Space news

Telesat selected Aalyria Technologies to orchestrate communications for its Lightspeed low-Earth orbit broadband network.

SpaceX successfully launched the Transporter 9 mission from California and a pair of O3b mPower communications satellites from Florida over the weekend...

Today the Secure World Foundation announced that 26 space companies from 10 countries have signed a statement supporting international efforts to stop direct-ascent antisatellite tests that create space debris that […]

The European Space Agency has inked a memorandum of understanding with Airbus and Voyager Space to explore the potential of a Starlab commercial space station as a successor to the ISS.

Spire Global, a space-based data and services firm, has launched a web-based app designed to simplify satellite constellation operations for its customers.

Bulgaria is the 32nd country to officially joined the U.S.-led Artemis Accords, marking its commitment to principles for cooperative space exploration.

European government and industry officials say the policy of “georeturn,” which guarantees nations receive contracts in proportion to their investments, needs to be adjusted, particularly to make Europe’s launch industry more competitive.

Virgin Galactic has revealed in its latest earning call its decision to decrease the frequency of flights for its current suborbital vehicle, VSS Unity, with plans to cease operations entirely by mid-2024.

European space mission integrator Telespazio has bought British engineering and consultancy firm e2E to play a bigger role in plans to expand the U.K. satellite industry.

An influential congressional advisory body warned in its annual report that strategic and systemic competition between the United States and China continues to intensify.

The sale would still have to be approved by the Federal Trade Commission.

SpaceX is pushing hard to launch the second spaceflight of its Starship rocket this week.

Payloads: Cell Gravisensing-2: The crew performed the first set of sample fixations for the ongoing experiment. Fixation refers to a group of techniques which are used to preserve various aspects of the samples for later analysis. Recent spaceflight experiments have revealed that individual animal cells can feel the effects of gravity. However, how cells can …

Europe needs to choose its space priorities wisely and work to boost capabilities or face suffering overreach, a leading official says.

In the evolving landscape of space warfare, conflict is shifting into what experts commonly call the “gray zone.”

French launch aggregator RIDE! has won an ESA contract to offer its services free of charge to customers interested in launching payloads aboard the maiden Ariane 6 flight in 2024. The contract is part of the agency’s Programme for Userbase Enhancement (PUSH), which aims to provide a platform for companies that offer “groundbreaking space-related products […] The post RIDE! Wins ESA PUSH Contract to Offer Ariane 6 Launch Capacity appeared first on European Spaceflight.

"I have wanted to image these for some time."

Quantum Space plans to launch Scout-1, the space infrastructure and services company’s first satellite, no earlier than March 2024 on a SpaceX Transporter rideshare flight.

As Intuitive Machines prepares for the launch of its first lunar lander mission, the company says it’s planning for up to three lander launches in 2024.

German launch startup HyImpulse Technologies has announced the successful completion of the assembly and integration of its first SR75 launch vehicle. The HyImpulse SR75 is a one-stage suborbital rocket capable of carrying payloads of up to 250 kilograms to a maximum altitude of 200 kilometres. The vehicle is powered by the company’s HyPLOX-75 hybrid rocket […] The post HyImpulse Inches Closer to Maiden SR75 Flight appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Morpheus Space is releasing Journey, the space mobility company's first software program.

NASA officials told an advisory committee today they are pausing the Mars Sample Return program as they assess alternative architectures in the wake of increased costs and constrained budgets. A […]

ISS Reboost: On November 9th at 3:11 PM, the ISS performed a nominal reboost using the 85P Aft Progress R&D thrusters on SM Aft. This reboost was one of two planned reboosts in November to set up phasing conditions for the 86P 2-orbit rendezvous on December 1st. The burn lasted for 15 minutes 22 seconds …

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall issued a stark warning Nov. 13 about the impact of funding delays and continuing threats of government shutdowns.

NASA is slowing down work on Mars Sample Return (MSR) amid uncertainty about its budget for next year and an ongoing review of alternative architectures for the program.

"We want to make it cheap and easy to get anywhere in the Solar System."

After years of work, Sierra Space’s first Dream Chaser reusable spaceplane is almost ready to fly. The vehicle’s next step is a trip to NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio ahead of its first launch at the Kennedy Space Center currently scheduled for no earlier than March 2024.

