Space news

USOS Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #87 ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) 1A Install: Today, Woody Hoburg and Steve Bowen conducted USOS EVA #87 to install and deploy the IROSA 1A. Operators Frank Rubio and Sultan Al Neyadi provided SSRMS M1/M2 support during the EVA. Hatch opening occurred at 8:24 AM CDT. The final Phase Elapsed Time …

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s is closely tracking smoke from the Canadian wildfires moving June 9 from the Northeastern United States over the Atlantic Ocean.

A variety of methalox rockets are approaching launch, with the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan rocket completing its flight readiness firing. What’s more, the wildfires currently raging in Canada have been studied from space using a plethora of weather observation satellites, and the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) advanced extragalactic survey data was officially released.

A pair of Colorado space companies laid off employees this past week, seeking to adapt to the new normal of a tight funding environment.

A light-lift solid rocket sent an experimental “plate-like” stackable satellite into orbit late Thursday as the country looks to build its answer to Starlink.

NASA and congressional officials are still grappling with the implications of a debt-ceiling agreement that enacts spending caps, but acknowledged it likely means the agency will get less money than it requested for 2024.

In 2025, Astroscale plans to send ELSA-M into very low Earth orbit for commissioning.

Over the last few weeks, China has remained busy with both launching rockets and announcing news, as the country outlined its ambitious plans for its upcoming Lunar program, in which they hope to land a taikonaut on the surface of the Moon by 2030.

The Government Accountability Office in its annual assessment of Pentagon procurements provided an update on the Space Force’s satellite programs and found a few red flags.

Indian satellite communications provider Nelco has invested around $122 million in a network equipment startup based in Mumbai, India, to bolster its services amid a growing competitive threat from international players.

Shares of Planet fell after the satellite-imagery and data-analysis company cut its annual revenue guidance following when it reported first-quarter results Thursday.

The U.S. Space Force launch procurement office on June 8 announced an additional 12 missions assigned to SpaceX and United Launch Alliance under the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 contract.

Payloads: Plasma Kristall-4 (PK-4): The crew configured the video monitor system and gas system valves in order to prepare the PK-4 chamber for storage. PK-4 is a scientific collaboration between ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), performing research in the field of Complex Plasmas: low temperature gaseous mixtures composed of ionized gas, neutral …

SpaceX has now launched a flight-proven Dragon capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) 20 times. Following the successful launch and docking...

Martian maps are full of monikers recognizing places on Earth, explorers, and even cartoon characters.

No rocket has been better-described as a “workhorse” than SpaceX’s Falcon 9. Historically a term reserved for the likes of ULA’s Delta II (now retired) or Russia’s Soyuz (now unavailable) or China’s Long March (also unavailable), the blistering pace of Falcon 9 missions has seen the company blow past 200 launches to date, and become the staple of the Western market.

Firefly Aerospace announced June 8 it has acquired Spaceflight Inc., adding its satellite transportation services to its portfolio of launch vehicles and spacecraft.

The Space Development Agency awarded a $64 million contract to Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) to develop a software applications factory for the agency’s low Earth orbit constellation.

ArianeGroup announced June 6 that it had renamed its GEOTracker space surveillance service to Helix. With the new name, the company has also rolled out new capabilities that include eye-safe laser ranging and imaging.

IrriWatch, founded in 2019 by Wim Bastiaanssen, an expert on remote sensing and water resource management, feeds imagery and data, much of it provided by thermal sensors on government satellites, into proprietary algorithms to gauge leaf and soil temperatures, soil moisture content, water consumption and agricultural production.

Albedo also announced the opening June 8 of a Broomfield facility large enough to build three to four satellites simultaneously.

NASA has growing concerns that the lunar lander version of SpaceX’s Starship vehicle will not be ready in time for the Artemis 3 mission in late 2025, given the amount of work needed to get the vehicle ready.

United Launch Alliance successfully test-fires new Vulcan rocket Following a successful Flight Tanking Test (FTT), United Launch Alliance fired up the Vulcan...

United Launch Alliance carried out a static-fire test of its Vulcan Centaur rocket June 7, one of the final milestones before the vehicle’s first launch.

Nuview plans to launch, a Space Proof of Concept Satellite called Mr. Spoc, in a little more than two years.

