Space news

NASA has announced the recipients of its annual Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) grants, providing a total of more than $10.8 million across 15 institutions over three years to support scientific and technical research.

Could planetary protection considerations hinder our plans to send humans to Mars?

Virgin Orbit is scrambling to secure a funding lifeline and avoid bankruptcy, which could come as early as this week without a deal, CNBC has learned.

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft recently arrived in French Guiana for its upcoming launch, which is currently set for April 13, 2023. JUICE is currently undergoing launch preparations in the Payload Preparation Facility at the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in Kourou, French Guiana, and will soon be mounted atop the upper stage of the Ariane 5 rocket it will ride into orbit.

The good, the bad and the ugly

The U.S. Space Force awarded a $1.6 million contract to a team led by Arkisys to demonstrate robotic satellite assembly.

We're not at airline-like operations yet, but we're getting a lot closer.

ATL Partners, a private equity firm, announced March 20 it has formed a new holding company called LightRidge Solutions to oversee a portfolio of space and airborne sensors businesses

Even as the space industry complains of a shortage of launch capacity, SpaceX said it has room to increase an already surging pace of launches.

NASA's Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite has resumed its commissioning activities after the main scientific instrument, the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn), was shut off in late January. According to a press release from the space agency, the KaRIn has been restored to regular operations using a backup power unit.

NASA’s effort to return samples from Mars is facing increasing costs that is putting pressure not just on other planetary science missions but also a major heliophysics mission.

Satellogic, the South American company known for high-resolution multispectral imagery, is selling Earth-observation satellites for around $10 million or less.

Rolls-Royce secures funding from UK Space Agency to develop nuclear power technology for future lunar base. Micro-Reactor programme aims to provide continuous power, increasing duration and scientific value of missions. Project receives £2.9m funding, with reactor set to be ready for the Moon by 2029.

SpaceX launched the last two satellites March 17 that SES needs to claim C-band spectrum clearing proceeds worth nearly $4 billion in total.

Budget pressures in NASA’s planetary science program could force the agency to choose between continuing a mission to Venus that has already been delayed or requesting proposals for a future mission.

Intelsat has acquired a “significant amount” of capacity from the recently launched Amazonas Nexus satellite to meet demand for connectivity over the Americas, an executive for the company told SpaceNews.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission unveiled its proposed framework March 17 for regulating the use of terrestrial wireless spectrum from space for connecting smartphones beyond the reach of cell towers.

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) team has completed the next phase of testing in preparation for the inaugural Vulcan rocket flight.

Hot on the heels of Tuesday’s successful CRS-27 launch, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 was in action again for a pair of back-to-back missions from both coasts Friday, tasked with deploying communications satellites into orbit.

Payloads: Engineered Heart Tissue-2: The appropriate hardware was gathered in preparation for the upcoming EHT-2 experiment operations. A Human iPSC-based 3D Microphysiological System for Modeling Cardiac Dysfunction in Microgravity-2 (Engineered Heart Tissues-2) continues work with 3D cultured cardiac muscle tissue to assess human cardiac function in microgravity. Previous work with 3D cultures in space detected …

In a vote of confidence for a troubled launch vehicle, Arianespace won a contract from the Italian government for up to three Vega C launches of an Earth observation constellation.

China added its initially civilian Gaofen Earth observation series Friday with the launch of the classified optical geostationary Gaofen-13 (02) satellite.

SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets in a span of a little more than four hours Friday, a record-setting day that began with the launch of 52 Starlink internet satellites from California and ended with the sunset liftoff of two SES television broadcast payloads from Florida.

Rocket Lab launched its second Electron rocket from Virginia March 16, placing two Capella Space radar imaging satellites into orbit.

NASA has approved plans by Axiom Space to fly a third private astronaut mission to the International Space Station as soon as November, although with no details yet about who will go on the flight.

Companies in the satcom industry are trying to support DoD’s vision of a seamless military-commercial architecture.

Rocket Lab, which opened its 2023 campaign with the inauguration of its first US-based launch pad, has launched its second consecutive mission from Launch Complex 2 at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Liftoff of the “Stronger Together” mission occurred 38 minutes into the two-hour window, with T0 at 6:38 PM EDT (22:38 UTC) on Thursday, March 16.

