Space news

The U.S. military is preparing to buy another round of rocket launches from companies next year, and Space Force leadership says they’re taking a new “mutual fund approach” to the acquisition strategy.

NASA and SpaceX officials gave the green light Saturday night to continue preparations for launch of the next crew mission to the International Space Station Monday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

British ruggedized handset maker Bullitt unveiled its first satellite-enabled smartphones Feb. 24 that can send and receive text messages outside cellular coverage.

Led by a three-time space shuttle flier and former Navy submarine officer, the four-man team set to ride into orbit Monday on SpaceX’s Dragon Endeavour spacecraft rode to the launch pad in Florida in new black Tesla Model Xs and took their seats inside the commercial crew capsule Thursday night for a countdown dress rehearsal.

NASA's has lost "command capability" of their Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft following a flight computer reset during a scheduled contact.

NASA is set to commence work later this year on the inaugural cargo mission for the Lunar Gateway Station, three years after awarding the contract to SpaceX.

The Chinese space program has resumed launches after going over a month without a single launch due to the Chinese New Year and Spring Festival holiday period. On Thursday, Feb. 23, at 7:49 PM Beijing time (11:49 UTC), Chang Zheng 3B Y93 flew successfully from pad LC-2 at Xichang in southwest China.

Payloads: Airborne Particulate Monitor (APM): The APM system was checked, and a status was provided to the ground. Air quality in crewed spacecraft is important for keeping astronauts healthy and comfortable. Although requirements exist for maximum allowable concentrations of particulate matter, currently no measurement capability verifies whether these requirements are met. APM demonstrates an instrument …

A launch tower for commercial launches will be completed by the end of the year near China’s coastal Wenchang spaceport and begin hosting regular missions in 2024.

A Vulcan flying on May the 4th is the crossover we all needed.

A in-depth look at what could have been

Samsung Electronics said Feb. 23 it had secured a new standardized 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN) modem that enables direct smartphone-satellite communications in locations where there is no cellular network connectivity.

NASA anticipates starting work later this year on the first cargo mission for the lunar Gateway, three years after awarding SpaceX a contract for such missions.

“Each Artemis mission will be properly characterized as a test mission."

A Russian Soyuz crew ferry ship blasted off from Kazakhstan Thursday, kicking off an unpiloted but critical flight to the International Space Station to replace a damaged Soyuz and provide an eventual ride home for three of the lab’s crew members.

The first launch of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket is now scheduled for no earlier than May 4, a date the company says is based on remaining tests of the rocket and its main engines as well as launch windows for its primary payload.

ULA is now officially targeting May 4th for the maiden flight of Vulcan Centaur.

Ligado Networks and Omnispace announced plans Feb. 23 to pool their satellite spectrum to boost the text, voice, and data services they aim to provide directly to standard smartphones and other devices.

NASA has selected Jacobs Technology Inc., of Tullahoma, Tennessee, to manage launch infrastructure, and to operate and maintain ground systems required for flight spacecraft processing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Sidney N. Nakahodo is a founder and general partner of Seldor and lecturer of international and public affairs at Columbia University. Alan Pereira is a venture partner and general counsel of Seldor Capital. Once upon a time, space was a business of two superpowers. Since the end of the Apollo era, a growing number of […]

Payloads: Astrobee Maneuvering by Robotic Manipulator Hopping (Astrobatics): Astrobatics skins were installed onto the Astrobee free-fliers and science session #4 was performed. Astrobatics demonstrates the Astrobee robotic vehicles using robotic manipulators to execute a hopping or self-toss maneuver as the primary means of propulsion, making it mostly propellant-less. Astrobee performs increasingly complex maneuvers between handrails …

China has resumed its orbital launches after a pause for the Chinese New Year festivities, with the successful launch of the Zhongxing-26 (ChinaSat-26) communications satellite on February 23.

The Polaris Program is preparing to launch its first crew on a historic first for commercial spaceflight this summer.

Rivada Space Networks has secured the launches and financing it needs to deploy 300 satellites by a mid-2026 regulatory deadline, an executive said Feb. 23 a day after announcing a manufacturer for the constellation.

China’s response to Starlink and OneWeb first became apparent in 2020 in filings for a nearly 13,000-satellite megaconstellation with the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva.

A billionaire-backed series of private astronaut missions is now planning its first launch this summer that will include the first spacewalk on a commercial spaceflight.

On February 21, 2023, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center submitted a Request for Proposal for Near Space Network Services, laying the foundation for advanced lunar and interplanetary communication and navigation systems to assist in the NASA Artemis space infrastructure.

