NASA Taps Blue Origin for Second Lunar Lander
Blue Origin will provide the second lunar lander for the Artemis program, NASA announced on Friday, giving Jeff Bezos’ company a major victory after losing out to SpaceX on the first lander award in 2021. “An additional, different lander will help ensure that we have the hardware necessary for a series of landings,” said NASA…
G7 Deems Space Debris an ‘Urgent’ Problem
The growing amount of space debris in orbit is an “urgent issue” that must be addressed by international organizations, according to the G7 nations meeting in Japan this weekend. “We strongly encourage further research and development of orbital debris mitigation and remediation technologies,” officials wrote in the communiqué from the G7 Science and Technology Ministers’…
Saudi Arabia Will Make History With Ax-2 Mission
Two Saudi Arabian astronauts are expected to launch to the ISS this Sunday, marking a historic first for the Kingdom and highlighting its aspirations to become a global space power. Ali AlQarni, a pilot, and Rayyanah Barnawi, a biomedical researcher, will make up half of the four-member crew on Axiom Space’s Ax-2 mission. They will…
China to Invest Heavily in its Race to the Moon
China has set out a roadmap to compete with the Artemis program in a race to the Moon, grabbing the attention of NASA and lawmakers. As NASA pursues increased funding to ensure the US lands first, questions remain regarding China’s ability to finance the endeavor. “China’s funding is a bit of a black box,” said…
UK Sees Payoff in Space Investment
Years of government investment in the UK’s commercial space sector are paying off. The UK received 17% of global space private capital since 2015, according to a report released Tuesday from the UK Space Agency and PwC. That makes it the second most attractive place for private sector space investment behind the US, and the…
Exclusive: Albedo Forms a Strategic Advisory Board
Albedo, a startup developing a VLEO constellation to collect high-resolution optical imagery from space, has formed a strategic advisory board of former senior intelligence and defense officials to aid the company in its bid to boost government business. The formation of this board “allows us to…strategize well and efficiently around engaging on the national security…
GOP Criticizes NASA’s Proposed DEI, Climate Investments
Republicans warned NASA on Tuesday that promoting the Biden administration’s “woke” agenda, including diversity initiatives and combating climate change, could threaten the bipartisan support historically enjoyed by the space agency. “We’ve got a Republican House of Representatives now,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee said at a…
Space Norms, STEM, Alliances Top National Space Council 2023 To-Do List
Setting norms of behavior in space and building a future space workforce are at the top of the National Space Council’s list of priorities for the remainder of this year, the group’s executive secretary, Chirag Parikh, told Payload. His other to-dos as he nears the end of his second year with the panel include buoying…
Terran Orbital Reports Q1 Results
Terran Orbital’s ($LLAP) losses piled up despite progress on its monster $2.4B Rivada contract, the satellite bus manufacturer revealed Monday in its Q1 financial results. By the numbers: Rivada’s three-year, 300 satellite contract accounts for the vast majority of the backlog. Terran received its first milestone payment from the contract last month as it inches…
Astra Reports Q1 2023 Results
Astra ($ASTR) reported earnings for Q1, revealing significant cutbacks in spending as the company pushes ahead on Rocket 4 development. By the numbers $ASTR stock was trading at $0.39 at EOD Monday. Closing contracts: Astra is continuing its Launch System 2 development and progressing toward a Rocket 4 launch as it chases down deals. The…
ULA Conducts Vulcan Testing Ahead of Maiden Flight
ULA rolled its Vulcan rocket to the pad Friday and completed tank testing ahead of its expected first flight readiness firing test for the rocket’s BE-4 engine later this week. “With success here, and a resolution of the Centaur V ground test anomaly, we are projecting for a Vulcan Cert-1 Launch this summer,” said ULA…
Stratolaunch Completes Preliminary Hypersonic Vehicle Test
Stratolaunch successfully completed a key step on the way to flying its hypersonic vehicle on Saturday with the separation and landing of its Talon-A test vehicle from the Roc carrier aircraft. Stratolaunch 101 The Mojave, CA-based company was founded in 2011 by late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen with ambitions to build hypersonic test vehicles. Its…
