Rachael Zisk
Agile Qualifies a Thruster for Lunar Landings
Agile Space Industries, a Colorado-based in-space propulsion company, announced Wednesday that it has qualified its A110 bipropellant thruster for lunar landers. Back in the game: The A110 is the first US-built thruster qualified for lunar landers since the Apollo program more than six decades ago, according to the company. “These are challenges the US space…
Slingshot Doubles Sensing Capabilities
Slingshot Aerospace announced this morning that it will add 80 new sensors by the end of the year, doubling its tracking capabilities and getting closer to its goal of building the most comprehensive space tracking network on the planet. The story so far: CEO Melanie Stricklan founded Slingshot in 2017 to tackle the growing need…
Everywhere Adds Integrations for Emergency Communications Platform
Everywhere Communications, a seven-year-old company providing satellite-enabled emergency comms for teams operating in extreme environments, has announced new integrations in its emergency notification and messaging platform. Everywhere, all at once: The Annapolis, MD-based software company aims to provide a “single pane of glass” for companies to communicate with teams operating out in the field, wherever…
RAND Releases Human Spaceflight Regulation Report
A moratorium on regulating human commercial spaceflight—aka space tourism—is set to expire in October, and the folks at the FAA are at a crossroads: to renew or not to renew? In a report published this week by RAND, researchers determined that the commercial human spaceflight industry has progressed far enough that it’s time for the…
NASA Selects Artemis II Crew
Humanity has picked its team for the first step in its grand return to the Moon. Yesterday, NASA revealed the crew of four that will circle the moon on the 10-day Artemis II mission. Without further ado…Here’s the lineup: Now that they’ve received their assignments, the astronauts have time to consider what the mission means.…
Exclusive: Starfish Nets $3M from the DIU
Starfish Space, the Seattle-based startup building vehicles to support a future on-orbit servicing economy, has snagged a $3M contract from National Security Innovation Capital (NSIC), a technology development arm of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). The funds will help Starfish push its Nautilus electrostatic adhesive docking and capture mechanism through the next phases of development.…
Rosotics Unveils A New Kind of 3D Printer
Rosotics is on a mission to revolutionize additive manufacturing. This morning in Mesa, AZ, the 3D-printing startup will debut the first completed prototype of its Mantis printer—a huge, unfolding contraption capable of printing 45 kg of material per hour on the power from a standard 240V outlet. The first printers are marked for delivery in…
Starlink V2 Minis Experience Issues
Starlink’s V2 satellites are having some issues. On Tuesday, Elon tweeted an explanation for observations that some of the V2 Minis launched last month have changed the altitude and eccentricity of their orbits: The new technologies: The Starlink V2 Minis are essentially trial runs for technology that will fly on the much larger final V2…
Deloitte Releases Report Predicting Industry Growth
This morning, Deloitte released a forecast on the potential for growth within the space industry. The report, which pairs market data with a survey of space industry leaders, is intended to give execs in other industries the background they need to incorporate space into their businesses. Bottom line upfront: “For space to grow, and fulfill…
Innoflight Lifts Off from Brazil
South Korea is angling to join the elite club of major spacefaring nations. Now, the second rocket developed domestically in the country has achieved liftoff. Innospace, a Korean launch startup developing a suite of small-lift rockets, successfully got its Hanbit-TLV suborbital test rocket off the ground on Sunday. The flight lifted off from the Alcântara…
Rivada Contracts Aalyria Spacetime for Network Coordination
Earlier this week, Rivada Space Networks announced that Aalyria will help manage and optimize communications across its planned LEO constellation. Aalyria emerged out of stealth late last year, with a trove of valuable IP it acquired from Google parent Alphabet. Rivada 101 Last year, Rivada announced itself to the world with a splashy plan to…
Scientists Identify an Active Volcano on Venus
Everyone’s favorite roiling, sulfuric hellscape just got a little more interesting. For the first time, scientists have identified active volcanism on Venus. Cutting through the clouds Venus doesn’t make studying it easy for scientists. Its clouds are dense and shiny, making telescope observations from afar very difficult, and the incredible heat and pressure of the…
Firefly Wins NASA CLPS Contract for the Dark Side of the Moon
Blue Ghost #2 is a go. Firefly has clinched a deal to travel to the dark side of the Moon in 2026. Yesterday, NASA awarded the Cedar Park, TX-based launcher a $112M contract to deliver several lunar payloads using the Blue Ghost spacecraft. The details: NASA awarded the contract through its Commercial Lunar Payload Services…
