Space

WASHINGTON — Many of the satellites, ground infrastructure and information systems that the U.S. Space Force will buy in the future will be developed by the private sector, officials said Aug. 5. Col. Russell Teehan, portfolio architect of the U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles, said commercially developed technologies will

SAN FRANCISCO – Revenues for Lithuanian Nanosatellite manufacturer NanoAvionics tripled in the last 12 months as the company signed contracts with startups and industry veterans. “As the market for nanosatellites and cubesats matures, NanoAvionics is very well placed with its price points and capability,” NanoAvionics US CEO Brent Abbott told SpaceNews. NanoAvionics, a spin-off from

WASHINGTON — Commercial satellite operator SES has selected SpaceX and United Launch Alliance to each launch two geostationary satellites designed to replace C-band capacity in the United States that the Federal Communications Commission is repurposing for 5G cellular networks.  SpaceX’s agreement includes room to launch one additional “contingency satellite” that has not yet been ordered. 

SAN FRANCISCO – Satellite propulsion startup Benchmark Space Systems announced an agreement Aug. 4 to provide non-toxic chemical propulsion for rideshare provider Spaceflight Inc.’s next-generation orbital transfer vehicle, Sherpa-NG. At the same time, Burlington, Vermont-based Benchmark revealed a permanent licensing partnership with Tesseract Space, a California propulsion startup. Under the terms of the deal, Vermont-based

USC students will build the satellites and integrate them with Lockheed Martin’s SmartSat mission payload. WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin and the University of Southern California are collaborating on a small satellite program with the goal to launch four cubesats over the next two years. Students at USC’s Information Sciences Institute will build the satellites and

WASHINGTON — Amazon Web Services has slowed the rollout of its ground station network to accommodate customer feedback about the best locations to place its antennas.  AWS has built ground stations at six locations instead of the 12 that were expected by the end of last year. Shayn Hawthorne, general manager of AWS’s ground station

WASHINGTON — Virgin Galactic has pushed the beginning of commercial flights of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle to no earlier than the first quarter of 2021 while announcing plans to sell additional stock to raise money. The company, in its fiscal second quarter financial results released Aug. 3, said it expected to perform two more test

Sources said the White House was unhappy with O’Rielly for not supporting President Trump’s request that the FCC re-examine Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1934. WASHINGTON — President Trump on Aug. 3 withdrew the nomination of Michael O’Rielly for a new five-year term as member of the Federal Communications Commission. The White

Download the digital edition of the Aug. 3 issue of SpaceNews magazine, provided compliments of Raytheon Space & Intelligence as part of our special coverage of this week’s free-to-attend 34th Annual Small Satellite Conference.  Inside the Aug. 3 issue: Inflection point  From launch failures to global pandemic, a small launch industry long buoyed by optimism

SAN FRANCISCO — General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems won a $32.9 million contract to build NASA’s Total and Spectral solar Irradiance-2 (TSIS-2) spacecraft, a small satellite scheduled to launch in 2023. Under the firm-fixed price, time and materials contract awarded July 6, General Atomics will develop and test the TSIS-2 spacecraft, integrate instruments, and support the

Updated 6:30 p.m. Eastern with post-splashdown press conference. WASHINGTON — SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico Aug. 2, successfully completing a test flight and crossing the finish line of the decade-long commercial crew program. The Crew Dragon, named Endeavour by its crew, splashed down about 70 kilometers south of Pensacola,

BAE Systems in January announced its intent to buy Collins military GPS division for $1.9 billion. WASHINGTON — BAE Systems on July 31 announced it has completed the acquisition of the Collins Aerospace military Global Positioning System business that was previously owned by United Technologies Corp. United Technologies had to sell Collins’ GPS business in

WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying two NASA astronauts on a test flight undocked from the International Space Station Aug. 1 ahead of a splashdown less than 24 hours later. The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour by the crew of the Demo-2 mission, undocked from the station’s Harmony module at 7:35 p.m. Eastern

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives passed a spending bill July 31 that includes $22.6 billion for NASA, making no major changes to what appropriators had previously approved. On a 217–197 vote falling largely on party lines, the House approved a “minibus” spending bill that combined six separate bills, including the commerce, justice and science

WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab said July 31 an investigation concluded that an “anomalous electrical connection” caused the failure of an Electron rocket launch nearly four weeks earlier, as the company makes plans to return to flight in August. The company announced that an internal accident investigation board, working with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, determined

