Space news

Overview As concern about space sustainability advances globally, NorthStar Earth and Space (NorthStar) will soon bring a first-in-class satellite constellation into service that will provide unique insights from tracking where […]

Videos from the rover show its shadow moving across the Martian surface during a 12-hour sequence while Curiosity remained parked.

A national security space mission that had been projected to launch in December 2023 is being delayed until the second quarter of 2024 due to technical issues with one of the spacecraft.

Payloads: Cold Atom Lab (CAL): The Front Panel Cover was replaced and the Medium Temperature Loop (MTL) inlet/outlet jumpers were reinstalled on the CAL quad locker in Expedite the Processing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack 7. The CAL produces clouds of atoms that are chilled to about one ten billionth of a degree …

As 2023 draws to a close, the US Department of Defense’s X-37B spaceplane returned to space on the OTV-7 mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. USSF-52, the fifth Falcon Heavy flight of the year, and ninth overall, lifted off on Dec. 28 at 8:07 PM EST (01:07 UTC on Dec. 29). USSF-52 flew from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

The Exploration Company has successfully completed the System Requirement Review for Nyx Earth, the company’s low Earth orbit cargo vehicle. Nyx Earth will be part of The Exploration Company’s proposal to deliver on the European Space Agency’s LEO Cargo Return Service initiative. Originally announced in May, the initiative aims to support the development of commercial […] The post The Exploration Company Completes Key Review for LEO Cargo Vehicle appeared first on European Spaceflight.

The Japanese space agency JAXA has set a mid-February date for the return to flight of the H3 rocket, nearly a year after the vehicle’s first launch failed.

Following China’s impressive 2022, the country once again managed to launch over 60 times in a calendar year. While the year lacked high-profile missions, more are on the horizon as China focuses on the Moon.

Japanese Earth observation company Axelspace has raised nearly $44 million to both expand its satellite constellation and provide smallsats for other applications.

Payloads: Artemis Hybrid Electronic Radiation Assessor (HERA) on Space Station (A-HoSS): The A-HoSS hardware was relocated from the LAB to the JEM and continues to collect radiation telemetry. A-HoSS demonstrates software to refine data analysis and operational products for future exploration missions. It modifies the HERA, built to operate as the primary radiation detection system …

Engaging social scientists when planning and development spaceports could ensure that they're made in an ethical, community-engaging way.

The European Commission has signed an agreement with OHB System AG to commence work on the €90 million ODIN’S EYE II space-based early warning system for ballistic and hypersonic missiles. The multinatiOnal Development INitiative for a Space-based missilE earlY-warning architecturE (ODIN’S EYE) project was created by the European Commission with the aim of developing a […] The post OHB Get Go-Head to Commence €90M ODIN’S EYE II Project appeared first on European Spaceflight.

The Italian space agency ASI has signed a €3.5 million contract with ALTEC for the initial design and construction phase of the Centro di Simulazione e Controllo Missioni Robotiche Lunari (Lunar Robotic Mission Simulation and Control Center). Located at the ALTEC Turin Aerospace City facilities, the new control center will be completed in three years. […] The post ASI Signs Contract for Lunar Robotic Mission Simulation and Control Centre appeared first on European Spaceflight.

SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk again appeared to rule out any near-term plans for spinning out his company’s Starlink broadband satellite business and taking it public.

China added a new pair of satellites to its Beidou positioning and navigation system late Monday, but spent stages from the launch landed within inhabited areas.

Payloads: Cerebral Ageing: The remaining Cerebral Ageing hardware and Velcro Bars were removed from the LSG Work Volume and the LSG Right Caps were installed to put the LSG back into its standard configuration. The Impact of Spaceflight on Human Brain Ageing Using Cerebral Organoids (Cerebral Ageing) investigation studies the effect of spaceflight and the …

Japan’s SLIM spacecraft entered lunar orbit Dec. 25, setting up a moon landing attempt scheduled for Jan. 19.

Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the next TWO weeks plus a day and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in […]

After several delays due to uncooperative weather, Firefly’s Alpha launch vehicle has flown for the fourth time as part of the Fly the Lightning mission. Firefly was able to find a break in the weather on Friday morning, and the vehicle lifted off from SLC-2W at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 9:32 AM PST on December 22, 2023. The launch vehicle successfully lifted off on a mission to place the Tantrum satellite developed by Terran Orbital and Lockheed Martin into a unique retrograde orbit, flying the company’s first dedicated commercial mission. However, after the first planned second stage burn, the Lightning 1 upper stage engine did not reignite, resulting in a lower than intended orbit.

Space launch provider and satellite manufacturer Rocket Lab has secured a deal worth over half a billion dollars to build 18 satellites for a U.S. government agency.

Teams from Telespazio, ALTEC, and Thales Alenia Space have successfully completed the first ground segment tests for the European Space Agency’s reusable Space Rider spacecraft. Space Rider is an evolution of the IXV mission, which was launched on a suborbital test flight in February 2015. The vehicle is designed to carry payloads of up to […] The post Space Rider Completes Initial Ground Segment Testing appeared first on European Spaceflight.

A problem with the upper stage of a Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket placed a Lockheed Martin technology demonstration satellite into the wrong orbit on a Dec. 22 launch.

