Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- SpaceX nails Starship landing, but rocket explodes minutes later Spaceflight Now · 3 Mar 2021 The latest prototype of SpaceX’s Starship launch vehicle — Starship SN10 — took off from the company’s South Texas test site and flew to an altitude of more than 30,000 feet Wednesday, then descended to a controlled vert...
- Starship SN10 successfully lands before RUD’ing on the pad NASASpaceflight · 3 Mar 2021 SpaceX’s Starship SN10 launched – and nailed the landing – Wednesday. However, likely due to the failure of some of the landing legs, the slightly tilted Starship caught fire on the landing pad and then blew up a few min...
- SpaceX launches and lands Starship prototype, which later explodes SpaceNews · 3 Mar 2021 SpaceX launched a prototype of its Starship next-generation vehicle March 3, landing it safely only to have the vehicle explode minutes later.
- SpaceX already clearing Starship debris, preparing for next rocket rollout Teslarati · 3 Mar 2021 In a classically spectacular fashion, a SpaceX Starship prototype has successfully touched down in one piece for the first time ever, only...
- Boeing’s next Starliner test flight delayed after SpaceX crew rotation Spaceflight Now · 2 Mar 2021 An unpiloted test flight of Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule to the International Space Station will be delayed from its previous target launch date of April 2 until at least May, after the arrivals of Russian Soyuz and S...
- NGA warns U.S. lead in geospatial intelligence is being challenged SpaceNews · 2 Mar 2021 The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency is being challenged to provide faster and better products and services, the agency’s deputy director Stacey Dixon said.
- KVH Industries posts buoyant revenues on jam-proof battlefield navigation demand SpaceNews · 2 Mar 2021 KVH Industries, the U.S. maritime satellite-connectivity specialist, expects clear sailing ahead after growing quarterly revenues despite shaky seas for cruise ships.
- SpaceX aborts Starship launch after Raptors produce too much thrust Teslarati · 2 Mar 2021 Update #3: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that Starship prototype SN10 automatically aborted a 2:15 pm CST (UTC-6) launch attempt after the...
- Rocket Lab says SPAC deal will accelerate development of Neutron rocket SpaceNews · 2 Mar 2021 A growing realization of the need for a medium-class launch vehicle led Rocket Lab to speed up its plans to go public by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
- Falling foam insulation caused Chinese commercial rocket failure SpaceNews · 2 Mar 2021 Chinese commercial launch company iSpace stated Monday that an errant piece of foam insulation caused the loss of its Hyperbola-1 rocket in February.
- Crew-2 on schedule for April launch while next Starliner flight delayed SpaceNews · 2 Mar 2021 NASA officials said March 1 that the next SpaceX commercial crew mission to the International Space Station remains on schedule for late April, but that a Boeing uncrewed test flight is facing further delays.
- SpaceX on track to send Starship, private astronauts around the Moon in 2023 Teslarati · 2 Mar 2021 In a new media blitz, Japanese billionaire Yusaka Maezawa (‘MZ’) has reentered the spotlight with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to update the...
- China preparing to build Tiangong station in 2021, complete by 2022 NASASpaceflight · 1 Mar 2021 China is gearing up for its next big leap in space exploration: the construction of its modular crewed space station, the Tiangong.
- Spire Global joins rush to public markets with $1.6 billion SPAC deal SpaceNews · 1 Mar 2021 Satellite operator Spire Global has unveiled the space-powered Big Data market’s second SPAC deal in just over a week, as the rush to public markets accelerates across commercial space sectors.
- SpaceX wins Air Force manufacturing research contract for hypersonic vehicle thermal shields SpaceNews · 1 Mar 2021 The Air Force Research Laboratory awarded SpaceX an $8.5 million contract to investigate manufacturing techniques for heat shields that protect hypersonic vehicles in flight.
- Blue Origin’s massive New Glenn rocket is delayed for years. What went wrong? Ars Technica · 1 Mar 2021 The big delay can be traced to a decision Jeff Bezos made years ago.
- Space Development Agency experiment to fly on Northrop Grumman’s capsule to space station SpaceNews · 1 Mar 2021 The NG-16 cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station will carry a Space Development Agency payload to collect data for the development of missile-tracking sensors.
- Rocket Lab announces SPAC merger and new 8-ton reusable launch vehicle Space Scout · 1 Mar 2021 MAR. 1, 2021--Rocket Lab announces a SPAC merger valued at $4.1 billion, and a new, reusable launch vehicle capable of lifting 8 tons.
- Astra’s 100-year plan: Q&A with CEO Chris Kemp SpaceNews · 1 Mar 2021 Astra, the once-stealthy launch startup, is about to go public via a SPAC. CEO Chris Kemp discusses the merger, plans for ramping up launch activity and how it will compete against both small and large launch providers.
- Rocket Lab Reaches Deal to Merge With Vector SPAC The Wall Street Journal · 1 Mar 2021 Space-transportation startup Rocket Lab USA Inc. reached a deal to go public by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company, as a wave of such deals rolls on.
