Space Industry News: Headlines from Across the Industry

36,859 headlines. We show the headline and the publisher's own teaser; the full story is at the source.

DARPA satellites damaged at processing facility ahead of SpaceX launch SpaceNews · 6 Jan 2021 Two satellites from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency that were part of a SpaceX rideshare mission were damaged Jan. 4 at the payload processing facility.
Head of U.S. Strategic Command blasts GBSD critics: ‘Minuteman 3 cannot be life-extended’ SpaceNews · 5 Jan 2021 The commander of U.S. Strategic Command Adm. Charles Richard said the Pentagon has to procure a new intercontinental ballistic missile and updating Cold War-era systems is not an acceptable option.
NASA Astronauts Aboard Space Station to Answer Questions from STEM Students NASA · 5 Jan 2021 Students from across the country will have an opportunity this week to ask questions of NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
Photos: Soyuz launches French military satellite Spaceflight Now · 5 Jan 2021 Check out imagery from Arianespace and the French space agency showing the launch of a Russian Soyuz rocket Dec. 29 from the Guiana Space Center in South America.
Delta Air Lines adds Viasat in-flight connectivity service SpaceNews · 5 Jan 2021 Delta Air Lines announced plans Jan. 5 to rely on Viasat to provide in-flight Ka-band connectivity for passengers flying in more than 300 of the carrier’s mainline narrow-body aircraft.
NASA Highlights Innovation, Technology at Virtual SciTech Forum NASA · 5 Jan 2021 Experts from across NASA will participate in the 2021 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SciTech Forum beginning Monday, Jan. 11.
AAC Clyde subsidiary Hyperion to fly CubeCAT laser terminal SpaceNews · 5 Jan 2021 AAC Clyde Space subsidiary Hyperion Technologies won a 150,000 euro contract to perform an in-orbit verification flight for CubeCAT, the company’s small satellite laser communications terminal.
U.S. companies, led by SpaceX, launched more than any other country in 2020 Spaceflight Now · 5 Jan 2021 Leading all other nations, U.S. launch providers flew 44 missions in 2020 that aimed to place payloads in Earth orbit or deep space, with 40 successes. China followed with 35 successful orbital missions in 39 launch atte...
SpinLaunch expands New Mexico test site SpaceNews · 5 Jan 2021 SpinLaunch expects to perform the first suborbital tests of a prototype of its centrifugal system for launching small satellites later this year from New Mexico.
There are an insane amount of cool space things happening in 2021 Ars Technica · 5 Jan 2021 Yeah, we're going to say it. We really think Webb is going to launch this year.
SpaceX scraps Starship SN8 wreckage, clears landing zone for next launch Teslarati · 5 Jan 2021 In spite of tentative plans for preservation, SpaceX has fully scrapped the wreckage of the first high-altitude Starship prototype, clearing the landing...
Virgin Orbit, Rocket Lab schedule first launches of 2021 SpaceNews · 5 Jan 2021 Virgin Orbit has rescheduled its second orbital launch attempt for Jan. 10 as another small launch vehicle company, Rocket Lab, announces plans for its first launch of 2021.
Gwynne Shotwell talks about selling flight-proven rockets, Starship Ars Technica · 4 Jan 2021 "It was easier to sell 'flight proven' to customers than it was to sell Falcons."
NASA to Air Departure of Upgraded SpaceX Cargo Dragon from Space Station NASA · 4 Jan 2021 The SpaceX Dragon that arrived to the International Space Station on the company’s 21st resupply services mission for NASA is scheduled to depart on Monday, Jan. 11, loaded with 5,200 pounds of scientific experiments and...
Starship SN9 speeds toward Static Fire and test flight NASASpaceflight · 4 Jan 2021 With Starship SN8’s test flight still fresh in the memory, SN9 is set to complete an accelerated pad flow with a Static Fire test and launch this coming week. A triple Raptor Static Fire test is tracking early this week....
Space Force’s small launch program looks to pick up pace after a year of delays SpaceNews · 4 Jan 2021 The Space Force says it plans to evaluate as many emerging small launch providers as possible.
SpaceX may try to catch a falling rocket with a launch tower Ars Technica · 4 Jan 2021 At first blush, this sounds insane.
China’s CASC targets more than 40 space launches in 2021 SpaceNews · 4 Jan 2021 China’s main space contractor aims to conduct more than 40 orbital launches in 2021, including launching a space station module and human spaceflight missions.
Pace steps down from National Space Council SpaceNews · 4 Jan 2021 The top staff member of the National Space Council resigned last week as the council’s future in coordinating space policy remains uncertain.
India aims for reusable rockets, advanced propulsion in decadal spaceflight plan SpaceNews · 4 Jan 2021 India's ISRO has outlined plans to develop reusable and heavy lift launchers, advanced propulsion and foster private space activities across the 2020s.
SpaceX Starlink beta arrives in the UK, sets sights on rest of Europe and Australia Teslarati · 4 Jan 2021 As of the first day of 2021, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet beta program appears to have arrived in the United Kingdom in...
Spacety shares first images from small C-band SAR satellite SpaceNews · 4 Jan 2021 Chinese startup Spacety released the first images from Hisea-1, a C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar, launched Dec. 22 on China’s new Long March 8 medium-lift rocket.
