Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- NASA spacecraft spots Chinese rover on Martian surface Spaceflight Now · 11 Jun 2021 The sharp-eyed camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted China’s Zhurong rover on the Red Planet, showing the craft next so its landing platform, with pieces of its heat shield and parachute nearby.
- Governments ally for federated quantum encryption satellite network SpaceNews · 11 Jun 2021 The United States and five other countries are banding together with the United Kingdom to develop a satellite-based quantum technology encryption network.
- Seraphim Capital unveils world’s first listed space technology fund SpaceNews · 11 Jun 2021 Seraphim Capital plans to trade stakes it has amassed in space technology startups on the public market through an investment trust.
- Chinese Chang Zheng 2D launches commercial Earth observation satellite and secondary payloads NASASpaceflight · 11 Jun 2021 A Chinese Chang Zheng 2D rocket has successfully lofted four satellites into Low Earth Orbit. The primary spacecraft on board was Beijing-3, a commercially developed and operated Earth observation satellite.
- Rocket Report: Vandals spray-paint Buran; China to launch first crew in 4 years Ars Technica · 11 Jun 2021 "This idea has been around since the dawn of spaceflight."
- Phase Four raises $26 million SpaceNews · 11 Jun 2021 Phase Four has raised $26 million in a Series B round that will allow it to accelerate production of its satellite electric propulsion systems.
- Voyage 2050 sets sail: ESA chooses future science mission themes ESA · 11 Jun 2021 ESA's large-class science missions for the timeframe 2035-2050 will focus on moons of the giant Solar System planets, temperate exoplanets or the galactic ecosystem, and new physical probes of the early Universe.
- SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says Starship will take over Starlink launches Teslarati · 11 Jun 2021 SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has reiterated plans for Starship to take over Starlink launches, eventually fully replacing Falcon 9’s role in the...
- Analysis: DoD space budget ‘clear winner’ in 2022 proposal SpaceNews · 10 Jun 2021 In the Biden administration’s 2022 budget proposal, the Pentagon is requesting $15.3 billion for investments in space technology, an increase of $1.8 billion over what Congress enacted in 2021.
- SpaceX VP says Starlink is almost ready to revolutionize in-flight internet Teslarati · 10 Jun 2021 Speaking on a panel at an aviation conference, a senior SpaceX sales executive says that the company is in talks with “several…airlines”...
- Ground teams begin process to hoist SLS core stage onto its launch platform Spaceflight Now · 10 Jun 2021 Technicians inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center began a delicate, multi-day task Thursday to lift the 94-ton core stage of the first Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket for mounting betw...
- NASA Selects New Science Investigations for Future Moon Deliveries NASA · 10 Jun 2021 As NASA continues plans for multiple commercial deliveries to the Moon’s surface per year, the agency has selected three new scientific investigation payload suites to advance understanding of Earth’s nearest neighbor.
- U.S. Space Force to launch ‘space domain awareness’ satellite on Pegasus rocket SpaceNews · 10 Jun 2021 A U.S. Space Force mission scheduled to launch June 13 on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket is a monitoring satellite intended to provide “space domain awareness."
- Canadarm3 collision avoidance AI solutions sought as operational needs solidify NASASpaceflight · 10 Jun 2021 With launch just five years away, the Gateway Exploration Robotics System — better known as Canadarm3 — has arrived at a critical point where its artificial intelligence system must be properly calibrated to meet the rig...
- ULA delays Atlas 5 launch to study unexpected engine vibrations Spaceflight Now · 10 Jun 2021 United Launch Alliance’s next Atlas 5 launch will carry Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule into orbit July 30 on its second unpiloted test fight, officials confirmed Thursday. An Atlas 5 rocket for the U.S. military previou...
- Space startups selected for Amazon Web Services accelerator SpaceNews · 10 Jun 2021 Amazon Web Services announced June 10 it selected 10 U.S. and European space startups for a four-week accelerator program.
- NASA doesn’t need to test SLS anymore, but the Senate mandates it anyway Ars Technica · 10 Jun 2021 A test article may have been useful five years ago. But five years from now?
- Health care exec to lead UK Space Agency SpaceNews · 10 Jun 2021 The UK Space Agency has picked health care veteran Paul Bate to be its next CEO starting Sept. 6.
- ESA adds Iceye data to Third Party Mission portfolio SpaceNews · 10 Jun 2021 The European Space Agency plans to offer researchers free access to Iceye’s synthetic aperture radar imagery.
- Russian co-founders out of Momentus SpaceNews · 10 Jun 2021 In-space transportation company Momentus says its Russian co-founders are now “completely divested” from the company as it reaches a national security agreement with federal agencies.
