National Reconnaissance Office partners with U.K. on space mission to fly on Virgin Orbit rocket
The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office and the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense will launch a joint mission this summer on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket.
Spire Global adding high-capacity Ku-band antennas to satellites
Spire Global said May 10 it is installing Ku-band antennas from fellow smallsat operator Kepler Communications on at least three satellites to offer higher capacity data services beginning next year.
The post Spire Global adding high-capacity Ku-band antennas to satellites appeared first on SpaceNews.
Op-ed | The Fundamentals of a Healthy Space Ecosystem
The health and stability of the space ecosystem largely depend on a few core areas: education, access to data and information and collaboration, writes Voyager Space Holdings CEO Dylan Taylor.
The post Op-ed | The Fundamentals of a Healthy Space Ecosystem appeared first on SpaceNews.
China announces its new flagship space telescope mission
Distant galaxies, dark matter, dark energy and the origin and evolution of the universe itself are some of the many scientific goals of China's newly announced space telescope. If all goes according to plan, the China Space Station Telescope (CSST) will blast off atop a Long March 5B rocket sometime in late 2023. Once in a safe orbit, CSST should begin observations in 2024. Judging by these research topics, it looks like the Chinese Academy of Sciences is throwing down an impressive scientific gauntlet for itself and its astronomers.
What it means to have a space telescope
Owning and operating a space telescope really opens the doors to a treasury of information about the universe. Certainly, that's what motivated the creation of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The dream of cosmic exploration motivated Hermann Oberth in the 1920s to write semi-science-fictional treatises about orbiting telescopes on asteroids.
China's cargo craft docks with space station combination
In the latest stage in its space station program, China launched the Tianzhou 4 cargo spacecraft early on Tuesday morning, to transport fuel and supplies to its Tiangong space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency, or CMSA.
In a brief statement, the agency said that a Long March 7 carrier rocket blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province at 01:56 am, Xona passes critical testing milestone as private GNSS readies for launch
Xona Space Systems, the aerospace startup developing a precision navigation and timing system in low Earth orbit, has announced that their first in-space demonstrator has been delivered to Spaceflight Inc. for final integration after successfully completing testing and is scheduled for launch on SpaceX's Transporter 5 in May. Xona is building the first ever independent high-performance satellite Kepler provides on-orbit high-capacity data service to Spire Global
Kepler Communications announces a contract with data, analytics, and space services company, Spire Global Inc. ("Spire") (NYSE: SPIR) to bring high-capacity Ku-Band Service to the company's satellites. Through this contract, Spire will gain access to Kepler's robust Ku-Band technology, enabling the company to provide additional value to space services customers. The agreement will see Spire inst NASA selects SES Government Solutions to support Near-Earth communications
SES Government Solutions (SES GS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES, in partnership with Planet Labs PBC (Planet), has been awarded a Funded Space Act Agreement from NASA's Communications Services Project (CSP) to support the development and demonstration of near-Earth communication services in support of the agency's future mission needs.
SES GS will partner with Planet to develop a real- Terran Orbital ships CAPSTONE satellite to New Zealand for Rocket Lab launch vehicle
Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP), a global leader in satellite solutions, primarily serving the United States aerospace and defense industry, has announced it has shipped its CAPSTONE satellite to a launch site on the Mahia Peninsula of New Zealand. CAPSTONE will launch on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket using a Lunar Photon satellite upper stage to send the spacecraft on its planned lunar t Blue Origin NS-21 to fly six customer astronauts
Blue Origin has announced the crew flying on its NS-21 mission will include: investor and NS-19 Astronaut Evan Dick; electrical engineer and former NASA test lead Katya Echazarreta; business jet pilot and Action Aviation Chairman Hamish Harding; civil production engineer Victor Correa Hespanha; adventurer and Dream Variation Ventures co-founder Jaison Robinson; and explorer and co-founder of pri 
