Civil
Stories about US and international civil space missions, including those led by NASA and ESA.
Canada Announces $739M for EO
On the heels of a historically bad wildfire season, Canada is investing in better eyes in space.
NASA Awards SmallSat Contracts
NASA is scaling up its number of eyes in space after announcing a new slate of partnerships with the commercial smallsat crew on Monday.
NASA Extends New Horizons Through Late 2020s
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, hurtling through space in the outer solar system, just got a new lease on life. The agency announced Friday that it will be extending the mission until the late 2020s. “The New Horizons mission has a unique position in our solar system to answer important questions about our heliosphere and provide…
KASA Establishment Slips to 2024
South Korea has been trying to establish its space agency since March, but the plan keeps running into legislative woes. Now, it’s not looking like the Korean government will be able to welcome KASA into the world before the end of the year. The country’s Democratic Party holds that the new agency should be an…
US Considers Space Hotline with China
Hotline bling in space? The US is thinking about setting up a hotline with China to be able to quickly get in touch with officials in Beijing during emergencies in orbit, Reuters reported on Monday. “What we have talked about on the US side at least is opening up a line of communication to make…
Independent Review Board Finds Mars Sample Return Unrealistic
On Thursday, an independent review board at NASA deemed the Mars Sample Return (MSR) program ineffectively designed and managed, problems that will force the ambitious mission to miss its budget and schedule targets. Down to Earth: NASA’s plan to return samples from the Red Planet for analysis on Earth is already underway. The agency’s Perseverance…
FAA Proposes Upper Stage Disposal Rule for Debris Mitigation
The FAA is trying to hold commercial launchers in the US to a higher standard to prevent debris creation.
Biden Announces Michael Whitaker as FAA Nominee
President Biden plans to nominate Michael G. Whitaker to be the new FAA chief, a position that has been open for more than 500 days. The nomination comes five months after Phillip Washington withdrew from consideration after congressional pushback over his limited aviation industry experience. The position has been vacant since March 2022, with Billy…
Exclusive: Turion Space Wins Six NASA and USAF Contracts
Turion is announcing a slew of wins in its efforts to design, build, and deploy its on-orbit mobility and debris removal infrastructure. The Irvine, CA-based space sustainability startup has notched six recent contracts from NASA, the Space Force, and the Air Force, each supporting a different area of its product stack. “We’re trying to grow…
South Africa Partners with China on Lunar Base
China and South Africa have agreed to partner on space initiatives for the first time. During a meeting of BRICS nation leaders—a group consisting of Brazil, India, China, and South Africa—Chinese President Xi Jinping signed two agreements with South Africa to collaborate on space-related projects. According to Chinese state media agency Xinhua News, one of…
The FAA Eyes Commercial Crew Regulations
The FAA is working on new rules aimed at ensuring the safety of commercial crew flights. In a notice of proposed rulemaking issued Friday, the FAA suggested a few new regulations to be officially incorporated into the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (CSLCA), mainly focusing on definitions and safety training for government astronauts. A…
NASA Tracks for 2024 Artemis II Launch
Artemis II crew, meet Orion. NASA is gearing up for the second installment of its campaign to get humans back to the Moon. On Artemis II, four astronauts will ride the Orion capsule around the Moon to test its systems and pave the way for a landing on the next trip. Yesterday, that crew—made up…
