Satellite News
China sends world’s first high-orbit SAR satellite into orbit, improving disaster monitoring
Carrying the Land Exploration-4 01 satellite, the Long March-2B rocket lifts off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center on August 13, 2023.
Axiom Space raises $350 million
Axiom Space announced Aug. 21 that it has raised $350 million from Saudi Arabian and South Korean investors to continue development of a commercial space station.
Redwire and Sierra Space partner on commercial space station biotech research platform
The two companies announced Aug. 21 that Redwire will provide a set of equipment that will be installed on a Sierra Space inflatable module known as Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE). That “pathfinder” module will be launched later this decade for commercial pharmaceutical and other biotech research.
Launcher News
Exploration News
Russia’s Luna-25 probe crashes on the Moon: Roscosmos
The Luna-25 probe, Russia’s first Moon mission in almost 50 years, has crashed on the Moon after an incident during pre-landing manoeuvres, Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Sunday. Communication with Luna-25 was lost at 2:57 pm (1157 GMT) on Saturday, Roscosmos said. According to preliminary findings, the lander “has ceased to exist following a collision with the Moon’s surface”. “Measures taken on August 19 and 20 to locate the craft and make contact with it were unsuccessful,”
Chandrayaan-3 Lunar orbit update
The Chandrayaan-3 mission continues to make significant strides as its Lander Module has now achieved an orbit of 113 km x 157 km around the Moon.
GomSpace + ESA sign contract change notice for the Juventas CubeSat implementation
ESA have signed a Contract Change Notice (CCN) with a value of 1,500,000 euros the Juventas CubeSat mission is led by GomSpace with support from a range of European subcontractors. Juventas will be a ‘6-unit’ CubeSat, selected to fly aboard Hera along with the similarly-sized APEX Asteroid Prospection […]
NewSpace News
MyRadar awarded a 2 year grant from NOAA
MyRadar has been awarded a NOAA SBIR Phase II grant for its Orbital Wildfire Resilience (OWR) project. The grant award builds on the successful completion of the NOAA SBIR Phase I project. This initiative aims to boost resilience against wildfires using MyRadar’s compact satellite technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and its widespread information distribution platform
SpeQtral selects Kongsberg NanoAvionics + Mbryonics as Key Partners for SpeQtral-1 Mission
SpeQtral has selected Kongsberg NanoAvionics (NanoAvionics) as the satellite bus provider for the company’s upcoming SpeQtral-1 mission — the second partner in this mission is Mbryonics and that firm will produce the satellite’s optical terminal..
Forrester’s Digest: AST SpaceMobile raises million$$$ in extra funding
AST SpaceMobile is building what the company claims will be the “first and only” space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by standard smart phones. “AST SpaceMobile continues to make history. This quarter we achieved space-based 4G LTE cellular broadband capabilities to everyday smartphones, reaching speeds above 10 Mbps during BlueWalker 3 testing alongside AT&T, Vodafone
Space Safety News
EnduroSat to build Vyoma’s space situational awareness constellation
EnduroSat and Vyoma will be working together on Europe’s first commercial mission for in-situ space situational awareness (SSA). Vyoma will use in-orbit optical telescopes to observe space objects and map the orbital environment at a high frequency,
Science & Technology News
Scientists proposed to adapt a Mars ISRU system to the changing Mars environment
Drawing oxygen from Mars’ abundant carbon dioxide (CO2) presents a significant advantage. This innovative technique is part of an approach termed in situ resource utilization (ISRU). Recent accomplishments, such as the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) Project, have demonstrated the viability of a prototype system that can successfully convert Martian CO2 into oxygen (O2). Now, the focus shifts towards elevating this prototype into a fully operational system. Research Report : Adapting a Mars ISRU System to the Changing Mars Environment
