Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- SpaceX schedules first West Coast Starlink launch after a quiet July Teslarati · 28 Jul 2021 Spaceflight Now reports that SpaceX has scheduled Starlink’s West Coast launch debut no earlier than August 10th, a mission that will also...
- Isar Aerospace raises $75 million SpaceNews · 28 Jul 2021 Isar Aerospace, a German small launch vehicle company, has raised an additional $75 million that will allow the company to expand its manufacturing and launch capabilities.
- Rocket Lab set to resume launches Thursday after failure in May Spaceflight Now · 28 Jul 2021 Rocket Lab is set to launch a small U.S. military technology demonstration satellite from New Zealand Thursday on the company’s first mission since a second stage failure doomed a commercial mission in May.
- Weather key issue for Starliner launch SpaceNews · 27 Jul 2021 NASA and Boeing say a second test flight of the company’s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle remains on track for launch July 30, with weather the biggest concern.
- Anuvu orders first satellites for small GEO mobility constellation SpaceNews · 27 Jul 2021 Anuvu has ordered the first two of an eight-strong constellation of small geostationary orbit satellites as demand returns for Wi-Fi on aircraft, boats and remote locations.
- NASA cites Falcon flight heritage to select SpaceX to launch Europa Clipper NASASpaceflight · 27 Jul 2021 On Friday, July 23, NASA announced that SpaceX was the winner of a commercial procurement to launch the Europa Clipper mission, which will closely study the icy Galilean moon of Jupiter in search of signs of life and/or...
- SpaceX Starship launch tower stacked to full height ahead of ‘Mechazilla’ transformation Teslarati · 27 Jul 2021 Update: After an aborted attempt on Tuesday, SpaceX has successfully installed the ninth and final section of Starship’s South Texas ‘launch tower,...
- “All eyes on weather” for Friday test launch of Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule Spaceflight Now · 27 Jul 2021 Clouds and the threat of lightning could thwart plans to launch an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Friday with a Boeing commercial crew capsule on an unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station, according...
- House panel wants details on Space Force plans to upgrade launch infrastructure SpaceNews · 27 Jul 2021 The House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on strategic forces in its markup of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act raises concerns about the state of the U.S. space launch infrastructure.
- Astroscale and rocket maker MHI team up to develop debris removal technology SpaceNews · 27 Jul 2021 Astroscale announced July 27 that it will be working with rocket maker Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on technologies to help clean up space junk.
- Blue Origin has a secret project named “Jarvis” to compete with SpaceX Ars Technica · 27 Jul 2021 “This is the difference between taking a profit and a loss on New Glenn launches."
- Astronomers back technical efforts to reduce impacts of satellite megaconstellations while seeking regulatory solutions SpaceNews · 27 Jul 2021 With slow progress on regulation and policy, astronomers are making progress on other approaches to mitigate the effects that satellite megaconstellations will have on their observations.
- Chinese rocket company Space Pioneer secures major funding ahead of first launch SpaceNews · 27 Jul 2021 Chinese commercial rocket company Space Pioneer has secured a large funding round ahead of reusable “hop” tests and a first orbital launch.
- SpaceX just finished Starship’s 100th Raptor engine Teslarati · 27 Jul 2021 SpaceX says its Hawthorne, California rocket factory and headquarters has completed the assembly of Starship and Super Heavy’s 100th Raptor engine. SpaceX...
- SpaceX is about to begin launching the next series of Starlink satellites Spaceflight Now · 27 Jul 2021 After going through July with no launches, SpaceX is scheduled to resume missions in August with Falcon 9 rocket flights from California and Florida to commence deployment of the next generation of Starlink internet sate...
- DoD calls for broader dialogue on space rules of behavior SpaceNews · 26 Jul 2021 Guidelines issued by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for responsible space operations should be part of a wider conversation about how to maintain safety and security in space, a senior Pentagon official said July 26.
- US Interns, Texas, Bulgarian Students to Hear from Space Station Astronauts NASA · 26 Jul 2021 Students across the globe have opportunities this week to hear from astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
- Lucy spacecraft passes pre-shipment review, on track for October launch NASASpaceflight · 26 Jul 2021 NASA and Lockheed Martin are another step closer to the launch of their Lucy Trojan Explorer mission, with the craft completing its pre-shipment review ahead of transportation to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in...
- Bezos says he is now willing to invest in a Moon lander—here’s why Ars Technica · 26 Jul 2021 "I think they realized it's why they lost."
- NASA Previews Science on Next Northrop Grumman Space Station Mission NASA · 26 Jul 2021 NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 2, to discuss science investigations and technology demonstrations launching on Northrop Grumman’s 16th commercial resupply mission for the agency to the I...
