Quadsat gets ESA funding for ready-to-fly antenna testing kits
TAMPA, Fla. — Danish startup Quadsat said June 16 it has secured European Space Agency funding to productize the drones it uses to calibrate and test satellite antennas.
Astronomers renew concerns about Starlink satellite brightness
PASADENA, Calif. — As SpaceX gears up for another launch of Starlink satellites, astronomers are concerned the company maybe backsliding in its efforts to reduce the brightness of those satellites.
South Korean rocket’s second launch rescheduled for June 21
SEOUL, South Korea — The second launch of South Korea’s first domestically built rocket is set for June 21, a delay of a week due to strong winds and a technical glitch.
NASA assigns two astronauts to Starliner test flight
PASADENA, Calif. — NASA has assigned two veteran astronauts to the first crewed flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in the latest reshuffling of personnel assigned to the long-delayed mission.
Sierra Space to start astronaut training program
The company announced June 14 it was opening a commercial human spaceflight training center and astronaut training academy at its offices at the Kennedy Space Center. Janet Kavandi, a former NASA astronaut and president of Sierra Space, will lead the center.
ESA and NASA to cooperate on Earth science and lunar mission
After a meeting of the ESA Council in Noordwijk, Netherlands, NASA and ESA announced two new cooperative agreements. One, called the Framework Agreement for a Strategic Partnership in Earth System Science, outlines cooperation between the agencies on topics that include continuity of measurements and exchange of data. It builds upon a joint statement of intent the agencies signed in July 2021.
Fourth SLS countdown test set for June 20
PASADENA, Calif. — NASA is gearing up for a fourth attempt to perform a fueling test and practice countdown of its Space Launch System ahead of a launch now no earlier than the latter half of August.
Wealthy nations are carving up space and its riches — and leaving other countries behind
Nations that don’t have their own satellites providing these services rely on other countries. For those that want to develop their own satellite infrastructure, options are running out as space fills up.
Japan will send an astronaut to the moon with NASA, President Biden says
Japanese astronauts will ride on NASA Artemis missions to the moon, and potentially even reach the surface, amid an interagency push to expand lunar exploration.
Mercury astronaut’s long-lost space-flown watch found in Breitling archives
Long thought to be lost to history, the first Swiss-made watch to be worn in space has been found just in time to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its mission.
Jupiter’s massive gravity kicked strange Ceres into the asteroid belt
A new computer simulation suggests that dwarf planet Ceres may have been flung by the gravity of gas giant Jupiter toward the sun during the volatile era of planet formation 4.5 billion years ago.
Greenhouse gas monitoring from space to get a boost with SpaceX launch
Three greenhouse gas-detecting satellites will travel to space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday (May 25) to improve emissions monitoring from space.
Experimental payload with robotic arm to attempt metal cutting on orbit
WASHINGTON — Voyager Space announced that one of its portfolio companies, Nanoracks, will launch a NASA-funded experiment to demonstrate on-orbit metal cutting using a robotic arm.
Quad nations unveil satellite-based maritime monitoring initiative
SEOUL, South Korea — Leaders of the United States, Japan, India and Australia have agreed to launch a satellite-based initiative to help countries in the Indo-Pacific region track illegal fishing and other suspicious maritime activities.