Space Tourism

NASA announced having signed agreements with three U.S. companies to develop the designs of space stations and other destinations in space. The agreements are the first in a two-phase approach to a seamless transition of activity from the ISS to commercial destinations. During this first phase, which is to continue through 2025,

Saber Astronautics wants to bring Australians to the International Space Station (ISS) to do scientific research. The space mission operator said it has signed a deal with private spaceflight leader Axiom Space to bring Australians and Australian industry to the station’s orbiting microgravity laboratory and work on a new generation of space-developed products.

One of Blue Origin's astronauts, 49-year-old Glen de Vries, who flew to space last month alongside actor William Shatner, died in a small plane crash in New Jersey. De Vries, was the vice chairman of life sciences and healthcare at Dassault Systèmes and co-founder of the Medidata team.

Virgin Galactic reported a strong interest in suborbital flights from customers as the company sold approximately 100 tickets for US $450,000 each after reopening ticket sales in August. This makes the total number of bookings about 700. Virgin Galactic said the new customers had previously paid a deposit of US $1,000 to be the first in line when ticket sales resumed.

I have just come back from the IAC 2021 in Dubai where I enjoyed advocating for end-to-end data security for commercial “newspace” missions. While it was so great to meet colleagues face-to-face and discover the energetic city of Dubai, it bothered me when booking my plane tickets that this trip was to be accounted in my annual carbon footprint.

The 72nd International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2021), organised by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), held in the Middle East for the first time and hosted by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) ended on Friday. Over 6,500 delegates from more than 110 countries attended the “Inspire, Innovate & Discover for the Benefit of Mankind” themed event.

Blue Origin and Sierra Space announced the plan to build a commercially developed, owned and operated LEO space station, called Orbital Reef, by 2030. The project is encouraged by Boeing, Genesis Engineering Solutions, Redwire Space, and Arizona State University. The destination will offer research, industrial, and commercial customers cost competitive services, Blue Origin said.

A Russian film crew comprising actor Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko are back on Earth after wrapping up scenes on the ISS for the first movie shot in space. The landing of the Soyuz MS-18 in Kazakhstan was filmed and touchdown scenes will be used in the movie.

On Monday, UBS analyst Myles Walton downgraded Virgin Galactic (ticker: SPCE) from Hold to Sell as the company is delaying commercial space flights. The news disappointed investors who had expected revenue-generating, commercial operations to start early next year. Last week Virgin said they would reorganise their development and test flight schedule.

Blue Origin successfully completed its second human spaceflight yesterday on board of New Shepard. The flight carried four space tourists, Dr. Chris Boshuizen, Glen de Vries, Audrey Powers, and William Shatner through the Kármán line. Also, on board were the thousands of postcards made by young students for Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future.