Space news

A Tesla investor whose firm has made billions on the automaker’s stock says SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space exploration company, is the next...

This next phase of NSSL marks a significant evolution in how the Space Force approaches launch, leaning into the commercial market in a way that it had previously largely avoided.

"I finally had 30 minutes or so to admire the spectacular view."

With the investment, Kuva Space will accelerate development of cameras and related technology for its hyperspectral satellite constellation.

SpaceX’s Starship is another step closer today to getting an FAA license to attempt a second orbital flight test. The FAA announced the company has completed all the required corrective […]

International regulators have given Ovzon another six months to provide services from its debut satellite following a series of manufacturing and launch delays for the project, the Swedish satcoms provider announced Oct. 31.

SpaceX is one step closer to getting an updated license for its next Starship launch but must still wait for the completion of an environmental review.

Electrical issues disclosed a few months ago on the first four O3b mPower satellites in medium Earth orbit will significantly reduce their operational life and broadband capacity, their operator SES announced Oct. 31.

HawkEye 360, a commercial operator of remote-sensing satellites won a $12.2 million contract from the U.S. Navy’s Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific.

The Space Systems Command announced 21 launch missions have been assigned to United Launch Alliance and SpaceX as part of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 2 contract the companies won in 2020.

In-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) capabilities will eventually be crucial enablers of securing and sustaining the future space economy. However, they have not fully matured or become mainstream in the two decades since Orbital Express.

On Wednesday, the spacecraft will come close to the small asteroid Dinkinesh.

Payloads: Actiwatch-Plus: Actiwatch units were doffed from two crewmembers. The Actiwatch-Plus is a waterproof, non-intrusive, sleep-wake activity monitor worn on the wrist of a crewmember and contains a miniature uniaxial accelerometer that produces a signal as the subject moves. The data is stored in non-volatile memory within the Actiwatch until it is downloaded for analysis. …

Astrobotic’s first lunar lander has arrived in Florida for final preparations for launch on Christmas Eve.

DENVER – October 31, 2023 – Multiverse Media Inc, a Denver-based integrated media company that Educates, Informs and Inspires the space community across multiple professional and enthusiast brands, is proud […]

What's big and has a lot of gravity, but won't cause a cavity?

Chinese commercial launch firm Space Pioneer has announced a new round of funding for development of the Tianlong-3 rocket comparable to the SpaceX Falcon 9.

Rocket Lab expects to launch a highly anticipated privately funded mission to Venus at the end of 2024, leveraging its experience from a mission to the moon.

The three-man Shenzhou-16 space station crew is back on Earth after 5 months on Tiangong-3. Their replacements arrived a few days ago, continuing China’s practice of keeping Tiangong-3 permanently occupied […]

SpaceX continues its incredible pace with the launch of 22 V2 mini Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. This...

"It turned out we weren't ready for this."

The Pentagon’s Space Development Agency on Monday announced about $1.3 billion in contracts to York Space and Northrop Grumman to build communications satellites.

The Space Development Agency awarded Northrop Grumman a $732 million contract for 38 communications satellites that will be part of the U.S. military’s low Earth orbit space architecture.

Payloads: EXPRESS Expedite the Processing of Experiments for Space Station (EXPRESS) Racks: Dragon Express Rack 3-Locker 8 and Express Rack 4-Locker 5 were uninstalled and temp stowed in preparation for POLAR and MERLIN units arriving on SpX-29. The EXPRESS Racks support science experiments in any discipline by providing structural interfaces, power, data, cooling, water, and …

Maxar announced Oct. 30 that Dan Smoot was selected as the new CEO of its satellite imagery business known as Maxar Intelligence.

U.S. Space Force Col. Richard Kniseley, the head of Space Systems Command’s Commercial Space Office (COMSO), will deliver the keynote address at the SpaceNews 2023 Icon Awards on Dec. 5 in Washington.

The U.S. Space Force is moving forward with plans to procure 27 missile-defense satellites for a medium Earth orbit constellation — using an acquisition process that mirrors the model adopted by the Space Development Agency for the military's low Earth orbit architecture.

Launch was awesome, but now comes a painfully long wait.

