Space news

NASA said Friday that officials have ruled out launching the agency’s first giant Space Launch System moon rocket and Orion spacecraft before mid-November, following the rocket’s return to the hangar at Kennedy Space Center for safekeeping from Hurricane Ian.

The multinational crew scheduled to ride a SpaceX rocket into orbit Wednesday arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Saturday as ground teams rolled their Falcon 9 booster and Dragon Endurance spacecraft to the launch pad, resuming work suspended earlier in the week as Hurricane Ian moved across Florida.

Firefly Aerospace said its privately-developed Alpha small satellite launcher achieved “100% mission success” on a test flight from California early Saturday, adding another provider to the growing roster of commercial companies that have successfully fired a rocket into orbit.

The U.S. Space Systems Command announced Sept. 30 it selected Firefly Space Transport Services and Millennium Space Systems to conduct a demonstration of a rapid-response space mission to low Earth orbit in 2023.

Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha launch vehicle reached orbit on its second launch Oct. 1, more than a year after the vehicle’s first launch failed.

With the goal of successfully reaching orbit, Firefly successfully launched FLTA002 – its second demonstration flight of the Alpha launch vehicle – on the mission dubbed “To The Black.” Launching from Space Launch Complex 2 West (SLC-2W) at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the vehicle lifted off at 12:01 AM PDT (07:01 UTC) on Oct. 1.

NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission with astronauts to the International Space Station.

Managers will assess the scope of work to perform while in the VAB.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin will become the first woman to head the U.N.’s telecoms agency in its 157-year history from January, and the first American in the role since the 1960s after beating a Russian leadership challenge.

The Space Surveillance Telescope, declared operational Sept. 30, will join the network of sensors used by the United States, Australia and other allies to track objects in orbit

The National Space Council plans to hold “learning sessions” with industry in coming weeks on how to develop a new regulatory framework for novel commercial space activities.

NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will map portions of the southwest United States for critical minerals using advanced airborne imaging.

The Space Force expects to know by next spring what capabilities it will need to carry out space domain awareness activities in cislunar space.

Celebrate DART’s successful self-destruction and behold the jewels of the Cosmos.

NASA has added two astronauts to the agency’s Boeing Starliner-1 launch to the International Space Station, the spacecraft’s first mission following completion of its flight tests and certification.

NASA and SpaceX announced Sept. 29 they will study a concept to send a Crew Dragon spacecraft to reboost, and possibly service, the Hubble Space Telescope to extend its life.

"Getting back out there might be a challenge."

With the goal of successfully reaching orbit, Firefly successfully launched FLTA002 – its second demonstration flight of the Alpha launch vehicle – on the mission dubbed “To The Black.” Launching from Space Launch Complex 2 West (SLC-2W) at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the vehicle lifted off at 12:01 AM PDT (07:01 UTC), October 1.

The FCC’s adoption of a new rule for disposal of low Earth orbit satellites is well-intentioned but pushing the limits of its authority, says the director of the Office of Space Commerce.

NASA and SpaceX have signed a Space Act Agreement to study the feasibility of boosting the orbit of the iconic Hubble Space...

"It's doing great science as we speak."

Viasat said Sept. 29 its inaugural ViaSat-3 satellite has started environmental tests after being put into flight configuration for the first time.

NASA has selected three companies to supply 1.4 million liters of liquid helium and 87.7 million standard cubic feet of gaseous helium for use at facilities across the agency.

4iG, a Hungarian provider of terrestrial communications, plans to buy a majority stake in Israeli satellite operator Spacecom in stages following resistance from Israel’s government.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said China and Russia "have been working on offensive capability to counter our space systems."

Nearly two-thirds of the debris tracked from last year’s Russian anti-satellite (ASAT) test has since deorbited, but it could take more than a decade for the rest to reenter.

Three cosmonauts undocked from the International Space Station Thursday and returned to Earth aboard their Soyuz spacecraft, safely landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan to wrap up a 195-day mission.

