Space news

Investors in launch vehicle and spacecraft propulsion company Astra Space have given the company a four-day extension on a loan to provide the company more time to line up a longer-term funding deal.

SpaceX's next-generation spacecraft Starship, developed to carry astronauts to the moon and beyond, was set for blastoff on Saturday for a repeat test launch from south Texas, seven months after its first attempt to reach space ended with an explosion.

SpaceX is looking to launch back to back Starlink launches from Florida and California tonight.

A telco in the Philippines has called dibs on a small geostationary spacecraft launching early next year that Astranis had reserved for Andesat, the cellular backhaul provider now facing delays to deploy Peru’s first dedicated telecoms satellite.

SpaceX will need to launch at least 15 Starships to execute the Artemis III lunar landing NASA said today. Starship cannot fly directly to the Moon, but must refuel in […]

With the Federal Aviation Administration and US Fish and Wildlife Service approving the final signoff and license and SpaceX saying the rocket is ready, Starship set sail from Starbase on its second test flight Saturday. Liftoff at the first attempt followed only a one day slip to fix an issue with Booster 9’s grid fin actuators.

After a one-day delay to replace a failed grid fin actuator, SpaceX is now less than 24 hours from the second test...

As SpaceX prepares for its next Starship test flight, a NASA official said that the use of that vehicle for Artemis lunar landings will require “in the high teens” of launches, a much higher number than what the company’s leadership has previously claimed.

Grid fins have been essential to the landing of 230 rockets.

For space companies, generative artificial intelligence tools offer the potential to merge datasets and streamline operations.

Payloads: Bacterial Adhesion and Corrosion (BAC): The BioCell habitat was retrieved, two of the BioCells were inoculated with experiment bacteria, and then stowed in the Space Automated Laboratory Incubator (SALI) incubator. Polymicrobial Biofilm Growth and Control during Spaceflight (Bacterial Adhesion and Corrosion) explores the formation under microgravity conditions of multi-species biofilms, which may behave differently …

"That region of nebulosity is definitely my favorite part."

While refueling wasn’t a priority before, mobility and logistics are now a “hugely important area for our combatant commanders."

All the major components for the first Vulcan Centaur rocket are now at the launch site as United Launch Alliance prepares for a launch in late December.

Sierra Space, one of the sector’s most valuable private companies, laid off several hundred employees and contractors this week, CNBC has learned.

Lockheed Martin announced Nov. 16 it plans to launch a satellite to demonstrate 5G fiber-like connectivity from low-Earth orbit.

The chief executive of European space company OHB says taking the company private is necessary in a time when small companies, specifically space companies, are undervalued in public markets.

Norwegian state-run telco Telenor announced plans Nov. 16 to sell its satellite division to Space Norway, part of the country’s government, in a deal worth around $216 million.

Yesterday Deutsche Bank held a Space Summit conference here in New York City. On the sidelines, CNBC filmed interviews with more than a half dozen senior executives from Rocket Lab to Mynaric and more.

Liftoff is currently scheduled for Saturday, November 18th after Elon stated that one of Booster 9’s grid fin actuators needed to be replaced.

SpaceX Starship Integrated Flight Test 2 has been delayed 24 hours to no earlier than Saturday, November 18th, with the 20-minute launch...

Payloads: Cell Gravisensing-2 (CGS-2): Confocal Space Microscope sample observations were continued for the CGS-2 six-day experiment session. Recent spaceflight experiments have revealed that individual animal cells can feel the effects of gravity. However, how cells can sense gravity is largely unknown, thus understanding this mechanism emerges as one of the most important problems to be …

Companies engaged in hyperspectral satellite imagery are beginning to overcome challenges to unlocking its potential, according to industry experts.

A little over a month after launch, Amazon on Thursday announced its pair of prototype internet satellites were fully successfully in operations and testing.

Commercial Project Kuiper satellites are entering production next month without design changes after two recently launched prototypes aced end-to-end tests, the broadband constellation’s vice president of technology said in an interview.

