Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- Virgin-founder Richard Branson heads for space Sunday Spaceflight Now · 9 Jul 2021 After nearly two decades of overly optimistic forecasts, technical challenges, a tragic setback and a determined recovery, Richard Branson, the globe-trotting media mogul and founder of Virgin Galactic, plans to rocket i...
- NASA awards contract to Northrop Grumman to build Gateway module SpaceNews · 9 Jul 2021 NASA has awarded a contract worth $935 million to Northrop Grumman to build and integrate the first habitation module for the lunar Gateway.
- How to watch Branson’s flight, which Jeff Bezos is still hopping mad about Ars Technica · 9 Jul 2021 "New Shepard was designed to fly above the Kármán line."
- Artemis 1 ICPS stage from ULA added to SLS stack NASASpaceflight · 9 Jul 2021 NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) and prime launch processing contractor Jacobs hoisted the in-space stage for the Artemis 1 Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle into High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB)...
- China’s Long March 6 launches five satellites NASASpaceflight · 9 Jul 2021 China successfully launched a Chang Zheng 6 rocket from LC-16 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 11:59 UTC (7:59 PM Beijing time) on Friday July 9. This launch is the sixth launch of the Chang Zheng 6 (CZ-6), also...
- North Korea-linked hackers accessed South’s rocket developer: spy agency SpaceNews · 9 Jul 2021 Hackers linked to North Korea broke into the network of a South Korean aerospace company last month that holds confidential rocket propulsion technologies developed for the nation’s first indigenous space launch vehicle...
- ESA resumes ExoMars parachute tests SpaceNews · 9 Jul 2021 The European Space Agency has resumed tests of the parachutes for its ExoMars lander, a system whose problems contributed to a two-year delay in the mission’s launch.
- Rocket Report: SLS not available for science, OneWeb reaches milestone Ars Technica · 9 Jul 2021 "There is great concern about this engine development."
- SpaceX Cargo Dragon spacecraft heads home after a month in orbit Teslarati · 9 Jul 2021 After more than a month in orbit, SpaceX’s second upgraded Cargo Dragon spacecraft has undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on...
- FAA begins use of system to reduce impact of launches on airspace SpaceNews · 8 Jul 2021 The FAA has started to use a new tool intended to better integrate commercial launches and reentries into the National Airspace System, reducing the disruptions those events have on aviation.
- NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds Patches of Rock Record Erased, Revealing Clues NASA · 8 Jul 2021 A new paper enriches scientists’ understanding of where the rock record preserved or destroyed evidence of Mars’ past and possible signs of ancient life.
- Ten years on, Northrop Grumman reflects on changes to Solid Rocket Motors from Shuttle to SLS era NASASpaceflight · 8 Jul 2021 Ten years ago, on 8 July 2011, two, four-segment Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) came to life on LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center, propelling the orbiter Atlantis and her four person crew upwards toward space on the 135th...
- Dragon cargo ship departs space station and heads for Earth Spaceflight Now · 8 Jul 2021 A SpaceX cargo capsule undocked from the International Space Station Thursday and headed for splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico after a two-day delay to wait for Tropical Storm Elsa to clear the area.
- Meet the Open-Source Software Powering NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter NASA · 8 Jul 2021 Created at NASA’s JPL, the open-source flight software called F Prime isn’t just powering humanity’s first interplanetary helicopter; it’s also powering inspiration at multiple universities.
- Cargo Dragon splashes down to complete SpaceX CRS-22 mission NASASpaceflight · 8 Jul 2021 The SpaceX CRS-22 mission has come to a close, with Cargo Dragon having departed the International Space Station on Thursday, July 8 after a series of weather delays. NASA and SpaceX teams continued to monitor weather at...
- NASA, Northrop Grumman Finalize Moon Outpost Living Quarters Contract NASA · 8 Jul 2021 NASA and Northrop Grumman of Dulles, Virginia, have finalized a contract to develop the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) for Gateway, which will be a critical waystation and outpost in orbit around the Moon as par...
- Supply chain, Artemis program limit SLS use for science missions SpaceNews · 8 Jul 2021 A limited supply chain and the demands of the Artemis program will prevent the use of the Space Launch System for alternative roles, such as launching science missions, until at least late this decade.
- First Astranis satellite in final phase of assembly SpaceNews · 8 Jul 2021 Astranis announced that the first in its line of very small geostationary orbit satellites is entering its final assembly phase for launch in early 2022.
- SpaceX Starship booster weathers thunderstorm ahead of first ‘cryo proof’ Teslarati · 8 Jul 2021 Meshing with road and beach closures requested earlier this week, Next Spaceflight reports that a SpaceX Super Heavy booster is scheduled to...
