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Rocket Lab to launch Kinéis IoT constellation on five Electrons

Rocket Lab will launch and deploy the satellite constellation of Kinéis, a global Internet-of-Things (IoT) connectivity provider, the company said. The multi-launch contract will see Rocket Lab deploy 25 Internet-of-Things (IoT) satellites across five dedicated missions on the Electron launch vehicle.

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James Webb Telescope to be launched on Ariane 5 in December

The European and the U.S. space agencies, ESA and NASA, have scheduled the launch of the giant James Webb Space Telescope on an Ariane 5 rocket for 18 December 2021, Arianespace said. Flight VA256 is scheduled for 18 December from the Guiana Space Center, Arianespace said. The launcher and launch services are part of ESA´s contribution to the Webb project.

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Masten is to develop positioning and navigation network on the Moon

Masten Space Systems was awarded a Phase II SBIR contract to develop and test a lunar positioning and navigation network prototype, Masten said. The GPS-like solution is part of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s AFWERX program. The network will boost cislunar security, improve landing accuracy and hazard avoidance by providing location tracking for spacecraft and astronauts on the lunar surface.

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Firefly Alpha failure caused by uneventful engine shutdown

Investigation uncovered that Firefly Aerospace’s first Alpha rocket had failed due to the shutting down of one of its first-stage engines, Firefly said. The launch took place at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on 2nd September. The engine shut down just a few seconds after lift-off making the rocket tumble out of control two and a half minutes into the flight.

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Space Café WebTalk with Ronald van der Breggen: Space lessons from a commercial strategist

For this week’s Space Café, SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening got to sit down with Ronald van der Breggen, a Dutch business strategist and founder and CEO of Route206. Established in 2013 in the Netherlands, the company works with a wide range of clients in the space and satellite sector

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