On Monday, Russia struck a Soviet-era spy satellite with a missile. The antisatellite (ASAT) test destroyed a dead, decades-old spacecraft and generated at least 1,500 trackable orbital debris in LEO, along with hundreds of thousands of smaller shards. Washington confirmed the ASAT test and condemned Moscow for reckless space behavior. The US State Department called Russia’s actions “dangerous, […]
The ISS is returning to a normal configuration after two close passes with space debris, and crew initiated “safe haven” protocols. Under these procedures, astronauts treat vehicles as “lifeboats” and prepare for the possibility of an emergency departure. “In order to dodge the ‘space junk’, specialists…have calculated how to correct the orbit of the International Space Station,” […]
On Wednesday, when reporting Q3 earnings, payment processor Shift4 announced a five-year strategic partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink. The deal came as a surprise, and Shift4’s stock (NYSE:FOUR) surged. But Jared Isaacman, the company’s CEO, is no stranger to SpaceX. Isaacman was financier and commander of the all-civilian Inspiration4 mission, which took place in September. Payload […]
Moriba Jah is an astrodynamicist, UT Austin professor, JPL alum, and chief scientific adviser of Privateer, a newly formed company that aims to be the “Waze for space.” Payload sat down with Jah recently to discuss recent events, debris, space environmentalism, Privateer, and more. NB: This interview was edited for clarity and length. On the […]
Just hours after the Crew-3 launch Wednesday, the International Space Station (ISS) was forced to fire up its rockets and perform an unplanned engine burn. Roscosmos and NASA officials collaborated on the impromptu ISS reorientation. Why the maneuver? To evade a piece of space debris that was projected to get too close for comfort. Which debris? A […]
ICYMI: The Artemis program faces delays and cost overruns. Yesterday, NASA pushed back American astronauts’ moon return trip to 2025 and revised Orion cost projections upwards by $2.6B ($6.7B → $9.3B across 12 years). Administrator Bill Nelson pinned development hiccups on “nearly seven months of litigation” (read: Blue Origin’s lawsuit). Agency leaders also pointed to Covid, associated […]
This morning, rideshare provider Spaceflight Inc. announced its newest mission: “SXRS-6.” In January, Spaceflight’s new Sherpa vehicle will launch on the SpaceX Transporter-3 rideshare mission. The Sherpa will carry 13 customer payloads. After deploying from a SpaceX Falcon 9, the Sherpa will drop off nine customer SmallSats in sun-synchronous orbit. A month later, the vehicle […]
BryceTech has released its latest quarterly briefing on rocket launches and satellite deployments from around the world. By launch frequency (total spacecraft #s in parentheses)… China’s CASC led Q3 with 15 orbital launches (and 30 total spacecraft launched) Arianespace conducted five launches (but transported the most spacecraft—111—of any provider) SpaceX took bronze, with three orbital trips (and […]
At long last, SpaceX and NASA are nearly ready to launch the Crew-3 mission. *knocks on wood* Where? Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A → the International Space Station (ISS) Who? NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer When? The launch window opens at 9:03 pm […]
Six months ago, President Joe Biden tapped VP Kamala Harris to head up the US National Space Council. The White House stayed largely mum on that front until Friday, when Harris gave her first speech fully focused on space at NASA’s Goddard facility in Maryland. Mark your calendars…On Dec. 1, Harris will preside over the White House’s […]
ICYMI: Blue Origin has lost its federal lawsuit over NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS) contract. Yesterday, Court of Federal Claims Judge Richard Hertling ruled against Blue Origin in its lawsuit against NASA. Hertling did not share many details in his 192-word statement. What happened? NASA initially intended to award two separate HLS moon lander contracts. Then, citing budgetary constraints, the agency […]
Astra, Hughes, Inmarsat, and Telesat filed plans yesterday with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to build satellite constellations in low-Earth orbit (LEO). The FCC parcels out and regulates radio frequency (RF) usage in the US. Why all at once? A coincidence? But of course not. Yesterday was the deadline for the FCC’s new processing round for satellite V-band […]
