Xona Passes Testing Milestone for Navigation Demo Mission
Xona Space Systems has completed testing for its first on-orbit navigation demo mission, Huginn. The spacecraft hardware is now with Spaceflight, Inc. for integration into the SpaceX Transporter-5 rideshare mission later this month. Getting around: The global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) in operation right now are owned and operated by governments. The US has GPS,…
A Q+A with Carlos Moura, President of Brazil’s Space Agency
Carlos Moura is president of the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB). In April, we sat down with Moura to discuss the country’s space priorities. Last week, Brazil announced an agreement with Innospace, a South Korean rocket startup. Innospace aims to launch the first suborbital test flight of its HANBIT TLV rocket from Brazil’s Alcântara Spaceport in…
Phantom Sees “No Blockage” Reaching Orbit in 2023
Phantom Space has placed an order for 200+ rocket engines from Ursa Major, the two startups announced this week. Reading the fine print: Ursa will supply Phantom with 5,000-lb thrust Hadley engines that are already coming off of the production line, and Ripleys, which will have an order of magnitude more thrust. Phantom will use…
Avio Vega-E M10 roars to life in Sardinia
Italian rocket builder Avio announced late last week that it had successfully tested its M10 methalox upper stage engine at its test facility in Sardinia. The engine will power the third stage of the company’s Vega-E rocket, which it expects to debut in 2026. The M10 at a glance: Vehicle: Vega-E Thrust: 98 kN Specific…
HFX Raises Funds for Ukrainian Dedicated Satellite Constellation
The Halifax International Security Forum (HFX), a DC nonprofit focused on strategic cooperation between democracies, has launched the Ukraine Victory Fund. The initiative, which was requested by Kyiv, aims to raise $10M to fund a dedicated satellite constellation (DSC) with Satellogic. “What happens in Ukraine is going to affect all of us,” HFX president Peter…
Innospace Will Conduct Suborbital Launch from Brazil’s Alcântara Spaceport
Innospace, a South Korean rocket startup, has reached an agreement with Brazil to launch the first suborbital test flight of HANBIT TLV in Q4 of this year. Hi, HANBIT: The 15-ton thrust, single-stage hybrid rocket that will be flown from Brazil is but one step in a longer journey. HANBIT TLV is designed to validate…
Nyx Gets Green Light
Franco-German startup The Exploration Company has successfully completed a system requirement review of its Nyx spacecraft. TLDR: The Exploration Company was founded in 2021 with the aim of supplying long-duration in-orbit hosting services to customers, at a fraction of the cost of the ISS. The company is developing a modular spacecraft capable of extended stays…
Nelson Testifies Cost-Plus Contracts have been a “Plague” on NASA
Yesterday, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson delivered testimony, no holds barred, to the Senate Appropriations Committee. Nelson was on the hill to discuss the US space agency’s budget request for FY2023. ICYMI: NASA has requested $26B from Congress for the upcoming year, a $2B increase over FY22 enacted levels. The new budget includes the highest planetary…
Q+A with Satellogic’s Emiliano Kargieman
Satellogic (NASDAQ:SATL) has signed a multiple launch agreement (MLA) with SpaceX covering the deployment of 68 new Earth observation (EO) satellites. The freshly inked MLA succeeds Satellogic’s current one covering 2022 SpaceX launches. On April 1, SpaceX launched five Satellogic satellites to a sun-synchronous orbit on the Transporter-4 rideshare mission. Satellogic says the launch deals…
Propulsion Startups Raise Series A
A sudden rush of capital is flowing into a sector that, until recently, seemed stagnant: independent propulsion providers. Last week, Firehawk Aerospace, Adranos, and X-Bow Systems, each horizontally integrated propulsion systems developers, announced Series A rounds totaling at least $47M. Firehawk Aerospace Last week, Firehawk announced that it had received a Series A investment from…
Rocket Lab Catches, then Releases, Returning Electron
Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) yesterday launched its 26th Electron mission and deployed customers’ 34 satellites to a sun-synchronous orbit. Most notably, the “There and Back Again” mission had a secondary goal of plucking the returning Electron booster from the skies with a helicopter. The company’s Sikorsky S-92 did end up catching Electron, but offloaded the booster…
Discussions Continue over ASAT Testing Ban
Two weeks ago, VP Kamala Harris announced that the US would impose a ban on its own destructive, direct-ascent ASAT (ant-satellite) testing. The move is meant to set an example for other spacefaring nations to maintain a safe orbital environment. The US will also likely use its new posture as an example in upcoming UN…
