AAC Clyde subsidiary Hyperion to fly CubeCAT laser terminal
Monday, 04 January 2021 17:14![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![](https://spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/rsz_aac_clyde_orbcomm_original-300x194.jpg)
SAN FRANCISCO – AAC Clyde Space subsidiary Hyperion Technologies won a 150,000 euro ($185,000) contract to perform an in-orbit verification flight for CubeCAT, the company’s small satellite laser communications terminal.
Hyperion announced plans Jan. 5 to launch CubeCAT in early 2022 onboard NorSat-TD, a technology demonstration mission coordinated by the Norwegian Space Agency.
A good GRASP on the New Year
Monday, 04 January 2021 15:31![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![](https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2021/01/a_good_grasp_on_the_new_year/22406897-1-eng-GB/A_good_GRASP_on_the_New_Year_card_full.jpg)
NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins performs the Grasp experiment in the Columbus module of the International Space Station ahead of the New Year. The experiment studies how the central nervous system, specifically hand-eye coordination, adapts to microgravity.
Grasp stands for Gravitational References for Sensimotor Performance and seeks to better understand how the central nervous system integrates information from different senses, such as sight, sound and touch, to coordinate hand movements and determine what role gravity plays.
How does the experiment work? Mike dons virtual reality (VR) gear that is coupled with a laptop and driven by an audio/graphics system. The VR
Check out what's coming in 2021
Monday, 04 January 2021 14:44![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![](https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2018/10/an_orbital_sunrise/17767609-1-eng-GB/An_orbital_sunrise_card_full.jpg)
Check out what's coming in 2021
Making methane on Mars
Monday, 04 January 2021 12:56![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![This concept depicts astronauts and human habitats on Mars. NASA’s Mars 2020 rover will carry a number of technologies that could make Mars safer and easier to explore for humans. Credit: NASA Making methane on Mars](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800/2021/makingmethan.jpg)
Among the many challenges with a Mars voyage, one of the most pressing is: How can you get enough fuel for the spacecraft to fly back to Earth?
Houlin Xin, an assistant professor in physics & astronomy, may have found a solution.
He and his team have discovered a more efficient way of creating methane-based rocket fuel theoretically on the surface of Mars, which can make the return trip all more feasible.
The novel discovery comes in the form of a single-atom zinc catalyst that will synthesize the current two-step process into a single-step reaction using a more compact and portable device.
SpinLaunch expands New Mexico test site
Monday, 04 January 2021 12:33![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
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WASHINGTON — SpinLaunch expects to perform the first suborbital tests of a prototype of its centrifugal system for launching small satellites later this year from New Mexico.
The company, based in Long Beach, California, has said little about its efforts to develop a mass accelerator that would, in effect, serve as the first stage of a smallsat launch system, an approach the company argues will allow it to launch payloads at lower costs and higher frequencies than traditional launch vehicles.
Houston Spaceport aims to be first commercial space station builder
Monday, 04 January 2021 04:29![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/houston-spaceport-ellington-airport-bg.jpg)
Roscosmos Head reveals likely cause of crack in ISS module hull
Monday, 04 January 2021 04:29![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/dmitry-rogozin-600-bg.jpg)
Space-bred seeds offer valuable opportunities
Monday, 04 January 2021 04:29![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/china-vegetable-grown-from-seeds-cultivated-in-space-bg.jpg)
Advantages of thin-film coating in aircraft coating
Monday, 04 January 2021 04:29![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/advantages-of-thin-film-coating-in-aircraft-coating-bg.jpg)
UK eyes plan to send first rover to Moon in 2021
Monday, 04 January 2021 04:29![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/uk-lunar-missions-lander-bg.jpg)
Subscriptions to satellite alerts linked to decreased deforestation in Africa
Monday, 04 January 2021 04:29![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/african-deforestation-savanna-map-bg.jpg)
Inmarsat confirms plans Global Xpress extension
Monday, 04 January 2021 04:29![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/inmarsat-global-xpress-logo-bg.jpg)
First glimpse of polarons forming in a promising next-gen energy material
Monday, 04 January 2021 04:29![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/polaron-amidst-electrons-inside-solid-bg.jpg)
Spacety shares first images from small C-band SAR satellite
Monday, 04 January 2021 01:59![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![](https://spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/rsz_1tennessee_spacety-300x151.png)
SAN FRANCISCO – Chinese startup Spacety released the first images from Hisea-1, a C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite, launched Dec. 22 on China’s new Long March 8 medium-lift rocket.
Three days after launch, Spacety began receiving data from Hisea-1’s SAR payload built by the China Electronics Technology Group.
Lockheed Martin gets $4.9 billion contract to build three missile-warning satellites for U.S. Space Force
Monday, 04 January 2021 00:05![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![](https://spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Lockheed-Martin-built-Next-Gen-OPIR-GEO-Space-Vehicle-300x175.jpg)
WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $4.9 billion contract for the production of three geosynchronous Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared satellites, the Pentagon announced Jan. 4.
The satellites will be operated by the U.S.