Space

LOGAN, Utah — Debris from a Russian antisatellite weapon demonstration that caused “squalls” of close approaches to satellites earlier this year is now affecting a new series of Starlink satellites. During a presentation at a Secure World Foundation event during the Small Satellite Conference here Aug. 8, Dan Oltrogge, director of integrated operations at COMSPOC,

LOGAN, Utah – At the Small Satellite Conference, Benchmark Space Systems unveiled a collision-avoidance kit designed to help small satellites dodge debris and steer clear of other spacecraft. Benchmark is taking orders its “Cola Kit,” which the company plans to begin shipping to customers in early 2023. The Cola Kit is the size of a

LOGAN, Utah — Canadian launch startup SpaceRyde said Aug. 8 it has added a second member to its advisory board with the appointment of Mina Mitry, the CEO of small satellite operator Kepler Communications. Mitry joins Jeff Thornburg, SpaceRyde’s inaugural advisory board member and a former vice president of propulsion engineering at SpaceX. Kepler, also

The company in 2024 plans to start deploying a satellite relay network of four satellites in medium Earth orbit HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — SpaceLink signed an agreement with the U.S. Army to explore ways to use the company’s data-relay constellation to deliver commercial satellite imagery directly to troops on the ground.  The company on Aug. 8

LOGAN, Utah — Four smallsats designed to study the solar wind will share a ride to space on a Falcon 9 with a NASA astrophysics mission in 2025. NASA announced Aug. 3 that the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission, a set of four smallsats, will fly as a rideshare on the

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s first lunar orbiter has begun its voyage toward the moon on a mission critical to the country’s future space projects. The 678-kilogram spacecraft, named Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) or Danuri in Korean, launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 40

SEOUL, South Korea — The Aug. 6 maiden flight of India’s newly developed Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) went awry with “some data loss” that occurred in the terminal stage of the mission.  India’s space agency ISRO is analyzing data to know what happened and also checking the status of the two satellites deployed from

TAMPA, Fla. — The Federal Communications Commission is considering opening up more Ku-band spectrum to Starlink and other non-geostationary satellite (NGSO) operators to improve broadband speeds.  The U.S. regulator said Aug. 3 it will invite comments on a proposal to free up 17 GHz frequencies as it approved a similar move for satellites in higher

HOUSTON — As NASA prepares to select the crew of the second Artemis mission, the agency’s chief astronaut says the entire astronaut corps, and not a previously announced subset, is eligible for that flight and future missions to the moon. At an Aug. 5 briefing at the Johnson Space Center about the upcoming uncrewed Artemis

HOUSTON — NASA is in talks with the Italian Space Agency to fly an Earth science instrument originally planned to go on a commercial smallsat. At a meeting of the Earth Science Advisory Committee Aug. 2, Greg Stover, program manager for NASA’s Earth System Pathfinder Program, said NASA was in talks with the Italian Space

TAMPA, Fla. — Canada’s Telesat is bracing for a revenue hit in 2023 after being forced to retire its Anik F2 satellite from full service three years earlier than planned. The aging Boeing-built satellite has been operating under a workaround mode for the past year after two of its four station-keeping thrusters suffered an anomaly.

SDA is seeking proposals for a demonstration of laser communications between orbiting satellites and aircraft in flight WASHINGTON — As it prepares to start deploying a mesh network in low Earth orbit, the Space Development Agency is seeking proposals for a demonstration of laser communications between orbiting satellites and aircraft in flight. The agency on

Since Vladimir Putin launched his war of conquest and genocide against Ukraine on Feb. 24, there has been a sea change in the West’s dealings with Russia. Businesses and governments have abandoned partnerships and trade at the cost of billions of dollars. NATO countries have sent billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment and assistance

WASHINGTON — Astra Space announced Aug. 4 it is canceling its existing small launch vehicle after its most recent failure and will focus instead on a much larger vehicle that may not be ready to fly customers until 2024. In its release of its second quarter earnings, Astra said it would stop flying its Rocket

WASHINGTON — NASA and Roscosmos reiterated that they expect to continue operations of the International Space Station after 2024 as NASA continues to push for an extension to 2030. At an Aug. 4 briefing about the upcoming SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the ISS, officials with the two agencies played down comments July 26 by Yuri

