Firefly wins NASA CLPS lunar lander contract
Updated 9:30 p.m. Eastern to revise launch plans.
WASHINGTON — NASA has selected Firefly Aerospace to deliver a set of 10 research payloads to the moon in 2023, the latest award in its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
ULA’s Tory Bruno warns of ‘overheated’ space launch market
WASHINGTON — The chief executive of United Launch Alliance warned that there are too many venture-funded space launch companies competing for a static number of customers, and called on the U.S. government to encourage investments in other space activities that don’t exist today.
Airbus awarded €650 million contract to build three more Orion service modules
JOHANNESBURG — The European Space Agency (ESA) signed a €650 million ($790 million) contract with Airbus Space and Defence to produce three more service modules for NASA’s Orion crewed spacecraft.
The European Service Module (EMS) is the 15,000-kilogram powerplant of NASA’s Orion spacecraft.
U.S. military space commanders expect broad continuity in DoD space policy
WASHINGTON — It’s now been confirmed that the Biden administration is fully behind the U.S. Space Force. And Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin noted in congressional testimony that he views space as a national security concern.
White House endorses Artemis program
WASHINGTON — The White House gave its support for NASA’s Artemis program of lunar exploration, but offered no details on potential changes it may make in the scope and schedule of the effort.
At a Feb.
Earth from Space: Japan in bloom
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the algal blooms swirling around the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Japan.
SpaceX to launch NASA astrophysics mission
WASHINGTON — SpaceX won a NASA contract Feb. 4 to launch a small astrophysics spacecraft, continuing the company’s string of similar agency contracts over the last two years.
NASA awarded a contract to SpaceX for the launch of the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) spacecraft on a Falcon 9 in June 2024.
Week in images: 01 - 05 February 2021
Week in images: 01 - 05 February 2021
Discover our week through the lens
Viasat’s strategy evolves with changing market conditions
SAN FRANCISCO – Viasat’s business strategy will evolve as low Earth orbit satellite constellations and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunities Fund provide consumers with additional options for broadband service.
Every challenge astronauts will face on a flight to Mars
In 1972, the space race officially ended as NASA sent one last crew of astronauts to the surface of the moon (Apollo 17). This was the brass ring that both the US and the Soviets were reaching for, the "moonshot" that would determine who had supremacy in space. In the current age of renewed space exploration, the next great leap will clearly involve sending astronauts to Mars.
This will present many challenges that will need to be addressed in advance, many of which have to do with simply getting the astronauts there in one piece! These challenges were the subject of a presentation made by two Indian researchers at the SciTech Forum 2020, an annual event hosted by the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), RUDN University, and the American Astronomical Society (AAS).
