Space news

The Senate and House Armed Services Committees unveiled a final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conference agreement late Dec. 6 that includes several space policy and spending decisions impacting the military space and commercial space sectors.

As Boeing nears completing final assembly of NASA’s second Space Launch System (SLS) core stage at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, the space agency’s prime contractor for SLS stages is continuing production of hardware for the next two units. The core stage for Artemis II is the last one that will be completed at MAF, with future builds now planned to undergo final construction at their launch site, the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.

Just after midnight at 12:07 am ET (05:07 UTC), 23 V2 mini Starlink satellites were lofted into space from Space Launch Complex...

Payloads: BioFabrication Facility (BFF): Cardiac cells were inserted into the BioFabrication Facility and printing sessions were initiated. Using 3D biological printers to produce usable human organs has long been a dream of scientists and doctors around the globe; however, printing the tiny, complex structures found inside human organs, such as capillary structures, has proven difficult …

NASA will give companies greater choice in the type of contract to use for producing a deorbit vehicle for the International Space Station.

Satellite TV broadcaster and terrestrial wireless operator Dish Network and EchoStar, its sister company focused on broadband services from space, have cleared a key regulatory hurdle in the way of their merger plans.

Have you ever finished all your holiday shopping — list meticulously checked off and gifts ready to wrap — only to realize with the big day fast-approaching that you miscalculated and have last-minute buying to do?

NASA’s robotic Mars exploration program is in crisis. A recent review of the plan of its flagship Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission pegged its cost at $10 billion, a price tag that threatens to preclude funding any other exploration missions to the Red Planet for the next decade and a half.

The European Space Agency has published an intended tender aimed at beginning the development of a very high thrust rocket engine that could be utilized aboard future heavy-lift launcher vehicles. Published on 5 December, the tender is part of the agency’s Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP). FLPP began in 2003 and is focused on preparing […] The post ESA Wants to Develop a “Very High Thrust” Rocket Engine appeared first on European Spaceflight.

This nebula is found about 7,500 light-years from Earth.

The success of a NASA project last year to demonstrate an inflatable heat shield has attracted interest from several companies who are working with the agency to advance the technology.

Egypt and China signed a series of space agreements Wednesday including cooperation on the China-led International Lunar Research Station.

DARPA has selected 14 companies, ranging from small startups to established aerospace corporations, to participate in a study on developing commercial lunar infrastructure.

The White House National Space Council’s Users’ Advisory Group is recommending that a single agency be designated to oversee the regulation of novel space activities, the so-called “mission authorization” function. […]

I.S.S explores the hypothetical scenario of the ISS becoming a battleground as Earth faces nuclear obliteration.

NASA's Psyche spacecraft has marked a significant milestone on its journey to explore the asteroid Psyche in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupite by turning on its twin cameras, and capturing the spacecraft's "first light" images.

The creation of the U.S. Space Force has helped streamline fragmented space acquisition organizations, but the Pentagon is still not equipped to procure next-generation space systems at the pace required to maintain dominance, according to a new report by the Defense Business Board.

Capella Space, a provider of radar imaging satellites, has announced it will launch the remaining two Acadia satellites on SpaceX rideshare missions in response to deployment disruptions caused by RocketLab's Electron launch failure on September 19th.

NASA's OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule encountered a glitch with a small parachute known as a drogue chute when it failed to deploy as anticipated during OSIRIS-REx's landing.

25th Anniversary of the ISS: Today marks the 25th anniversary of the USOS Unity node (Node 1) mating with the Russian Zarya module (FGB) marking the start of the ISS in orbit.  Designed and built by engineers thousands of miles apart and never joined together on Earth, the first two modules of the orbiting laboratory …

WASHINGTON — NorthStar Earth and Space has raised another $15 million to support its first four satellites for tracking objects in orbit, the Canadian company said Dec. 6 as it waits on Rocket Lab to get back to flight so they can launch on a future mission.

As SpaceX continues toward its goal of launching 100 times in 2023, the company is planning to launch three Starlink missions this week — two from Space Launch Complex (SLC) 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida and the third from SLC-4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California. Launching from Launch Complex 39A on Sunday, Falcon Heavy will place the USSF-52 mission into a currently unknown orbit.

Molecules in the outflows from the young stars are excited by the turbulent conditions.

Capella Space will launch two radar imaging satellites on SpaceX rideshare missions after an Electron launch failure disrupted its deployment plans.

