Jacqueline Feldscher
Rep. Eric Sorensen on Space Travel, Safety and Shuttle Ties
A space leader on Capitol Hill is looking at how to eliminate gaps between the agencies that oversee human spaceflight over concerns about maintaining the highest safety standards. Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-IL), the ranking member of the House space subcommittee, pointed out the multitude of groups that have a hand in regulating spaceflight, from the…
FCC Opens Spectrum For Commercial Launch
The FCC adopted a new rule on Thursday that will ensure commercial launchers have access to the spectrum they need to communicate with the rocket during and after liftoff. The successful vote to approve the rule represents the conclusion of a multi-year push to set aside specific spectrum bands for commercial launch after FCC Chairwoman…
A Q+A with Sita Sonty, Space Tango CEO
Sita Sonty has only been CEO of Space Tango for a couple weeks, but she already has big plans for the company, including opening a new fundraising round and growing the startup’s global client base. “Details are in the works. It is a private, friends and family round,” she told Payload. “A big part of…
Americans Lobby Congress on Planetary Science Priorities
Joseph Diggs, a science teacher in Anne Arundel county, MD, was doing a different kind of educating (and in a much grander classroom) on Monday. Diggs was one of 130+ people who traveled to DC for the Planetary Society’s Day of Action, during which people lobby their representatives to support scientific exploration of the cosmos.…
Exclusive: AIA Argues Critical Infrastructure Designation Would ‘Adversely Affect’ Space Industry
A leading trade group is urging the National Security Council to think twice before classifying the space sector as critical infrastructure. Eric Fanning, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association representing 320+ companies, sent a letter on Tuesday to NSC head Jake Sullivan arguing that designating space as critical infrastructure could actually hurt the…
Exclusive: A New Plan for Space to be Treated Like Other Infrastructure
AIAA will unveil a plan today that would help space organizations get access to a slew of federal economic development resources typically available to other infrastructure services such as airports, seaports, and highways. Project Clarity, which was drafted by AIAA’s Cislunar Ecosystem Task Force, will urge the government to say unequivocally that space projects shouldn’t…
A Busy Fall on Capitol Hill
As lawmakers settle back into DC following the August recess, Congress is facing a long list of space to-dos—but not a lot of time to tackle them. Members have a little over two weeks to tackle three major priorities with deadlines at the end of September: passing a fiscal 2024 funding bill, deciding whether to…
Exclusive: Prewitt Ridge Raises $4.1M Seed Round
Prewitt Ridge has closed a $4.1M seed round, which will allow the startup to expand its go-to-market team and build new integrations for its Verve requirements management software, CEO Steven Massey told Payload. The details: Squadra Ventures led the round, which also included participation from Stage Venture Partners, Aurelia Foundry, Wonder Ventures, Haystack, Acquia, techStars,…
One-on-One with Richard DalBello
The process of moving the nation’s space traffic management mission from DoD to the Commerce Department has been slow—but Richard DalBello told Payload that’s very much on purpose. “There was an idea present when we started that somehow this would be simple,” DalBello, head of the Office of Space Commerce, said. “This is tremendously complicated….…
A Q+A With Maxar’s Chris Johnson
Maxar is getting ready to start pumping out 300 series buses for the Space Development Agency’s tracking mission, but a company exec says he sees a long future for the spacecraft with both commercial and national security customers beyond the military constellation. “There are a lot of studies and demo-type contracts within the LEO sphere…
Hiding In Plain Sight
The UAP craze that enveloped DC this summer has officially gone mainstream. At last week’s Republican presidential primary debate, Chris Christie fielded a question about whether he would be honest about the existence of aliens if he’s elected to the nation’s highest office. “The job of the president of the United States is to level…
Moonlighter’s Second Act To Test Cyber Tech In Orbit
The Moonlighter satellite successfully completed its first act as a “hacking sandbox” during a competition to discover cyber vulnerabilities in orbit—but the spacecraft’s mission is far from over, officials said. Moonlighter 101: The spacecraft, which is a joint project from the Aerospace Corporation, Space Systems Command, and the Air Force Research Laboratory, launched in June…
Bill Nelson is Spreading NASA’s Message Abroad
What do Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Argentine President Alberto Fernández have in common? They all met with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson this summer. Nelson is embracing—and elevating—his role as the nation’s space diplomat, and his long history on Capitol Hill means he doesn’t clam up when…
