Space Force discussions with private sector on future space architecture to remain classified
The first briefing with space and defense contractors planned by the Space Force’s Warfighting Analysis Center Oct. 27 will be at a classified facility.
Webb telescope to explore forming planetary systems
Image: Gloomy moonscape created for rover test
A sun barely peeking over a cratered horizon, casting long shadows across a rocky moonscape: ESA's Erasmus Innovation Center was transformed into an analog of the moon's polar regions, in a dress rehearsal for an international rover competition.
The Space Resources Challenge—supported by ESA and the European Space Resources Innovation Center (ESRIC) in Luxembourg- is asking European (and Canadian) researchers and institutions to develop and demonstrate a system of one or more vehicles capable of prospecting resources on the moon in the near future.
Some 13 teams have been selected to participate in the Challenge's first field test in November, with €375 000 in ESA contracts to be awarded to the five winners, with a larger prize pool on offer after a follow-on field test next year.
"The focus here is really on prospecting—pinpointing promising resources within a difficult lunar environment then characterizing them in as much detail as possible, such as through spectral analysis," comments Massimo Sabbatini, managing the Erasmus Center, part of ESA's ESTEC technical center in the Netherlands.
"We're preparing for the first rover field test in November, which will take place in a larger location, still to be disclosed, but we decided to try out the challenge for ourselves first, here at Erasmus.
Node 1 | Space Station 360 (in French with English subtitles available)
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ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet takes you on a tour of the International Space Station like no other. Filmed with a 360 camera, the Space Station 360 series lets you explore for yourself alongside Thomas’s explanation – episode five is NASA’s Node-1, also known as Unity.
Unity is the module that connects the Russian segment of the International Space Station to the other modules. Launched on 4 December 1998 inside Space Shuttle Endeavour, it was joined to the Russian Zarya module two days later, forming the basis of the International Space Station. The cylindrical module has six docking ports
Xona Space Systems fully funds GPS-alternative demo mission
Californian startup Xona Space Systems has raised $8 million to fully fund an orbital demonstration next year of its navigation payload, which aims to provide an alternative to GPS and other global navigation satellite systems.
Court filing outlines Blue Origin’s case against NASA SpaceX lunar lander award
Blue Origin is seeking to overturn NASA’s award of a lunar lander contract to SpaceX by arguing that SpaceX’s proposal failed to meet requirements for reviews that made it “unawardable.”
Exo-Space pivots to meet demand for on-orbit processing
Exo-Space, a Los Angeles startup formed in 2020 to offer inexpensive easy-to-assemble cubesats, has pivoted in response to growing demand for on-orbit data processing.
GAO steps up criticism of Space Force’s missile-warning satellite procurement
The Space Force is providing Congress overly optimistic forecasts of its planned procurement of missile-warning satellites, GAO said in a new report.
All-female crew in water-tank spaceflight study
This week 20 women are tucking themselves in a waterbed for five days as part of a dry immersion study to recreate some of the effects of spaceflight on the body. The campaign kicked off yesterday with the first two subjects at the Medes space clinic in Toulouse, France.
Xplore receives $2M contract from NSIC to accelerate Xcraft Platform Development
Xplore Inc., a commercial space company providing Space as a Service, has announced it has received a $2M contract from National Security Innovation Capital (NSIC) within the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) of the Department of Defense (DoD). This funding will accelerate the development of the Xcraft spacecraft platform, culminating with launch in 2023.
Lisa Rich, Founder and COO of Xplore s 
