WASHINGTON — Kayhan Space, and partners Astroscale US and the University of Texas at Austin, won a U.S. Space Force contract to develop software for in-orbit servicing vehicles, the companies announced September 28, 2022.

SAN FRANCISCO – Trans Astronautica Corp. announced an agreement Sept. 27 with telescope manufacturer Celestron to develop a space-qualified version of the company’s Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph (RASA) ground-based telescope.

TAMPA, Fla. — Lynk Global said Sept. 28 it will test the ability to send a 5G signal from a satellite launching in December to standard mobile devices, after getting funding for the demonstration from an undisclosed partner.

A repeating fast radio burst (FRB) with a changeable, polarized magnetic field has deepened the mystery of what produces these enigmatic millisecond-long bursts of radio waves from deep space.

TOKYO – Japanese space agency JAXA will collaborate with nine domestic companies to develop daily necessities such as dental products for use by astronauts and cosmic tourists. Koichi Wakata, an astronaut with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, is on mission on the International Space Station. He will test a range of goods while in space,

PARIS — NASA and the European Space Agency signed an agreement on cooperation on lunar exploration activities that could open the door to additional ESA roles in the NASA-led Artemis effort.

Most telescopes here on Earth are stationary, bound to a single location, often in a desert or on a mountain peak. But NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) isn’t most telescopes.

TAMPA, Fla. — The UK Space Agency (UKSA) said Sept. 26 it has shortlisted groups led by startups Astroscale and ClearSpace for a mission to remove two spacecraft from low Earth orbit in 2026.

WASHINGTON — The National Reconnaissance Office awarded study contracts to six commercial providers of space-based radio frequency (RF) data, the agency announced Sept. 28.

PARIS — China is looking to build partnerships for its upcoming missions to the moon and deep ventures into the solar system, while omitting mention of main partner Russia.

KAHULUI, Hawaii — With the Space Launch System now safely back inside the Vehicle Assembly Building ahead of Hurricane Ian, NASA is now studying what work to do on the rocket to prepare for a next launch attempt unlikely to occur before mid-November.

SpaceX and NASA had been planning to launch the Crew-5 flight to the International Space Station on Oct. 3 from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. But the threat of Ian, which is currently churning north toward Florida as a powerful Category 3 hurricane, has delayed the planned liftoff by at least 24 hours, to Oct. 4. And that schedule is far from set in stone.

Asteroid impacts on the moon millions of years ago correspond with large space rock strikes here on Earth — including the massive impact that wiped out the nonavian dinosaurs. 

WASHINGTON — Aalyria Technologies, a startup that emerged from stealth mode Sept. 13, plans to provide high-speed internet using software and networking technology from Google’s ill-fated project to beam internet service from high-altitude balloons.