- SpaceX CEO Elon Musk talks Starship space telescopes, artificial gravity Teslarati · 7 Jul 2021 In his latest batch of tweets, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that the company is already thinking about the many potential ways...
- James Webb passes critical mission review for 2021 launch, final testing nearing completion NASASpaceflight · 7 Jul 2021 The joint NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has passed its critical final mission analysis review — clearing the way for a late 2021 launch from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana on an Arianes...
- NASA Invites Media to Northrop Grumman’s August Launch from Virginia NASA · 7 Jul 2021 Media accreditation is open for the launch from Virginia of Northrop Grumman’s 16th commercial resupply services mission to deliver NASA science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station...
- Increasingly, the ULA-Blue Origin marriage is an unhappy one Ars Technica · 7 Jul 2021 "It does no good to throw Blue Origin under the bus."
- Planet valued at $2.8 billion in SPAC deal SpaceNews · 7 Jul 2021 Planet announced July 7 it will go public in a $2.8 billion deal with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), the second SPAC deal in the Earth observation sector in as many days.
- Chinese astronauts complete first spacewalk outside new space station Spaceflight Now · 7 Jul 2021 Two Chinese astronauts headed outside the country’s space station Saturday for the second-ever spacewalk in China’s space program, and the first staged from the new Tiangong complex in low Earth orbit.
- SpaceX drone ship completes 5000-mile journey from Florida to California Teslarati · 7 Jul 2021 A bit less than four weeks after departing Central Florida’s Port Canaveral, SpaceX drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY)...
- NOAA to take first step toward a small satellite constellation SpaceNews · 7 Jul 2021 It’s a good thing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has plenty of time to prepare for its next generation of polar-orbiting weather satellites — because the changes the agency is contemplating are drama...
- New York Students to Hear from NASA, JAXA Astronauts on Space Station NASA · 6 Jul 2021 Students from Harlem Link Charter School will have an opportunity this week to hear from astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
- Satellogic to public through SPAC deal SpaceNews · 6 Jul 2021 Earth imaging company Satellogic announced July 6 it will go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), raising the funding it needs to build out a constellation of 300 spacecraft.
- NASA’s helicopter on Mars just keeps flying and flying Ars Technica · 6 Jul 2021 For NASA, taking some risk has paid off handsomely.
- NASA Announces Public Meeting on Mission Equity, Request for Information NASA · 6 Jul 2021 NASA’s public meeting to discuss its recently issued request for information (RFI), entitled Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities in NASA Programs, Contracts and Grants, will take place at 1 p....
- China conducts third orbital launch inside four days SpaceNews · 6 Jul 2021 China launched a Tianlian-1 data tracking and relay communications satellite Tuesday, marking the country’s third successful mission in four days.
- China launches fifth Tianlian-1 data relay and communication satellite NASASpaceflight · 6 Jul 2021 The Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) launched their fifth Tianlian 1 series tracking data and relay communications satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in central China. The Long...
- JWST passes launch review SpaceNews · 6 Jul 2021 The James Webb Space Telescope is one step closer to launch after a review of its Ariane launch vehicle, while NASA continues a separate review of the name of the spacecraft itself.
- SpaceX sets new goals for Falcon booster reuse goals after ten-flight milestone Teslarati · 6 Jul 2021 Speaking virtually at Barcelona’s 2021 Mobile World Congress (MWC), CEO Elon Musk says that SpaceX has already set its sights on even...
- Space Tugs as a Service: In-orbit service providers are bracing for consolidation SpaceNews · 6 Jul 2021 Orbital transfer and servicing providers are bracing for a space tug of war as they jostle for position in an increasingly crowded market.
- OneWeb names winners of 2021 Innovation Challenge SpaceNews · 6 Jul 2021 IRT Saint Exupéry, Mbryonics, Morpheus Space, Oledcomm and R3-IoT were the winners of OneWeb’s 2021 Innovation Challenge.
- China launches Fengyun weather satellite into polar orbit Spaceflight Now · 5 Jul 2021 A new Chinese Fengyun weather satellite launched Sunday and flew into an early morning polar orbit to feed data into global computer models, adding inputs that international weather officials said will improve medium and...
- SpaceX CEO Elon Musk teases nine-engine Starship, Raptor upgrades Teslarati · 5 Jul 2021 In his latest round of SpaceX-related tweets, CEO Elon Musk says that the company has plans to boost Raptor’s performance by at...
- China launches five Earth observation satellites on Long March 2D rocket Spaceflight Now · 5 Jul 2021 China successfully launched five small remote sensing satellites on top of a Long March 2D rocket Saturday into an orbit more than 330 miles above Earth.