Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- U.S. senator: China landing on Mars a reminder ‘we don’t own space anymore’ SpaceNews · 15 May 2021 Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said China's success landing a rover on Mars puts to rest any doubt that the nation is a rising space power that will challenge the United States.
- SpaceX launches Starlink rideshare mission as constellation deployment milestone nears NASASpaceflight · 15 May 2021 SpaceX launched its third Starlink mission in just 11 days on the v1.0 L26 flight. The mission brings the total number of operational Starlink v1.0 satellites launched to near 1,567 – just shy of the 1,584 needed to decl...
- Two BlackSky satellites lost on Rocket Lab launch failure Spaceflight Now · 15 May 2021 A Rocket Lab Electron launcher malfunctioned about two-and-a-half minutes after liftoff from New Zealand Saturday, destroying two BlackSky optical Earth-imaging satellites in the launch company’s second failed flight in...
- Billion-dollar missile defense satellite ready for launch Monday in Florida Spaceflight Now · 15 May 2021 A sophisticated combat-ready U.S. military missile warning satellite moved to its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Saturday on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, ready for liftoff Monday afte...
- Two hitchhiker smallsats to accompany SpaceX’s next Starlink mission into orbit Spaceflight Now · 15 May 2021 An innovative commercial Capella radar observation spacecraft with night vision and a small payload from the California-based smallest manufacturer Tyvak are set to rocket into orbit from Florida’s Space Coast Saturday w...
- Electron launch fails SpaceNews · 15 May 2021 A Rocket Lab Electron rocket failed to reach orbit May 15 when its second stage engine shut down seconds after ignition, the second launch failure in less than a year for the company.
- Rocket Lab suffers failure on Electron’s 20th mission NASASpaceflight · 15 May 2021 Rocket Lab conducted its twentieth launch of an Electron rocket, named “Running Out of Toes,” carrying two Earth-observation satellites for BlackSky’s global monitoring constellation. The mission also included an attempt...
- China lands its first probe on Mars Spaceflight Now · 15 May 2021 China’s space agency said Friday the country’s first Mars rover safely touched down and began sending data back to Earth, joining the United States as the only two nations to successfully land and operate a spacecraft on...
- China has successfully landed on Mars [Updated] Ars Technica · 15 May 2021 China has become only the second nation to make a soft landing on the red planet.
- SpaceX launches Starlink satellites and rideshare payloads SpaceNews · 15 May 2021 A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched another group of Starlink satellites May 15 on a mission that included two rideshare payloads.
- China succeeds on country’s first Mars landing attempt with Tianwen-1 NASASpaceflight · 15 May 2021 China has become only the second nation to successfully land a spacecraft on Mars on Friday, joining the United States. Tianwen-1, China’s first mission to the Red Planet, launched in the middle of last year, sharing the...
- Telesat ready to move fast on selling spectrum to fund Lightspeed constellation SpaceNews · 14 May 2021 Telesat could start a spectrum auction to help fund its $5 billion Lightspeed low Earth orbit constellation “in a couple of months” if Canada’s government approves its proposal, according to CEO Dan Goldberg.
- NASA Awards Contract for Information Technology Support NASA · 14 May 2021 NASA has selected Banner Quality Management Inc. (BQMI) and Peerless Technologies Corporation, a joint venture located in Fairview Park, Ohio, to provide information technology solutions in support of agency missions and...
- SpaceX outlines first orbital Starship test flight SpaceNews · 14 May 2021 SpaceX has disclosed details for the first orbital test flight of its next-generation Starship launch system, but the company is still far short of the regulatory approvals needed for the mission.
- Chinese rover heads for landing on Mars Spaceflight Now · 14 May 2021 A Chinese rover outfitted with cameras, a weather station, and a sophisticated laser spectrometer could touch down on Mars as soon as Friday, a feat that would make China the second nation to successfully land and operat...
- Watch our interview with two International Space Station astronauts Spaceflight Now · 14 May 2021 Spaceflight Now editor Stephen Clark spoke live to International Space Station astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur about their mission Friday.
- Texas, Minnesota, Ohio Students to Hear from Astronauts in Space NASA · 14 May 2021 Students from several states across the nation will have an opportunity next week to hear from astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
- Rocket Lab to make second booster recovery attempt SpaceNews · 14 May 2021 The next launch of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket will be the second mission where the company attempts to recover the vehicle’s first stage as part of its efforts to reuse the booster.
- Rocket Report: Starship orbital flight details, Ariane 5 may delay Webb launch Ars Technica · 14 May 2021 Also, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft gets a new launch date.
- SpaceX begins work on Starship orbital propellant transfer test for NASA Teslarati · 14 May 2021 More than six months after SpaceX won a NASA ‘Tipping Point’ award to demonstrate a large-scale cryogenic propellant transfer in orbit with...
