Frontiers News

Sidus Space, a multi-faceted Space and Data-as-a-Service satellite company has announced the successful launch and deployment of its LizzieSat™ satellite as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-10 Rideshare mission. Liftoff occurred at 2:05 p.m. PDT from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The successful deployment of LizzieSat™ signifies a monumental achievement for Sidus Space, marking its entrance into the next era of its space technology and data services.

In-space propulsion solution provider Agile Space Industries has received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract from SpaceWERX. SpaceWERX is part of the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force and a part of AFWERX, and the Air Force Research Laboratory. Agile was one of 19 company winners of the 2023 SpaceWERX Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) Challenge. The Space Safari program office at USSF Space Systems Command, which identifies cutting-edge TacRS, sponsored the challenge.

Terran Orbital Corporation has announced winning a $15.2 million contract to supply Ambassador Class satellite platforms complete with solar arrays and support equipment to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The contract, managed through Axient Corporation, will integrate payloads onto these ESPA-Grande size space vehicle platforms to support specific United States Space Force missions. Delivery is tentatively in the 4th quarter of 2024.

ispace Europe S.A. (ispace), the Luxembourg-based subsidiary of ispace, inc., and Control Data Systems SRL (CDS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) related to payload services and strategic cooperation on future lunar missions. The agreement aims to leverage ispace’s lunar transportation services and CDS’s advanced localization (position measurement) and telecommunications capabilities to promote further exploration of the lunar surface aimed at supporting long-term human habitation and infrastructure on the Moon.

The UK Office of Communications (Ofcom) has granted Rivada a license that enables the company to provide satellite communications services in Great Britain. This is as Rivada is launching a constellation of low-earth orbit satellites to provide government communications, maritime and aviation connectivity, enterprise networking and backhaul services for telecommunications networks.

Viasat, Inc. has won a contract from Northrop Grumman to support the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) initiative, called the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) Call 003 program – better known by its nickname 'Global Lightning.' As a result, the company's high-capacity geostationary satellites will support the program, which is connecting commercial space internet services for military users

The Space Café Podcast #101:  Answers to the biggest questions in reach – ELT project manager Roberto Tamai shares insights about the  Extremely Large Telescope in Chile Episode 101 features. In this captivating episode, Markus takes us on an exploratory journey to one of Earth's most remote and intriguing places, the Atacama Desert, home to the future of astronomical discovery: The European Southern Observatory's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). Roberto Tamai, the project manager of the ELT, shares the human stories, technical marvels, and ambitious goals behind the world's largest optical and near-infrared telescope.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has disclosed the four Indian astronauts that will fly to low-Earth orbit as part of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Gaganyaan mission, which will be the first crewed Indian space mission. The Gaganyaan mission envisages the demonstration of Indian human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of 3 members to an orbit of 400 km for a 3-day mission and bringing them back safely to earth by landing in Indian sea waters. The Prime Minister made the announcement while visiting the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

LeoLabs, a provider of integrated solutions that persistently monitor activity in space to reveal threats to safety and security, has appointed Tony Frazier as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). As a result, Tony will lead LeoLabs as it scales to become a critical mission partner for combined military space operations and next-generation space safety systems.

In this Space Café Radio Frontier episode, SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with Dr. Ana Pires, a geosciences researcher at the Centre for Robotics and Autonomous Systems|CRAS in INESCTEC, Portugal, and the Co-Lead of CAMões Crew Zero.