"Without the engines installed and fitted perfectly, the rocket could not launch."

In its new role overseeing the nation’s network of missile-defense sensors, U.S. Space Command plans to make more efficient use of these assets, officials said June 7.

Eligible schools, universities, museums, libraries, and planetariums interested in receiving historic NASA objects for their STEM programs have until Friday, June 30, to apply for the 60th screening of the NASA Artifacts Module.

The European Space Agency has launched a demonstration project to show how artificial intelligence could use satellite data to help certify organic cotton farms in India to prevent fraud.

Payloads: Airborne Particulate Monitor (APM): APM was removed from its Node 3 location and stowed. 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 for measuring and …

As part of a Biden/Harris initiative, NASA will award more than $5 million in funding to seven Women’s Colleges and Universities (WCUs) to research and develop strategies that increase retention of women in STEM degree programs and careers.

New York City had the worst air quality in the world on Tuesday.

NASA invites media to attend the first major asteroid sample recovery rehearsal for its OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer) mission on Tuesday, June 27, to Thursday, June 28, at Lockheed Martin in Littleton, Colorado.

Wilson Aerospace, a small family-run tools company based in Colorado, is suing Boeing for a wide range of claims concerning allegedly stolen intellectual property over the last two decades.

For two months, 12 people from France will be put into a “compulsory reclined lifestyle” to study the impacts that microgravity has on astronauts and whether cycling in artificial gravity could combat the negative effects human spaceflight has on the body. The Bedrest with Artificial Gravity and Cycling Exercise (BRACE) is led by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the French Space Agency (CNES) and will mark the first bedrest study involving cycling in Europe.

ULA announced this afternoon that they are planning to conduct another attempt at the Flight Readiness Firing of the twin BE-4 engines of their next generation Vulcan-Centaur launch vehicle today.

A Chinese commercial launch firm conducted its second orbital mission Wednesday, sending a reported record 26 satellites into orbit.

Last week, Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) announced that it had successfully completed the Integrated System Test (IST) campaign for the RFA ONE second stage. The IST campaign included several hot fire tests and culminated in a full-duration 280-second test of the first RFA ONE second stage.

Satellite manufacturer York Space Systems announced June 7 it has acquired Emergent Space Technologies, a small business that develops flight software and engineering tools for space missions.

After a recent downturn, there are signs of a rebound in space investment, but analysts and investors see a new focus on smaller, more selective rounds.

Apogeo Space, an Italian venture with plans for nearly 100 tiny satellites for connecting remote monitoring devices, said June 5 it had signed a deal to deploy nine picosatellites next year with an orbital transfer vehicle from Momentus.

The Space Systems Command on June 6 opened a new office and conference center dedicated for doing business with the commercial space industry.

NASA announced Tuesday the University of Alabama in Huntsville is the overall winner of the agency’s 2023 Student Launch challenge.

TAMPA, Fla. — OneWeb launched a free trial offer for maritime customers June 6 after bringing its low Earth orbit broadband network online over a larger swathe of the northern hemisphere.

With help from the joint NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scientists are peering deep into the universe and uncovering secrets that were previously hidden from visible and X-ray telescopes. The JWST advanced deep extragalactic survey (JADES) utilized Webb’s incredible deep-field surveying abilities to create a deep field that shows over 45,000 galaxies and uncovers some of the secrets of the early universe.

Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo told Wired that work being done on a reusable demonstrator may be a prelude to an entirely new product line for the company.

Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) is a new name in the spaceflight industry that you've probably heard a lot over the past few years. If you haven't, we've got you covered! Back in March, TLP was given the opportunity to have an interview with RFA's Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder, Dr. Steffan Brieschenk, who talked to us about RFA's Background, engines, facilities, future and more.

"We've been using space as our own personal operating dumping ground."

Rivada Space Networks is hoping to secure support from the U.S. Ex-Im Bank to finance a multibillion-dollar satellite constellation whose future also depends on an impending decision by international regulators.

SpaceX-28 (SpX-28) Docking: SpX-28 successfully docked to the Node 2 Zenith port this morning at 5:04 AM CT. The crew then performed leak checks, opened hatches, and began unloading cargo. Carrying food, supplies, and two ISS Roll Out Solar Arrays (IROSA), the SpX-28 spacecraft launched from the NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Monday, June 5th, …