- SpaceX or ULA to launch future Space Development Agency satellites SpaceNews · 26 Jul 2021 Launch services for Space Development Agency satellites will be procured under the National Security Space Launch program run by the U.S. Space Force.
- U.K. to strengthen regulations for Starlink, OneWeb and other NGSO constellations SpaceNews · 26 Jul 2021 British telecoms regulator Ofcom is proposing rule changes that would affect Starlink, OneWeb and other satellite constellations operating in non-geostationary orbits (NGSO).
- Bezos offers billions in incentives for NASA lunar lander contract SpaceNews · 26 Jul 2021 Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos says his company will cover more than $2 billion in costs if NASA will award it a second Human Landing System (HLS) contract.
- China is working on a relay satellite to support lunar polar missions SpaceNews · 26 Jul 2021 China is developing a new lunar relay satellite to support future exploration missions to the south pole of the moon.
- Report calls on government agencies to better coordinate spectrum SpaceNews · 26 Jul 2021 An interagency dispute about the use of a spectrum band for weather forecasting versus terrestrial wireless services illustrates the need for the federal government to reform its spectrum management processes, a report c...
- Russia’s Pirs module discarded after 20 years of service at space station Spaceflight Now · 26 Jul 2021 Wrapping up nearly 20 years of service as a docking port and airlock, Russia’s Pirs module departed the International Space Station Monday under tow from a Progress supply ship, heading for a destructive re-entry in Eart...
- SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reveals Starship factory upgrade plans Teslarati · 26 Jul 2021 CEO Elon Musk says that SpaceX is about to begin the construction of “a much larger high bay” adjacent to the existing...
- SpaceX Falcon Heavy to launch NASA ocean moon explorer, saving the US billions Teslarati · 25 Jul 2021 In a move that’s likely to save the US taxpayer several billion dollars over the next few years, NASA has carefully extricated...
- Farewell, Pirs; ISS module decommissioned, destructively reentered NASASpaceflight · 25 Jul 2021 After nearly 20 years in orbit serving as a docking port and airlock for the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS), the Pirs module — also called Stykovochny Otsek 1, or Docking Compartment 1 (DC-1) —...
- China launches three more Yaogan spysats Spaceflight Now · 25 Jul 2021 China launched another trio of Yaogan 30 military spy satellites July 19, bringing to 30 the number of similar Chinese spacecraft shot into orbit since 2017 on suspected naval surveillance missions.
- Exploring VERITAS, one of NASA’s new missions to Venus NASASpaceflight · 24 Jul 2021 Selected as a finalist alongside three other missions for NASA’s next Discovery program missions in February 2020, the Jet Propulsion Lab’s VERITAS mission was chosen by NASA as one of the agency’s next two planetary res...
- Falcon Heavy to launch Europa Clipper SpaceNews · 24 Jul 2021 NASA has selected SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to launch its Europa Clipper mission to a potentially habitable moon of Jupiter, a choice that appeared inevitable once NASA was no longer required to use the Space Launch System.
- NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Europa Clipper Mission NASA · 23 Jul 2021 NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for Earth’s first mission to conduct detailed investigations of Jupiter's moon Europa.
- SpaceX to launch the Europa Clipper mission for a bargain price Ars Technica · 23 Jul 2021 Decision comes after shaking issue with SLS rocket made it untenable.
- NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for the Europa Clipper Mission NASA · 23 Jul 2021 NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for Earth’s first mission to conduct detailed investigations of Jupiter's moon Europa.
- Court denies Viasat attempt to halt Starlink launches pending legal action SpaceNews · 23 Jul 2021 A federal appeals court denied a motion from satellite operator Viasat to stop SpaceX from enlarging its Starlink megaconstellation.
- Senators push for action on space traffic management SpaceNews · 23 Jul 2021 Members of a Senate space subcommittee argued that the Commerce Department was not doing enough to implement policies on space traffic management (STM) or staffing the office responsible for it.
- Rocket Report: Super Heavy lights up, China tries to recover a fairing Ars Technica · 23 Jul 2021 "My expectations were high, and they were dramatically exceeded."
- Starliner cleared for second uncrewed test flight SpaceNews · 23 Jul 2021 NASA approved plans July 22 for the launch of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on a second uncrewed test flight that seeks to demonstrate that the company has corrected the problems seen on the first.
- Flight Readiness Review gives green light for Starliner OFT-2 NASASpaceflight · 22 Jul 2021 NASA and Boeing have finished the agency Flight Readiness Review (FRR) for the second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. OFT-2 will demonstrate the changes made to the Starliner spacecraft f...