Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- SpaceX rocket suffers rare landing failure after kicking off Starlink doubleheader Teslarati · 15 Feb 2021 In a rare surprise for Starlink launches, a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster has failed to successfully land after kicking off the first...
- SpaceX planning launch of two Falcon Heavy missions in summer and fall Spaceflight Now · 15 Feb 2021 SpaceX plans two Falcon Heavy launches this year for the U.S. Space Force in July and October, and United Launch Alliance has four national security space missions on its 2021 schedule, according to a military spokespers...
- Photos: Falcon 9 test-fired before Starlink launch Spaceflight Now · 14 Feb 2021 SpaceX test-fired nine Merlin engines Saturday before the company’s next launch from Cape Canaveral, clearing a key readiness test before liftoff as soon as Sunday night with 60 more Starlink internet satellites.
- Intelsat reveals plan to reorganize and trim debt SpaceNews · 14 Feb 2021 Intelsat SA announced a reorganization plan Feb. 12 to reduce the Luxembourg-based communications satellite fleet operator’s debt from nearly $15 billion to $7 billion.
- ULA delivers Vulcan test article to Cape Canaveral for ‘pathfinder’ operations Spaceflight Now · 13 Feb 2021 United Launch Alliance’s first full-scale Vulcan booster with two Blue Origin BE-4 engines arrived at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Saturday, the first time in more than a decade that a core stage from a new fami...
- Despite its small size, Space Force plans to have its voice heard in the Pentagon SpaceNews · 12 Feb 2021 The Space Force is by far the smallest branch of the U.S. military and will have to “punch above its weight," said Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, deputy chief of space operations.
- Report: NASA’s only realistic path for humans on Mars is nuclear propulsion Ars Technica · 12 Feb 2021 "It's the kind of technology challenge that NASA was built for."
- Sensors Prepare to Collect Data as Perseverance Enters Mars' Atmosphere NASA · 12 Feb 2021 Technology will collect critical data about the harsh entry environment during Perseverance’s entry next Thursday.
- NASA Invites Public to Share Thrill of Mars Perseverance Rover Landing NASA · 12 Feb 2021 NASA is inviting the public to take part in virtual activities and events as the agency’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover nears entry, descent, and landing on the Red Planet, with touchdown scheduled for approximately 3:55...
- NASA Assigns Astronauts to Agency’s SpaceX Crew-4 Mission to Space Station NASA · 12 Feb 2021 NASA has assigned two crew members to launch on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission – the fourth crew rotation flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station.
- InSight Is Meeting the Challenge of Winter on Dusty Mars NASA · 12 Feb 2021 As dust collects on the solar panels and winter comes to Elysium Planitia, the team is following a plan to reduce science operations in order to keep the lander safe.
- Report recommends NASA accelerate space nuclear propulsion development SpaceNews · 12 Feb 2021 NASA needs to pursue “aggressive” development of space nuclear propulsion technologies if the agency wants to use them for human missions to Mars in the next two decades, a report by a National Academies committee conclu...
- NASA TV Coverage Set for Next Cargo Launch to Space Station NASA · 12 Feb 2021 NASA commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman is targeting 12:36 p.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 20, for the launch of its 15th resupply mission to the International Space Station.
- Rocket Report: Iran debuts new booster, SpaceX to launch Lunar Gateway Ars Technica · 12 Feb 2021 "Customer demand has been extremely strong."
- SpaceX gearing up for two more Starlink missions within days Spaceflight Now · 12 Feb 2021 Days after SpaceX opened preorders for Starlink internet service, two more Falcon 9 rockets are set for launch from Florida’s Space Coast as soon as Sunday night and Tuesday morning to help push the broadband network clo...
- SpaceX’s Elon Musk talks Starship heatshield, rocket landings on Joe Rogan podcast Teslarati · 12 Feb 2021 In a multi-hour February 2021 interview with Elon Musk himself, Joe Rogan inexplicably told the famous engineer and CEO that he had...
- Russian space station cargo freighter moved to launch pad in Kazakhstan Spaceflight Now · 12 Feb 2021 The Russian Progress MS-16 cargo freighter rolled out to its launch pad Friday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, its final stop before blastoff Sunday night with more than 5,000 pounds of fuel, food, and water fo...
- La NASA ofrecerá una retransmisión en español para el aterrizaje del Rover Mars Perseverance NASA · 11 Feb 2021 Entre las muchas primicias de la misión Mars 2020 Perseverance de la NASA se encuentra la primera retransmisión en español de la agencia para un aterrizaje planetario.
- NASA to Offer Spanish-Language Show for Mars Perseverance Rover Landing NASA · 11 Feb 2021 Among the many firsts of NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is the agency’s first-ever Spanish-language show for a planetary landing.
- Elon Musk and Joe Rogan go Round 3 in new podcast interview Teslarati · 11 Feb 2021 Tesla CEO Elon Musk joined Joe Rogan for round 3 in a new episode of the Joe Rogan Experience. The third interview...
