Thales Alenia Space and Argotec win IRIDE contracts
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-17 08:28
Thales Alenia Space and Argotec announced contracts Oct. 16 to supply satellites for Italy's IRIDE. IRIDE is an ambitious campaign to launch Europe's largest Earth-observation constellation. The first IRIDE satellites are scheduled to launch in 2025.
Zeroing in on the Icons: The 2024 SpaceNews Shortlist
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-16 12:00
The SpaceNews Icon Awards celebrate the year’s most iconic achievements shaping the direction of the space industry. This year’s Icon Shortlist spans remarkable accomplishments, from groundbreaking international partnerships to technological breakthroughs and commercial successes. Winners will be announced at the 2024 SpaceNews Icon Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 6.
China launches new Gaofen-12 remote sensing satellite
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-16 11:56
China adds fifth Gaofen-12 satellite to its national Earth observation system. A Long March 4C rocket lifted off at 7:45 p.m. (2345 UTC) from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The satellite successfully entered its predetermined orbit, according to the SAST.
Axiom and Prada unveil design of Artemis spacesuit
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-16 10:59
Axiom Space and Prada reveal details of the Artemis spacesuit for NASA. The suit is designed for use by NASA on lunar landing missions starting with Artemis 3. The company has leveraged Prada’s expertise in fabrics and garment design. Prada also contributed to the appearance of the suit.
Insuring commercial suborbital flight passengers could be tricky, at least initially
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-16 10:11
Insurance coverage to pay suborbital spaceflight passengers in the event of an accident would be high. Companies have performed only 54 rocket-propelled launches, including demonstrations, tests and commercial flights. As companies perform more commercial suborbital spaceflights, “obviously the number of commercial launches will go up and the resulting failure rate will go down,” Marco Cattadori says.
No simple answers for debris mitigation
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-16 07:03
National and international debris mitigation standards and policies are evolving rapidly. With several large constellations poised to take flight and many new spacecraft operators, “we’ve got some real challenges that we need to get ahead of,” Marlon Sorge says. Debris mitigation and remediation are popular topics at IAC 2024.
Rocket Lab adds new mission to 2024 launch manifest + schedules launch in coming days – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-16 00:00
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has added a last-minute Electron launch to its launch manifest for a commercial mission that is scheduled to launch in just three days’ time. The mission, called ‘Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes’, will launch to space from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 during a launch window that opens October 19th for a confidential commercial customer. The expedited mission will be Rocket Lab’s fastest turnaround to date: from signed contract to launch date in less than two months.
ESA orders 6 more radar-based satellites from Thales Alenia Space for IRIDE constellation – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-16 00:00
Thales Alenia Space has signed a 107 million euros contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) for the supply of 6 additional radar-based satellites dedicated to the Italian Earth observation constellation, IRIDE. This second batch of satellites, as the previous batch of six, will rely on the innovative and scalable NIMBUS (New Italian Micro Bus) platform.
Argotec signs contract to deliver 15 more satellites – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-16 00:00
Argotec has signed a contract for the delivery of 15 additional Earth Observation (EO) smallsats that will comprise the IRIDE constellation. This is the second batch for the company, which, back in December 2022, was the first to sign on for the delivery of the first 10 satellites. The satellites have a mass of about 70 kg and are equipped with a sophisticated on-board computer capable of processing images directly on-orbit.
Viasat working with European cybersecurity start-up on satellite encryption services – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-17 00:00
Viasat is working with CYSEC under its ELEVATE program to provided reliable, state-of-the-art, cybersecurity tools for SATCOM. CYSEC is a pioneering cybersecurity company based in France and Switzerland. The company’s products are designed to provide comprehensive security solutions for the data communication and operational integrity of critical infrastructures.
Hydrosat gains million$ contract from the U.S.A.F. to enhance thermal imagery for National Defense – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-16 00:00
Hydrosat has been selected by the U.S. Air Force for a $1.9 million contract. The contract will provide Hydrosat’s thermal satellite data to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force. Hydrosat also holds a contract to supply satellite data to the National Reconnaissance Office announced in December of 2023.
Saab presents new compact sensor for comms surveillance – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-16 00:00
Saab has presented the Sirius Compact L20C, a new addition to its Sirius Compact tactical Electronic Warfare (EW) sensor family. The L20C sensor is capable of operating remotely, is easy to operate and difficult to detect. The compact form factor and NATO-compatible interfaces enable a wide range of deployment scenarios.
SpaceX plans Thursday launch of Starlink smallsats at the Cape, yet weather looks foreboding – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-16 00:00
SpaceX is scheduled to launch a batch of Starlink smallsats Group 8-19 on Thursday, at 4:53 – 4:55 PM PT, 7:53 – 7:55 PM ET. The weather at Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida is questionable. The forecast calls for a temperature of 70°F, overcast clouds, 93% cloud cover and a wind speed of 20mph.
Does Distant Planet Host Volcanic Moon Like Jupiter’s Io?
A sodium cloud around WASP-49 b was first detected in 2017, catching the attention of Apurva Oza, formerly a postdoctoral researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and now a staff scientist at Caltech. Oza has spent years investigating how exomoons might be detected via their volcanic activity. Within our solar system, gas emissions from Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io create a similar phenomenon.
NASA-Funded Study Assesses Pollution Near Los Angeles-Area Warehouses
Researchers mined a real estate database for the square footage as well as the number of loading docks and parking spaces at nearly 11,000 warehouses. ZIP codes in the 75th percentile of warehouse square footage had 0.16 micrograms per cubic meter more PM2.5 than those in the 25th percentile.