Industry News
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
Industry / News
- Space industry executive calls on Biden to keep the National Space Council SpaceNews · 21 Jan 2021 The chief executive of Virgin Orbit's sister company VOX Space called on the Biden administration to continue the National Space Council.
- 6 Things to Know About NASA's Mars Helicopter on Its Way to Mars NASA · 21 Jan 2021 Ingenuity, a technology experiment, is preparing to attempt the first powered, controlled flight on the Red Planet.
- Rocket Lab, Virgin Orbit lead a new class of small rockets with big ambitions for 2021 Teslarati · 21 Jan 2021 SpaceX’s reign as the only privately funded American spaceflight company to reach and successfully deploy small satellite payloads into orbit ended on...
- Coronal heating & solar wind, returns from solar missions shed light on Sun’s mysteries NASASpaceflight · 21 Jan 2021 It’s one of the greatest mysteries in solar physics. Dubbed the coronal heating problem, the issue arises from the fact that the solar corona, or Sun’s atmosphere, is millions of degrees hotter than the layers directly b...
- Airbus, Thales win second-generation Galileo satellite contracts SpaceNews · 21 Jan 2021 The European Commission announced Jan. 20 it will award contracts to Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space to build an initial set of next-generation Galileo navigation satellites, shutting out incumbent manuf...
- SpaceX aborts several Starship static fire attempts, rolls test tank to the pad Teslarati · 21 Jan 2021 Accidentally producing the polar opposite of Starship serial number 9 (SN9) completing a trio of Raptor ignition tests in four hours last...
- Google to shut down Loon SpaceNews · 21 Jan 2021 Google announced Jan. 21 it is shutting down Loon, a venture to provide wireless connectivity by balloon that has been seen as both complementary to and competitive with satellite networks.
- Green propellant successfully demonstrated on NASA mission SpaceNews · 21 Jan 2021 A recent NASA mission successfully demonstrated the performance of a non-toxic “green” propellant, creating opportunities for its use in a wide range of future spacecraft.
- SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket aces eighth launch and “envelope expansion” landing Teslarati · 20 Jan 2021 SpaceX has successfully completed the first of dozens of Starlink launches planned in 2021, simultaneously crushing multiple rocket reusability records and completing...
- Policy experts named for DoD space, missile defense posts SpaceNews · 20 Jan 2021 David Zikusoka will serve as special assistant at the office of the assistant secretary of defense for space policy. Leonor Tomero will be deputy assistant director for nuclear and missile defense programs.
- SpaceX surpasses 1,000-satellite mark in latest Starlink launch SpaceNews · 20 Jan 2021 SpaceX launched its latest set of Starlink satellites Jan. 20, bringing the total number of spacecraft launched so far for that broadband constellation to more than 1,000.
- Falcon 9 rocket launches, lands for the eighth time in dicey winds [Updated] Ars Technica · 20 Jan 2021 Weather appears to be good for Wednesday after concerns about recovery on Monday.
- Bridenstine, departing NASA, hopes Artemis continues SpaceNews · 20 Jan 2021 Jim Bridenstine used part of his final full day as NASA administrator to call on the incoming administration to continue the Artemis program and return humans to the moon.
- SpaceX’s second Super Heavy booster enters production in South Texas Teslarati · 20 Jan 2021 In a rare burst of visible activity, SpaceX’s South Texas Starship factory has begun fabricating a second Super Heavy booster and taken...
- Rocket Lab launches secretive communications satellite for OHB SpaceNews · 20 Jan 2021 ocket Lab successfully launched a communications satellite for German company OHB Group Jan. 20 in the first Electron mission of the year.
- Rocket Lab launches communications satellite for OHB Spaceflight Now · 20 Jan 2021 A mysterious small satellite built by the German company OHB, purported to be a pathfinder for a Chinese-owned communications constellation, took off from New Zealand Wednesday and soared into orbit on top of a Rocket La...
- China’s first launch of 2021 orbits communications satellite Spaceflight Now · 20 Jan 2021 A Chinese Long March 3B rocket deployed the Tiantong 1-03 satellite to provide mobile communications services after a successful launch Tuesday, the first of more than 40 Chinese space missions set for liftoff in 2021.
- SpaceX launches first Starlink mission of 2021 NASASpaceflight · 20 Jan 2021 As the second SpaceX launch of the year, and the first of many Starlink missions scheduled to launch in 2021, the company launched the Starlink v1.0 L16 mission — the 16th launch of operational satellites and 17th Starli...
- Another One Leaves The Crust begins busy year for Rocket Lab NASASpaceflight · 20 Jan 2021 Rocket Lab started its busiest year with the dedicated launch of a micro-satellite aboard their Electron rocket for OHB Group on Wednesday.
- Space challenges for President Biden: Four issues for the next four years SpaceNews · 20 Jan 2021 As Joe Biden begins the first year of his presidency, there is still much we don’t know about where he and his vice president, Kamala Harris, stand on major issues in civil and national security space. There are, nonethe...
- Satellogic signs multi-launch contract with SpaceX SpaceNews · 20 Jan 2021 Earth observation company Satellogic announced Jan. 19 it signed a contract with SpaceX covering several rideshare launches of its satellites through next year.
