Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- Webinars--Taking Flight: How Girls Can Grow up to Be Engineers NASA · 8 Apr 2021 Do you like solving problems, working with other people, and making a difference? Consider a career in engineering!
- NASA Awards Global Change Research Support Services Contract NASA · 8 Apr 2021 NASA has awarded the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) Support Services contract to ICF Incorporated LLC of Fairfax, Virginia.
- Starship SN15 rolls to launch site as Raptor testing ups a gear NASASpaceflight · 8 Apr 2021 Just days after Starship SN11 conducted a fog-cloaked test flight that ended in an explosive finale, SN15 rolled down Highway 4 at SpaceX Starbase (Boca Chica). SN15 sports numerous modifications that SpaceX hopes will r...
- U.S. intelligence report predicts heightened space competition between U.S. and China SpaceNews · 8 Apr 2021 A new report by ODNI projects that by 2040 China will be the most significant rival to the United States in space, competing on commercial, civil and military fronts.
- NASA Selects Innovative, Early-Stage Tech Concepts for Continued Study NASA · 8 Apr 2021 NASA encourages researchers to develop and study unexpected approaches for traveling through, understanding, and exploring space.
- Space Force to create ‘one-stop shop’ for launch procurement and operations SpaceNews · 8 Apr 2021 The U.S. Space Force is consolidating oversight of space launch activities under a two-star general who will be the deputy commander of Space Systems Command.
- Rep. Lieu praises move to establish Space Force acquisitions command in Los Angeles SpaceNews · 8 Apr 2021 Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) hailed the April 8 announcement that Los Angeles Air Force Base will be the permanent home of the U.S. Space Force procurement command.
- Space Force to establish a new command to oversee technology development and acquisition SpaceNews · 8 Apr 2021 The Space Force will re-designate the Space and Missile Systems Center as the headquarters of a new Space Systems Command.
- Phase Four wins Air Force contract for electric thruster development SpaceNews · 8 Apr 2021 Phase Four, a startup working on electric propulsion for satellites, has won an Air Force contract to test using an alternative propellant for its thrusters.
- Private equity firm GI Partners plans to buy Orbcomm in $1.1 billion deal SpaceNews · 8 Apr 2021 Private equity firm GI Partners plans to buy satellite operator Orbcomm, which specializes in connecting industrial monitoring devices, for about $1.1 billion including net debt.
- Ningbo, Wenchang to construct Chinese commercial spaceports SpaceNews · 8 Apr 2021 The coastal cities of Ningbo and Wenchang are planning construction of Chinese commercial spaceports to meet growing demand for launch in China.
- SpaceX landed a rocket on a boat five years ago—it changed everything Ars Technica · 8 Apr 2021 "We were like, well, we didn't really account for that."
- New ESA director general outlines priorities SpaceNews · 8 Apr 2021 The new head of the European Space Agency has outlined his priorities for the next several years, ranging from improving relations with the European Union to increasing commercialization activities.
- NASA astronaut, two cosmonauts set for launch to space station Spaceflight Now · 8 Apr 2021 NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and two Russian cosmonauts will ride a Soyuz ferry ship to the International Space Station early Friday, the first step in a record crew rotation requiring two launches and two landings with...
- OneWeb continues to study offering navigation services SpaceNews · 8 Apr 2021 The new chief executive of OneWeb says the company is still pursuing some kind of navigation capability for its broadband satellite constellation, although a full-fledged service may have to wait until a second-generatio...
- Bruno: The next big thing for ULA is a long-endurance upper stage SpaceNews · 7 Apr 2021 ULA is still betting on long-endurance upper stages and believes the technology has a bright future.
- SpaceX launches another set of Starlink satellites as it nears global coverage SpaceNews · 7 Apr 2021 SpaceX continued the rollout of its Starlink broadband constellation with another launch of 60 satellites April 7, edging closer to providing continuous global service.
- Say Cheese on Mars: Perseverance's Selfie With Ingenuity NASA · 7 Apr 2021 NASA’s newest Mars rover used a camera on the end of its robotic arm to snap this shot of itself with the Ingenuity helicopter nearby.
- SpaceX Starlink launch offers rare live view of Falcon 9 booster landing Teslarati · 7 Apr 2021 Update: SpaceX has aced the first half of its tenth launch of 2021 and 23rd operational Starlink launch while simultaneously offering an...
- NASA's Odyssey Orbiter Marks 20 Historic Years of Mapping Mars NASA · 7 Apr 2021 For two decades, the longest-lived spacecraft at the Red Planet has helped locate water ice, assess landing sites, and study the planet’s mysterious moons.
