K2 Space’s double good news, $110M Series B and first successful in-space demonstration – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-02-13 00:00
K2 Space announces $110 million Series B to ramp up mass production of its multi-orbit, high power satellite platform. Since its inception, K2 Space has raised $180M in equity and won over $50M in government and commercial contracts. K2 Space is entering 2025 on the heels of a blockbuster 2024 for the company.
SpaceX Starlink Group 12-8 of 21 smallsats now Saturday including 13 Direct to Cell – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-02-13 00:00
SpaceX is targeting Saturday, February 15 for a Falcon 9 launch of 21 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities. Liftoff is targeted for 1:14 a.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 2:15 a.m.ET. A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff.
Trans Lunar Injection completed by Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost + imagery captures – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-02-13 00:00
Blue Ghost recently completed its Trans Lunar Injection (TLI) to escape Earth’s orbit and is now in transit to the Moon. Shortly after TLI, Blue Ghost captured two new incredible shots of Earth with the Moon in the distance. These images can be found on Firefly’s Live Blog and follow along for regular mission updates.
Lunar Space Station Module Will Journey to US ahead of NASA’s Artemis IV Moon Mission
Original Publication Date: 2025-02-13 08:50
Habitation and Logistics Outpost is a foundational element of the Gateway lunar space station. The element’s intricate structure has entered the cleanroom after successfully completing a series of rigorous environmental stress tests. In the cleanroom, technicians will make final installations before preparing the module for transport to the United States.
Gateway Lunar Space Station 101 Podcast Series
Akihiko Hoshide is a seasoned astronaut with over three decades of experience in the space industry. Hoshide has traveled aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2008, the Soyuz spacecraft in 2012, and NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 Dragon in 2021.
How NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer Will Make a Looping Voyage to the Moon
Lunar Trailblazer will glide over the Moon’s surface, making 12 orbits a day and observing the surface at a variety of different times of day. The satellite will also be perfectly placed to peer into the permanently shadowed craters at the Moon's South Pole. If Lunar Trailblazer finds significant quantities of ice at the base of the craters, those locations could be pinpointed for future lunar explorers.
NASA’s SPHEREx Space Telescope Will Seek Life’s Ingredients
SPHEREx will help researchers answer questions including how deep into molecular clouds ice begins to form. Data will be processed and archived at IPAC at Caltech, which manages JPL for NASA. The SPHEREx dataset will be publicly available at the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive.
NASA’s Advancements in Space Continue Generating Products on Earth
Spinoff 2025 features a company that invented technology for 3D printing buildings on the Moon that is now using it to print large structures on Earth. Another group of researchers studying how to grow lunar buildings from fungus is now selling specially grown mushrooms and plans to build homes on Earth using the same concept.
NASA’s Mini Rover Team Is Packed for Lunar Journey
The CADRE rovers will launch to the Moon aboard IM-3, Intuitive Machines’ third lunar delivery. The solar-powered, suitcase-size rovers will spend the daylight hours of a lunar day carrying out experiments. The success of CADRE could pave the way for potential future missions with teams of autonomous robots supporting astronauts.
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Captures Colorful Clouds Drifting Over Mars
A paper summarizing Curiosity’s first two seasons of twilight cloud observations was published late last year. Each sighting is an opportunity to learn more about the particle size and growth rate in Martian clouds. Curiosity, which landed in 2012, is on Mount Sharp in Gale Crater, just south of the Martian equator.
NASA-Led Study Pinpoints Areas Sinking, Rising Along California Coast
By 2050, sea levels in California are expected to increase between 6 and 14.5 inches. Melting glaciers and ice sheets, as well as warming ocean water, are primarily driving the rise. As coastal communities develop adaptation strategies, they can also benefit from a better understanding of the land’s role.
Euclid Discovers Einstein Ring in Our Cosmic Backyard
Euclid mission has found an Einstein ring around a distant galaxy. The ring appears to encircle the center of a well-studied elliptical galaxy called NGC 6505. This is the first time that the ring of light surrounding the galaxy has been detected.
Launch providers step closer to first orbital launch from UK soil
Original Publication Date: 2025-02-13 17:47
SaxaVord Spaceport is situated on the island of Unst, the northernmost of the Shetland Islands, 80 km to the northeast of mainland Scotland. The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority granted the Spaceport its range control license in April 2024. Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) plans to conduct its inaugural orbital launch from UK soil this year.
Vast space station qualification article passes major milestone
Original Publication Date: 2025-02-12 13:15
Vast completed testing of its Haven-1 qualification article in Mojave, California. The company’s current goal is to launch the flight article aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than May 2026. Vast expects the station to host multiple missions during its useable lifespan of two to three years.