Government

A Northrop Grumman-built Cygnus resupply spacecraft has made a more than 3700 kg delivery to the International Space Station. The cargo ship was named after the first Asian American astronaut, Ellison Onizuka. Ship S.S. Ellison Onizuka delivered science investigations and cargo on behalf of NASA.

The private equity firm AE Industrial Partners (AEI) partners with Boeing to manage and increase its HorizonX venture capital fund. The partnership will focus on early-stage minority equity investments in "businesses that will transform the future of space, mobility, industrial tech, connectivity and digital solutions with an emphasis on sustainability", AEI said.

UK companies and research organisations can apply for up to a £200,000 funding to develop technologies and data processing capabilities to help reduce space debris. Orbital congestion and space debris have become infrastructure and potentially life-threatening problems. About 95% of the objects tracked orbiting our planet is space junk.

Planet announced having signed a multi-year, multi-launch agreement with SpaceX. This means that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 will be launching Planet’s satellites through the end of 2025. The news comes after Planet entered into a definitive merger agreement with dMY Technology Group, Inc. IV last month to become a publicly-traded company.

NASA is recruiting its first crew members for their one-year analog mission based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The analog, planned to launch in autumn 2022 will simulate life on a distant planet. NASA is planning to conduct research to prevent and resolve potential problems that could arise during future manned missions to the Moon and Mars.

Edinburgh, 4 August 2021. - The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) selected SpaceLink for a demonstration of its 10 Gbps optical end-to-end relay service, SpaceLink said. CASIS is the manager of the International Space Station (ISS)´s in-orbit U.S. National Laboratory. The demo will allow the use of a 10 Gbps optical terminal.

Russia plans to create a manned space complex in LEO, Roscosmos reported. The news comes after learning that the Russian segment of the ISS is to be retired after 2024 due to ageing. This, in turn opens up the way for national space infrastructures to take over the exploration of outer space.

Rocket Lab has successfully launched the U.S. Space Force’s (USSF) research and development satellite into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The mission was one of Rocket Lab’s over 100 satellite launches, its fourth launch for the year and its 21st Electron mission, the company said.

British Crown Dependency, the Isle of Man’s government has agreed to join the 12 countries already embracing Artemis Accords. The Artemis Accords are an international agreement among participating nations setting out guidelines for cooperation in space exploration.

Rocket Lab has opened a launch window for U.S. Space Force`s Monolith mission for 29 July, the company said. Rocket Lab aims at launching the Air Force Research Laboratory-sponsored demonstration satellite called Monolith into low Earth orbit (LEO) on its Electron rocket from its Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.