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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. The Xen-Hub is a greater than 10 gigabyte per second optical communications terminal. The terminal was enabled with a technology transfer …

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 …

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 …

By Ronald van der Breggen Yesterday morning I woke up to the news that Elon Musk had urged the California economy to be opened up, labelling the current lock-down as no less than ‘Fascist’. Initially I shrugged this off as yet another example of polarized US politics and I went …

Astrobotic proudly announced on 4 May 2020 that it is has been selected to develop and lead a new commercial payload service onboard the Dynetics Human Landing System (HLS).  Dynetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos, was recently announced as one of three awardees by NASA to develop a new …

Aerojet Rocketdyne announced on 4 May 2020 that Amy Gowder joins the company as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Gowder will report directly to CEO and President Eileen Drake and will serve as one of the officers of parent company Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. Gowder will replace current COO Mark Tucker …

Virgin Galactic  and The Spaceship Company have announced the successful completion of its first SpaceShipTwo test flight from Spaceport America. This glide flight marks the inaugural solo flight of VSS Unity in New Mexico and as such is an important flight test milestone in preparation for commercial service. On SpaceShipTwo’s …

Maxar Technologies, a trusted partner and innovator in Earth Intelligence and Space Infrastructure, announced on 1 May 2020 that it has been selected to support Dynetics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leidos, in designing and building a Human Landing System for NASA’s Artemis program, which will send the first woman and …

Rocket Lab, a leading space systems company, announced on 30 April 2020 that it has closed the transaction to acquire Sinclair Interplanetary, a leading provider of high-quality, flight-proven satellite hardware. Rocket Lab announced the execution of the agreement to acquire Sinclair Interplanetary on March 16, 2020 pending customary closing conditions …

A new high-pressure ventilator developed by NASA engineers and tailored to treat coronavirus (COVID-19) patients today was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use under the FDA’s March 24 ventilator Emergency Use Authorization. Called VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally), the device was developed by engineers at NASA’s Jet …