US candidate to be first woman to lead UN telecoms agency
Doreen Bogdan-Martin will become the first woman to head the U.N.’s telecoms agency in its 157-year history from January, and the first American in the role since the 1960s after beating a Russian leadership challenge.
NASA eyes November for launch attempt of Moon rocket
The US space agency, which was forced to postpone its latest liftoff attempt due to massive Hurricane Ian which hammered Florida this week, announced it was preparing its next launch window for between November 12 and November 27.
"Over the coming days," NASA said in a blog post, the team will assess conditions and necessary work and "identify a specific date for the next launch attempt."
Officials had so far refused to completely shut the door on an earlier attempt in October.
The SLS rocket, the most powerful ever designed by NASA, had to be returned to its storage hangar at Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday in order to shelter it from the approach of Hurricane Ian.
The storm devastated parts of Florida but the rocket itself suffered no damage, NASA said.
Planning efforts for the November launch window will allow "time for employees at Kennedy to address the needs of their families and homes after the storm" and in the run up to the next mission attempt.
Firefly’s Alpha rocket reaches orbit on second launch
Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha launch vehicle reached orbit on its second launch Oct. 1, more than a year after the vehicle’s first launch failed.
The post Firefly’s Alpha rocket reaches orbit on second launch appeared first on SpaceNews.
Firefly, Millennium Space selected for U.S. Space Force rapid-launch demonstration
The U.S. Space Systems Command announced Sept. 30 it selected Firefly Space Transport Services and Millennium Space Systems to conduct a demonstration of a rapid-response space mission to low Earth orbit in 2023.
Space Development Agency is now officially part of the Space Force
The Space Development Agency was officially transferred to the U.S. Space Force, Oct. 1.
The post Space Development Agency is now officially part of the Space Force appeared first on SpaceNews.
Firefly Aerospace reaches orbit with new Alpha rocket
A new aerospace company reached orbit with its second rocket launch and deployed multiple small satellites on Saturday.
Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, in early morning darkness and arced over the Pacific.
"100% mission success," Firefly tweeted later.
A day earlier, an attempt to launch abruptly ended when the countdown reached zero. The first-stage engines ignited but the rocket automatically aborted the liftoff.
The rocket's payload included multiple small satellites designed for a variety of technology experiments and demonstrations, as well as educational purposes.
The mission, dubbed "To The Black," was the company's second demonstration flight of its entry into the market for small satellite launchers.
The first Alpha was launched from Vandenberg on Sept. 2, 2021, but did not reach orbit.
One of the four first-stage engines shut down prematurely but the rocket continued upward on three engines into the supersonic realm where it tumbled out of control.
The rocket was then intentionally destroyed by an explosive flight termination system.
Firefly Aerospace said the premature shutdown was traced to an electrical issue, but that the rocket had otherwise performed well and useful data was obtained during the nearly 2 1/2 minutes of flight.
NASA pushes back Artemis 1 launch to November
NASA will wait until at least the middle of November before attempting another launch of the Space Launch System on the Artemis 1 mission, citing the impacts from Hurricane Ian.
The post NASA pushes back Artemis 1 launch to November appeared first on SpaceNews.
Wanted: firms to connect and guide Moon missions
Are you ready to join ESA’s initiative to support European space companies to create a constellation of lunar satellites that connect and guide missions to the Moon?
Solar power beams: a step towards cleaner energy
Beaming solar power could help Europe access more renewable energies, in an independent way. Airbus has now demonstrated how this new technological concept could work in its X-Works Innovation Factory.
Everything is illuminated, thumbs up. Jean-Dominique Coste, Yoann Thueux and their colleagues have just shown decision-makers from politics and industry the inner workings of a new energy co Elon Musk may help NASA extend life for Hubble
The U.S. space agency, NASA, said it signed an agreement with Elon Musk's SpaceX to study whether the life expectancy of the venerated Hubble Space Telescope can be extended.
NASA said Thursday it has no plans to carry out or fund a service mission for the Hubble Space Telescope. Instead, it will carry out a feasibility study to see if SpaceX can use its Crew Dragon capsules to do the h 
