News

An experiment to grow plants in a space greenhouse on an industrial scale will be conducted in Russia’s Nauka (Science) research module aboard the ISS. Experiment Vitacycle-T will involve growing Napa cabbage, grain, leguminous crops, and dwarf tomato varieties, TASS reports. Planting is planned in strips with seeds at certain intervals.

Rocket Lab announced the launch of AuroraSat-1 on board of their Electron rocket to test space junk removal technologies for Aurora Propulsion Technologies. The satellite will be deployed to LEO to demonstrate the company’s propulsion devices and plasma brakes. The Finnish CubeSat will validate the water-based propellant, and mobility control of its Resistojets.

Success for Vega: Arianespace launched the 19th Vega mission (VV19), to orbit Pléiades Neo 4, the second very high-resolution satellite of the new Airbus Defence and Space’s Earth Observation satellite constellation, as well as four cubesats for ESA and Unseenlabs.

NASA and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) across the United States have joined forces to bring “historically underrepresented and underserved communities onboard,” said Mike Kincaid, NASA’s associate administrator of STEM Engagement. The news comes after NASA introduced Mission Equity in June to assess the agency's programs, grants, and procurements

The launch of Orbital Flight Test-2 to the International Space Station had to be postponed as the CST-100 Starliner’s propulsion system failed. Several valves did not open as designed during the launch countdown on 3rd August. The valves connect to thrusters that enable abort and in-orbit manoeuvring, NASA said.

The space flight startup Astra closed a launch contract with Spire Global for next year, the Nasdaq-listed company said. Spire Global plans to begin launching with Astra next spring, the launch company said, without giving further details. Spire uses its multi-purpose satellite constellations to source hard to acquire,

Rocket Lab will supply three Photon spacecraft to Varda Space Industries to integrate them into Varda´s zero-gravity manufacturing platform and return high-end products produced in space to Earth. Varda’s space-manufactured products target markets such as fibre optic cables, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals.

The Canadian government invests $1.44 billion in Telesat to support its new LEO Lightspeed constellation. The government provides a loan of $790 million and makes a $650 million preferred equity investment in Telesat Lightspeed, Telesat said. In return, Telesat commits to invest in Canada and create hundreds of high-quality jobs.

A Northrop Grumman-built Cygnus resupply spacecraft has made a more than 3700 kg delivery to the International Space Station. The cargo ship was named after the first Asian American astronaut, Ellison Onizuka. Ship S.S. Ellison Onizuka delivered science investigations and cargo on behalf of NASA.

The South Korean technology and manufacturing conglomerate Hanwha Systems buys an 8.8% share in OneWeb for $300 million, the London-based satellite operator said. Hanwha brings further defence capabilities and the latest antenna technologies to OneWeb, alongside relationships to new government customers and expanded geographical reach, OneWeb said.