TAMPA, Fla. — Startup Xona Space Systems has raised around $15 million for its proposed navigation constellation, including funds from GPS satellite maker Lockheed Martin’s venture capital arm. Lockheed Martin Ventures was among new investors that joined a funding round Xona announced Aug. 3, which early-stage investor First Spark Ventures led.  Xona CEO Brian Manning

WASHINGTON — Preparations for the first flight of the Space Launch System remain on track for a liftoff as soon as Aug. 29, NASA officials said Aug. 3. SLS managers and agency leaders said the work to prepare the SLS and the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 1 mission inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB)

CEO Melanie Stricklan says the acquisitions will help expand Slingshot’s footprint in the commercial and government space markets WASHINGTON — Slingshot Aerospace, a data analytics company that develops simulations of the space environment, on Aug. 3 announced it has acquired Numerica’s space business and Seradata, a space data analysis company based in the United Kingdom.  The

Before every launch, there’s a crawl. Buy your crawler-transporter pin before the end of July here: https://store.dftba.com/collections/scishow/products/scishow-pin-of-the-month-crawler-transporter-july Hosted by: Reid Reimers SciShow has a spinoff podcast! It’s called SciShow Tangents. Check it out at http://www.scishowtangents.org ———- Support SciShow Space by becoming a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SciShowSpace ———- Huge thanks go to the following Patreon supporter

WASHINGTON — Delays in starting production of RS-25 engines for NASA affected Aerojet Rocketdyne’s earnings in the second quarter, but the company expects to catch up on the program later this year. The company reported Aug. 1 net sales of $528.5 million in the quarter ending June 30, with net income of $16.4 million. Both

It’s unclear how much longer industries and governments can continue to operate safely in space without globally coordinated traffic management, says a new report from the Atlantic Council WASHINGTON — Commercial and government activities in outer space are increasingly endangered by rapidly growing congestion in the space environment. And it’s unclear how much longer industries

Former DRS executive David Fields succeeds Pete Hoene as president and CEO of SES Government Solutions WASHINGTON — Communications satellite operator SES announced Aug. 1 it completed the acquisition of DRS Global Enterprise Solutions, a business acquired from Leonardo DRS for $450 million.  DRS GES will be part of SES Government Solutions, based in Reston,

WASHINGTON — The privately funded Polaris Program is planning its first crewed launch on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft in December, a mission that will include the first spacewalk on a private mission. Jared Isaacman, the billionaire who organized the Inspiration4 private astronaut mission that spent three days in orbit in September 2021, announced the

The Pentagon assigned the Space Force responsibilities as “integrator for joint space requirements” WASHINGTON – The Space Force, the military branch responsible for providing satellite-based services to the U.S. armed forces, was also recently assigned the role of “integrator for joint space requirements,” which means the Space Force will have to coordinate the wish lists

Earth isn’t the only planet that gets rocked by giant tsunamis. In fact, giant waves on other planets have helped us solve a few mysteries about our solar system. This video was sponsored by Skillshare. The first 1000 people who click the link will get a free trial of Skillshare Premium: https://skl.sh/scishowspace03211 Hosted by: Reid

WASHINGTON — Both NASA and the companies selected by the agency to begin development of commercial space stations say they don’t share concerns raised by watchdogs that such stations may not be ready by the time the International Space Station is retired. NASA’s effort, called Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations, or CLD, seeks to support

WASHINGTON — The new head of Russia’s space agency backed away from comments suggesting Russia would withdraw from the International Space Station as soon as 2024 but expressed doubts Russia would be involved through 2030. Yuri Borisov raised alarms among the other ISS partners July 26 when he told Russian president Vladimir Putin that Russia

CEO Kathy Warden: ‘We don’t believe this matter will have a material adverse impact to our company’ WASHINGTON — Northrop Grumman does not expect an ongoing antitrust review of its acquisition of Orbital ATK to have any “adverse impact” on the company, CEO Kathy Warden said July 28. During a second-quarter earnings call, Warden was

Last week, NASA released some pretty cool Mars news: Curiosity found even more evidence to indicate the planet could’ve been habitable billions of years ago. Hosted by: Hank Green For special, curated artifacts of this universe, check out https://scishowfinds.com/ ———- Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scishow ———- Dooblydoo thanks go to the

HELSINKI — Wreckage from a Chinese Long March 5B rocket first stage made a fiery reentry into Earth’s atmosphere over Southeast Asia Saturday, six days after launching a space station module into orbit. Debris from the roughly 30-meter-long, five-meter-wide empty and roughly 22 metric ton core stage of the Long March 5B at 12:45 p.m.