China launched a new internet technology experiment satellite from a sea platform Tuesday, apparently continuing tests for a low Earth orbit megaconstellation.

The drogue parachute on the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule failed to deploy properly because of a design error, a flaw that did not prevent a safe landing of the capsule.

The Swedish Space Corporation has successfully launched the first rocket from its newly refurbished Skylark launch tower that was damaged by a fire in 2021. MAIUS-2 was launched at 07:30 UTC on 2 December aboard a two-stage Brazilian VSB-30 sounding rocket. The rocket reached a maximum altitude of 234 kilometres. The payload was successfully recovered […] The post SSC Returns Esrange Launch Tower to Service After Fire appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Goodbye Virgin Orbit's, Cosmic Girl; Hello Stratolaunch's, The Spirit of Mojave

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has made a surprise announcement, announcing they have successfully brought the Chandrayann-3 Propulsion Module back to Earth orbit.

Stratolaunch, LLC has successfully completed a captive carry flight featuring the first powered Talon-A hypersonic vehicle, TA-1.

NASA iconic space observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope has suspended science operations and is in safe mode due to a problem with one of its three operational gyroscopes.

WASHINGTON — The National Reconnaissance Office announced Dec. 5 it has signed agreements with five commercial providers of electro-optical satellite imagery, including four startups that are just starting to build […]

SpaceNews established the awards in 2017 to recognize and celebrate the people, programs and institutions shaping a rapidly evolving global space economy. Chosen by SpaceNews journalists with invaluable input from […]

SpaceX could attempt a key demonstration for NASA during the third test flight of its towering Starship rocket, according to the federal agency.

Aalyria won a European Space Agency contract to develop an orchestration system for space-based, airborne, maritime and ground-based nodes.

Payloads: Actiwatch-Plus: Twelve Actiwatch Plus devices were removed from the USB Hubs connected to the Human Research Facility (HRF) PC on the HRF Rack. The crew verified that the device displays matched the expected state of the hardware, and returned them to each crewmember for use or had the units stowed in the Actiwatch Plus …

India now credibly has the third most advanced deep-space program in the world.

"This thing is a real monster."

Australian in-space servicing startup Space Machines Company announced plans Dec. 5 to work with U.S. on-orbit refueling startup Orbit Fab to validate key technologies.

Development of a key capability NASA needs for exploration of the moon and Mars is being hindered by limited access to data from companies working on those capabilities.

South Korea has successfully launched a new small launch vehicle from a floating platform near Jeju, South Korea on December 4th, 2023. The Hanhwa Defense-built launch vehicle known only as “TLV” placed a small satellite into a 650 kilometer orbit around the Earth, as part of an orbital flight test of their new rapid response system.

The spacecraft that transported the Chandrayaan-3 lander to the moon has returned to Earth orbit, a demonstration of technologies to support a future Indian lunar sample return mission.

SatixFy is the latest space firm to face being kicked off a stock exchange after shares plummeted following a merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), a fast-track alternative to traditional initial public offerings of stock.

A new report predicts that around 20,000 new satellites will launch by the end of the decade — a more conservative forecast compared to other sky-high projections.

York Space Systems established contact within three hours of the Dec. 1 launch of a commercial space-as-a-service mission for CACI International.

There's a valuable payload riding on the final Vega rocket launch.

86 Progress (86P) Docking: Following the completion of a 34-orbit rendezvous, 86P successfully docked to the MRM-2 Zenith port on Sunday morning at 5:25 AM CT. The crew then performed leak checks, opened hatches, and began unloading cargo. Carrying food, fuel, and supplies, 86P launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Friday, December 1st at 3:25 …

The Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, in collaboration with the United States Space Force, is slated to launch the seventh mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) via SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket no earlier than Sunday, December 10, 2023.

Two of the four tanks necessary to power the fourth stage of the final Vega flight disappeared several months ago, leaving Avio scrambling to find an alternate solution. The Vega AVUM fourth stage stands at 1.74 meters tall with a diameter of 1.9 meters. The stage is equipped with the Ukrainian RD-869 UDMH/NTO liquid-fueled engine. […] The post The Case of the Missing Vega AVUM Propellant Tanks appeared first on European Spaceflight.

NASA is developing an updated rideshare policy for science missions that reflects both new launch opportunities as well as challenges faced in accommodating secondary payloads.