Tag Archives: Nasa

The President of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Mr. Giorgio Saccoccia, announced today the guidelines and objectives of the national space agency for 2023. ASI, recently back from a very successful CM22, explained that for 2023 it intends to carry on its long-standing collaboration with ESA and NASA, open new strategic international goals, and keep pushing its national interests.

Researchers have confirmed the presence of an exoplanet, a planet that orbits another star, using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope for the first time. Formally classified as LHS 475 b, the planet is almost exactly the same size as Earth, clocking in at 99% of Earth’s diameter.

Kongsberg NanoAvionics (NanoAvionics) has announced the successful launch of Europe‘s first solar sail mission aboard SpaceX Transporter-6. The 6U nanosatellite nicknamed 'Alpha' was manufactured for France's Gama and is one of four satellites that the Lithuanian smallsat mission integrator built for multiple customers,

Aerospace manufacturer Thales Alenia Space, the joint company between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%) published a log of the company’s successes and achievements in 2022.

Space technology company, Voyager Space, and advanced aerospace and defence solutions provider, Airbus Defence and Space, entered into a partnership to develop and operate Starlab space station. The station will serve NASA as well as a global customer base of space agencies and researchers, Voyager said.

Commercial satellite design, manufacture, launch, and data collection company, Sidus Space, has been selected by engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company, Bechtel Corporation, to manufacture cables for the NASA Mobile Launcher 2 (ML2) project, Sidus said.

The NASA-funded LunaH-Map (Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper) spacecraft, launched on Artemis 1, did not make it into orbit around the moon due to a problem with the propulsion system. Engineers are currently trying to fix thrusters to then try to insert the cubesat into its designated orbit around Moon.

President Biden has signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act into law and finalized funding for the 2023 financial year. The Act will see the disbursement of $1.7 trillion to fund the departments and agencies executing space programs. These include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), The United States Department of Defense (DOD), and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The budget will run till September 30, 2023.

NASA awarded a contract to Collins Aerospace, aerospace and defense company, Raytheon Technologies’ business, along with space exploration technology provider, ILC Dover, and global technology company, Oceaneering, to design, develop and demonstrate the next-generation International Space Station (ISS) spacesuit. Collins said this was its first task order under NASA’s Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) contract awarded in May. 

The US Senate has passed legislation that directs NASA to establish a program to remove orbital debris, the Orbital Sustainability, or ORBITS, Act.  The passing was via unanimous consent, and it was introduced by Sen. John Hickenlooper, the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee’s space subcommittee, in September.