Rachael Zisk
Space in Africa Releases Industry Report
Earlier this week, Space in Africa published its report on the state of the African space industry. Between 2019 and 2021, the “new space” industry in Africa has reportedly seen major growth, and is valued at $19.5B as of the end of 2021. Africa’s space: The space industry in Africa is currently dominated by global…
EVA Suit Electrical Issue Cuts Spacewalk Short
All is not well with the spacesuits aboard the ISS. Yesterday, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev was instructed by Roscosmos ground control to “drop everything and go back” to the ISS when he was three hours into a spacewalk. The issue: a flaw in the Orlan EVA suit’s electrical system that caused an unexpected drop in…
Euroconsult Releases In-Flight Connectivity Report
Gone are the days of switching off your phone and laptop before takeoff and living a lonely, analog life until landing. The in-flight connectivity (IFC) industry has seen rapid growth over the past year, and the number of connected airplanes is expected to double within the next decade, per a new Euroconsult report on the…
VP Harris Calls for Space Industry Regulation
The commercial space industry is moving fast, and the US government is making moves to keep up with the times. In response to this rapid growth and development of the orbital environment, VP Kamala Harris said Friday that the government aims to develop a new rules framework for space activities. “We must write new rules…
ESA Considers SpaceX Launch Partnership
The space industry hasn’t yet completely resolved the gap in access to launch stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. To get some of its stranded sats back on their mission timelines, ESA has begun preliminary talks with SpaceX, Reuters reports. The story so far: The war in Ukraine has poked holes in Europe’s spaceflight plans…
Kayhan Unveils Pathfinder Pro STM Platform
Earlier this week, space safety company Kayhan Space launched the next tier of its space traffic management (STM) platform, Pathfinder Pro. Kayhan’s ultimate goal is to fully automate all collision avoidance maneuvers in orbit, cofounder and CTO Araz Feyzi told Payload. LEO, in particular, is poised to get a lot more crowded over the coming…
TransAstra (YC S21) and Slooh Partner on Student-Focused Telescope Initiative
Students across the globe could soon have the ability to identify near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) for a grade, thanks to a collaboration between TransAstra and Slooh. The two companies have announced a partnership that will ultimately let K-12 students book time on a telescope. TransAstra is a space startup that graduated from Y Combinator in Summer 2021.…
Benchmark Announces Last-Minute Collision Avoidance Kit
Benchmark Space Systems is ready to bring a last-minute collision avoidance kit to market, the Vermont startup said this morning. Dubbed COLA, the tiny thruster system is designed compactly so it can be retrofitted onto satellites that already have finalized designs, Benchmark EVP Chris Carella told Payload. All that junk out there: The orbital environment…
Xona Space Systems Announces ~$15M Fundraise
Xona Space Systems, a San Mateo, CA-based startup building a GPS alternative in LEO, has raised an funding round. First Spark Ventures led the round, with participation from a range of new and existing investors, including Lockheed Martin Ventures. Xona now raised $25M+ to date, putting this round somewhere around $15M based on previous fundraising…
Slingshot Acquires Numerica SDA and Seradata
Slingshot Aerospace has its sights set on being the industry leader in space situational awareness (SSA). This morning, the company announced that it has acquired Numerica’s Space Domain Awareness (SDA) division and UK-based Seradata. “These acquisitions bring a single, unified space intelligence platform to the market that the market needs, and hasn’t seen,” said Melanie…
NASA Updates Private Astronaut Mission Requirements
Yesterday, NASA released an updated list of requirements for private astronaut missions to the ISS, and it seems that future tours will need extra supervision. Future private missions to the ISS will need to be accompanied by a former NASA astronaut. ICYMI: In April, Axiom launched Ax-1, the first-ever private astronaut mission to the ISS.…
Congress Considers Space Funding and Authorizations
Congress has spent the last few weeks hammering out next year’s authorizations and funding decisions. On the policy side, CHIPS and Science passed in both the House and Senate last week. On the funding side, policymakers have been reviewing and amending next year’s NDAA, which will provide funding for military space programs. CHIPS and Science…
White House Releases Orbital Debris Implementation Plan
The White House has decided it’s time to do something about space junk. On Friday, the National Science and Technology Council released a 44-point national orbital debris implementation plan that aims to nip the littering problem in the bud before it threatens the safe operation of satellites in orbit. Multiple US agencies are currently involved…