Lockheed Martin gets $4.9 billion contract to build three missile-warning satellites for U.S. Space Force SpaceNews · 4 Jan 2021 Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $4.9 billion contract for the production of three geosynchronous Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared satellites.
Ten companies bid for NASA small launch vehicle contract SpaceNews · 3 Jan 2021 A NASA small launch vehicle competition attracted bids from 10 companies, but half of them were effectively disqualified because of deficiencies or other problems.
SpaceX sets reuse records in 2020, looks ahead to even more ambitous 2021 NASASpaceflight · 2 Jan 2021 In their most active year to date, SpaceX reached a number of reuse milestones, further pursuing their goal of rapid reuse. SpaceX flew boosters on fifth, sixth, and seventh flights for the first time this year, and also...
Chinese mission returned nearly 4 pounds of lunar samples Spaceflight Now · 1 Jan 2021 Chinese officials say they plan to share a portion of the nearly 4 pounds of lunar material returned by the Chang’e 5 mission with other countries, but an allocation for U.S. scientists will hinge on a change in U.S. pol...
Puerto Rico government supports rebuilding Arecibo SpaceNews · 1 Jan 2021 The governor of Puerto Rico says she backs rebuilding the Arecibo radio observatory, but a final decision on whether, and how, to reconstruct the giant telescope could take years.
Congress overrides Trump’s veto and passes the National Defense Authorization Act SpaceNews · 1 Jan 2021 The U.S. Senate voted 81-13 on Jan. 1 to override President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.
SpaceX wins US military satellite constellation launch contract to close out 2020 Teslarati · 1 Jan 2021 SpaceX’s Falcon 9 workhorse rocket has secured a new US military launch contract worth $150 million, closing out a spectacularly successful year....
SpaceX wins $150 million contract to launch Space Development Agency satellites SpaceNews · 31 Dec 2020 SpaceX has been awarded a $150.4 million contract to launch as many as 28 satellites for the Pentagon’s space agency.
[Update: delayed] SpaceX Falcon 9 fleet to kick off 2021 with a flurry of launches Teslarati · 31 Dec 2020 Update: SpaceX’s first launch of 2021 appears to be slipping from its January 4th target after drone ship Just Read The Instructions...
NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne plan busy RS-25 test schedule for 2021 NASASpaceflight · 31 Dec 2020 Hot-fire tests of new RS-25 engine components will resume in 2021 to certify a new manufacturing process during production. Over one hour of engine run-time is planned for the Retrofit 2 series to test an expanded set of...
Year in Review: Mars missions, Lunar Samples, Crew launched from the US, and Starlink NASASpaceflight · 30 Dec 2020 Despite a worldwide pandemic which affected agencies around the world, 2020 featured many significant achievements in spaceflight. In total, 114 orbital launches were attempted, including deep space missions like Solar O...
NSTXL’s contract to manage Space Force technology projects on hold pending review SpaceNews · 30 Dec 2020 The selection of NSTXL to manage the Space Enterprise Consortium is being reexamined following revelations that a Texas court ruled the company acted fraudulently in a dispute with a business partner.
White House releases planetary protection strategy SpaceNews · 30 Dec 2020 The White House released a national strategy for planetary protection Dec. 30, outlining new assessments to prevent terrestrial contamination of other worlds and vice versa.
SpaceX Starship boosters could forgo landings entirely, says Elon Musk Teslarati · 30 Dec 2020 SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that Starship’s Super Heavy boosters could forgo landings entirely, relying instead on a wild crane-based solution to...
SpaceX’s next Starship gets frosty to prepare for first launch Teslarati · 30 Dec 2020 One week after the rocket was rolled from the factory to the launch pad, SpaceX appears to have successfully put Starship serial...
Soyuz launches French reconnaissance satellite in final 2020 launch SpaceNews · 29 Dec 2020 A Soyuz rocket successfully launched a French reconnaissance satellite Dec. 29 in what is likely the final launch of an active 2020 in spaceflight.
NASA Approves Heliophysics Missions to Explore Sun, Earth’s Aurora NASA · 29 Dec 2020 NASA has approved two heliophysics missions to explore the Sun and the system that drives space weather near Earth.
NASA Television to Air Departure of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus from Space Station NASA · 29 Dec 2020 Northrop Grumman’s uncrewed Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to depart the International Space Station on Wednesday, Jan. 6, more than three months after delivering nearly 8,000 pounds of supplies, scientific investigation...

Launch and satellite data: Jonathan McDowell's GCAT (CC BY 4.0) and CelesTrak. Rockets, spacecraft and agencies: Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs and Wikidata. News headlines link to their publishers via the Spaceflight News API and RSS feeds. Records come from several sources and are matched automatically, so treat the directory as a research aid, not an authority. How the data is built and checked.