Tag Archives: SpaceX

Exotrail has announced the successful release in orbit of an 8U satellite by its Spacevan orbital transfer vehicle (OTV), gaining meaningful space heritage with a first “last-mile” in-space delivery. Endurosat manufactured the 8U satellite, named EXO-0, which in turn carried an Airbus Defense and Space payload. This success is an essential achievement for the Company on its path towards becoming a space logistics leader worldwide.

Sidus Space, a multi-faceted Space and Data-as-a-Service satellite company has announced the successful launch and deployment of its LizzieSat™ satellite as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-10 Rideshare mission. Liftoff occurred at 2:05 p.m. PDT from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The successful deployment of LizzieSat™ signifies a monumental achievement for Sidus Space, marking its entrance into the next era of its space technology and data services.

On 07 February 2024, we attended a review of the space economy hosted by Space Capital’s Chad Anderson and Justus Kilian. This follows the publication of their Q4 2023 report back in January 2024, which readers can download here. We have covered previous interventions by Chad Anderson at space conferences here and here.

Intuitive Machines has launched its IM-1 lunar mission from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The IM-1 mission Nova-C class lunar lander (Odysseus) has subsequently been deployed and has begun its journey to the lunar surface. If successful, the IM-1 lunar mission will be the first commercial soft landing attempt on the Moon. It would also mark the first American mission in 51 years to complete a soft touchdown on the Moon.

The US Space Systems Command (SSC) and its mission partners have successfully launched the U.S. Space Force (USSF)-124 mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket today at 5:30 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.  Furthermore, the satellites for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and Space Development Agency (SDA) were safely delivered to their intended orbit.

SpaceX has issued a commitment to space sustainability, pledging to perform controlled descents of approximately 100 additional early-version 1 Starlink satellites in the coming weeks and months. With space sustainability in mind, SpaceX has to-date initiated controlled deorbits on 406 satellites out of the nearly 6000 Starlink satellites launched. Of those, 17 are currently non-maneuverable, passively decaying, but well-tracked to help mitigate collision risk with other active satellites. The other 95% of satellites the Starlink team initiated controlled descent for have already de-orbited. 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has launched the Plankton, Aerosol, Climate, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite. The satellite launched into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida to study ocean health, air quality, and the effects of a changing climate for the benefit of humanity. NASA subsequently confirmed signal acquisition from the satellite about five minutes after launch.

The European Space Agency's (ESA) EarthCARE satellite has undergone its final testing and analysis as its engineers have packed it up for its journey to the launch site in the US. With liftoff slated for May on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California has been going through the last round of tests and meticulous checks in Germany.

Starlab Space LLC (Starlab Space), the transatlantic joint venture between Voyager Space and Airbus, has selected SpaceX to launch the Starlab commercial space station into low-Earth orbit (LEO). Starship, SpaceX's fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond, will launch Starlab in a single mission prior to the decommissioning of the International Space Station.

Axiom Space and SpaceX have successfully launched the Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) to the International Space Station (ISS). AX-3 is Axiom Space's third commercial astronaut mission and it features an all-European crew. The mission launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center aboard SpaceX's Dragon Freedom spacecraft. The Scientists and crew will subsequently engage in technology demonstrations, student outreach, and experiments ranging from medical research to materials science to benefit life here on Earth.