- SpaceX sets new rocket reuse records with successful Starlink launch Spaceflight Now · 20 Jan 2021 SpaceX launched 60 more Starlink satellites Wednesday into a sunny sky over Florida’s Space Coast, adding more capacity and coverage to the company’s commercial broadband network while setting new records for the pace it...
- Biden’s Defense nominee embraces view of space as a domain of war SpaceNews · 19 Jan 2021 President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for defense secretary Lloyd Austin affirmed the view that the competition with China and Russia extends to outer space.
- SpaceX acquires former oil rigs to serve as floating Starship spaceports NASASpaceflight · 19 Jan 2021 SpaceX has acquired two former oil drilling rigs to serve as these floating spaceports. Named Phobos and Deimos, after the two moons of Mars, they are currently undergoing modifications to support Starship launch operati...
- NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Releases 2020 Annual Report NASA · 19 Jan 2021 The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), an advisory committee that reports to NASA and Congress, issued its 2020 annual report Tuesday examining the agency’s safety performance over the past year and highlighting acc...
- SpaceX delays push Starship flight, two Falcon 9 launches into same three-day period Teslarati · 19 Jan 2021 A series of recent Starship and Starlink delays have pushed SpaceX’s Starship flight test and two Falcon 9 launches into the same...
- SpaceX is turning oil rigs into floating Starship spaceports named after Mars’ moons Teslarati · 19 Jan 2021 Six months after CEO Elon Musk revealed that “SpaceX is building floating, superheavy-class spaceports” for its next-generation Starship rocket, the company has...
- Former U.S. Air Force secretary Heather Wilson joins Maxar’s board of directors SpaceNews · 19 Jan 2021 Former secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson has joined the board of directors of Maxar Technologies, the company announced Jan. 19.
- NASA Invites Media to Update on Rocket Test for Artemis I Moon Mission NASA · 19 Jan 2021 NASA will host a media teleconference at 5:30 p.m. EST today, Tuesday, Jan.19, to discuss the engine test conducted Saturday, Jan. 16, for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will launch the agency’s Artemis I miss...
- SLS Green Run static fire cut short by “intentionally conservative” test limits SpaceNews · 19 Jan 2021 A static-fire test of the Space Launch System core stage ended early Jan. 16 when a hydraulic system for one its four engines hit an “intentionally conservative” limit during the test.
- NASA likely to redo hot-fire test of its Space Launch System core stage Ars Technica · 19 Jan 2021 Of 23 test objectives, full data was received for 15 of them.
- China opens 2021 with Tiantong-1 launch via Long March 3B NASASpaceflight · 19 Jan 2021 China launched the third Tiantong-1 mobile communications satellite on Thursday. The launch took place at 16:25 UTC using the Long March-3B/G2 – Chang Zheng-3B/G2 (Y74) rocket from the LC2 Launch Complex at the Xichang S...
- Redwire acquires Oakman Aerospace SpaceNews · 19 Jan 2021 Private equity firm Redwire has acquired Oakman Aerospace, a Littleton, Colorado firm known for digital engineering and spacecraft development. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
- NASA TV Coverage Set for Upcoming Spacewalks, Preview News Conference NASA · 19 Jan 2021 Two NASA astronauts are scheduled to venture outside the International Space Station Wednesday, Jan. 27, and Monday, Feb. 1, for a pair of spacewalks to finish installing a European science platform and complete long-ter...
- Hydraulic system issue triggered early engine shutdown during SLS test-firing Spaceflight Now · 19 Jan 2021 NASA officials said Tuesday the weekend test-firing of the Space Launch System moon rocket’s core stage was cut short by an out-of-limits parameter in a hydraulic system for gimbaling, or vectoring, one of its engines. N...
- NASA TV Coverage Set for January Spacewalks, Preview News Conference NASA · 19 Jan 2021 Two NASA astronauts are scheduled to venture outside the International Space Station Wednesday, Jan. 27, and Monday, Feb. 1, for a pair of spacewalks to finish installing a European science platform and complete long-ter...
- China’s iSpace advances with IPO plans, reusable launcher landing leg tests SpaceNews · 19 Jan 2021 Chinese private rocket firm iSpace is planning an IPO while also making progress on technology for a reusable launch vehicle.
- Boeing Starliner completes software requalification SpaceNews · 19 Jan 2021 Boeing has completed a requalification of software on its commercial crew spacecraft as it prepares to launch the vehicle on a second test flight as soon as late March.
- Aurora Insight to launch cubesats for RF sensing SpaceNews · 19 Jan 2021 Aurora Insight, a Denver startup that gathers data on terrestrial and satellite communications, plans to launch the first of two cubesats on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission scheduled for liftoff Jan. 21.
- NASA gives up on salvaging InSight Mars lander’s ‘mole’ Spaceflight Now · 19 Jan 2021 NASA managers tried for the last time earlier this month to coax the InSight lander’s long-stuck subsurface heat probe into the Martian soil, but after seeing no more progress, ground teams decided to end their efforts a...