Xona scales up LEO navigation constellation plans in Canada
Original Publication Date: 2024-09-28 19:57
California-based Xona Space Systems is expanding to Canada ahead of deploying the first in a proposed constellation of small navigation satellites. The five-year-old venture said Sept. 27 it has opened its first international office in Montréal, Québec. Xona ultimately plans to operate a LEO constellation of between 250 and 300 small PNT satellites.
NASA funds Starfish Space debris inspection mission
Original Publication Date: 2024-09-27 10:12
NASA awards $15 million contract to Starfish Space to fund debris inspection mission. Mission called Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability. SSPICY is scheduled for launch in late 2026. Satellite servicing companies in the U.S. Have been urging NASA to fund such missions.
SpaceX, at zero to 4,000 mph in less than three minutes, begins NASA’s Crew-9 astronauts’ journey on way to ISS – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-09-28 00:00
Cape Canaveral’s weather cooperated on September 28, despite hurricane Helene, making it possible at 1:17 ET for SpaceX to send NASA’s Crew 9 astronauts, NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, off to the ISS. The ritual began as the pair entered the White Room and continued the tradition of signing their names on the NASA meatball logo on the wall. Hague and Gorbunov will be the first names on the wall since this is the first human spaceflight mission from Space Launch Complex-40.
D-Orbit closes a million€€€ Series C round – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-09-29 00:00
D-Orbit has announced the second and final closing of the company’s 150 million euros Series C Round, making one the biggest space deals in the last 12 months. The round is led by Marubeni Corporation, a powerhouse in the Japanese industrial sector, cementing a long-term commercial collaboration poised to revolutionize the space logistics industry.
Satellogic selected for NASA’s Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition program – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-09-29 00:00
Satellogic was selected as one of eight recipients of NASA’s Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition Program (CSDA) On-Ramp1 Multiple Award contract. Satellogic will provide NASA with high-resolution multispectral imagery under a multiple-award contract in effect until November 15, 2028.
The West of Scotland Space Cluster launches – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-09-29 00:00
The West of Scotland Space Cluster is the newest addition to the UK’s thriving ecosystem of regional space clusters. The region is a key hub in the Scottish space sector, operating at the forefront of a European revolution in spacecraft systems, payload manufacture, launch and data analysis.
NASA’s Hubble Finds that a Black Hole Beam Promotes Stellar Eruptions
"It could be the effect of the pressure of the light emanating from the jet," Lessing says. Another idea is that the jet is heating the dwarf's companion star, causing it to overflow further and dump more hydrogen onto the dwarf. However, this heating is not nearly large enough to have this effect.
Firefly offers insight on MLV testing, reusability plans
Original Publication Date: 2024-09-27 18:31
Firefly Aerospace is developing its next-generation Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV) rocket with its Miranda and Vira engines. Firefly Aerospace is working with Northrop Grumman on MLV, with qualification testing on carbon composite structures already underway. MLV's Chief Engineer, Miles Gray, showed NSF around the test site to update the status of the new vehicle and engines. MLV is being designed with reusability in mind, involving a recovery that follows a similar path as SpaceX's Mechazilla catch system.