The final quarter of 2023 saw the International Space Station (ISS) celebrate 25 years in orbit, though there was no letup in the ongoing work as the Expedition 70 crew settled into the tasks and experiments that are carried out onboard the orbital laboratory.  Cargo spacecraft arrived at the Station carrying supplies and fresh experiments and departed, taking scientific results, redundant equipment, and trash down to Earth.

A NASA study examined several options for continuing a national laboratory in low Earth orbit after the International Space Station but stopped short of recommending a specific option.

SpaceX-29 (SpX-29) Undock and Return: SpX-29 Cargo Dragon successfully undocked from the ISS on Thursday, December 21st, at 4:00 PM CST. Shortly after, Dragon completed a short return trajectory and splashed down safely off the coast of Tallahassee, FL at 11:32 AM CST. SpX-29 was successfully recovered, and returned cargo and payloads to the ground, …

SpaceX has begun testing Ship 28 and Booster 10 as they look to fly the third Integrated Flight Test as soon as...

Military leaders argue that the Department of Defense must be more involved if the US is to win the new space race for a lunar outpost.

China’s Shenzhou-17 astronauts embarked on their first extravehicular activity Thursday to address minor damage to a Tiangong space station solar array.

"We look forward to flying our next crewed flight soon."

The European Space Agency has published a call for companies interested in submitting proposals for the agency’s LEO Cargo Return Service initiative. The call reveals that the agency plans to award as many as three Phase 1 contracts that would allow companies to mature their respective vehicle designs. ESA’s LEO Cargo Return Service initiative was […] The post ESA Will Award up to Three Phase 1 LEO Cargo Return Contracts appeared first on European Spaceflight.

After celebrating their 1,000th sol, or Martian day, on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter are continuing to explore Jezero Crater on the Red Planet. Recently, the robotic pair completed their extensive investigation of the ancient river delta within Jezero, which contains evidence of flowing water that may have once filled Jezero thousands of years ago.

Payloads: Advanced Resistive Exercise Device-Kinematics (ARED-K):  The crew retrieved several Multi-Use Brackets (MUBs) needed for the ARED-K experiment session, currently planned for tomorrow. Resistive exercise is used as a countermeasure to musculoskeletal deconditioning in microgravity and currently ISS crews perform resistive exercise using ARED. However, a major unknown is the internal bone and muscle forces …

At the National Space Council meeting on December 20, 2023, Vice President Kamala Harris and her advisors announced that the Artemis Program will land an international astronaut on the moon “before the end of the decade.” This announcement came alongside several new initiatives and frameworks for international cooperation, highlighting the collaborative nature of the American space industry.

The White House used a Dec. 20 meeting of the National Space Council to discuss the importance of international cooperation but offered few new initiatives along those lines.

"Both the daytime and nighttime vistas there were just bloody marvelous."

The European Space Agency and MT Aerospace have reached a significant milestone in the testing of a liquid oxygen tank that will be used aboard an upgraded Ariane 6 upper stage. The Innovative Carbon ARiane Upper Stage (Icarus) initiative began in May 2019 with the aim of increasing the performance of the Ariane 6 launch […] The post Ariane 6 Upper Stage Upgrade Completes Key Testing Phase appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Today’s third meeting of the Biden-Harris National Space Council was quick, lasting just over an hour. International partnerships were one focus of the gathering and the highlight was the opening […]

A delegation from the French Space Agency CNES visited Colorado and Texas last week in a campaign to expand ties between French and American aerospace companies.

TAMPA, Fla. — Karim Michel Sabbagh has left megaconstellation startup E-Space to lead Space42, a proposed combination of regional satellite operator Yahsat and geospatial intelligence provider Bayanat valued at around […]

Defense contractor L3Harris announced Dec. 20 it has received approval from the Space Development Agency to move into production on 16 satellites designed to detect and monitor hypersonic missiles aimed at the U.S. or its allies.

The rocket and test equipment looked undamaged after the test.

Payloads: Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings-2 (Antimicrobial Coatings-2): The crew performed the routine periodic touching of the six experiment placards deployed in various locations throughout the ISS. Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings tests an antimicrobial coating on several different materials that represent high-touch surfaces. Some microbes change characteristics in microgravity, which could create new risks …

Vice President Kamala Harris will lead a meeting of the National Space Council this afternoon that includes representatives of all 33 countries that have signed the Artemis Accords. Among other […]

The White House is releasing a policy framework to accompany its proposal to provide oversight of novel commercial space activities.

Managing orbital capacity, to ensure continued access to space, will require careful calculation of a number of factors, including the acceptable level of collision risk.

Leading Chinese launch startup Galactic Energy has secured $154 million in funding for the development of its reusable Pallas-1 rocket.

Some familiar faces remain, along with a few new entrants.

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, you stand in splendid beauty!

The European Space Agency says the first launch of the Ariane 6 remains on track for the middle of 2024 despite an aborted test of the rocket’s upper stage.

The European Space Agency has told European Spaceflight that it does not intend to open an independent inquiry into how a pair of propellant tanks for the final Vega mission next year went missing from an Avio facility before being found destroyed. On December 4, European Spaceflight revealed that Avio had lost the tanks following […] The post ESA Will Not Open an Investigation into How Vega Tanks Went Missing appeared first on European Spaceflight.