Voyager, Northrop Team Up For Private Space Station Competition
Northrop Grumman is pulling out of NASA’s competition to build a private space station in LEO as a solo entity to instead pair up with Voyager’s Nanoracks.
LEO
Stories about operations in low-Earth orbit.
USAF and FAA Deny Varda Reentry and Recovery Permission
Varda’s first in-space manufacturing capsule can’t come back down to Earth. On Friday, TechCrunch reported that the US Air Force denied Varda Space Industries permission to use a Utah recovery range, and the FAA also denied a reentry license, leaving the company’s orbiting pharmaceutical factory waiting in orbit. “The request to use the Utah Test […]
A Q+A With Maxar’s Chris Johnson
Maxar is getting ready to start pumping out 300 series buses for the Space Development Agency’s tracking mission, but a company exec says he sees a long future for the spacecraft with both commercial and national security customers beyond the military constellation. “There are a lot of studies and demo-type contracts within the LEO sphere […]
Starfish Breaks Otter Pup’s Death Spiral
Otter Pup is back, baby. The spacecraft from Starfish Space tumbled through space for about six weeks after an emergency deployment from Launcher’s Orbiter craft in June. Yesterday, the Seattle-based startup announced that the craft is finally stabilized. “Less than two months after being deployed with rotation rates 100 times greater than normal operating conditions, […]
Telesat and MDA to Build Lightspeed
Telesat’s ($TSAT) LEO broadband plans are back on track. On Friday, the company announced a $2.1B CAD ($1.6B) contract with Canadian space tech company MDA ($MDA) to build 198 satellites. The deal puts an end to Telesat’s previous plan to build its constellation using slightly larger satellites from Thales Alenia Space, which has been beset […]
ESA Performs an Assisted Reentry of Aeolus
ESA successfully tested a new tool to safely deorbit defunct satellites that were designed before the development of current guidelines on reducing debris. On Friday, the agency performed an assisted reentry of its Aeolus wind-monitoring mission, which was not originally designed for a manual deorbit. “These manoeuvres were complex, and Aeolus was not designed to […]
Chinese Satellite Achieves High-Speed Space-to-Ground Laser Comms
Chang Guang, a Chinese satellite operator, successfully achieved 10 Gbps satellite-to-ground laser communication via a Jilin-1 satellite, the company announced last week. The downlink speed surpassed a previous record of 1 Gbps via radio frequency connectivity. The first laser demonstration downlink included a satellite picture of Doha, Qatar. Beam me down, Scotty: Laser communication’s higher […]
AST SpaceMobile Raises $59.4M, Stock Craters
AST SpaceMobile ($ASTS) stock plunged nearly 30% this week after the cash-strapped company announced Tuesday it had raised $59.4M in a steep discount public offering. The satellite manufacturer sold 12.5M shares at ~$4.75 a pop, well below the ~$6.50 price tag the shares were trading at before the offering. Space → Mobile: The Odessa, TX-based […]
Vast Partners with Impulse for Haven-1 LEO Station Propulsion
Space habitat startup Vast tapped Impulse Space to develop the propulsion system for its Haven-1 LEO space station. “Our qualified Saiph thruster is a perfect fit for Haven-1’s propulsion requirements. We look forward to collaborating with such a dedicated and like-minded team,” said Impulse chief Tom Mueller. Orbital workshop: Vast intends to deploy Haven-1 to […]
Tomorrow.io Closes $87M Series E for Weather Satellites
Tomorrow.io, a weather intelligence and climate security platform, announced an $87M Series E funding round led by Activate Capital. The investment will be used to accelerate the deployment of its 20-bird constellation over the next 18-24 months. “We believe Tomorrow.io’s vertically integrated approach and satellite constellation will accelerate a paradigm shift in how millions around […]
Roscosmos Reveals Details on the Russian Orbital Station Cosmonaut Program
Russia will select the first cohort of Russian Orbital Station (ROS) cosmonauts by next year, officials announced last week. Development of the training program for the selected cosmonauts is expected to be completed by 2025. Russian Orbital Station 101: With the ISS set to deorbit by the end of the decade, Russia has proposed building […]
Exclusive: TRL11 Raises $3M for Space Video
TRL11, a startup aiming to bring advanced video production and monitoring capabilities to the space domain, has raised a $3M pre-seed to scale up its team and production. Boost.VC led the round, which also included participation from Wonder VC, Anorak, Geek Ventures, Space Cadets, and several angel investors, including Launcher founder Max Haot. TRL11 101: […]