Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- Rocket Lab reveals reusable, medium-lift Neutron rocket NASASpaceflight · 7 Mar 2021 To date, Rocket Lab has successfully introduced the first dedicated small satellite launch vehicle, Electron, which CEO Peter Beck said would never be reusable. Then, the company successfully recovered a first stage. Now...
- Lawmakers ask Biden administration to keep oversight committees in the loop on space activities SpaceNews · 6 Mar 2021 Reps. Frank Lucas and Brian Babin, who oversee civil and commercial space, expressed concerns about the administration's push for international regulation of space activities.
- Starlink FCC application reveal plans for satellite internet in moving vehicles Teslarati · 6 Mar 2021 The idea of Teslas being connected to the internet through Starlink may soon before a reality, with SpaceX recently filing an application...
- Perseverance makes its first drive on Mars SpaceNews · 6 Mar 2021 NASA’s Perseverance rover has started moving on the Martian surface as project scientists prepare to send the rover toward the remnants of a river delta in search of signs of past life.
- Next Crew Dragon launch set for April 22 Spaceflight Now · 5 Mar 2021 NASA and SpaceX have set April 22 as the target launch date for the next Crew Dragon flight to the International Space Station. The four-person crew will be the first to ride a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster and a reu...
- Media Telecon Materials - March 5, 2021 NASA · 5 Mar 2021 Mission team members are participating in a virtual teleconference to discuss milestones achieved so far since the Feb. 18 landing and those to come.
- NASA's Perseverance Drives on Mars' Terrain for First Time NASA · 5 Mar 2021 The first trek of the agency’s largest, most advanced rover yet on the Red Planet marks a major milestone before science operations get under way.
- NASA’s Perseverance Drives on Mars’ Terrain for First Time NASA · 5 Mar 2021 NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover performed its first drive on Mars March 4, covering 21.3 feet (6.5 meters) across the Martian landscape.
- NASA, SpaceX Invite Media to Next Commercial Crew Launch NASA · 5 Mar 2021 Media accreditation is now open for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station.
- Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter camera spots Perseverance rover after landing Spaceflight Now · 5 Mar 2021 A high-resolution camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted the Perseverance rover after landing on the Red Planet last month, showing the nuclear-powered robot sitting on the Martian surface with its supe...
- Watch live: Spacewalk underway to continue assembly of solar array fixtures Spaceflight Now · 5 Mar 2021 NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi, a Japanese astronaut who last walked in space more than 15 years ago, ventured outside the International Space Station Friday to continue solar power system upgrades and to...
- Planet-hunting eye of PLATO ESA · 5 Mar 2021 Key technology for ESA's exoplanet-hunting PLATO spacecraft has passed a trial by vacuum to prove the mission will work as planned. This test replica of an 80-cm high, 12-cm aperture camera spent 17 days inside a thermal...
- Whitesides steps down from Virgin Galactic SpaceNews · 5 Mar 2021 The longtime chief executive of Virgin Galactic, who moved into a new position at the company last year, has left the company but will continue to be an adviser to it.
- Station power upgrade preparations continue with EVA-72 NASASpaceflight · 5 Mar 2021 Two astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are conducting a spacewalk to continue the process of increasing the Station’s electrical power generation output.
- Rocket Report: SpaceX explains landing failure, more on New Glenn delays Ars Technica · 5 Mar 2021 "The level of detail that we get is remarkable, how good the forecast is."
- SpaceX Starship landing leg upgrades imagined in new fan renders Teslarati · 5 Mar 2021 After new official Starship renders appeared to include the first view of an upgraded landing leg design, a SpaceX fan and digital...
- Perseverance rover aces first test drive on Mars Spaceflight Now · 5 Mar 2021 Two weeks into its mission of exploration on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover is doing an “exceptional job” and has completed its first test drive, mission managers said Friday.
- Linquest gets $500 million contract from U.S. Space Force for analysis support SpaceNews · 5 Mar 2021 The U.S. Space Force awarded LinQuest Corp. a $500 million contract for analysis work over five years.
- NASA Awards Mars Ascent Propulsion System Contract for Sample Return NASA · 4 Mar 2021 NASA has awarded the Mars Ascent Propulsion System (MAPS) contract to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation of Elkton, Maryland, to provide propulsion support and products for spaceflight missions at the agency’s Marshall...
- DoD space agency to award multiple contracts for up to 150 satellites SpaceNews · 4 Mar 2021 The Space Development Agency will solicit bids for an upcoming procurement of up to 150 satellites to be launched in late 2024.
