Space

California, End-to-end space company Rocket Lab has successfully test fired a reused Rutherford first stage engine for the first time, in a significant step towards making the Electron launch vehicle the world’s first reusable orbital small rocket, the company said.

In this Space Café Radio – SpaceWatch.Global Senior Editor and Space Café Italy Host Dr. Emma Gatti spoke with Dr. Philip Metzger, planetary scientist at the University of Central Florida. In 2021 he was selected as the Kennedy Space Center’s NASA Scientist/Engineer of the Year for research into the blast effects of lunar landings.

In-orbit propulsion solutions provider ThrustMe, has delivered seven propulsion systems to Spire Global, for its LEMUR 3U satellites as the company builds upon its fully deployed constellation of over 100 satellites, ThrustMe said. This is the first time Spire will integrate and use propulsion on its LEMUR satellites.

Teleport services company Signalhorn, decided to change its name to Leuk Teleport & Data Centre following a strategic business review, to better reflect the future direction of the company, Singalhorn said. The firm was founded in 1972 and has been providing highly secure connectivity ever since.

Another Galileo satellite, GSAT0224 or ‘Shriya’, named after a Norwegian grade school student who won the Galileo drawing competition organised by the European Commission and the Norwegian Space Agency, entered into service at the end of last month, EUSPA said.

SpaceWatch.Global is pleased to present: The Space Café Podcast #062 - Laura Todd, Vice President of Space Exploration and Future Programs at Airbus. With #nextspace, Airbus is trying to open up new business areas in space. As expected, the opportunities are many, but the obstacles to making the necessary changes on a global scale are significant.

Launch company Arianespace, is to launch satellite operator Eutelsat’s Konnect VHTS (Very High Throughput Satellite) telecommunications satellite built by Thales Alenia Space, aboard an Ariane 5 rocket on 6th September, Arianespace said. Eutelsat aims to provide high-speed internet access throughout Europe, even in isolated regions, with the help of the mission.

Global professional services company Accenture, has made a strategic investment in Pixxel, an Earth imaging technology company, as part of Accenture Ventures’ Project Spotlight, the company said. Project Spotlight is an engagement and investment program aiming to fill strategic innovation gaps, and helping startups harness human creativity.

According to a formal policy featured in a memorandum, from 2026, all scientific publication awarded federal funding will need to be openly accessible on the day of publication, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) said. The scientific publishing industry has already adopted preprint archives, expanding access to publications during the pandemic.

NASA’s launch director halted yesterday’s Artemis I launch attempt after a bleed test to get the RS-25 engines at the bottom of the core stage to the proper liftoff temperature failed, and the team ran out of time in the two-hour launch window. The Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft remain in a stable configuration while engineers are evaluating the gathered data, NASA said.