Shetland Space Centre Limited owes approximately one million pounds to Shetland-based DITT Construction for the development of SaxaVord spaceport, two sources told European Spaceflight. The company currently does not have the funds to pay the amount after a £139 million debt facility promised by CEO Frank Strang in May failed to materialize. The construction of […] The post SaxaVord Owes Contractors Money it Can’t Pay appeared first on European Spaceflight.

China launched the first of a new series of Haiyang ocean observation satellites late Wednesday.

"It happened to land on an interesting area, so I made a quick recording."

The head of NASA exploration programs will succeed a former astronaut as the agency’s third-highest official.

The House Science Committee deferred a vote on a commercial space bill until after Thanksgiving amid opposition from committee Democrats about its provisions.

The Senate passed a Continuing Resolution to keep the government funded until early 2024 late tonight. The unusual “laddered” bill passed the House yesterday and sets two different dates for […]

NASA’s Artemis program is about to get a new head, Cathy Koerner, as Jim Free moves up to Associate Administrator, the agency’s top civil servant. Bob Cabana, the current AA, […]

SpaceX received the final regulatory approvals Nov. 15 that allow the company to proceed with the second integrated Starship/Super Heavy launch, scheduled for as soon as the morning of Nov. 17.

The FAA said today that SpaceX has met all the requirements to obtain a license to launch the next Starship test flight. SpaceX quickly announced it is targeting Friday, November […]

"We are expecting Blue to keep up with us."

SpaceX has received the modified license No. VOL 23-129 Rev. 1, which will allow them to fly its Starship-Super Heavy vehicle for the second time. This came shortly after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) confirmed the completion of their investigation into the new deluge system at the orbital launch site in Starbase. 

Today, SpaceX was officially given the approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Fish and Wildlife Service to move ahead...

AST SpaceMobile is paying SpaceX $5 million more to launch its first commercial direct-to-smartphone satellites early next year to a different orbital inclination to improve coverage for a potential customer.

Startup Rocket Factory Augsburg perceive an historic shift has occurred in Europe launch, just as the firm closes in on its first orbital launch attempt.

Payloads: Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings (Antimicrobial Coatings): The crew deployed the six experiment placards in various locations throughout the ISS. These placards will remain deployed for approximately four months and will be touched regularly by the crew as part of the investigation. Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings tests an antimicrobial coating on several different …

"I'm hoping that more companies will be able to join as time goes on."

While the spaceflight world waited for the Starship Integrated Flight Test-2 (IFT-2) launch that happened from Texas this week, three other launches were scheduled, from China as well as both main coasts of the United States. One was a Chang Zheng-2C (CZ-2C) from China, and another is Starlink 6-28 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), which launched successfully on the very early hours of Nov. 18. There is also Starlink 7-7 from Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California on the late evening of Nov. 18, after Starship IFT-2’s launch earlier that day.

Less than an hour before a House committee marks up legislation expanding the Department of Commerce’s regulatory authority for space activities, the White House is revealing its own plan for […]

The White House has unveiled its long-awaited proposal for regulating novel commercial space activities, splitting those responsibilities between the Commerce and Transportation Departments.

Will the U.S. act promptly and responsibly to address its space vulnerability, or must it wait for a catastrophic event like a 'Space Pearl Harbor' to spur action? The potential for such an attack raises concerns about the Pentagon's assurances regarding timely capabilities for deterring and defending against this impending threat.

"I showed it this way because I have seen way too many sci-fi movies."

The UK’s SaxaVord Spaceport plans host orbital launches of HyImpulse Technologies rockets from late 2025.

European governments and launch companies hailed an agreement reached last week on the future of the continent’s launch industry despite questions about how one aspect of that agreement, a competition, will work.

German launch startup HyImpulse Technologies has announced that it will launch the maiden flight of its suborbital SR75 launch vehicle from the Southern Launch Koonibba Test Range in Australia. The maiden flight of the SR75 vehicle had initially been slated to be launched from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland. In fact, HyImpulse had already received a […] The post HyImpulse Ditch SaxaVord in Favour of Australia for Maiden Flight appeared first on European Spaceflight.

The House easily passed a new Continuing Resolution today to keep the government operating after Friday.  The situation unfolded just like the last shutdown crisis, with Democrats deciding to support […]