The critical mirror alignment steps of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope are now complete and the team expects to meet or even exceed the optical performance science goals set for the space telescope, NASA said. Every optical parameter that has been checked and tested is performing at, or above, expectations, according to NASA.

Germany based Rivada Space Networks, a new company launching a constellation of 600 Ka-band low Earth orbit communications satellites, will be debuting the company’s system at Satellite 2022 in Washington DC.  Rivada Space was founded by U.S. wireless communications innovator Rivada Networks.

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft atop has rolled out for the first time for a final uncrewed test before the Artemis 1 Moon mission. It took 10 hours and 28 minutes for SLS and Orion to reach the launch pad four miles away from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).

Russian cosmonauts Denis Matveyev, Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Korsakov, the first cosmonauts to arrive on the ISS since Russia invaded Ukraine, docked wearing bright yellow suits with blue trimmings. As the standard-issue Russian uniform is blue, speculations started as to why they chose the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

Australian launch service provider Southern Launch, and not-for-profit organisation for the advancement of the engineering field within Australia, Engineers Australia, have signed a service level agreement to boost the careers of the company’s engineering team.

Space Cafe WebTalk “33 minutes with Dr. Andreas Wittmer” about “What can space (regulation) learn from the Aviation sector?” took place on 15th March interviewing one of the creators and masterminds behind the Space for Business program, Dr. Andreas Wittmer.

The German Bundeswehr (Federal Defense) has awarded Polaris a contract to build and flight-test a scaled demonstrator of its Aurora space launch and hypersonic system, Polaris reported. The vehicle is a downscaled version of the future spaceplane powered by a reusable liquid-fuel rocket engine.

ESA announced the suspension of the ExoMars programme in alignment with the sanctions imposed on Russia by its Member States. ESA’s ruling Council assessed the situation that the war in Ukraine caused with regards to ExoMars, and came to a unanimous decision. The Council came to the conclusion that it was impossible to keep cooperating with Roscosmos on the ExoMars rover mission.

A new €1 billion fund called “Cassini” was announced at the last European Space Conference, this fund will help to boost start-ups and space innovation, including supporting the plans for a more comprehensive strategy on developing European space launch vehicles.

Space supplier RUAG Space has rebranded as Beyond Gravity to focus outward and position the space unit prominently on the markets, the company said. Beyond Gravity, which has around 1,600 employees, will launch an incubator in the summer to bring innovations to the market in cooperation with start-ups.