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Virgin Galactic succeeds human spaceflight from New Mexico

Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic completed the first human spaceflight from Spaceport America, New Mexico, the company said. The flight of VSS Unity which was released from the mothership VMS Eve with CJ Sturckow, as pilot-in-command, and Dave Mackay on board, sees New Mexico become the third US state to launch humans into space, the company said.

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Firefly will launch lunar Blue Ghost on Falcon 9 in 2023

Firefly Aerospace, a Texas-based provider of launch vehicles, spacecraft, and in-space services, will launch its Blue Ghost lunar lander on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 in 2023, the company said. Blue Ghost will be carrying ten payloads for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, together with other commercial payloads.

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ESA and industry study constellation to connect the Moon

Europe launches Moonlight, a bold proposal to put in place a commercially viable satellite constellation around the Moon. The European Space Agency (ESA) signed contracts with two consortia to develop a Moon constellation and provide telecommunications and navigation services for all kind of Moon missions.

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NASA congratulates China for first Mars rover photos

He did not welcome the uncontrolled return of China’s Long March launcher pieces for its Mars mission, but he congratulated China for the release of its first photos from the Zhurong Mars rover. “Congratulations to the China National Space Administration on receiving the first images from the Zhurong Mars rover,” the new NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.

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York expands manufacturing with new ‘mega’ plant

Paris, 19 May 2021. – York Space Systems wants to open a new “mega” manufacturing facility at its headquarters in Denver, to meet the growing demand from government and commercial customers, the company said. York's Manufacturing Technology Center will be the hub of the company's next phase to expand its production capacity by four times, the space mission solution provider said.

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#SpaceWatchGL Opinion: SpaceX’s reusable rocket technology will have implications for Australia by Malcolm Davis

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and The Strategist, we have been granted permission to publish selected articles. This is “SpaceX’s reusable rocket technology will have implications for Australia” by Malcolm Davis, originally published on 18 May 2021.

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NASA invests $105 million in 127 high-tech hot shops

NASA invests more than $100 million in more than 100 American small high-tech businesses to “help them move their innovations to market”, the U.S. space agency said. Under its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, NASA grants 140 new awards to 127 small businesses located across 34 states and Washington, D.C., the agency said. The investment totals $105 million.

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#SpaceWatchGL Opinion: Financing Space trough SPACs

$15.5 billion is the total initial valuation of nine space companies that went or are planning to go public via SPACs: Virgin Galactic, Momentus, AST & Science, Astra, BlackSky, Velo3D, Redwire, Rocket Lab, and Spire. Silvio Marenco, a former CEO of two SPACs (Glenalta and Glenalta Food), and current advisor of Galileo Acquisition Corporation, defines a SPAC as a listed investment vehicle

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