A Spanish company developing green propulsion systems for spacecraft has raised $3 million in seed funding.

ArianeGroup announced last week that it had completed a test campaign of a Prometheus engine prototype that included a 30-second hot fire test. Prometheus began as a CNES project in 2015, with the agency projecting that a full-scale demonstrator of the engine would be ready for a hot fire test in 2020. The engine was […] The post Prometheus Completes 30-Second Hot Fire Test appeared first on European Spaceflight.

SpaceNews and a panel of experts had a timely discussion on how Space companies and government agencies are looking for employees to fill a variety of jobs, why demand for […]

A NASA safety panel expressed concerns about NASA’s plans to shift from the International Space Station to commercial successors, including funding for an ISS deorbit vehicle.

Scientists recently discovered a high-speed jet stream at Jupiter’s equator using the joint NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope. Webb’s images helped the team of scientists track fine details through the planet’s atmosphere, allowing them to measure these winds for the first time. The newly discovered jet stream will provide scientists with insight into how the layers of Jupiter’s turbulent atmosphere interact.

Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week plus a day of October 29-November 5, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate and […]

Blue Origin has unveiled a full-sized mockup of an uncrewed version of its Blue Moon lunar lander that will test technologies intended for a crewed version it is developing for NASA’s Artemis effort.

Following a cost-saving summer slowdown, NASA Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage prime contractor Boeing is again working two shifts a day at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans to complete final testing and checkout of the unit that will help send NASA astronauts back to the Moon on the Artemis II mission. Boeing plans to complete testing around the end of November, which would leave a few weeks of final thermal protection system (TPS) and configuration work to complete Core Stage-2 (CS-2) by the end of the year.

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration’s commercial spaceflight office expects current restrictions on his ability to regulate safety of spaceflight participants to be extended past this year.

Intuitive Machines announced Oct. 27 that is has pushed back the launch of its first lunar lander mission by two months to mid-January.

MOXIE, the oxygen-generating experiment aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover, is among the technologies honored by the magazine.

SpaceX has completed a successful Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) of Ship 25 and Booster 9 and other systems tests ahead of an upcoming test flight. Now destacked and awaiting regulatory approval for flight, SpaceX continues to expand and improve the production site for future vehicle cadence.

Payloads: Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research (CIPHER) on Varying Mission Durations: Blood pressure measurements and ultrasound scans were performed in support of the CIPHER investigation. CIPHER consists of 14 studies designed to improve our understanding of physiological and psychological changes in humans on missions that range from weeks to one year in …

Despite a capacity crunch, industry executives say the military is not taking advantage of ground stations that are provided as a commercial service.

German launch startup Isar Aerospace has announced significant progress with the development of its Aquila rocket engine. The company has confirmed that flight versions of the engine are currently being manufactured. Isar is developing Spectrum, a 28-metre tall two stage launch vehicle that is designed to carry up to 1,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit. […] The post Isar Aerospace Completes 260-Second Hot Fire Test appeared first on European Spaceflight.

"So I didn't even make it back and it's already renamed to Sfera."

The Squid Nebula is a recent discovery, first spotted in 2011.

The governments of Australia and the United States have signed an agreement that could allow American rockets to launch from Australian spaceports, although it is unclear how much demand there is for them.

Terran Orbital chair and CEO Marc Bell said it is lowering 2023 revenue guidance following payment delays from Rivada Space, even though the satellite maker’s largest customer still expects to pay $180 million later this year under their $2.4 billion constellation contract.

NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel made it crystal clear today that building a tug to deorbit the International Space station is “not optional,” budget constraints notwithstanding. The panel has been […]

The UK Space Agency is providing £3.5 million ($4.3 million) to help Germany’s Rocket Factory Augsburg prepare for its maiden flight next year from SaxaVord Spaceport, located in Scotland’s Shetland Islands.

Rocket Factory Ltd, the UK-based subsidiary of the German launch startup Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), has received £3.5 million in funding from the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency to support its plans to launch from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland. The funding was awarded as part of the ESA Boost! programme, which aims […] The post RFA UK Receives £3.5M for SaxaVord Development appeared first on European Spaceflight.