Tyvak wins $8.4 million military contract for experiment in very low Earth orbit
Thursday, 18 November 2021 14:04
The Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate awarded an $8.4 million contract to Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems for an experiment in very low Earth orbit projected to launch in 2024.
Outpost to return satellites and payloads from orbit
Thursday, 18 November 2021 13:00
Two Made In Space co-founders teamed up with a paragliding expert to found Outpost, a startup focused on returning satellites and payloads from orbit.
Washington state flooding
Thursday, 18 November 2021 12:50
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The US State of Washington is under a state of emergency following days of severe wind and rain leading to extensive flooding in parts of the state. Different satellites in orbit carry different instruments that can provide us with a wealth of complementary information to understand and to SES orders two replacement satellites for broadcast market
Thursday, 18 November 2021 12:39
SES is underlining its confidence in Europe’s broadcast market with the order of two replacement geostationary (GEO) Ku-band satellites.
Iceye and U.S. Army forge collaborative research pact
Thursday, 18 November 2021 12:00
Iceye U.S. announced a cooperative research and development agreement with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Technical Center.
Rocket Lab launches BlackSky satellites
Thursday, 18 November 2021 09:38
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket placed two BlackSky imaging satellites into orbit Nov. 17 on the rocket’s first launch in three and a half months.
NASA selects Intuitive Machines for CLPS lunar landing mission
Thursday, 18 November 2021 09:02
NASA awarded a $77.5 million contract to Intuitive Machines Nov. 17 for the delivery of four payloads to the surface of the moon in 2024.
Solar Orbiter returns to Earth before starting its main science mission
Thursday, 18 November 2021 09:00
Solar Orbiter is returning to Earth for a flyby before starting its main science mission to explore the Sun and its connection to ‘space weather’. During the flyby Solar Orbiter must pass through the clouds of space debris that surround our planet, making this manoeuvre the riskiest flyby yet for a science mission.
Solar Orbiter returns to Earth
Thursday, 18 November 2021 09:00
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Solar Orbiter’s crucial flyby of Earth on 27 November will place the spacecraft onto the correct orbit for its science phase to begin. But the manoeuvre is not without risk. At closest approach, the spacecraft will be around 460 km above our planet. This is in the Low Earth Orbit zone, where the International Space Station and many other spacecraft can be found. It is also home to a lot of space debris, meaning that there is a small risk of a collision between Solar Orbiter and some space junk. To reach this region, Solar Orbiter will
Solar Orbiter’s riskiest flyby
Thursday, 18 November 2021 09:00
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Solar Orbiter’s riskiest flyby SpaceX's Musk: 1st Starship test flight to orbit in January
Thursday, 18 November 2021 08:07
SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Wednesday that his company will attempt to launch its futuristic, bullet-shaped Starship to orbit in January, but he's not betting on success for that first test flight.
"There's a lot of risk associated with this first launch, so I would not say that it is likely to be successful, but we'll make a lot of progress," he said during a virtual meeting organized by the National Academy of Sciences.
Musk said he's confident Starship—launching for the first time atop a mega booster—will successfully reach orbit sometime in 2022. After a dozen or so orbital test flights next year, SpaceX then would start launching valuable satellites and other payloads to orbit on Starships in 2023, he said.
NASA has contracted with SpaceX to use Starship for delivering astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2025. Musk plans to use the reusable ships to eventually land people on Mars.
The shiny, stainless steel Starship and its first-stage booster—called the Super Heavy—will be the biggest rocket ever to fly, towering 394 feet (120 meters). Liftoff thrust, Musk noted, will be more than double that of NASA's Saturn V rockets that carried astronauts to the moon a half-century ago.
ESA and CNES collaborate towards a European Space Transportation Hub
Thursday, 18 November 2021 08:00
ESA and the French space agency, CNES, are exploring together the possibility to create a European Space Transportation Hub.
Planetary defenders: after NASA’s DART comes ESA’s Hera
Thursday, 18 November 2021 07:38
The world will be watching the milestone launch of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, DART, spacecraft on Wednesday, 24 November, intended to alter one small part of the Solar System forever.
CERES reconnaissance space system designed by Airbus and Thales launched
Thursday, 18 November 2021 07:30
The CERES space system (Capacite de Renseignement Electromagnetique Spatiale or Space-based Signal Intelligence Capability) satellites designed and built by Airbus Defence and Space and Thales for the French Armament General Directorate (DGA) have been successfully launched from the European spaceport in French Guiana, on-board a Vega launcher.
"We are ready to go with the next generation