NASA and SpaceX will study the potential use of a commercial Dragon crew spacecraft to reboost and service the Hubble Space Telescope, a 32-year-old observatory last upgraded by a space shuttle in 2009, officials announced Thursday.

"We are screaming by pretty fast."

NASA has awarded a total of seven contracts to six companies including Airborne Systems North America of Santa, Ana California, CFD Research Corporation of Huntsville, Alabama, Jackson Bond Enterprises LLC of Dover, New Hampshire, Ryzing Technologies of Staunton, Virginia, Miller Scientific Inc. of Flagstaff, Arizona, and Anasphere Inc. of Manhatta

NASA will hold a media teleconference today at 4:30 p.m. EDT, Thursday, Sept. 29, to discuss a new study exploring potential commercial space opportunities for NASA science missions. The agency will livestream audio of the teleconference on its website.

The FCC adopted a new rule Sept. 29 that will shorten the time for satellite operators to deorbit low Earth orbit satellites from 25 to 5 years.

NASA has awarded a total of seven contracts to six companies including Airborne Systems North America of Santa, Ana California, CFD Research Corporation of Huntsville, Alabama, Jackson Bond Enterprises LLC of Dover, New Hampshire, Ryzing Technologies of Staunton, Virginia, Miller Scientific Inc. of Flagstaff, Arizona, and Anasphere Inc. of Manhatta

NASA and Astra Space have revised a launch contract originally awarded for the launch of a cubesat constellation after Astra retired the launch vehicle that would have launched those spacecraft.

Ahead of a Federal Communications Commission vote on a proposal to set a five-year deadline for deorbiting low Earth orbit satellites, leaders of the House Science Committee are questioning the FCC’s authority to do so.

After a delay of several weeks due to technical issues, bad weather, and a busy launch range, Firefly Aerospace is set to try again early Friday to send its commercial small satellite launcher into orbit on a test flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.

The Senate on Sept. 29 confirmed the nomination of Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman for promotion to general and assignment as the chief of space operations of the U.S. Space Force

The Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft, which launched three Russian cosmonauts to the International Space Station on March 18 of this year, touched down in the Kazakh steppe. MS-21 landed outside of Dzhezkazgan on Thursday, Sept. 29, completing a 195-day mission in low Earth orbit.

Some space company leaders are embracing the trend toward remote work. Others caution against it. In any case, the pandemic has changed the calculus for current and prospective employees.

Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), a key congressional proponent of establishing a Space National Guard, said he would consider an alternative proposal endorsed by Space Force leaders and by the Biden administration.

The forecast track of Hurricane Ian across Central Florida has forced SpaceX and United Launch Alliance to postpone several launches planned in the coming days at Cape Canaveral, including the next crew flight to the International Space Station, a Starlink mission, and the liftoff of an Atlas 5 rocket.

NASA has selected GHGSat, Inc., of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to provide commercial small constellation satellite products for evaluation to determine the utility for advancing NASA’s science and application goals. GHGSat will provide a comprehensive catalogue of Earth Observation data High Resolution Gas Detection Commercial Earth Observation Data

Lynk Global said Sept. 28 it will test the ability to send a 5G signal from a satellite launching in December to standard mobile devices, after getting funding for the demonstration from an undisclosed partner.

The NRO awarded study contracts to commercial RF providers Aurora Insight, HawkEye 360, Kleos Space, PredaSAR, Spire Global and Umbra Lab.

The Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station are bracing for the arrival and effects of Hurricane Ian, a major tropical cyclone in the Gulf of Mexico that is predicted to make landfall on Florida’s west coast near Port Charlotte and Fort Myers Wednesday at near Category 5 strength, with sustained winds of 250 km/h (155 mph).

Media accreditation is open for the launch of the next commercial resupply services mission to deliver NASA science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station.

This is the kind of storm that destroys a community forever.