SAN FRANCISCO – The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign awarded a contract to Blue Canyon Technologies to provide cubesats for a space mission sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The value of the award was not disclosed.

Under the contract announced May 12, Blue Canyon Technologies, a Raytheon Technologies subsidiary, will provide a pair of six-unit cubesat buses plus an engineering development unit for a mission designed to shed light on heating of the sun’s corona.

WASHINGTON — Space hospitality company Orbite has unveiled a training program for potential space tourists, given them a taste of the spaceflight experience.

Orbite announced May 12 its “Astronaut Orientation” program designed to introduce prospective space tourists to spaceflight.

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The world’s most powerful space science telescope has opened its primary mirror for the last time on Earth.

As part of the international James Webb Space Telescope’s final tests, the 6.5 meter (21 feet 4 inch) mirror was commanded to fully expand and lock itself into place, just like it would in space. The conclusion of this test represents the team’s final checkpoint in a long series of tests designed to ensure Webb’s 18 hexagonal mirrors are prepared for a long journey in space, and a life of profound discovery. After this, all of Webb’s many movable parts will

Spacewalking is a major highlight of any astronaut’s career. But there is a downside: putting on your spacesuit means sharing some previously-worn underlayers. A new ESA study is looking into how best to keep these items clean and hygienic as humans venture on to the Moon and beyond.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force on May 11 issued three requests for industry proposals on technologies that the military will need to reach space and to operate spacecraft in orbit.

The Space and Missile Systems Center’s Launch Enterprise is seeking proposals for next-generation rocket engine testing, launch vehicle upper stage enhancements, and capabilities to maneuver in space.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration has denied a payload review for in-space transportation company Momentus, meaning the company will miss its second opportunity to launch its first tugs.

In a May 11 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Momentus said the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation notified the company May 10 that it had denied the company’s application for a payload review, part of the FAA’s launch licensing process.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force has officially renamed the 45th Space Wing that oversees Florida’s launch ranges Space Launch Delta 45, the service announced May 11.

Plans to rename the former Air Force space launch wing were announced last month.

Washington (AFP) May 10, 2021
The US space probe Osiris-Rex on Monday left the orbit of the asteroid Bennu, from which it collected dust samples last year, to begin its long journey back to Earth. The probe still has a vast distance to cover before it lands in the Utah desert on September 24, 2023. Osiris-Rex is "now moving away over 600 miles an hour from Bennu, on its way home," Dante Lauretta, head of the mission