 Aug 2021 NASA and Boeing are continuing discussions on the status of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission, and will host a joint media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT, Friday, Aug. 13, to discuss the second uncrewed flight of B...
- Euroconsult: Pandemic does little to slow smallsat sector SpaceNews · 12 Aug 2021 The space sector in general has proven resilient throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Alexandre Najjar, Euroconsult senior consultant, said Aug. 12 during a Small Satellite Conference side panel.
- Space Force to kick off new program to attract small businesses and startups SpaceNews · 12 Aug 2021 The U.S. Space Force is launching a new industry outreach program expected to award up to $50 million in contracts to small businesses and startups.
- Rocket Lab wins order for three Photon missions from space manufacturing startup SpaceNews · 12 Aug 2021 Rocket Lab will build and launch three of its Photon spacecraft to serve as platforms for a startup with space manufacturing aspirations.
- SpaceX’s first orbital-class Starship and Super Heavy to return to launch pad next week Teslarati · 12 Aug 2021 CEO Elon Musk says that SpaceX could return the first orbital-class Starship prototype and its Super Heavy booster to the launch site...
- NASA Awards $18 Million for Research at Minority Serving Institutions NASA · 12 Aug 2021 NASA and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) across the United States are teaming up to bring untapped talent and diverse perspectives to several of the agency’s top priorities: understanding and monitoring global ocean...
- Telesat close to completing Lightspeed funding SpaceNews · 12 Aug 2021 Telesat is close to securing all the funds it needs for Lightspeed, after the Canadian government said it would inject more than a billion dollars into the low Earth orbit constellation.
- U.S. Army brigade teaches military forces about the value of space SpaceNews · 12 Aug 2021 Without satellites in space, military forces on the ground cannot shoot, move or communicate. That is the mantra that the Army’s 1st Space Brigade tries to instill with troops around the world.
- Astra announces launch contract with Spire SpaceNews · 12 Aug 2021 Small launch vehicle developer Astra Space announced Aug. 12 it has a contract with Spire Global to launch some of that company’s smallsats.
- South Korea’s Hanwha enlarges space focus with $300 million OneWeb investment SpaceNews · 12 Aug 2021 Satellite broadband startup OneWeb has secured $300 million of strategic investment from Hanwha, the South Korean conglomerate with plans for its own megaconstellation.
- Satellite operators to test a new collaboration tool designed to help prevent collisions SpaceNews · 12 Aug 2021 OneWeb, Spire Global and Orbit Fab will test a new collaboration platform developed by Slingshot Aerospace to help satellite operators share space traffic information.
- Shareholders approve Momentus SPAC deal SpaceNews · 12 Aug 2021 Shareholders of a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) approved a merger with in-space transportation company Momentus Aug. 11, the first of several such deals expected to close in the next month.
- NG-16 arrives at ISS, Northrop Grumman talks Cygnus’ future use NASASpaceflight · 12 Aug 2021 After a 36 hour phasing profile, the S.S. Ellison Onizuka cargo ship, part of Northrop Grumman’s NG-16 mission, has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS). Safely in the grip of Canadarm2, Cygnus will now be at...
- SpaceX CEO Elon Musk details orbital refueling plans for Starship Moon lander Teslarati · 12 Aug 2021 After a much-anticipated GAO denial of Blue Origin and Dynetics protests over NASA’s decision to solely award SpaceX a contract to turn...
- Indian rocket failure blamed on upper stage malfunction Spaceflight Now · 12 Aug 2021 An Indian Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle tumbled out of control five minutes after liftoff Wednesday when the rocket’s cryogenic upper stage failed to ignite, destroying a long-delayed Earth observation spacecra...
- Cygnus supply ship arrives at space station with four tons of cargo Spaceflight Now · 12 Aug 2021 Closing out a 36-hour flight from a launch pad in Virginia, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station Thursday with a host of biomedical experiments, supplies for a 3D printing tech...
- Exponential growth of cubesats may be tapering off SpaceNews · 12 Aug 2021 The use of cubesats has grown dramatically in recent years, but some are wondering if the form factor has reached the limits of its usefulness.
- Electrodynamic tethers speed up satellite reentry timelines SpaceNews · 12 Aug 2021 Tethers Unlimited’s Terminator Tape lowered a cubesat into Earth’s atmosphere in eight months, while a nearly identical satellite without a 70-meter conductive tail is expected to remain in orbit for more than a decade.
- India set to launch Earth-viewing telescope into geostationary orbit Spaceflight Now · 11 Aug 2021 India is set to launch the first in a new line of high-altitude Earth observation satellites Wednesday aboard a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle debuting a slightly larger wider payload shroud to accommodate large...
- Northrop Grumman has not ruled out another try at national security space launch SpaceNews · 11 Aug 2021 A year after discontinuing the development of its OmegA rocket, Northrop Grumman is not completely ruling out a future attempt to get back in the national security launch market.
- Measat gives up on drifting satellite in a blow for insurers SpaceNews · 11 Aug 2021 Satellite insurers are bracing for a $45 million claim from Malaysian operator Measat, which plans to de-orbit Measat-3 after failing to return it to service.
- SpaceX’s fleet of rocket recovery ships is about to get even bigger Teslarati · 11 Aug 2021 Four months after SpaceX gave up on catching Falcon fairings and stripped and returned a pair of leased ships it had modified...
- Lunar cubesats head to the launch pad SpaceNews · 11 Aug 2021 The first cubesats designed to study the moon are scheduled to launch late this year, with more in development in the next few years.
- Hyten: To counter hypersonic missiles DoD needs ‘overhead sensors that see everything’ SpaceNews · 11 Aug 2021 Sensors in space that can detect and track hypersonic missiles should be at the top of DoD’s wish list, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten said Aug. 11.
- NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Spots Perseverance From Above NASA · 11 Aug 2021 Can you see NASA’s newest rover in this picture from Jezero Crater?
- This is probably why Blue Origin keeps protesting NASA’s lunar lander award Ars Technica · 11 Aug 2021 Bezos likely views the Human Landing System contract as COTS for Blue Origin.