- 12 rare Einstein crosses discovered with Gaia ESA · 7 Apr 2021 Thanks to ESA's star mapping spacecraft Gaia and machine learning, astronomers have discovered 12 quasars whose light is so strongly deflected by foreground galaxies that they are each visible as four distinct images, ca...
- SpaceX’s Starlink terminal production costs have dropped over 50%, reveals president Teslarati · 7 Apr 2021 During the recently-held Satellite 2021 “LEO Digital Forum” virtual panel, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell revealed that the Starlink terminal’s production costs have...
- SpaceX launches its 100th mission from Florida’s Space Coast Spaceflight Now · 7 Apr 2021 A Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral Wednesday with another batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites, achieving success on SpaceX’s 100th mission to launch from Florida’s Space Coast and clearing the way for li...
- ESA, CNSA heads discuss future space plans SpaceNews · 7 Apr 2021 The heads of the European Space Agency and China National Space Administration held a video call April 1 to outline respective plans for the coming years.
- Former NASA administrator advising acquisition-hungry Voyager Space Holdings SpaceNews · 7 Apr 2021 Denver-based Voyager Space Holdings, which has been buying businesses to build a vertically integrated space exploration company, has appointed former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine to chair its advisory board.
- SpaceX launches Starlink v1.0 L23 mission NASASpaceflight · 7 Apr 2021 SpaceX has launched another batch of 60 Starlink satellites on the Starlink v1.0 L23 mission. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurred on time on April 7 at 12:34 P...
- Telesat completing financing for Lightspeed constellation SpaceNews · 7 Apr 2021 Telesat expects to finalize the financing for its Lightspeed broadband constellation in the next few months, along with contracts to launch the fleet of nearly 300 satellites.
- SpaceX to ramp up Vandenberg launch cadence with Starlink missions Spaceflight Now · 7 Apr 2021 After a lull in launches from America’s primary West Coast rocket base, SpaceX is set to resume a regular cadence of missions from Vandenberg Air Force Base as soon as July to deploy hundreds of Starlink internet satelli...
- Satellite operators weigh strategies to compete against growing Starlink network SpaceNews · 6 Apr 2021 As SpaceX continues to expand its Starlink network, established satellite operators are figuring out strategies to remain competitive.
- NASA's First Weather Report From Jezero Crater on Mars NASA · 6 Apr 2021 Perseverance’s MEDA will help us understand how to prepare astronauts for a future on the Red Planet.
- NASA Invites Public to Take Flight With Ingenuity Mars Helicopter NASA · 6 Apr 2021 NASA is targeting no earlier than Sunday, April 11, for Ingenuity Mars helicopter’s first attempt at powered, controlled flight on another planet.
- New permits shed light on activity at SpaceX’s Cidco and Roberts Road facilities NASASpaceflight · 6 Apr 2021 Building and testing SpaceX’s next generation launch system, Starship, has primarily been conducted at the village of Boca Chica, Texas. But just a couple years ago, Starship hardware was also being built at a SpaceX fac...
- CAES and Swissto12 partnership brings 3D printed RF solutions to the US SpaceNews · 6 Apr 2021 CAES, the former electronics unit of British defense and aerospace contractor Cobham, has forged an alliance to bring Swiss 3D printed satellite RF technology to the U.S. market.
- NASA’s most metal mission will test new, higher-power electric thrusters Ars Technica · 6 Apr 2021 This is the first time a spacecraft has gone into deep space using Hall thrusters.
- Engine explosion blamed for latest Starship crash SpaceNews · 6 Apr 2021 SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said an engine on the company’s latest Starship prototype suffered a “hard start” that caused the vehicle to explode when attempting to land on a test flight last week.
- Guangzhou moves to establish Chinese commercial space cluster SpaceNews · 6 Apr 2021 Guangzhou is developing a major space cluster in the city by hosting new projects including the new headquarters for the space business of Geely Group.
- SpaceX is building launch pad tanks out of Starship parts and that’s a big deal Teslarati · 6 Apr 2021 SpaceX has begun installing the first of numerous propellant storage tanks at its first orbital South Texas launch facilities – a mostly...
- Germany’s space agency selects Lockheed Martin’s traffic management software SpaceNews · 6 Apr 2021 Lockheed Martin’s space traffic management software will be used by Germany’s space agency.
- SpaceX going for its 10th satellite launch of the year Wednesday Spaceflight Now · 6 Apr 2021 SpaceX teams at Cape Canaveral are readying for the company’s 10th Falcon 9 rocket launch of the year Wednesday, another flight devoted to delivering satellites to orbit for the Starlink internet network.
- Microsoft and Thales work to automate satellite image processing SpaceNews · 6 Apr 2021 Microsoft announced plans April 6 to move automated satellite image processing technology developed by Thales Alenia Space into its Azure Orbital platform.