Satellite News
Telesat Lightspeed aiming to break ground early next year
Landing stations that can connect to Telesat’s planned low Earth orbit broadband network will start being built in spring 2023, according to an executive for the Canadian satellite operator.
Exploration News
NASA, Space Station Partners Approve 1st Axiom Mission Astronauts
NASA and its international partners approved crew members for Axiom Space’s first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. The flight, called Axiom Mission 1 or Ax-1, is targeted to launch Wednesday, March 30, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a flight-proven SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The Ax-1 crew will fly on Crew Dragon Endeavour to and from the space station.
Relativity and SpaceX bid on NASA commercial space station competition
Launch companies Relativity Space and SpaceX were among the companies that submitted proposals last year to NASA for initial development of commercial space stations.
Israel Signs Artemis Accords
In becoming the first country to sign the Artemis Accords in 2022, Israel affirmed its commitment to a common set of principles to guide cooperation among nations participating in 21st century space
India targets August launch for Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander
Delayed two years by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chandrayaan-3 mission will mark India’s second attempt to land on the moon.
Launcher News
SpaceX Plans for Record Year of Launches at Rate of One Per Week
SpaceX successfully completed 31 launches in 2021, which beat its previous record of 26 launches in 2020. For context, SpaceX represented about a fifth of the world’s successful orbital rocket launches last year The company is already on a weekly average pace to begin the year
Rocket Lab expands Colorado facilities, prepares for busy launch year
NewSpace News
NASA Awards Space Flight Laboratory To Develop Two SmallSats For Astrophysics
Artist’s conception of the NASA StarBurst astrophysics mission. Credit: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) will develop two small spacecraft for the new NASA Astrophysics Pioneers Program. SFL will provide the spacecraft platforms, perform system integration, and conduct system testing for the StarBurst and Aspera astrophysics missions, led by Marshall Space Flight
Quantum Space unveils plans for cislunar platforms
A startup led by a former acting administrator of NASA has announced plans to develop platforms serviced by robotic vehicles in cislunar space to support a range of applications.
Near Space Labs to offer 10-centimeter resolution imagery
Near Space Labs is upgrading instruments mounted on its Swifty high-altitude balloons to capture imagery with a resolution of 10 centimeters per pixel.
Iceye raises $136 million in Series D round
Iceye raised $136 million in a Series D investment round led by Seraphim Space.
U.S. military needs a better way to buy commercial satellite imagery
The U.S. military and intelligence community have a growing demand for satellite imagery but their acquisition methods prevent them from taking advantage of a vibrant commercial market, says a new CSIS report.
Europe launches fund to invest in space startups
The European Commission is rolling out a new program to offer investment for European startups to keep those companies on the continent.
CACI ramping up production of optical terminals for low Earth orbit satellites
CACI will deliver 40 optical communications terminals for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Blackjack satellites in low Earth orbit.
Space Safety News
NASA and SpaceX say lagging Dragon parachute may be normal phenomenon
NASA and SpaceX are studying why parachutes on two consecutive Dragon missions opened late but said they don’t believe the issue poses a safety risk.
New funding to support sustainable future of space
The UK Space Agency is providing 1.7 million pounds for new projects to support sustainable space operations, Science Minister George Freeman announced Monday.The 13 new projects will help track and remove dangerous debris in space. They include an AI-based tool which can take autonomous action to avoid a collision and another which will see multiple small spacecraft fired at debris before taking it into the atmosphere to dispose of it.
ABL Space Systems Test Accident to Delay First Launch by Three Months (Source: Space News)
ABL Space Systems says a test incident that destroyed the upper stage of its RS1 rocket last week will delay that vehicle’s first flight by three months as it identifies and corrects the failure’s root cause.
NASA Asteroid Tracking System Now Capable of Full Sky Search
The NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS)—a state-of-the-art asteroid detection system operated by the University of Hawai?i (UH) Institute for Astronomy (IfA) for the agency’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO)—has reached a new milestone by becoming the first survey capable of searching the entire dark sky every 24 hours for near-Earth objects (NEOs) that could pose a future impact hazard to Earth
New Center for Satellite Constellation Interference
At a press conference today, NSF’s NOIRLab announced that it has been selected, along with the SKA Observatory (SKAO), by the International Astronomical Union to host the new IAU Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference.
Science & Technology News
The Space Shuttle was Originally Hoped to be a Fully Reusable two-Stage Rocket
A new animation shows what an alternate design for the Space Shuttle – a fully-reusable two-stage vehicle (DC-3) – would have looked like. The post The Space Shuttle was Originally Hoped to be a Fully Reusable two-Stage Rocket appeared first on Universe Today.
ESA determines new ‘space time’
Since November 2021, ESA’s satellites and ground stations have been running on a newly defined, incredibly precise “ESOC time”.