Astra has submitted an application to Nasdaq for an additional 180-day period to comply with the minimum bid price requirement.

Spacecraft engine manufacturer and small rocket builder Astra on Thursday outlined a plan to avoid having its stock delisted from the Nasdaq.

NASA is awarding more than $3.8 million to 21 museums, science centers, and other informal education institutions for projects designed to bring the excitement of space science to communities across the nation and broaden student participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

After more than 15 years of operation, NASA’s Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) spacecraft has ceased operations due to battery issues.

New technology is a key to helping NASA advance its long-term exploration goals for the benefit of all. To support its effort, the agency announced Thursday it will create two new institutes to develop technology in critical areas for engineering and climate research.

NASA has issued $50 million in awards to 14 organizations to develop manufacturing processes and advanced composite materials for aircraft structures. These green technologies hold the potential to help reduce aviation carbon emissions.

The past week has felt a little crisis-heavy.

Satellite broadband customers are increasingly demanding shorter-term contracts to hold out for better prices in a market set for a flood of low Earth orbit capacity, according to executives of regional satellite operators.

SpaceX-27 (SpX-27) Docking: The SpX-27 Cargo Dragon docked to the ISS at 6:31 AM CT, delivering more than 6,200 pounds of cargo. Since its launch Tuesday evening, the spacecraft has successfully performed a series of maneuvers to setup today’s docking to the Node 2 (Harmony Module) forward port of the ISS. Payloads: Analyzing Interferometer for …

A day-and-a-half after launching from Florida, SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon spacecraft docked at the International Space Station at 7:31 a.m. EDT (1131 GMT) Thursday to deliver fresh food, experiments, CubeSats, and a suite of U.S. military tech demo payloads.

NASA and Axiom Space unveiled a prototype of the spacesuits that astronauts will wear on Artemis missions to the moon.

Northrop Grumman and Japanese heavy-industry manufacturer IHI Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding March 15 to develop “small, highly maneuverable satellites and other solutions” that will help bolster Japan’s space domain awareness capabilities, particularly for geosynchronous orbit.

A day-and-a-half after launching from Florida, SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon spacecraft is on course to dock at the International Space Station at 7:28 a.m. EDT (1128 GMT) Thursday to deliver fresh food, experiments, and provisions for the lab’s seven-person crew.

Rocket Lab’s Electron launcher delivered two all-weather radar Earth observation satellites into orbit for Capella Space Thursday night after liftoff from Wallops Island, Virginia, successfully completing the company’s second flight from the U.S. spaceport.

SES, the international communications satellite operator, plans to send two more C-band television broadcasting spacecraft into orbit from Cape Canaveral Friday night atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on a mission that will help clear spectrum for transition to 5G network services.

The International Space Station has received another cargo delivery, essential for keeping the Station’s seven-person crew supplied with experiments, consumables, and equipment during its operation in low Earth orbit. This mission, CRS-27, launched on Tuesday, March 14 at 8:30 PM EDT (00:30 UTC on Wednesday, March 15) from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center. It docked on Thursday morning, 35 hours after launch.

Benchmark Space Systems announced contracts to sell around two dozen metal plasma thrusters based on technology the Burlington, Vermont-based startup acquired last year.

Launch vehicle company Virgin Orbit has paused its operations and furloughed its staff for at least a week as it deals with financial issues.

Voyager Space has acquired engineering company ZIN Technologies to help build up expertise needed for its Starlab commercial space station.

Virgin Orbit has announced that it will be furloughing almost all of its employees and halting operations for a week as it seeks a new funding lifeline.

NASA's Mars Odyssey Orbiter has been studying the Red Planet for the past 22 years, but the orbiter is approaching the end of its mission as its running low on fuel.

Virgin Orbit is furloughing nearly all its employees and pausing operations for a week as it looks for a funding lifeline, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.

OQ Technology of Luxembourg, which raised $13 million in September to build out a narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) constellation, ordered three additional satellites from Kongsberg NanoAvionics.