- Rocket Lab ready for second booster recovery attempt Spaceflight Now · 14 May 2021 The scheduled launch Saturday of two commercial BlackSky Earth-imaging satellites from New Zealand will double as an opportunity for Rocket Lab to test an enhanced heat shield on its Electron booster, an upgrade that sho...
- China’s Zhurong Mars rover lands safely in Utopia Planitia SpaceNews · 14 May 2021 China succeeded with its first planetary landing attempt Friday, safely setting down the solar powered Zhurong rover on the surface of Mars.
- Axelspace raises $24 million in Series C round SpaceNews · 13 May 2021 Axelspace, the Japanese firm planning to offer daily global optical imagery, raised 2.58 billion Japanese yen ($23.8 million) in a Series C investment round announced May 14 in Tokyo, May 13 in the United States.
- Japanese billionaire, Russian actress to fly to ISS SpaceNews · 13 May 2021 A Japanese billionaire best known for buying a SpaceX Starship flight around the moon will go to space first on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station, two months after a Russian actress and direct...
- SpaceX reveals concrete details about Starship’s first orbital test flight Teslarati · 13 May 2021 Via FCC regulatory filings, SpaceX has revealed the first concrete details about Starship and Super Heavy’s first orbital flight test. Earlier this...
- NASA Invests $105 Million in US Small Business Technology Development NASA · 13 May 2021 NASA has a long history of supporting America’s entrepreneurs as they develop technologies from ideas to commercial readiness. The agency’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is furthering that legacy with...
- Shareholders approve extension of Momentus deal SpaceNews · 13 May 2021 Shareholders in the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) seeking to merge with in-space transportation company Momentus have narrowly approved a three-month extension of a deadline to complete the deal.
- Russian actress, Japanese entrepreneur cleared for space station visits Spaceflight Now · 13 May 2021 Russian actress Yulia Peresild and filmmaker Klim Shipenko will join cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov for a Soyuz flight to the International Space Station on Oct. 5 to shoot scenes for an upcoming movie, the Russian space age...
- With Hubble, astronomers use UV light for first time to measure a still-forming planet’s growth rate NASASpaceflight · 13 May 2021 In 2018, the exo-planet PDS 70b was observed using the Very Large Array. It’s discovery instantly placed it at the top of observation requests and telescope time for one quite profound reason: the exoplanet was still for...
- Starlink teams up with Google for ground infrastructure SpaceNews · 13 May 2021 SpaceX will install ground stations within Google’s data centers for its Starlink broadband satellites under a new cloud partnership.
- OneWeb agrees SoftBank alliance to get Japanese regulatory approvals SpaceNews · 13 May 2021 Japanese internet giant SoftBank has agreed an alliance with OneWeb to expand its low Earth orbit (LEO) broadband services in Japan and worldwide.
- SpaceX’s sootiest Falcon 9 booster yet returns to port after record reuse Teslarati · 13 May 2021 Three days after acing record-breaking tenth launch and landing, SpaceX’s sootiest Falcon 9 rocket booster yet has returned to Port Canaveral to...
- Elon Musk’s Starlink secures supply deal from Google’s cloud unit Teslarati · 13 May 2021 It appears that Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service has secured a formidable ally. In an announcement on Thursday, Google announced that...
- Congress fires warning shot at NASA after SpaceX Moon lander award Ars Technica · 13 May 2021 "This bill, in the main, is not supposed to be about space."
- SpaceX outlines plans for Starship orbital test flight Spaceflight Now · 13 May 2021 SpaceX has revealed the flight plan for the first orbital test launch of the company’s huge stainless steel Starship rocket, a 90-minute, around-the-world mission that will originate from South Texas and culminate with a...
- Senate bill would direct NASA to select a second HLS company SpaceNews · 12 May 2021 An amendment to a Senate bill would require NASA to select a second company for its Human Lander System program, a provision some fear could upend the overall effort to return humans to the moon as soon as 2024.
- Space Force looking to deploy radar satellites to track moving targets on the ground SpaceNews · 12 May 2021 The U.S. Air Force wants to use small radar satellites to track moving objects on the ground and the Space Force will help to make it happen, chief of space operations Gen. John Raymond said May 12.
- NASA Selects Consolidated Program Support Services Program, Planning, and Control Contractor NASA · 12 May 2021 NASA has selected Manufacturing Technical Solutions Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama, to provide the Consolidated Program Support Services (CPSS) Program, Planning, and Control (PP&C) at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Cen...
- Long-time Kennedy Space Center director to take job at NASA Headquarters Spaceflight Now · 12 May 2021 Former space shuttle commander Bob Cabana, who has led NASA’s Kennedy Space Center since 2008, will take a new job in Washington as the space agency’s No. 3 official next week.
- Arqit raising $400 million with a SPAC to launch quantum encryption satellites in 2023 SpaceNews · 12 May 2021 British quantum technology encryption startup Arqit is raising $400 million in the space industry’s latest SPAC deal, supporting the launch and construction of two satellites in 2023 to protect against growing hacking th...