SpaceX is launching four civilians into space on Wednesday, 8:00 pm ET from launch pad 39A, at NASA's Kennedy Center, Reuters reports. The three-day mission marks the first time to enter Earth orbit with exclusively private citizens. The news comes after billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos both conducted few-minute space flights during the summer.
Read More »Space Café Australia by Annie Handmer Recap: Vienna Tran on Healthcare for Earth and Space
In this latest instalment of Space Café Australia, host Annie Handmer is joined by space medicine researcher Vienna Tran to speak about how space affects the human body, the philosophical questions that arise from human spaceflight. Vienna is a space medicine researcher who has investigated the use of artificial gravity for the hip muscles of astronauts during a prolonged bed rest analogue.
Read More »South Korean consortium invests in Relativity Space
A consortium of three South Korean companies invests US $50 million in American rocket start-up Relativity Space, News Naver reported. The three companies are Hanwha Aerospace, NH Investment & Securities and Consus Asset Management. The investment is part of the US $650 million Relativity Space raised in the Series E funding round in June, Maeil Economic Daily said.
Read More »DARPA increases Lockheed Martin’s Blackjack contract
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) increased Lockheed Martin’s contract for the Blackjack program by US $25.3 million, the agency announced. The Blackjack project is aimed at validating high-speed military communication, navigation and missile warning capabilities of small satellites.
Read More »SpaceX to launch Yahsat’s Thuraya 4-NGS satellite
Yahsat has chosen SpaceX to launch its Airbus Defence and Space-built Thuraya 4-NGS next-generation mobile connectivity satellite, the companies announced. The terms of the contract have not been disclosed by either side. Yahsat selected Airbus to develop Thuraya 4-NGS last year. The preliminary design review in June found that the development of the satellite was on schedule.
Read More »Space Café WebTalk with Niels Eldering and Rene Olie: How business education is creating a new generation of space players
During this week’s Space Café, SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening sat down – virtually – with the European Space Agency’s Head of Space Solutions Cornelis (Niels) Eldering and Academic Director for the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University and Space for Business co-founder, Dr René Olie, to discuss how emerging education
Read More »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.
Read More »D-Orbit signs €2,2 million space debris removal contract with ESA
The UK branch of D-Orbit signed a €2,197M contract with ESA for phase 1 of the development and in-orbit validation of a “Deorbit Kit”, D-Orbit said. The agreement is part of ESA’s Space Safety Programme. The decommissioning kit is a self-contained suite of equipment that can be used with space vehicles of any size.
Read More »Virgin Orbit to grow military presence by tactically responsive launches
Virgin Orbit is planning to expand its participation in the military by competing for tactically responsive launch contracts with Space Force, SpaceNews reports. They are trying to prove that rockets launched from airplanes in flight can be useful for national security.
Read More »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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