BlackSky inks $50 million deal to supply imagery services and satellites to Indonesia
Original Publication Date: 2024-02-08 11:00
BlackSky will provide satellite imagery services and imaging spacecraft to the Republic of Indonesia. Jakarta will gain access to BlackSky’s high-revisit imagery and analytics. Thales Alenia Space was selected in December to deliver dedicated Earth observation constellation. Indonesia has not disclosed how many satellites it intends to buy.
Japan funding water-based satellite propulsion upgrade
Original Publication Date: 2024-02-07 22:45
Japan awards Tokyo-based small satellite thruster developer grant worth up to $27 million. Pale Blue aims to develop water-plasma propulsion for spacecraft up to 500 kilograms. The four-year-old startup tested its Resistojet thruster in orbit for the first time in March.
Tech executive Tim Solms named CEO of Slingshot Aerospace
Original Publication Date: 2024-02-07 17:44
Tim Solms is the new chief executive officer of Slingshot Aerospace. The company operates a global network of ground-based telescopes to track space objects. Slingshot in recent years expanded through acquisitions and won several U.S. Space Force contracts. Solms previously worked at Microsoft, Dell, VMware, and most recently at Dun & Bradstreet.
Kuva Space establishes U.S. arm in Fairfax, Virginia
Original Publication Date: 2024-02-07 14:00
Finnish startup Kuva Space announced plans Feb. 7 to establish Kuva Space US in Fairfax, Virginia. Kuva Space raised 16.6 million euros ($17.6 million) in a Series A funding round last year. The company plans to launch two hyperspectral imaging satellites in 2024.
China to launch lunar navigation and communications test satellites
Original Publication Date: 2024-02-07 13:17
China is preparing to launch a pair of lunar experimental technology satellites. The objective of the Tiandu satellites is to inform the design of China’s proposed Queqiao lunar navigation and communication constellation. China is also aiming to put a pair of astronauts on the moon before 2030.
Space industry urged to take a broader view of sustainability
Original Publication Date: 2024-02-07 13:11
Space industry needs to examine issues related to space sustainability, official says. Richard DalBello: There is a need to define a set of "internationally accepted" Actions. International Telecommunication Union is taking one step in that effort. Resolution focused on strategies for post-mission disposal of satellites.
UPDATE 2: PACE launch delay again as weather creates stand down – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-02-07 00:00
NASA and SpaceX are standing down from the Wednesday, February 7, launch of the agency’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission. The team is targeting liftoff at 1:33 a.m. EST Thursday, February 8, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. If needed, a backup opportunity is available Friday, February 9 at the same time.
UPDATE 3: Another bump in time as SpaceX delays launch of 22 Starlink smallsats – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-02-07 00:00
SpaceX is targeting Thursday, February 8 for a Falcon 9 launch of 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Tuesday the launch teams for the Starlink 7-13 mission got down to the final minute of the countdown before calling a scrub with poor weather conditions. This is the 14th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
UPDATE 3: Three astronauts inside a Dragon successfully en route to Earth after Ax-3 mission at ISS – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-02-07 00:00
Dragon Freedom spacecraft separates from ISS documented at 9:20 a.m. ET carrying four Axiom Mission 3 astronauts. Dragon will conduct multiple orbit-lowering maneuvers, jettison its trunk, and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere for splashdown off the coast of Florida on February 9.
AWS launches new Space Accelerator in India, applications are now open – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-02-08 00:00
AWS Space Accelerator: India is designed to foster India-based startups focused on space technology. The 14-week dynamic program will propel innovation in India’s space economy, which is poised to reach $44 billion by 2033. Applications are now open, with anticipated program kickoff in April of 2024.
Pale Blue awarded up to million$$ for MEXT’s SBIR-3 for propulsion systems – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-02-08 00:00
Pale Blue Inc. Has been awarded a grant by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The grant is worth up to $27 million (JPY 4 billion) and will enable the development and demonstration of a miniaturized, water-based, ion thruster and a water-based, hall-effect thruster.
Vast selects TRL11 for full motion low delay video for Haven-1 space station – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-02-08 00:00
Vast has selected TRL11 Inc. To build the onboard video solutions for the company’s Haven-1 space station. TRL11 will equip Haven-1 inside and outside the vehicle with its Fovea Space Cameras and SAVER (Space Aware Video Edge-computer Recorder) platforms.
Kuva Space appoints Jerry Welsh to spearhead U.S. expansion – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-02-08 00:00
Kuva Space has announced its expansion to the United States, establishing Kuva Space US in Fairfax, Virginia. Jerry Welsh, the former CEO of ICEYE US, joins Kuva Space as a board member and will lead the company’s expansion efforts. Kuva Space aims to become a leading provider of hyperspectral insights to the U.S. Government.
50 Years Ago: Skylab 4 Astronauts Return From Record-Breaking Spaceflight
Original Publication Date: 2024-02-07 13:31
The longest spaceflight up to that time ended on Feb. 8, 1974, when Skylab 4 astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. The mission of 84 days 1 hour 16 minutes set a human spaceflight duration record for that time. The astronauts conducted four spacewalks, a then-record for a single Earth orbital mission.
Launch Roundup: SpaceX to launch lunar lander on Falcon 9’s 300th mission; JAXA looks to reach orbit with H3 rocket
Original Publication Date: 2024-02-06 23:17
SpaceX looks to launch four separate Falcon 9 missions on the week of the sixth anniversary of the first flight of Falcon Heavy. On Tuesday evening, this week’s first batch of Starlink satellites was supposed to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California but that was scrubbed due to bad weather. On Thursday, SpaceX launched NASA’s PACE Earth-observation satellite on a Falcon 9 out of SLC-40 from CCSFS. Later in the week, SpaceX will launch again from SLC-40 taking another group of Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit. Closing out this extended week, there will be a triple header of launches coming from three different countries. JAXA is preparing for the second flight of the H3 rocket after its unsuccessful maiden launch in 2023, while Roscosmos will resupply the International Space Station (ISS) with Progress MS