- Hanwha Aerospace bets big on space business SpaceNews · 1 Mar 2021 Hanwha Aerospace, the leading aircraft engine producer in South Korea, is stepping up efforts to expand its space business.
- Component fatigue caused early shutdown of Merlin engine on last SpaceX launch Spaceflight Now · 1 Mar 2021 SpaceX has concluded fatigue on an engine cover caused one of the nine Merlin 1D first stage engines on the company’s most recent launch to shut down early during ascent, leading to the loss of the booster during an offs...
- Veteran journalist Jason Rainbow joins SpaceNews SpaceNews · 1 Mar 2021 SpaceNews has hired veteran satellite industry reporter Jason Rainbow to anchor the organization’s satellite telecommunications coverage and expand its reporting on existing and emerging commercial space markets.
- The 2008 moment when triumph turned to torment for SpaceX Ars Technica · 1 Mar 2021 Flight Three of the Falcon 1 rocket could make or break the company
- Rocket Lab to go public through SPAC merger and develop medium-lift rocket SpaceNews · 1 Mar 2021 Rocket Lab, a developer of launch vehicles and smallsats, will merge with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to support development of larger launch vehicle, part of the latest wave of deals to take space compa...
- INTEGRAL Announcement of Opportunity (AO-19) ESA · 1 Mar 2021 Proposals are solicited for observations with INTEGRAL in response to the nineteenth Announcement of Opportunity, AO-19, issued 1 March 2021. This AO covers the period January 2022 to December 2022. The deadline for prop...
- Engine shutdown led to failed Falcon 9 booster landing SpaceNews · 1 Mar 2021 A Falcon 9 first stage failed to land after a launch last month because one of its engines shut down during flight after hot gas breached a worn-out cover.
- SpaceX scrubs launch of long-delayed Starlink mission NASASpaceflight · 28 Feb 2021 SpaceX was targeting Sunday, February 28 for the launch of the Starlink v1.0 L17 mission. Another batch of Starlink satellites was to launch from historic LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center aboard a flight proven Falcon...
- Astronauts complete spacewalk to prep for station power system upgrades Spaceflight Now · 28 Feb 2021 Two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station Sunday for the first in a series of spacewalks to upgrade the lab’s aging solar power system, assembling a support fixture that eventually will hold a new so...
- Parker Solar Probe pulls back the veil on Venus’s night side Spaceflight Now · 28 Feb 2021 An ultra-sensitive camera on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe caught an ethereal glimpse of the night side of Venus during a flyby last year, revealing terrain seen through the thick haze of the planet’s atmosphere.
- Spacewalk successfully begins process of increasing Space Station’s power capacity NASASpaceflight · 28 Feb 2021 Two astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) conducted a spacewalk to begin the process of increasing the station’s electrical power generation output.
- Indian PSLV rocket launches Brazilian Amazonia-1 satellite SpaceNews · 28 Feb 2021 India launched its first mission of the year late Saturday, sending Brazil’s Amazonia-1 Earth observation satellite and 18 smaller payloads into orbit.
- Russia launches Arctic weather satellite Spaceflight Now · 28 Feb 2021 Russia launched a Soyuz rocket Sunday through a veil of fog over the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying the first spacecraft in a new program to monitor Arctic weather systems and relay emergency communications.
- Indian rocket launches Brazilian satellite to track Amazon deforestation Spaceflight Now · 28 Feb 2021 An Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle placed Brazil’s Amazonia 1 satellite into orbit Sunday to begin a mission monitoring deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, then released 18 smaller spacecraft at a lower altitud...
- SpaceX Starlink launch suffers last-minute abort after weeks of delays Teslarati · 28 Feb 2021 A SpaceX rocket originally scheduled to launch a batch of Starlink satellites more than five weeks ago has suffered the latest of...
- Russia’s Soyuz-2-1b launches Arktika-M No.1 weather satellite NASASpaceflight · 27 Feb 2021 Russia launched the first in a new series of weather satellites to aid forecasting over its high-latitude regions. The Arktika-M No.1 satellite, aboard a Soyuz-2-1b/Fregat rocket, lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome...
- Vice President Kamala Harris Calls NASA Astronaut Victor Glover NASA · 27 Feb 2021 In celebration of Black History Month, NASA astronaut Victor Glover welcomed Vice President Kamala Harris to the International Space Station for a virtual chat.
- India, Brazil launch Amazônia-1 on PSLV rocket NASASpaceflight · 27 Feb 2021 The Indian Space Research Organization has launched their first mission of 2021 with a flight of their Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to deliver Brazil’s Amazônia-1 satellite, along with 18 co-passengers, into Sun...
- Astra, Rocket Lab win launch contracts SpaceNews · 27 Feb 2021 Astra has won a NASA contract to launch a small constellation of Earth science cubesats, while General Atomics selected Rocket Lab for the launch of a small satellite with a NOAA hosted payload.
- Another trio of Chinese military satellites successfully deployed Spaceflight Now · 27 Feb 2021 Weeks after the launch of an earlier trio of Chinese military satellites, another trio of spacecraft successfully took off Feb. 24 aboard a Long March 4C rocket on a clandestine mission that analysts believe may involve...