Recently I woke up to a text message from a satellite, sent by Lynk Global co-founder and CEO Charles Miller. Satellite communications are in a new era of disruption, and “direct to device” has become one of the hottest topics in the past year. So I caught up with Miller to have him explain the significance of the 20-word message I received, sent by a Lynk team in an area outside of D.C. that has no cell coverage. 

China sent the Zhongxing-26 communications satellite into orbit Feb. 23, marking the resumption orbital launches following a pause for Chinese New Year.

Relativity Space announced Feb. 22 it will attempt the first launch of its Terran 1 rocket as soon as March 8 after securing a launch license and skipping a planned final test.

Terran Orbital Corporation has secured through its subsidiary, Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems a $2.4 billion USD contract to design, build, and deploy 288 + 12 spare low earth orbit satellites for Rivada Space Networks (RSN), a subsidiary of Rivada Networks.

Israeli geospatial analytics firm Asterra is considering ordering its own satellite as it struggles to compete with government agencies for images, an executive said Feb. 22.

On 21 February 2023, the FAA granted Relativity Space a launch licence for the first launch of their Terran 1 rocket. The issued launch licence authorises Relativity to conduct pre-launch operations and launch operations at SLC-16. Since Relativity Space recieved its launch licence they have announced the launch date for the ‘Good Luck Have Fun’ (GLHF) mission, between 13:00-16:00 EST (18:00-21:00 UTC) on 8 March 2023.

Despite its successes last year, the leadership of NASA warns that the coming year could be more challenging as it fights to preserve its budget on Capitol Hill.

As SpaceX prepares to attempt Starship’s first orbital flight, the company is contemplating military applications for the super-heavy launch vehicle.

Ambitious plans from China for a global broadband network could hamper Western constellation operators seeking to maximize their international subscriber numbers.

NASA and Blue Origin’s Club for the Future will co-host multiple free in-person viewing events of the agency’s documentary, The Color of Space, at historically Black colleges and universities, conferences, festivals, and more nationwide. The documentary is a conversation between seven current and former Black astronauts, each of whom were selected

Members of the media and public are invited to participate in NASA’s imaginAviation, a free, virtual event focusing on how the agency transforms research innovations into new possibilities for aviation for the benefit of humanity. Sessions run from Tuesday, Feb. 28, to Thursday, March 2.

SpaceX has postponed the launch of another batch of Starlink internet satellites from Thursday as the company’s team in Florida prioritizes preparations for the launch of a four-man next week bound for the International Space Station.

The orbital test flight of Starship is just around the corner.

Payloads: Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF): The crew continued the work to install the High-Speed Camera system into ELF. This camera will be used to support the next set of ELF experiments. ELF is an experimental facility designed to levitate/melt/solidify materials by containerless processing techniques using the Electrostatic Levitation method. With this facility, thermophysical properties of …

Relativity Space plans to skip a final test-firing of its first fully stacked Terran 1 rocket at Cape Canaveral and proceed with a launch attempt March 8 for the methane-fueled, 3D-printed launcher, the company said Wednesday.

SAN FRANCISCO — Terran Orbital Corporation announced a $2.4 billion contract to build 300 satellites for Rivada Space Networks. Under the contract announced Feb. 22, Terran Orbital will design, build and deploy 288 satellites in low-Earth orbit. In addition, Terran Orbital will build 12 satellite spares. “I think this is the largest smallsat contract ever […]

Elon Musk’s SpaceX rolled out new pricing for residential Starlink customers based on its capacity to deliver service, according to emails to customers reviewed by CNBC.

ORLANDO — Capella Space, a company that operates a constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellites, is partnering with data analytics firms to help increase access to SAR imagery, the company announced Feb. 22. SAR is a specialized form of remote sensing that has seen growing demand as SAR satellites can capture images at […]

Terran Orbital shares surged on Wednesday after the company announced a $2.4 billion contract to build communications satellites for Rivada Space Networks.

NASA has delayed the launch of a commercial crew mission to the International Space Station by a day to give SpaceX additional time to complete work on the vehicle.

In its latest strategy to procure launch services, the U.S. Space Force is taking a calculated risk that new players in the industry will deliver on their ambitious plans.

SpaceX’s static-fire test of nearly all the engines in its Starship booster earlier this month was “the last box to check” before the vehicle’s first orbital launch attempt, likely some time in March, a company official said Feb. 21.

NASA SpaceX Crew 6 astronauts have arrived at NASA Kennedy Space Center for final launch preparations ahead of their launch to the International Space Station on Monday.