- ESA selects revolutionary Venus mission EnVision ESA · 10 Jun 2021 EnVision will be ESA's next Venus orbiter, providing a holistic view of the planet from its inner core to upper atmosphere to determine how and why Venus and Earth evolved so differently.
- SpaceX drone ship heads to the Bahamas for its ride to California Teslarati · 10 Jun 2021 SpaceX’s longest-lived and most prolific drone ship has departed Port Canaveral just a few days after preparations appeared to begin for a...
- China set to launch first astronauts to space station with Shenzhou-12 SpaceNews · 10 Jun 2021 China rolled out a Long March 2F rocket Wednesday in preparation to send the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft and three astronauts to an orbiting space station.
- ESA selects Venus mission SpaceNews · 10 Jun 2021 ESA has selected a Venus orbiter as its next medium-class science mission, just a week after NASA announced the section of two Venus missions of its own.
- SOFIA operations continue despite cancellation threat SpaceNews · 10 Jun 2021 Despite facing the threat of cancellation for the second straight year, a NASA airborne observatory is continuing with regular operations.
- SpaceX rolls Starship launch tower section, giant water tank to orbital pad Teslarati · 9 Jun 2021 After a brief pause, SpaceX is once again shipping pad hardware from its Boca Chica, Texas rocket factory to Starship’s rapidly growing...
- Kepler unveils expansion plans after $60 million funding round SpaceNews · 9 Jun 2021 Canadian startup Kepler plans to build a U.S. presence after raising $60 million for its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite data constellation.
- Teams Engineer Complex Human Tissues, Win Top Prizes in NASA Challenge NASA · 9 Jun 2021 Two teams of scientists from the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, have won first and second place in NASA's Vascular Tissue Challenge.
- NASA's Perseverance Rover Begins Its First Science Campaign on Mars NASA · 9 Jun 2021 The six-wheeled scientist is heading south to explore Jezero Crater’s lakebed in search of signs of ancient microbial life.
- Axiom signs deal with SpaceX for three more private crew missions Spaceflight Now · 9 Jun 2021 SpaceX has signed a deal with Axiom Space, a Houston company that arranges private astronaut expeditions, for three more fully commercial Crew Dragon missions to the International Space Station beyond Axiom’s first Drago...
- Shenzhen offers support to boost satellite sector in Chinese city SpaceNews · 9 Jun 2021 Shenzhen will provide up to $47 million in support for development of satellite equipment, applications and other areas to drive space-related innovation in the southern Chinese city.
- Sierra Space signs Dream Chaser agreement with British spaceport SpaceNews · 9 Jun 2021 Sierra Space, the new space subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corporation, announced June 9 that it signed an initial agreement with a British spaceport that could lead to landings of the company’s Dream Chaser vehicle there.
- SpaceX on track to launch 20 Falcon 9 rockets in the first half of 2021 Teslarati · 9 Jun 2021 The second half of SpaceX’s June 2021 flight schedule has begun to firm up, raising the odds of another four-launch month as...
- Colorado lawmakers invite VP Harris to tour space facilities SpaceNews · 9 Jun 2021 Colorado lawmakers in a June 9 letter urge Vice President Kamala Harris to visit military and space industry facilities in the state.
- Long March 2F rocket rolls out to launch pad for China’s next human spaceflight Spaceflight Now · 9 Jun 2021 The Long March 2F rocket and Shenzhou 12 spaceship set to ferry three Chinese astronauts to the country’s new space station later this month rolled out to a launch pad Wednesday at a remote military-operated spaceport in...
- NASA Administrator Statement on US Innovation and Competitiveness Act NASA · 8 Jun 2021 NASA Administrator Bill Nelson released the following statement Tuesday after the Senate passage of the U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness Act.
- 10 firms join Techstars 2021 Space Accelerator class SpaceNews · 8 Jun 2021 Techstars Space Accelerator launched its 2021 class June 7 with nine U.S. and one Australian company.
- Jupiter’s moon Ganymede seen up close for first time in 21 years Spaceflight Now · 8 Jun 2021 NASA’s Juno spacecraft flew by Ganymede, Jupiter’s largest moon, Monday on the first close-up visit to the icy world since 2000.
- SpaceX inaugurates two new Starship engine test stands with a static fire Teslarati · 8 Jun 2021 Barely four months after breaking ground, SpaceX has completed a dual-bay Starship engine test stand and inaugurated the new facility with a...
- GAO’s annual review of DoD programs raises concerns on space launch, missile warning satellites SpaceNews · 8 Jun 2021 Technical challenges in the development of ULA's Vulcan rocket could prevent DoD from ending its reliance on the Russian-made RD-180 rocket engine by 2022 as required by Congress, said GAO.