Region

NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission launched yesterday on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA reported. The joint project with the Italian Space Agency will examine exploding stars and black holes, among other space objects.

Astranis announced it has signed an agreement with Grupo Andesat to provide broadband capacity using Astranis MicroGEO communications satellites. The partnership will bring broadband internet access to communities in the Peruvian jungles, deserts and mountains for the first time.

Roscosmos and Space Adventures has launched and successfully docked the Soyuz MS-20 space tourism mission with two space tourists on board, NASA reported. The spacecraft docked with the ISS’ Poisk module six hours after launch. The crew of three, including two Japanese space tourists will stay on the Space Station for 12 days.

Loft Orbital raised US $140M in a new round of funding led by investment company BlackRock, CNBC reports. Loft launched its first two commercial ride-share satellites in Earth orbit earlier this year. The company is to use the new capital to extend its business and double its team.

During this week’s Space Café, SpaceWatch.Global Publisher Torsten Kriening got the chance to speak with the Director-General of the Norwegian Space Agency, Christian Hauglie-Hanssen. With a career spanning more than three decades, Christian has held executive positions across the defence, aerospace and space sectors,

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and Alice Gorman, we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and texts. This is “Private space stations are coming. Will they be better than their predecessors?”, originally published 5 December 2021 at The Conversation.

The space system startup GomSpace and the European Space Agency (ESA) have signed a contract for the ESA SCOUT Earth Observation mission to be launched in 2024. The contract value is € 24 million, GomSpace said. The mission will consist of three 12U cubesats and will become the first “climate mission” of its kind, GomSpace said.

Rocket Lab announced it has signed a deal with Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective to carry out three Electron launches. The missions are dedicated to Synspective which means that the StriX satellites will be the only payload, giving the company control over launch schedule. Last year, Rocket Lab launched ‘The Owl’s Night Begins’ mission

The European Space Agency (ESA) has asked Airbus to build its Ariel exoplanet satellite that is due for launch in 2029, ESA said. Ariel stands for Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey and is the third in a trio of dedicated exoplanet missions conceived by ESA; it will follow Cheops, which launched in 2019, and Plato, scheduled for launch in 2026.

Fleet Space Technologies announced they will establish a satellite Hyper Factory in the new Australian Space Park in Adelaide, to develop a constellation of 3D printed small satellites. The South Australian Government will invest AUS $20M into the project.   The Hyper Factory, established in the Space Park, will be Australia’s first dedicated space manufacturing hub.