Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- SpaceX adds more satellites to Starlink internet fleet Spaceflight Now · 11 Mar 2021 Continuing a high-tempo launch cadence, SpaceX delivered another batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites to orbit early Thursday after a seemingly flawless liftoff from Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
- SpaceX launches Starlink satellites and expands international service SpaceNews · 11 Mar 2021 A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched another set of 60 Starlink satellites March 11 as the company expanded international service in several countries.
- SpaceX aces Starlink launch, kicks off service in Germany, New Zealand Teslarati · 11 Mar 2021 SpaceX has successfully completed the second 60-satellite Starlink launch this month and sixth Starlink launch this year while simultaneously announcing that the...
- Northrop’s MEV-2 servicer closing in on Intelsat-10-02 docking attempt SpaceNews · 10 Mar 2021 Northrop Grumman’s MEV-2 satellite servicer is performing close proximity operations with Intelsat’s in-orbit 10-02 spacecraft ahead of a docking attempt, SpaceNews has learned.
- ULA, SpaceX split military launch contract awards Spaceflight Now · 10 Mar 2021 The U.S. Space Force announced Tuesday that it awarded $384 million in contracts to United Launch Alliance and SpaceX, giving each company two missions to launch military satellites in 2023.
- NASA preparing to fly Ingenuity Mars drone, enabling future airborne missions NASASpaceflight · 10 Mar 2021 As NASA’s newest Mars rover, Perseverance, continues its own checkouts and tests, work is starting for a new phase of the mission – the Ingenuity helicopter. This first-of-its-kind piece of hardware will demonstrate (non...
- Startup using Soviet-era technology to build satellite servicing vehicle SpaceNews · 10 Mar 2021 Ukrainian startup Kurs Orbital is building an in-orbit servicing vehicle using space docking technology developed decades ago by the former Soviet Union.
- Here’s why SpaceX’s latest Starship rocket exploded after touchdown Teslarati · 10 Mar 2021 In what has become a bit of a tradition, CEO Elon Musk has taken to Twitter again to explain the outcome of...
- Rocket Lab will directly challenge SpaceX with its proposed Neutron launcher Ars Technica · 10 Mar 2021 "We're in this for the long haul."
- Blue Origin to simulate lunar gravity on suborbital flights for NASA SpaceNews · 10 Mar 2021 NASA has signed an agreement with Blue Origin to use that company’s New Shepard suborbital vehicle for flights that will simulate the reduced gravity on the surface of the moon.
- Perseverance Rover's SuperCam Science Instrument Delivers First Results NASA · 10 Mar 2021 Data from the powerful science tool includes sounds of its laser zapping a rock in order to test what it’s made of.
- NASA Assigns Astronaut Mark Vande Hei to International Space Station Crew NASA · 9 Mar 2021 NASA has assigned astronaut Mark Vande Hei to an upcoming mission to the International Space Station as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 64/65 crew.
- Space Force awards ULA, SpaceX contracts for four national security missions SpaceNews · 9 Mar 2021 ULA received $224. 2 million for two missions named USSF-112 and USSF-87. SpaceX got $159.7 million for USSF-36 and NROL-69.
- RUAG International transforms into space-focused ‘beyond gravity’ SpaceNews · 9 Mar 2021
- NASA TV to Provide Coverage as Astronauts Venture Out for Spacewalk NASA · 9 Mar 2021 Two NASA astronauts will conduct the fifth spacewalk of the year Saturday, March 13, to complete several systems upgrades to the International Space Station.
- SpaceX successfully launches Starlink v1.0 L20 mission NASASpaceflight · 9 Mar 2021 As SpaceX continues its push towards a new record number of launches in a single year, the company has launched the Starlink v1.0 L20 mission — the 20th launch of operational Starlink satellites and the 21st Starlink lau...
- Stacking complete for SLS boosters Spaceflight Now · 9 Mar 2021 The twin 177-foot-tall solid rocket boosters for the first flight of NASA’s first Space Launch System have been stacked inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center to await the arrival of the rocket’...
- Russia turns away from NASA, says it will work with China on a Moon base Ars Technica · 9 Mar 2021 China wants a long-term presence on the Moon in the 2030s.
- China, Russia enter MoU on international lunar research station SpaceNews · 9 Mar 2021 The Chinese and Russian space agencies signed a memorandum of understanding Tuesday on construction of an international lunar research station.
- SpaceX evolving fairing recovery plans, taking advantage of Octagrabber in pursuit of rapid reusability NASASpaceflight · 9 Mar 2021 SpaceX set a company record with 25 orbital launches in 2020. All but five of these missions utilized flight proven boosters, and 14 payload fairing halves were re-flown. As the company aims to almost double that cadence...
- Vega rocket passes readiness review for April return to flight SpaceNews · 9 Mar 2021 Avio spokesperson Francesco Delorenzo told SpaceNews that Vega was cleared for the upcoming Vega VV18 mission during a March 3 flight readiness review.
