Angola signs Artemis Accords
Original Publication Date: 2023-12-01 23:44
Angola is the third African nation to sign the Artemis Accords. The accords outline best practices for space exploration. The signing took place during the visit of Angola’s president to the White House. Thirty-three countries have now signed the accords, 10 of which have done so this year.
Amazon adds Falcon 9 to multi-billion-dollar Project Kuiper launch campaign
Original Publication Date: 2023-12-01 21:12
Amazon has signed a contract with SpaceX to launch an unspecified number of satellites. The deal adds extra capacity to a multi-billion-dollar launch arrangement already in place. It comes months after a pension fund filed a suit against Amazon’s board of directors. Initial services are slated to begin later in 2024 with potential customers.
How to stop Europe’s space sector from lagging behind in defense
Original Publication Date: 2023-12-01 17:37
U.S. Won Cold War ‘space race’ and continues to take space seriously. Europe continues to lean heavily on its allies when it comes to the space sector. Europe could do more of its share by embracing competition, writes Jean-Francois Morisur.
GAO report warns Artemis 3 landing may be delayed to 2027
Original Publication Date: 2023-12-01 12:47
GAO: Progress on lunar lander, spacesuits could delay NASA's Artemis 3 mission. Report: SpaceX is facing multiple issues that jeopardize its ability to support an Artemis III mission. Report: If the HLS development takes as many months as NASA major projects do, on average, the Artemis III mission would likely occur in 2027.
NASA researchers get permission to apply for China’s moon samples
Original Publication Date: 2023-12-01 12:05
NASA-funded researchers granted permission to apply for access to China's Chang'e-5 lunar samples. The move opens the rare possibility of cooperation between China and NASA-funded entities and researchers. It comes despite NASA Administrator Bill Nelson’s strong rhetoric towards China.
UPDATE: SpaceX successfully launches the Korea 425 top secret mission with 25 smallsats on board – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-12-01 00:00
Falcon 9 launched the Korea 425 mission to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. There were a total of 25 spacecraft on board this mission, including KOREA’s 425, Space BD’s ISL48, SITAEL’s uHETSat, D-Orbit’s ION SCV Daring Diego, York Space Systems’ Bane, and PlanetIQ’s GNOMES-4. This is the first launch, at the cost of $52 million, of five top secret reconnaissance satellites for the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration.
Russia’s Progress MS-25 resupply ship launches to space station – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-12-01 00:00
The Russian Progress cargo ship launched at 4:25 a.m. EST (0925 GMT) The Progress MS-25 resupply ship will deliver 2,528 kg of cargo to the ISS. The space freighter will also deliver food for Russian cosmonauts.
Blue Origin nearing New Glenn milestones ahead of debut flight
Original Publication Date: 2023-11-30 20:40
Blue Origin has been spotted around its Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral facilities. On Nov. 27, 2023, a New Glenn first-stage tank section was captured outside of Blue Origin’s main manufacturing facility at its Exploration Park campus. Earlier last week, a New Glenn payload fairing was spotted at Blue’s Launch Complex 36 (LC-36)