CivilDebris

NASA, Starfish Partner on SSPICY Debris Inspection 

NASA is kickin’ it up a notch on a SSPICY mission to check out a defunct sat in LEO. Starfish Space will work on the program—formally known as the Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability mission—under a Phase III SBIR contract from the space agency worth $15M over three years, NASA announced on Wednesday. A […]

Polaris

The Road to the Forum: the CLPS Era

Over the next several months, traffic is expected to ramp up on the Moon, but unlike the first race to the Moon, it will be commercial vehicles leaving their tracks behind.  NASA’s decision to tap commercial partners to deliver scientific payloads to the Moon is the latest in a broader space agency move toward boosting […]

Polaris

Congress on VIPER Cancellation: Not So Fast

Four top lawmakers sent a letter to NASA late Friday casting much doubt on the agency’s decision to halt its VIPER mission after already sinking $450M into the spacecraft, which was fully assembled and awaiting testing.

Polaris

The Road to the Forum: Humans in LEO

The ISS has been a bastion for international cooperation and scientific discovery for nearly three decades, but as the orbiting habitat nears the end of its time in service, NASA is preparing to pass the torch on these three pillars to the commercial sector. 

Polaris

Space Policy in a Harris Administration

Though the vice president did not do much public work on space before joining President Joe Biden’s ticket, she has overseen the debate of two major space policy issues as chair of the National Space Council