Satellite News
Hispasat buys GEO satellite from Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space will build a new satellite called Amazonas Nexus, designed with Ku-band coverage over both American continents, plus Greenland and North Atlantic transportation routesAmazonas Nexus has a projected mass of 4,500 kilograms, 20 kilowatts of onboard power, all-electric propulsion, and a design life of 15 years.
SpaceX becomes operator of world’s largest commercial constellation with Starlink launch
SpaceX launched 60 of its own Starlink broadband satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket Jan. 6, becoming the operator of the world’s largest commercial satellite constellation.
French military shows interest in Stratobus
Thales Alenia Space and its majority shareholder Thales Group have signed a study contract with the French defense procurement agency DGA
Exploration News
Dynetics, Sierra Nevada bidding on Artemis lunar lander
A team led by Dynetics that includes Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is among the bidders for a NASA program to develop landers that will carry astronauts to the surface of the moon.
Launcher News
Arianespace could launch record 22 missions in 2020
Arianespace is poised to launch up to 22 missions this year, a number that would nearly double the company’s record.
First SLS core stage ready for shipment
The first core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System finally rolled out of its factory Jan. 8, ready to be shipped to a NASA center for a key series of tests in the coming months.
NewSpace News
Cubesats gain broader acceptance for astrophysics missions
As one astronomy cubesat reaches the end of its mission, scientists and NASA officials argue that such spacecraft have demonstrated they can perform useful science often not feasible with larger missions.
DARPA’s big bet on Blackjack
The pressure is on for Blackjack to deliver on its stated goal: deploy 20 satellites by 2022 to demonstrate that LEO systems can be a more resilient and affordable alternative to the Defense Department’s exquisite and costly geosynchronous satellites.
Small launch startup ABL Space Systems to test rocket hardware at Edwards Air Force Base
A key capability that AFRL wants to demonstrate with ABL Space Systems is remote launch.
2nd Spaceship in Virgin Galactic’s Fleet Completes Major Build Milestone
Virgin Galactic Holdings, has reached the “Weight on Wheels” milestone in the build of its second commercial spaceship.. The milestone signals strong progress in the manufacture of Virgin Galactic’s space vehicle fleet
Space Safety News
Joint NASA-Boeing team to investigate Starliner test flight anomaly
NASA and Boeing will cooperate on an investigation into a timer anomaly that cut short December’s uncrewed test flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft as NASA weighs whether to require another such test flight.
The-five-biggest-space-failures-of-2019
Technology News
French military shows interest in Stratobus
Thales Alenia Space and its majority shareholder Thales Group have signed a study contract with the French defense procurement agency DGA
Russia says first hypersonic missiles enter service
Russia’s defence minister told President Vladimir Putin on Friday the first Avangard hypersonic missiles had been put into service, in a move hailed as a major coup for Moscow. Analysts say Russia is the first country to put into combat service intercontinental ballistic missiles armed with hypersonic weapons that Putin said can travel 20 times faster than the speed of sound.
Science News
NASA Planet Hunter Finds Earth-Size Habitable-Zone World
NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered its first Earth-size planet in its star’s habitable zone. Scientists confirmed the find, called TOI 700 d, using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and have modeled the planet’s potential environments to help inform future observations.
