North America

NASA has cleared Boeing’s Starliner astronaut ferry ship for its next orbital uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station (ISS). Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft has been put atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the U.S. agency said.

The European Robotic Arm (ERA) is on its way to the International Space Station (ISS) after its launch from Baikonur, the European Space Agency (ESA) said. The 11-m-long robot is travelling folded and attached to what will be its home base – the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, also called ‘Nauka’, ESA said.

A “monumental day for Blue Origin and human spaceflight”: Blue Origin launched its owner, Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark and two other “commercial astronauts” – including the oldest and the youngest person ever – into space and brought them back to Earth.

Rocket Lab found the root cause for the loss of its mission in May, the company said. It has concluded an extensive review into the cause of the anomaly that resulted in the loss of its “Running Out Of Toes” mission launched on 15 May 2021, Rocket Lab said. The review concluded that an issue occurred within the second stage engine igniter system. 

Hubble is back: the telescope went back into operations and restarted science observations last Saturday, NASA said. Hubble’s payload computer, which controls and coordinates the observatory’s onboard science instruments, halted suddenly on 13 June. Hubble began taking scientific data once again on July 17.

One of the reasons why space is rapidly attracting new investments is because of its potential to enable new applications for several non-space industries, health, communications, fintech, agriculture, oil & gas,  and even art, just to name some examples.

Blue Origin New Shepard’s first human flight mission is ready to lift off tomorrow, with its founder and owner Jeff Bezos on board, the company said. "New Shepard is go for launch, “ Blue Origin said. “On July 20, Blue Origin will fly its 16th New Shepard flight to space, and its first with astronauts on board.”

The Smithsonian will receive a $200 million donation from Jeff Bezos, the museum in Washington, DC, said. The donation is the “largest gift to the Smithsonian since the institution’s founding gift from James Smithson in 1846”. A $70 million portion will support the renovation of the National Air and Space Museum and $130 million will launch a new education center. 

Thales Alenia Space will build two modules of the Axiom Space Station, “the world’s first commercial space station”. Thales and Axiom Space signed a contract for the development of the two elements that are scheduled for launch in 2024 and 2025 respectively, and will be docked to the International Space Station (ISS). The value of the contract is € 110 million.

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