- DoD space agency launching experiments in preparation for 2022 satellite deployments SpaceNews · 11 Feb 2021 SDA and DARPA small spacecraft equipped with optical crosslinks will fly to orbit in SpaceX's next rideshare mission Transporter-2.
- Lynk to soon begin tests of cellular connectivity using first satellite SpaceNews · 11 Feb 2021 Lynk will start testing cellular connectivity services with its first small satellite in the near future as it plans to begin commercial service early next year.
- Elon Musk details Tesla Roadster hovering capability with Joe Rogan Teslarati · 11 Feb 2021 Tesla CEO Elon Musk joined Joe Rogan on the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast for the third time, with the episode releasing earlier...
- NASA decides to launch Europa Clipper on commercial rocket in 2024 Spaceflight Now · 11 Feb 2021 NASA has decided to launch the multibillion-dollar Europa Clipper mission — a spacecraft to study a moon of Jupiter with an icy crust covering a liquid water ocean — aboard a commercial heavy-lift rocket in October 2024,...
- NASA SLS computer development branching to support first flight, future upgrades NASASpaceflight · 11 Feb 2021 Following completion of certification testing in October 2020 of the computer system for the first launch of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, teams are now working on upgrades for future flights and vehicle confi...
- HPE Spaceborne Computer-2 linked to Azure cloud for the Space Station SpaceNews · 11 Feb 2021 Hewlett Packard Enterprise is preparing to send a second-generation Spaceborne Computer to the International Space Station later this month.
- SpaceX rolls last Starship off the assembly line ahead of “major upgrades” Teslarati · 11 Feb 2021 SpaceX has installed Starship serial number 11’s (SN11) steel nosecone, effectively completing the rocket and marking the end of production for a...
- NASA seeking astronaut seat on Soyuz launch in April Spaceflight Now · 11 Feb 2021 NASA wants to fly an astronaut on Russia’s next Soyuz mission to the International Space Station in April, a measure the agency says would ensure a continued U.S. presence on the research outpost in case of delays in the...
- Industry questions U.S. government support for commercial remote sensing SpaceNews · 11 Feb 2021 Remote sensing startups moving into the defense market would like to see DoD and other agencies develop plans to procure commercial capabilities.
- Maxar executive: Smallsat industry deserves credit for pushing innovation SpaceNews · 10 Feb 2021 Technological advances in small satellites are helping improve spacecraft designs and pushing the industry to take more risks, said Jim McClelland, vice president of Maxar Technologies.
- Biden backs Artemis moon program; watchdog says it’ll cost $86 billion Spaceflight Now · 10 Feb 2021 The Biden administration supports continuing NASA’s Artemis program to return astronauts back to the moon, the White House said last week, without stating whether it will back away from the program’s already-in-doubt 202...
- Virgin Orbit considering moves into adjacent markets SpaceNews · 10 Feb 2021 With its first successful launch in the books, Virgin Orbit is considering ways it can expand into adjacent markets, including supporting ventures developing satellite systems.
- SpaceX Falcon Heavy ‘center core’ passes through Arizona on its way to Texas Teslarati · 10 Feb 2021 On the heels SpaceX’s first new Falcon Heavy booster in two years beginning its journey to Florida, another of the rocket’s three...
- DoD grapples with how to bring in new space technology to military systems SpaceNews · 10 Feb 2021 DoD has to transition to a space architecture that takes advantage of emerging technologies, Steve Butow, director of the Defense Innovation Unit’s space portfolio, said at the SmallSat Symposium.
- Alpha Insights reveals plans for dual-band SAR satellites SpaceNews · 10 Feb 2021 Entrepreneur Scott Larson, who co-founded Urthecast and Helios Wire, is leading Alpha Insights, a Toronto company that acquired the SAR assets of Urthecast, which filed for protection from creditors in 2020 to avoid bank...
- Analytical Space wins $26.4 million to establish optical network SpaceNews · 10 Feb 2021 Satellite communications startup Analytical Space Inc. won a $26.4 million contract to develop and launch six cubesats and two hosted payloads to begin establishing Fast Pixel Network for optical communications.
- China’s first Mars mission enters orbit around Red Planet Spaceflight Now · 10 Feb 2021 China placed is first spacecraft into orbit around Mars on Wednesday, continuing an international blitz on the Red Planet one day after the arrival of a spacecraft from United Arab Emirates and eight days before the land...
- China’s Tianwen-1 enters orbit around Mars SpaceNews · 10 Feb 2021 China’s first interplanetary mission, Tianwen-1, successfully entered Mars orbit Feb. 10 following a 202-day journey through deep space.
- NASA seeks seat on April Soyuz mission to ISS SpaceNews · 10 Feb 2021 NASA announced Feb. 9 it wants to obtain a seat on the next Soyuz mission to the International Space Station, launching in just two months, to ensure a U.S. presence on the station in the event of any commercial crew del...
- NASA selects Falcon Heavy to launch first Gateway elements SpaceNews · 10 Feb 2021 NASA awarded a contract to SpaceX Feb. 9 for the launch of the first two elements of its lunar Gateway on a Falcon Heavy in 2024.