Satellite News
Telesat’s initial LEO constellation fully funded after manufacturer switch
Weighing 750 kilograms each, Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg said the satellites are 75% smaller than earlier versions planned by Thales Alenia Space, but would have the same performance by using digital beam-forming array antennas instead of the analog terminals MDA was due to supply as a subcontractor.
Launcher News
ESA confirms Ariane 6 debut to slip to 2024
In a LinkedIn post, Josef Aschbacher, director general of ESA, said that the inaugural flight of the long-delayed rocket had been rescheduled for some time next year after a series of engine tests planned in the coming weeks.
Exploration News
Clogged propellant lines doomed NASA lunar cubesat mission
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory declared an end to the Lunar Flashlight mission May 12, five months after its launch as a secondary payload on a Falcon 9 that carried ispace’s HAKUTO-R M1 lunar lander. That decision came after months of efforts to troubleshoot problems with the spacecraft’s thrusters, which used a green propellant called ASCENT, that prevented it from performing maneuvers needed to go into orbit around the moon.
NewSpace News
Virgin Galactic rockets its first tourist passengers into space
Washington (AFP) Aug 10, 2023
Virgin Galactic launched its first tourist passengers into the weightlessness of space Thursday, the culmination of a nearly two-decade commercial pursuit, the company said.
ARQUIMEA and Aerospacelab agree to co-develop a high-performance Low Earth Orbit satellite
ARQUIMEA and Aerospacelab have signed an agreement to co-develop a LEO satellite that will feature optimized reliability and power management — this smallsat will deliver 1.5 kW of peak power and will be able to integrate payloads of 40 kg …
Redwire selected by True Anomaly for SSA cameras + navigation tech
Redwire has been selected by True Anomaly to provide navigation technology and space situational awareness cameras for its Jackal autonomous orbital vehicle (AOV). Jackal Under the agreement, Redwire is providing SpectraCam cameras and SpectraTRAC star trackers customized for the Jackal …
Umbra Space releases highest resolution commercial satellite image
Umbra has successfully produced a 16 cm. resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image — the highest-resolution commercial satellite image ever released. The company also announced that the company is now able to provide customers with the highest-quality data the firm’s satellites are capable of capturing — in all formats and resolutions, including complex data better than 25 cm., for the first time.
First launch occurs from Canada’s Nova Scotia Spaceport
Maritime Launch Services Inc. (NEO: MAXQ, OTCQB: MAXQF), the owner and operator of Canada’s first commercial launch complex, has announced the inaugural launch from Spaceport Nova Scotia, featuring VisionCosmos Saudi Arabia’s VCL-1 ChipSat — this pioneering launch was secured via Precious Payload’s Launch.ctrl marketplace.