The moon is again the object of competition between major space powers. These powers aim — perhaps even in this decade — to establish a permanent human presence on the moon’s surface and in its orbit, and exploit lunar resources for economic benefit. This renewed competition for the moon is the basis for the rise

The Air Force said the Navigation Technology Satellite-3 has passed a critical design review. WASHINGTON — L3Harris will start building a navigation satellite for the U.S. Air Force scheduled to be launched to a geosynchronous orbit in 2022. The Air Force announced July 30 that the Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3) on June 25 passed a

WASHINGTON — Small launch vehicle developer Astra says it’s ready for an orbital launch attempt as soon as Aug. 2, but warns that it’s “pretty unlikely” that launch will actually achieve orbit. Astra’s Rocket 3.1 vehicle is in final preparations for a launch from Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska on Kodiak Island. The company is

WASHINGTON — The first Proton launch of the year took place July 30 carrying two satellites for the Russian Satellite Communications Company.  Proton lifted off at 5:25 p.m. Eastern from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on an 18-hour mission to deploy the geostationary satellites, Express-80 and Express-103, according to Roscosmos.  The launch was originally scheduled

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on July 30 approved Amazon’s request to operate a constellation of roughly 3,200 internet satellites in low Earth orbit.  The FCC said Amazon has until July 30, 2026 to launch at least 50% of its satellites in order to maintain its authorization, and until July 30, 2029 to

WASHINGTON — NASA’s most sophisticated Mars rover yet is on its way to the red planet after a successful launch July 30. A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 7:50 a.m. Eastern. The liftoff took place on schedule with no issues

WASHINGTON — Spanish startup Sateliot on July 28 selected Open Cosmos to build and operate a constellation of up to 100 small satellites, but stopped short of a firm contract for the full system.  Sateliot is raising funds to build the constellation, designed to connect sensors and devices from low-Earth orbit. The company has raised

Maj. Gen. Stephen Whiting, Maj. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, Maj. Gen. William Liquori and Maj. Gen. Nina Armagno have been nominated to receive a third star. WASHINGTON — President Trump on July 28 submitted to the U.S. Senate the nominations of four U.S. Space Force major generals for promotion to lieutenant general. The nominations will

WASHINGTON — NASA and the European Space Agency expect to spend at least $7 billion to collect samples of Mars and return them to Earth, a process that will start with the impending launch of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission. Mars 2020 will deliver to the surface of Mars a rover named Perseverance, whose primary mission

Dickinson said “norms of behavior” should be established for space domain. WASHINGTON — The United States has to work with other countries to establish “norms of behavior in space,” Army Lt. Gen. James Dickinson told the Senate Armed Services Committee during a July 28 confirmation hearing to be the next commander of U.S. Space Command.

WASHINGTON — Hughes Network Systems, an original OneWeb investor, said July 27 it would put $50 million into the consortium that is purchasing OneWeb out of bankruptcy protection.  “We are pleased to be part of this winning team, along with the British Government and Bharti,” Pradman Kaul, Hughes president, said in a news release. “Our

WASHINGTON — NASA’s Mars 2020 mission has passed its final review ahead of a July 30 launch that will kick off an ambitious effort to return samples of the red planet to Earth. NASA announced July 27 that Mars 2020 completed its launch readiness review, confirming that the spacecraft and its Atlas 5 launch vehicle

SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. and U.K. defense agencies plan to award $1 million to startups at the first International Space Pitch Day in November during the Defence Space Conference in London. The event, backed by the U.K. Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Royal Air Force, U.S. Space Force and NATO, is designed to identify commercial

Legislation passed by the House requires the Space Force to use the Navy’s rank structure. WASHINGTON — Legislation passed by the House of Representatives requiring the U.S. Space Force to use the Navy’s rank structure has thrown an unexpected twist into the space service’s plans to develop its own ranks and insignia. The use of

As part of our special coverage of the 34th Annual Small Satellite Conference, SpaceNews is doing daily webinars Aug. 3-6 to bring you live newsmaker interviews, panel discussions and reporter roundtables in order to help bring you the full SmallSat experience (minus the Aggie’s ice cream, unfortunately). All “SN @ SmallSat” webinars start at 11

WASHINGTON — A new National Space Council report argues that the exploration and development of space must be an integrated effort that involves not just NASA but other government agencies, as well as international and commercial partners. The report, “A New Era for Deep Space Exploration and Development,” released July 23 by the White House,

U.S. Space Command says Russia on July 15 conducted a non-destructive test of a space-based anti-satellite weapon. WASHINGTON — U.S. Space Command in a July 23 statement said it has proof that Russia on July 15 conducted a non-destructive test of a space-based anti-satellite weapon. U.S. Space Command said Russia “injected a new object into

