After seven years of tireless development at the tu dresden, the spin-off Morpheus Space has successfully ignited the world's smallest ion beam thruster on the "UWE-4" nano-satellite. Four of the thumb-sized thrusters are located on UWE-4, the 1 kg nano-satellite of the University of Wurzburg.
Read More »Airbus And Japan’s JSAT Partner To Design SpaceDataHighway Relay Node
Airbus and Japanese telecommunications satellite operator SKY Perfect JSAT have signed a cooperation agreement for the design preparation of the EDRS-D node.
Read More »France’s CNES And ArianeGroup Create Arianeworks Accelerator Platform For European Launcher Development
On 21 February 2019 in Paris, France, in the presence of Frédérique Vidal, the French Minister for Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) President Jean-Yves Le Gall and ArianeGroup CEO André-Hubert Roussel signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to create an acceleration platform dedicated to the preparation of future launchers.
Read More »British New Space: Orbex Space To Launch SSTL Payload From Scotland In 2021
Orbex has announced that it is partnering with UK-based Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) to carry an experimental payload on its maiden flight from Scotland in 2021.
Read More »Exolaunch backs Momentus’ Vigoride service for bespoke in-orbit transportation
Reaching a desired orbit in space is set to become easier and more cost-effective, as space transportation start-up Momentus is soon to prove with its Vigoride service. German launch service provider, Exolaunch has signed a contract worth over U.S.$6 million with the Momentus to move its CubeSats and Microsatellites into multiple, bespoke orbits.
Read More »Israel’s IAI And Germany’s OHB Join Forces On Lunar Surface Access Initiative
OHB System and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have signed an agreement that will see the companies collaborate on a commercial Lunar Surface Access Service (LSAS). The agreement, signed during the Ilon Ramon Space Conference on Tuesday, will provide a lunar lander that can allow payloads up to 150kg to the European Space Agency (ESA).
Read More »UK, Other European Space Agencies Test Mars Robot Technologies In Morocco
As far as we know, Mars is the only planet populated entirely by robots! Due to the time taken for commands to travel to Mars (eight minutes each way), hand guided robots are limited to travelling only a few dozen metres a day.
Read More »Success for China’s historic Chang’e 4 Mission to the lunar ‘far side’
Human space exploration has received another significant boost with the successful landing of a Chinese probe on the far side of the moon – a feat that has never before been accomplished. Chinese state media confirmed that the spacecraft had performed a ‘soft landing’ at 10.26am (2.26am GMT) on January 2. The confirmation came after an earlier tweet was deleted from China Daily and various other sources, proclaiming the mission a success.
Read More »Russian Soyuz 2-1A Successfully Lofts Multiple Satellites From Vostochny Cosmodrome
The last Russian satellite launch of 2018 took place on 27 December 2018 when a Soyuz 2-1A launch vehicle lifted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, lofting two Kanopus-V remote sensing satellites and twenty-six secondary payloads into orbit with the aid of a Fregat upper stage.
Read More »Kiwi-Dutch Dawn Aerospace Raises $2.24 Million For Spaceplane Concept
Dawn Aerospace, a New Zealand-Dutch startup building 100% reusable rockets for satellite delivery, has raised NZ$3.35 million (U.S.$2.24 million) of investment from Kiwi, American, and Dutch investors.
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