United Launch Alliance (ULA) delivered the last-ever Space Launch System (SLS) Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) from its Decatur, Alabama, factory to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in early August for eventual use on the Artemis III lunar landing mission. ICPS-3 was also the last Delta hardware to depart Decatur and will support NASA’s third and final launch of the SLS Block 1 rocket before it is upgraded to the Block 1B configuration beginning on Artemis IV.
A new Inmarsat communications satellite has suffered an “unexpected anomaly,” the second in as many months for a Viasat-owned spacecraft that could create bigger headaches for the space insurance sector.
Progress 85P Docking: Following the completion of a 34-orbit rendezvous, 85P successfully docked to the Aft Service Module port last night at 10:45 PM CDT. The crew then performed leak checks, opened hatches, and began unloading cargo. 85P delivered food, fuel, and supplies to the ISS and will be used to reboost the station. Payloads: ISS …
Bremen-based startup POLARIS Spaceplanes announced that it had begun testing its MIRA-Light demonstrator. MIRA-Light measures 2.5 metres in length. It is a subscale version of the company’s MIRA vehicle which POLARIS expects to begin testing towards the end of 2023. MIRA will be 4.25 metres long and will be the first of the company’s demonstrators […]
The post POLARIS Spaceplanes Begins Testing its MIRA-Light Vehicle appeared first on European Spaceflight.
More companies than ever are offering to arrange launches and provide “last-mile” services. However, alternatives to SpaceX are hard to come by as other launchers struggle through development delays.
Starlink and OneWeb are plotting much larger satellites for their second generations as the total mass of objects in space reaches new heights. Smallsat makers are also getting in on the action, offering smaller constellation operators increasingly larger spacecraft to take advantage of cheaper and more available launch options.
The Defense Innovation Unit is seeking industry bids for a “tactically responsive space” mission where a launch provider would get only 24 hours’ notice to get a payload off the ground.
Ahead of a final meeting of a United Nations working group on reducing space threats, members states of the European Union, but not the E.U. itself, have pledged not to conduct destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite tests.
Rocket Lab has achieved a significant milestone in the effort to make Electron reusable, for the first time the company has flown an engine that had previously flown before and was recovered from the ocean.
A second Viasat communications satellite is malfunctioning in orbit, this time from the fleet of recently acquired U.K.-based Inmarsat, the company said on Thursday.
North Korea has attempted to to launch a spy satellite again, but the mission ended in failure due to a critical "error in the emergency blasting system" during the third-stage flight, according to a statement from the nation's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
NASA launched its next astronaut rotation, Crew-7, to the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, docking the following day. The four astronauts launched from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket in the Dragon spacecraft C210-3 Endurance. The first attempt stood down from the launch for issues relating to Dragon and the ISS.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) is taking more steps to challenge President Biden’s decision to keep U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado instead of moving it to Alabama as promised by […]
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NASA
NASA, Forest Service to Share Moon Tree Seedlings, Promote STEM
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Education and community organizations can apply to receive a living piece of spaceflight history to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics: a seedling grown from a tree seed that flew around the Moon on the NASA’s Artemis I mission in late 2022.
The European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft has discovered a number of tiny jets of material escaping from the Sun’s outer atmosphere. These jets may be the long-sought-after source of solar wind. Work on the Solar Orbit began in 2012 with a €300 million contract awarded to Astrium UK. In February 2020, the spacecraft was […]
The post ESA’s Solar Orbiter May Have Discovered the Source of Solar Wind appeared first on European Spaceflight.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued SpaceX on Thursday, alleging Elon Musk’s space company discriminated in its hiring practices against refugees and people granted asylum in the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued SpaceX on Thursday, alleging Elon Musk’s space company discriminated against refugees and asylum seekers in its hiring practices.
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NASA
NASA Shares First Images from US Pollution-Monitoring Instrument
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On Thursday, NASA released the first data maps from its new instrument launched to space earlier this year, which now is successfully transmitting information about major air pollutants over North America.
It’s a sad irony, but an irony nonetheless, that this week the European Space Agency announced that a piece of space debris — left in orbit by a 2013 launch of Arianespace’s Vega rocket and the target of a removal mission — appears to have been struck by other space debris.
Predetermined Debris Avoidance Maneuver (PDAM): The ISS performed a retrograde PDAM at 10:00 AM CDT to avoid a possible conjunction. Using SM Main Engine thrusters, the ISS completed a 0.3 m/s ∆V retrograde PDAM to clear the debris. The PDAM executed nominally, and the ISS is still in an acceptable position for upcoming 85P docking at …
NASA is preparing for the release of a new decadal survey for space research that the agency hopes will provide guidance on research to pursue on the International Space Station and how to transition that to commercial successors.
North Korea said Aug. 24 its second attempt to launch a spy satellite ended in failure due to an “error in the emergency blasting system” during the third-stage flight.
SpaceX’s Super Heavy Booster 9 prototype has completed its pre-launch static fire test. This follows roughly two weeks after its first static fire attempt that ended prematurely at only half the expected duration. Work continues in parallel at Starbase to prepare Ship 25 for flight, which could occur in the next week or two, pending regulatory approval.
Italian-based space transportation company SAB Launch Services is studying ways that its IOSHEX orbital vehicle could work in concert with the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Space Rider vehicle. Space Rider is an ESA-led project to develop a small uncrewed spaceplane that will enable the launch, in-orbit testing/manufacture, and return of client payloads. Development of the […]
The post SAB Orbital Vehicle Could Work in Concert With Space Rider appeared first on European Spaceflight.
Australian startup HEO, which uses space-based sensors to inspect and image objects in orbit, announced Aug. 23 it has completed an $8 million Series A funding round.
Progress 85P Launch: Tuesday evening at 8:08 PM CDT, 85P launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome carrying food, fuel, and supplies to the ISS. An automated docking to the ISS Service Module aft docking port is planned to occur on Thursday, August 24th at approximately 10:50 PM CDT after completing a 34-orbit rendezvous. Port Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) …
The success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission marks a watershed moment, as it becomes the first spacecraft to land on the moon's south pole — a region containing water ice and valuable minerals. The implication of this pioneering feat is significant, and the data and insights drawn from these tests will surely capture global attention as they will aid in future lunar missions.
India became just the fourth country to successfully land a spacecraft on the Moon today. Chandrayaan-3’s soft-landing marked the first success since 2019 in six tries by three space agencies, […]