Differences between the House and Senate versions of the NDAA will be negotiated in a conference some time this fall. WASHINGTON — The Senate on July 23 passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 by a vote of 86 to 14. The NDAA authorizes $740.5 billion for national defense

HELSINKI — China launched three satellites on a Long March 4B late Friday for remote sensing, novel lobster eye x-ray astronomy and commercial data acquisition. The Long March 4B rocket lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 11:13 p.m. Eastern Friday. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., the country’s main space contractor,

The 21st Space Wing at Peterson Air Force Base; the 50th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base; and the 460th Space Wing at Buckley Air Force Base have been deactivated and new units have been stood up in their place. WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force announced on July 24 that three former U.S.

WASHINGTON — The British government expects to soon release a comprehensive set of regulations that will enable companies to perform commercial launches from spaceports in the country. During a July 22 webinar by the U.K. Space Agency, part of series of virtual events held in place of the Farnborough International Airshow, government officials said they

WASHINGTON — A draft of the Democratic Party’s 2020 platform suggests that an administration led by Joe Biden would make few major changes in NASA programs but does not explicitly endorse a 2024 human return to the moon. An 80-page draft of the party’s 2020 platform, distributed to party officials this week for review, includes

WASHINGTON — Members of a NASA safety panel expressed continued concern about quality issues with Boeing’s commercial crew spacecraft while cautiously supporting SpaceX’s plans to fly reused spacecraft on future crewed missions. During a July 23 teleconference by the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, members discussed several reviews of issues with the uncrewed flight of Boeing’s

WASHINGTON — A U.K. parliamentary committee said it will review the steps that led to the government’s bid for struggling megaconstellation startup OneWeb, arguing that the $500-million investment decision was rushed and jeopardizes British taxpayer dollars.  Darren Jones, chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee in Parliament, said Wednesday that the decision to

Hyvinkää, FINLAND — China’s Tianwen-1 Mars mission launched successfully Thursday, initiating a phase of deep space and interplanetary exploration. A Long March 5 rocket launched the Tianwen-1 orbiter and rover from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center at 12:41 a.m. Eastern.  Successful Trans-Mars injection was confirmed around 40 minutes later by the China Aerospace Science and Technology

SmallSat Alliance Chairman Chuck Beames said DoD’s decision to award contracts to six companies without a competition was a mistake. WASHINGTON — The Defense Department caused an uproar when it announced on June 18 it had selected six small launch companies to receive contracts funded under the Defense Production Act, the head of a space

The new building is expected to open in spring 2022. WASHINGTON — The Aerospace Corp. announced July 22 it is investing nearly $100 million in a research and development facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado, that will focus on classified space technology. The company said construction of the 90,000 square-foot facility starts this month with a

The Air Force will use BlackSky’s monitoring service to track the spread of COVID-19 and secure its supply chain. WASHINGTON — Earth-observation company BlackSky announced July 21 it received a U.S. Air Force contract to monitor overseas U.S. military bases, detect outbreaks and analyze the spread of COVID-19. The contract was awarded by the Air

Army Lt. Gen. Dickinson became deputy commander of U.S. Space Command in December 2019. He previously was the commander of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. WASHINGTON — The Senate Armed Services Committee has scheduled a July 28 hearing to consider the promotion of Army Lt. Gen. James Dickinson to general and his

WASHINGTON — U.S. Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett on July 21 rolled out a strategy for how air and space forces will prepare for operations in the Arctic, a region of the world where Russia and China are trying to grow their influence. Speaking during an Atlantic Council virtual event, Barrett said the strategy “recognizes

WASHINGTON — Small launch vehicle developer Astra said July 20 it’s now planning to make its next orbital launch attempt in early August, five months after a previous attempt was scrubbed a minute before liftoff. The company announced on Twitter that the window for its Rocket 3.1 vehicle will open Aug. 2 from Pacific Spaceport

SpaceX’s customer for the Anasis-2 mission was Lockheed Martin on behalf of the government of South Korea. WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on July 20 launched Anasis-2, South Korea’s first military communications satellite. The rocket lifted off at 5:30 p.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral, Florida, Less than nine minutes after liftoff the Falcon

SAN FRANCISCO – Near Space Labs is selling high-resolution imagery of major Texas cities for prices ranging from $10 to $50 per square kilometer. The New York startup, which gathers the imagery with instruments hanging from weather balloons, seeks to attract business and government customers by offering weekly imagery updates and transparent pricing. “Our aim