WASHINGTON — A short-term funding bill passed at the last minute includes a three-month extension of the “learning period” limiting regulations on commercial spaceflight participant safety. The House of Representatives and the Senate passed Sept. 30 a continuing resolution (CR) funding the federal government through Nov. 17. The bill passed […]
Space
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WASHINGTON — NASA has selected SpaceX to launch a pair of smallsats to study space weather as part of a rideshare mission in 2025. NASA announced Sept. 29 that it awarded SpaceX a task order to launch the Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS), a pair of smallsats […]
WASHINGTON — NASA has agreed to extend operations of its New Horizons spacecraft through late this decade to support “multidisciplinary” science that could include another Kuiper Belt object flyby. NASA announced Sept. 29 that it would extend New Horizons, currently approved for operations through the end of fiscal year 2024, […]
WASHINGTON — The Space Development Agency awarded a $14.2 million contract to General Atomics to produce two optical communications terminals hosted on two small satellites for an in-space demonstration. The contract, announced Sept. 27, is for a demonstration of satellite-to-satellite laser communications under adverse conditions that can degrade the communication […]
WASHINGTON — The American subsidiary of Japanese company ispace has revised the design of a lunar lander it is providing for a NASA mission, pushing back the launch of that mission by a year. The company, ispace technologies U.S., unveiled the new lander design, called APEX 1.0, at a Sept. […]
HELSINKI — China will launch its Chang’e-6 lunar sample return mission next year in an attempt at a first-ever collection of material from the far side of the moon. Chang’e-6 will launch following the deployment of a new lunar relay satellite in the first half of the year to support […]
WASHINGTON — NASA has postponed the launch of the asteroid mission Psyche a week to update the configuration of thrusters on the spacecraft. NASA announced late Sept. 28 that it has rescheduled the launch of the spacecraft, previously planned for Oct. 5, for Oct. 12. A Falcon Heavy rocket will […]
WASHINGTON — Astroscale says a mission to inspect an upper stage abandoned in low Earth orbit, as a precursor to removing it, is ready for launch, but a recent launch failure will keep it on the ground for the time being. At a Sept. 28 briefing, executives with Astroscale said […]
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) during a hearing Sept. 28 grilled military officials over their role in the Biden administration’s decision to keep U.S. Space Command’s headquarters in Colorado. President Biden in July overturned the Trump administration’s recommendation to move U.S. […]
WASHINGTON — Mynaric’s laser communications terminals passed key ground tests required to be deployed on Space Development Agency satellites, the company announced Sept. 28. The company’s CONDOR Mk3 terminal was selected by Northrop Grumman, one of several manufacturers under contract to produce satellites for the Space Development Agency. SDA, an […]
TAMPA, Fla. — Eutelsat has combined its geostationary satellite business with OneWeb’s low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation after shareholders voted Sept. 28 in favor of the all-share deal. Getting approval from at least two-thirds of Eutelsat’s shareholders was the final step for a merger valuing OneWeb at $3.4 billion when […]
TAMPA, Fla. — Rogue Space Systems, a three-year-old startup with plans for a fleet of small in-orbit servicing spacecraft, announced more U.S. government funding Sept. 27 to develop core technologies. The U.S. Air Force’s AFWERX technology accelerator awarded the Gilford, New Hampshire-based venture two contracts in July to advance work […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory awarded X-Bow Systems, a startup that specializes in solid rocket propulsion, a $17.8 million contract to demonstrate additive manufacturing technologies. The three-year contract, announced Sept. 26, is part of a $60 million agreement announced in April known as a strategic funding increase, […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration announced Sept. 26 it had closed the mishap investigation into a failed launch by Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle more than a year ago, but said the vehicle is not yet cleared to resume flights. The FAA said in a statement that is closed […]
HELSINKI — China’s human spaceflight agency has chosen four proposals to advance to the next stage of low-cost cargo transportation system development for the country’s space station. Out of 10 received proposals deemed to have met requirements, four have been selected to advance to a detailed design study phase, the […]
WASHINGTON — A Soyuz capsule landed in Kazakhstan Sept. 27, returning two Russians and one American from the International Space Station after more than a year in orbit. The Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft landed in its designated landing zone in Kazakhstan at 7:17 a.m. Eastern. The spacecraft had undocked from the […]
WASHINGTON — The cybersecurity firm Xage Security won a $17 million contract to protect the Space Force’s Space Systems Command networks for the next five years. Based in Palo Alto, California, Xage specializes in so-called “zero trust” software used to thwart network intrusions. The contract, announced Sept. 27, is for […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force Victus Nox mission that Firefly Aerospace launched Sept. 14 set a new record for how quickly a national security payload can be put on orbit, officials said Sept. 26. The payload, a Millennium Space small satellite, was operational 37 hours after launch. Leading up […]
WASHINGTON — NASA has issued a call for proposals for an International Space Station deorbit module, giving bidders an opportunity to choose the type of contract for its development. NASA released the final request for proposals Sept. 18 for the United States Deorbit Vehicle (USDV). The vehicle will be used […]
WASHINGTON — The Space Force awarded a $10 million contract to the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab to evaluate the software and cybersecurity of ground systems being developed for a new classified satellite network. According to a Sept. 26 announcement, Johns Hopkins University’s APL will assess the ground systems […]