Jacqueline Feldscher
Relativity Developing New 3D Printing Tech for Terran-R
Relativity is adding two new 3D printing technologies to its repertoire to build the larger, heavy-lift Terran-R, CEO Tim Ellis told Payload. “Aeon R is a pretty giant engine. Not just thrust, but I think the size of it,” Ellis said. “So the two new printing technologies are necessary to start doing some hybrid additive…
Nelson ‘Fairly Confident’ In Lunar Surface Mission Timeline
Lawmakers quizzed NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Thursday about what the space agency needs to keep the first crewed mission to the Moon’s surface on track for a 2025 launch date. In addition to Artemis, members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee asked the former FL Democrat how the US could stay competitive…
US, South Korea Commit to Closer Cooperation in Orbit
VP Kamala Harris and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited Goddard Space Flight Center outside DC on Tuesday to get a firsthand look at the agency’s work to monitor and combat climate change. Hot mess: Harris, who chairs the National Space Council, and Yoon, who is in DC for a state visit, received briefings…
Moonlighter Sat Will Let Hackers Practice in Orbit
Cyber experts will get the opportunity to practice defending assets from cyber attacks in orbit on a new “hacking sandbox” satellite expected to launch later this year. Moonlighter is a joint project from the Aerospace Corporation, Space Systems Command, and the Air Force Research Laboratory that will let good guy hackers look for vulnerabilities in…
L3Harris Building Comms System for Lunar Missions
L3Harris Technologies announced Tuesday that it will provide the communications system Artemis astronauts use to communicate with each other and with Earth from the lunar surface. While much attention has been paid to the rocket, spacecraft, and people that will part of the first crewed Moon mission in more than 50 years, communications are critical…
Leidos, NASCAR Head to the Moon
Leidos ($LDOS) announced Tuesday that it is partnering with NASCAR on its lunar rover, which it dramatically unveiled by removing a giant purple sheet at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. Rover 101: Even though NASCAR is collaborating on the rover, astronauts won’t be whipping around the Moon at breakneck speed under checkered flags. The…
FCC Launches Space Bureau
The FCC opened its new space office on Tuesday to help the agency better consider the thousands of applications it receives each year for satellite approval and authorization of novel space activities. The agency is currently considering more than 60,000 applications for new satellites—the largest backlog in the FCC’s history. “This effort is part of…
Stoke Space Unveils Fusion Tracking Software
Launch company Stoke Space is getting into the software business. This week, the Washington-based startup, whose primary mission is building fully reusable rockets, debuted Fusion, a software platform to track physical hardware from “lightbulb to liftoff,” according to its website. Stoke Space developed Fusion to fill an internal need after “a history of pain all…
Exclusive: Outpost Wins $1.7M DOD Contract for Ferry Platform
Outpost has won a $1.7M DoD contract to help fund development and testing of its Ferry satellite, which can bring payloads safely back to Earth without burning up in the atmosphere. The Direct to Phase II Orbital Prime SBIR contract from SpaceWERX is the startup’s first contract with the Defense Department, Paul Tomko, the director…
Nonprofit Opens Space Law and Ethics Institute
For All Moonkind, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the moon landing sites, has launched the Institute on Space Law and Ethics to develop guidelines for responsible behavior in space. The nitty-gritty: The institute will include a leadership board that will meet monthly as well as a group of fellows who will work on the project…
SDA Tranche 0 Launch Delayed
The Space Development Agency is all about moving fast, but getting its first batch of satellites off the ground aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 will have to wait a little longer after Thursday’s launch was unexpectedly scrubbed three seconds before liftoff. SDA announced Friday morning that the expected launch attempt at 10:29 am ET Friday…
Return to FY22 Funding Would Be ‘Catastrophic’: Top Space Force Official
It would be “catastrophic” if the Space Force had to operate under fiscal 2022 funding levels, the military’s top space official told lawmakers on Tuesday. Under a spending plan backed by a wing of the Republican party, dollars for research and development, launch, modernization, recruitment, missile defense, and domain awareness could all be at risk…
China’s Space Build Up in America’s ‘Backyard’
Sen. Joni Ernst raised concerns about China’s growing space footprint “in our backyard,” which could increase the PRC’s ability to track and spy on American satellites in orbit. There are 11 space facilities linked to the PRC in South America – more than any other geographic combatant command, Gen. Laura Richardson, the head of U.S.…