In the wake of the full-scale Russian invasion, global attention has focused on Western military support extended to Ukraine. Much of this recognition centers on the provision of conventional resources, […]

This year’s Space Stewardship honorees include two pioneers in the field of space situational awareness and an industry-led initiative to foster best practices in on-orbit satellite servicing and related endeavors, including active removal of orbital debris.

Take a look at two clusters of galaxies that are colliding.

With the announcement of its commercial cargo programme, the European Space Agency appears to have stacked the deck to allow for only one challenger to be eligible to compete. At the 2023 Space Summit in Spain, ESA member states endorsed a resolution directing the agency to create a programme that would see European companies develop […] The post Has ESA Stacked the Deck for The Exploration Company? appeared first on European Spaceflight.

The case stems from Zero 2 Infinity's allegations that the people and organizations the company hired to raise money for its space tourism business used the funds obtained from investors to establish competing businesses based on Zero 2 Infinity’s intellectual property.

SpaceX launched a third pair of O3b mPower satellites Nov. 12, enough for SES to start services next year from a constellation grappling with electrical issues that have reduced initial capacity.

Boeing and Emirates are reportedly close to a major order of 777 jets, which would further bolster the airline’s existing position flying world’s largest fleet of the widebody aircraft type.

Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of November 12-18, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session […]

Rogue Space Systems launched its first demonstration mission Nov. 11 on the SpaceX Transporter-9 rideshare.

The U.S. Space Force awarded Saber Astronautics a $1.2 million contract to develop data visualization software focused on the cislunar region of space, between Earth and the moon’s orbit.

The annual meeting of a scientific committee called the Venus Exploration Analysis Group, or VEXAG, coincided this year with Halloween. Befitting the occasion, there were both tricks and treats for scientists studying the planet Venus.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson confirms that President Biden is requesting initial funding for the ISS Deorbit Vehicle in a recent supplemental funding request. NASA’s safety advisory panel is adamant the […]

The European Space Agency (ESA) has released the first full-color images from Euclid, the agency’s latest space telescope designed to study the nature and distribution of dark matter and dark energy in the universe. During a video broadcast on Nov. 7, scientists, engineers, and agency officials unveiled the telescope’s first five images.

SpaceX launched more than 100 satellites in the ninth in a series of dedicated smallsat rideshare missions Nov. 11, the latest flight in a program that has generated both delight and disdain across the commercial space industry.

On Saturday, Nov. 11 SpaceX will launch the Transporter-9 rideshare mission from launch complex SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB). The 55-minute launch window opens at 10:49 AM PST (18:49 UTC). If needed there is a backup launch opportunity the next day with the same launch window.

A top Department of Transportation official suggested the launch industry should help pay for additional resources for the Federal Aviation Administration’s commercial space office.

Avanti Communications is in talks to procure capacity from a low Earth orbit operator to transform into a provider of multi-orbit broadband services, the British regional geostationary satellite operator announced Nov. 10.

Semiconductor giant Qualcomm is scrapping plans to provide the technology Android smartphones would need to directly connect to Iridium’s satellites when they can’t reach a cell tower.

The Falcon 9 successfully lifted off at 8:28 p.m. ET last night, sending Cargo Dragon on its way to the International Space...

Billionaire investor Ron Baron told CNBC on Friday that he expects SpaceX to IPO its Starlink satellite internet service “in 2027 or so.”

Rovers and orbiters will continue collecting limited data during a two-week communications pause due to the position of Earth, the Sun, and the Red Planet.

Commercial space is no longer the sole domain of satellite telecommunications. Nearly every sector of the space enterprise is opening up to commercial providers. Two of our three finalists for this year’s Commercial Space Achievement award represent longstanding commercial pillars of the space industry: launch and satellite communications. The third is a pioneer in one of the most challenging space sectors to commercialize: human spaceflight.

The launch directorate of the French space agency CNES has published a call to support industry-led demonstrations of semi-reusable micro and mini-launcher systems that will include the deployment of a passenger payload. In the call’s introduction, CNES states that the reuse of the first stage of European launch vehicles is one of nine of its […] The post CNES Publishes Call for the Demonstration of Reusable Launch Systems appeared first on European Spaceflight.