- NASA, Boeing looking to begin SLS Exploration Upper Stage manufacturing in 2021 NASASpaceflight · 4 Mar 2021 Manufacturing and assembly development work for the Space Launch System (SLS) Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) is starting to ramp up at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans. NASA’s SLS Program and EUS prime c...
- S. Korea’s Kencoa Aerospace expands space business in U.S. with new capital SpaceNews · 4 Mar 2021 Kencoa Aerospace Corp., a South Korean aircraft assembler and parts supplier that has NASA, SpaceX and Blue Origin as clients, is planning to expand its U.S. parts manufacturing plant in Georgia.
- SpaceX sticks 75th Falcon rocket landing after launching 60 more Starlink satellites Spaceflight Now · 4 Mar 2021 Launching through a blanket of low-hanging clouds and light mist, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket thundered into the sky over Florida’s Space Coast early Thursday and delivered 60 more Starlink internet satellites to orbit. The...
- Falcon 9 launches Starlink satellites, lands booster SpaceNews · 4 Mar 2021 A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a new set of Starlink satellites and landed the booster March 4, two and a half weeks after the landing failed on the previous launch.
- SpaceX returns to flight with smooth Starlink launch weeks after Falcon 9 landing failure Teslarati · 4 Mar 2021 SpaceX has returned to flight less than three weeks after suffering its first Falcon landing failure in almost a year, successfully placing...
- Starship goes up. Starship goes down. But is the program moving forward? Ars Technica · 4 Mar 2021 "One day, the true measure of success will be that Starship flights are commonplace."
- Space Force sounding rocket launches experiment to study Earth’s ionosphere SpaceNews · 4 Mar 2021 A three-stage suborbital sounding rocket on March 3 launched an Air Force experiment from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
- SpaceX successfully launches long-delayed Starlink L-17 mission NASASpaceflight · 4 Mar 2021 SpaceX is targeting Thursday, March 4 for the launch of the Starlink v1.0 L17 mission with a new batch of Starlink satellites from historic LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center aboard a flight proven Falcon 9 booster. The...
- NASA hikes prices for commercial ISS users SpaceNews · 4 Mar 2021 NASA has sharply increased the prices it charges commercial users of the International Space Station for cargo and other resources, a move that has left some companies confused and frustrated.
- Biden’s first strategic guidance sets broad national security priorities SpaceNews · 3 Mar 2021 President Joe Biden issued a national security blueprint that lays out broad goals and priorities for his administration.
- VIPER lunar rover mission cost increases SpaceNews · 3 Mar 2021 A NASA rover mission to look for ice at the south pole of the moon has passed a key review, but now costs significantly more than previously advertised.
- Delayed Indonesian broadband satellite SATRIA fully funded SpaceNews · 3 Mar 2021 Indonesia’s government has secured financing to continue manufacturing the SATRIA broadband satellite, although its intended orbital slot remains up in the air.
- NASA to Provide Update on Perseverance ‘Firsts’ Since Mars Landing NASA · 3 Mar 2021 Since NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover touched down at Jezero Crater Feb. 18, mission controllers have made substantial progress as they prepare the rover for the unpaved road ahead.
- SpaceX recycling vehicle for second Starship launch attempt [Updated] Ars Technica · 3 Mar 2021 Musk says he is confident Starship will be ready for a lunar flight in three years.
- Raymond: Space Force ‘not a political issue’ SpaceNews · 3 Mar 2021 The White House unambiguous statement of support for the Space Force makes it “really clear that this is not a political issue, it’s an issue of national security,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond.
- China to develop two super-heavy launchers for moon missions SpaceNews · 3 Mar 2021 China will work on development of two types of super-heavy launch vehicles for future lunar projects, a senior official said Wednesday.
- Eastern Range looks for ways to support additional launches SpaceNews · 3 Mar 2021 As launch activity grows on the Eastern Range in Florida, companies and government agencies are looking at ways to add capacity, largely through incremental improvements.
- Australian startup develops quantum sensors for space applications SpaceNews · 3 Mar 2021 Q-Ctrl, an Australian startup, is developing quantum sensors to send to Earth orbit, the moon and eventually Mars.
- Launch companies, range teams reassessing Cape Canaveral weather rules Spaceflight Now · 3 Mar 2021 Launch companies and U.S. Space Force range officials at Cape Canaveral are reassessing long-standing weather rules, looking at beefing up rocket defenses against lightning, and considering strategies to prepare for two...
- NASA to Provide Update on Perseverance ‘Firsts' Since Mars Landing NASA · 3 Mar 2021 Mission team members are participating in a virtual teleconference to discuss milestones achieved so far since the Feb. 18 landing and those to come.