News

Firefly Aerospace, Inc., a leading provider of economical and dependable launch vehicles, spacecraft, and in-space services,  announced on 6 May 2020 that it has secured AS9100 quality certification as it advances from developmental to production phase ahead of the inaugural flight of its Alpha launch vehicle later this year.

ST Engineering iDirect, a company of ST Engineering North America, and its long-term partner, Spacecom, operator of the AMOS satellite fleet, announced the successful demonstration of VSAT return capabilities on AMOS-17.

Yevgeny Mikrin, the head of Russia's human spaceflight program, has died, the country's space agency Roscosmos announced on 5 May 2020. The statement did not specify a cause of death, but a report in Space.com indicates Mikrin had tested positive for Covid-19 last month.

Astrocast has announced key investments to strengthen the deployment of its advanced and sustainable satellite IoT network. The support validates the market acceptance and the startup's strong path forward.

This week’s Space Café WebTalk took place on 5 May 2020, featuring Frank Salzgeber, Head of Innovation and Ventures Office at the European Space Agency (ESA) - in conversation with Torsten Kriening, co-publisher of SpaceWatch.Global and COO of ThorGroup GmbH.

Airbus and Xenesis have signed a contract for a payload slot on the International Space Station (ISS) Bartolomeo platform for the demonstration of their Xen-Hub optical communication space terminal.

Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications, and Cobham SATCOM, has launched a comprehensive new Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) push-to-talk (PTT) solution to connect remote workers using vehicles across the globe.

MDA announced on 4 May 2020 that it has received a contract worth CA$190 million (US$135.3 million) to support robotic operations on the International Space Station (ISS) from 2020 to 2024. MDA has provided Logistics and Sustaining Engineering (L&SE) services to the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and its international partners since the start of the ISS, which this year will celebrate 20 years of continuous habitation by humans.

China scored a space double whammy on 5 May 2020 when its successfully launched its heavy Long March 5B launch vehicle carrying a new capsule designed for crewed missions.

Following the executive order on Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources signed by President Donald J. Trump on 6 April 2020, it has been reported by Reuters on 5 May 2020 that the United States is drafting principles it proposes can govern mining and other resource extraction operations on the Moon it calls the ‘Artemis Accords’.