- Japan budgets a record $4.14 billion for space activities SpaceNews · 9 Mar 2021 In response to the reignited global space race, Japan is planning a record space budget of 449.6 billion yen ($4.14 billion) in the fiscal year 2021, up 23.1 percent over the current fiscal year that ends March 30, accor...
- Momentus founders to divest shares after Defense Department concerns SpaceNews · 9 Mar 2021 The Russian founders of in-space transportation company Momentus have placed their shares into a voting trust and will sell them in the next three years as the company attempts to address U.S. government concerns about i...
- China rolls out out new Long March 7A for second launch attempt SpaceNews · 9 Mar 2021 China has quietly rolled a new-generation Long March 7A rocket at Wenchang ahead of a launch as soon as late March 10 Eastern.
- (Update: delayed) SpaceX fires up Falcon 9 for second Starlink launch this month Teslarati · 9 Mar 2021 Update: SpaceX has delayed Falcon 9’s Starlink-20 to no earlier than (NET) 3:13 am EST (08:13 UTC) on Thursday, March 11th to...
- Launch of asteroid deflection demonstrator slips to November Spaceflight Now · 9 Mar 2021 The launch of a NASA spacecraft designed to smash into an asteroid to try out a technique that could protect Earth from threatening space rocks has slipped from July until November, at the earliest, after development del...
- NASA confirms plan to fly astronaut on upcoming Soyuz mission SpaceNews · 9 Mar 2021 A NASA astronaut will fly on a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station in April, as the agency confirmed a peculiar arrangement for obtaining a seat on the Russian spacecraft.
- NASA astronaut joins Russian Soyuz crew for April flight to space station Spaceflight Now · 9 Mar 2021 NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, veteran of a 168-day stay in space in 2017-18, will join two Russian cosmonauts aboard a Soyuz spacecraft April 9 for a flight back to the International Space Station in a deal brokered thr...
- SpaceX takes aim at satellite mobility operators with Starlink expansion SpaceNews · 8 Mar 2021 SpaceX is seeking regulatory permission to connect moving vehicles to its rapidly expanding Starlink constellation, branching the broadband network out of fixed homes and offices.
- Telespazio reshapes for emerging space integration opportunities SpaceNews · 8 Mar 2021 European space mission integrator Telespazio is regrouping to go after emerging international initiatives, which it believes will help nearly double revenues in the next five years.
- Space Force planning for a future of smaller, cheaper satellites SpaceNews · 8 Mar 2021 The Space and Missile Systems Center for more than a year has been helping the Space Development Agency accelerate the procurement of small satellites.
- Delta 4-Heavy rocket erected on Vandenberg launch pad Spaceflight Now · 8 Mar 2021 United Launch Alliance recently raised a Delta 4-Heavy rocket, one of four left in the company’s backlog, vertical on its launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in preparation for liftoff with a top secret...
- SpaceX reveals the grand extent of its starport plans in South Texas Ars Technica · 8 Mar 2021 The company will have two orbital, and two suborbital launch pads.
- NSF report estimates Arecibo cleanup cost at up to $50 million SpaceNews · 8 Mar 2021 A report by the National Science Foundation estimates it will cost up to $50 million to clean up the damage from the collapsed Arecibo radio telescope, but that it is still too soon to determine whether or how to rebuild...
- 7th Announcement of Opportunity for Science Planners in the NASA-led IRIS mission ESA · 8 Mar 2021 This 7th Announcement of Opportunity (AO), open to scientists affiliated with institutes located in ESA Member States, solicits proposals for participation as Science Planners in the NASA-led IRIS mission. The deadline f...
- SpaceX rolls Starship to the launch pad five days after last flight test Teslarati · 8 Mar 2021 NASASpaceflight.com reports that SpaceX – already scheduled to transport a new Starship to the launch pad on Monday, March 8th – wants...
- SpaceX eyes mobile connectivity market on eve of launching 60 more Starlink satellites Spaceflight Now · 8 Mar 2021 The next 60 Starlink internet satellites are awaiting a ride from Cape Canaveral into space aboard a Falcon 9 rocket Tuesday night as SpaceX seeks regulatory authority to expand the network’s services from homes and offi...
- Starship SN11 prepares for rollout as SpaceX plans for the future NASASpaceflight · 8 Mar 2021 Just days after SN10 completed the first – albeit hard – Starship prototype landing, SN11 is set to rollout to the launch site for its own attempt. Incremental progress is being made with the test flights, with another t...
- Georgia spaceport proponents upbeat despite latest delay SpaceNews · 8 Mar 2021 Proponents of a proposed Georgia launch site remain optimistic they will win approval from the Federal Aviation Administration despite another delay in the environmental review process.
- SpaceX to “refine” hypersonic heat shield manufacturing for the US Air Force Teslarati · 7 Mar 2021 The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has competitively awarded SpaceX an $8.5 million contract to “refine” the process of manufacturing “next...