Satellite News
U.S. Army selects Iridium to develop payload for low Earth orbit satellite navigation system
Iridium Communications announced June 24 it received a U.S. Army contract to develop a payload that could be used to broadcast data such as timing or location signals.
Exploration News
China’s Zhurong rover returns landing footage and sounds from Mars
China has released landing process footage from its Zhurong rover as well as video and sounds of the vehicle roving on Mars.
SpaceX aiming for July for Starship orbital launch despite regulatory reviews
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell says the company is “shooting for July” for the first orbital launch of the company’s Starship vehicle despite lacking the regulatory approvals needed for such a launch.
Virgin Galactic cleared to fly customers on SpaceShipTwo
The FAA has granted permission to Virgin Galactic to fly customers, and not just employees, on its SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle, a move that could allow the company’s founder to fly to the edge of space soon.
Masten delays first lunar lander mission
Masten Space Systems is pushing back the launch of its first lunar lander mission by nearly a year, the latest in a series of delays by companies with NASA contracts to transport payloads to the moon.
Launcher News
ULA’s Vulcan Rocket Debut Slips to 2022 (Source: Aviation Week)
The debut launch of ULA’s Vulcan rocket is slipping to 2022 as customer Astrobotic needs more time to prepare its Peregrine lunar lander. “Covid presented a lot of problems for the entire space supply chain,” CEO John Thornton tells Aviation Week. “We’re just doing the best we can.” Vulcan was previously slated for late 2021 launch, with Blue Origin BE-4 engines, now in pre-qual testing, the pacing item. “We like the performance—
Fully Reusable Rockets Will Crush Supersonic Planes (Source: Next Big Future)
Every two weeks, SpaceX can produce enough Raptor engines for a complete production Starship. The SpaceX plan is to speed up production by four times to make 100 Starships every year. A SpaceX staff of 3000 will produce the 100 Starships and their Raptor engines every year. This means the cost of the Starship will be about $20 million and the plan is to bring the price down to $5 million.
NewSpace News
Leaf Space’s Ground Station Network Is Expanding Across The Globe
| Space is adding three ground stations to the company’s global Leaf Line Network — these new stations will be installed in Sri Lanka, the Azores and Scotland and will enhance Leaf Space’s capability to provide Ground Stations as a Service (GSaaS) solutions to their growing list of customers. |
UPDATE: LeoStella Delivers Their First LoftOrbital Satellite
| LeoStella, a specialized satellite constellation design and manufacturing company, delivered its first satellite to Loft Orbital Solutions Inc. (Loft Orbital). LeoStella delivered the “Yet Another Mission-3” (YAM-3) satellite to Cape Canaveral for an upcoming SpaceX launch. The YAM-3 satellite will host a variety of payloads, including a demonstration for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Blackjack |
D-Orbit To Launch Aistech Space’s GUARDIAN Smallsat
| D-Orbit has signed a contract with Aistech Space for the launch and deployment of a 6U cubesat aboard ION Satellite Carrier (ION), D-Orbit’s orbital transportation vehicle. D-Orbit’s ION Satellite Carrier. The smallsat, named Guardian, carries a multi-spectral telescope designed by Aistech Space, with a variety of sensors from the visible (RGB), near infrared (NIR) |
Astrocast mulls going public to expand to 100 satellites
Swiss startup Astrocast is considering becoming a public company to expand its constellation for connecting internet of things (IoT) devices.
Space Safety News
LeoLabs’ Next Space Radar Site Will Be In The Azores
| LeoLabs, Inc. has revealed that the Azores is the location selected for the company’s next space radar. As a strategic addition to LeoLabs expanding global constellation of LEO sensors, the Azores Space Radar will go operational in the first half of 2022. LeoLabs’ Azores Space Radar investment also reflects alignment with Portugal’s goals at the national and regional levels. The company’s investment in Portugal represents an important addition to LeoLabs’ global radar constellation, and a key element of infrastructure to inform satellite operators, defense, space and regulatory agencies, |
Cardiac atrophy findings may set course for preventing harm from long space flights
Cincinnati OH (SPX) Jun 25, 2021
In many situations, heart muscle cells do not respond to external stresses in the same ways that skeletal muscle cells do.
Report backs NASA proposal to change astronaut radiation exposure limits
by Jeff Foust — June 25, 2021
A National Academies committee has endorsed a NASA proposal to change the radiation exposure limits the agency sets for its astronauts but cautioned that the revised limit is still insufficient for human Mars missions.
Science & Technology News
Study Looks More Closely at Mars’ Underground Water Signals
A new paper finds more radar signals suggesting the presence of subsurface ‘lakes,’ but many are in areas too cold for water to remain liquid. In 2018, scientists working with data from ESA’s (the European Space Agency’s) Mars Express orbiter announced a surprising discovery: Signals from a radar instrument reflected off the Red Planet’s south pole appeared to reveal a liquid subsurface lake.
Strong magnet-Revolutionized aerospace engineering
Magnets in aeronautics and aerospace engineering have been used for a long time and are specifically designed to be used in extreme environments and work for long run