WASHINGTON — Faced within increasing costs, the European Space Agency is looking for ways to revise the design of a large X-ray space telescope, an effort that could have implications for NASA’s own astrophysics programs. ESA selected the Athena mission in 2014 as one of two flagship astrophysics missions, along with the Laser Interferometer Space

WASHINGTON — A draft Senate appropriations bill released July 28 would fund NASA at the same overall level the agency requested, but with adjustments to some science, technology and exploration programs. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released a “chairman’s mark” version of 12 appropriations bills for fiscal year 2023, including

For decades the space shuttle was integral to space exploration. In orbit it helped build the ISS, but on the ground it needed help from other gigantic machines. SciShow has a spinoff podcast! It’s called SciShow Tangents. Check it out at https://www.scishowtangents.org ———- Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scishow ———- Dooblydoo thanks

Updated 2:25 p.m. Eastern with NASA statement. WASHINGTON — Masten Space Systems, a company developing a lunar lander for a NASA mission, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy July 28 with plans to sell one of its major assets to a competitor. Masten filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of

WASHINGTON — Congress has passed the first NASA authorization bill in more than five years, formally extending operations of the International Space Station and backing NASA’s Artemis exploration effort. The House passed on a 243–187 vote July 28 the “Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act,” a day after the Senate passed

It’s tricky to study the particles of our Sun because Earth’s magnetic field deflects them, but scientists have found ways to do it! They’re helping us understand things like the Sun’s origin, what it’s made of, and how it might affect future colonization of the Solar System. Hosted by: Reid Reimers SciShow has a spinoff

The launch of NROL-199 was rescheduled to Aug. 2 to allow the NRO to perform required payload software upgrades WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab and the National Reconnaissance Office had hoped to launch two missions within 10 days. The first one, NROL-162, lifted off July 12 but the second one, NROL-199, required payload software upgrades and

The defense bill adds more than $2 billion for military space programs above what the Biden administration requested WASHINGTON — Leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 28 unveiled 12 appropriations draft bills for the upcoming fiscal year, including a defense spending bill recommending a $792 billion budget for the Defense Department.  Sen. Jon

WASHINGTON — Boeing said July 27 it will take another charge against its earnings because of the CST-100 Starliner commercial crew program as the company and NASA get closer to a first flight of the vehicle with astronauts on board. Boeing, in its second quarter financial results release, said it recorded a $93 million charge

It’s been a tough week for space missions, from a failed Soyuz launch to two emergency shutdowns of space-based telescopes. Hosted by: Hank Green For special, curated artifacts of this universe, check out https://scishowfinds.com/ ———- Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scishow ———- Dooblydoo thanks go to the following Patreon supporters: azarus G,

TAMPA, Fla. — SpaceX has applied for more spectrum to upgrade Starlink satellite broadband services for mobile users. The company asked the U.S. Federal Communications Commission July 25 for permission to use the 2 GHz spectrum band to “augment” its mobile satellite services (MSS). Specific details about the next-generation services Starlink plans to provide were

HELSINKI — Chinese launch services provider CAS Space successfully placed six small satellites in orbit early Wednesday with the first launch of the Lijian-1 solid rocket. The four-stage Lijian-1 (ZK-1A) rocket lifted off from an erector-launcher at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 12:12 a.m. Eastern. Launch success was confirmed by China’s official space publication

WASHINGTON — NASA is preparing to award a contract to a Boeing-Northrop Grumman joint venture for Space Launch System missions that could run through the middle of the next decade. The agency published July 26 a pre-solicitation notice for its Exploration Production and Operations Contract (EPOC), which would shift procurement of SLS launches to a

Earth’s magnetic field is special! And, in the last 20 years, we’ve made incredible discoveries, thanks to a squad of probes that have flown around our planet, observing solar wind as a team! Hosted by: Reid Reimers SciShow has a spinoff podcast! It’s called SciShow Tangents. Check it out at http://www.scishowtangents.org ———- Support SciShow by

TAMPA, Fla. — Viasat said July 26 it has been selected to study multi-orbit satellite networks for the European Space Agency. The study will be conducted by the U.S.-based satellite broadband operator’s British subsidiary, which will spend a year evaluating technical requirements and potential markets for hybrid networks that combine multiple frequency bands and network