Space

SEOUL, South Korea — Kencoa Aerospace Corp., a South Korean aircraft assembler and parts supplier that has NASA, SpaceX and Blue Origin as clients, is planning to expand its U.S. parts manufacturing plant in Georgia. The company raised 30 billion won ($26.6 million) in February by issuing convertible bonds to domestic institutional investors and will

The Space Development Agency expects Tranche 1 satellites to cost “significantly less” than the $14 million average price it paid for Tranche 0 satellites. WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s Space Development Agency will solicit bids for an upcoming procurement of up to 150 satellites to be launched in late 2024, agency director Derek Tournear said March

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force awarded LinQuest Corp. a $500 million contract for analysis work over five years. The contract was awarded Jan. 4 but the Defense Department announced it March 5. Based in Los Angeles, LinQuest is a longtime support contractor of the Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center and other defense

WASHINGTON — The longtime chief executive of Virgin Galactic, who moved into a new position at the company last year, has left the company but will continue to be an adviser to it. According to company sources, Whitesides said he was leaving the position of Virgin Galactic’s chief space officer to pursue unspecified opportunities in

AFRL: ‘While the fundamental processes forming the ionosphere are generally known, it is a very complex system and there are many details yet to be understood.’ WASHINGTON — A three-stage suborbital sounding rocket on March 3 launched an Air Force Research Laboratory experiment from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.  This was the first sounding

WASHINGTON — NASA has sharply increased the prices it charges commercial users of the International Space Station for cargo and other resources, a move that has left some companies confused and frustrated. NASA announced Feb. 25 that it was revising the commercial marketing pricing policy it first published in June 2019 as part of a

WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a new set of Starlink satellites and landed the booster March 4, two and a half weeks after the landing failed on the previous launch. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 3:24 a.m. Eastern. The rocket deployed its payload

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden issued a national security blueprint that lays out broad goals and priorities for his administration and identifies China as the United States’ primary competitor.  With regard to space, the Interim National Security Strategic Guidance released March 3 says the United States will “explore and use” outer space but also ensure

WASHINGTON — SpaceX launched a prototype of its Starship next-generation vehicle March 3, landing it safely only to have the vehicle explode minutes later. The Starship SN10 vehicle lifted off from the company’s Boca Chica, Texas, test site at about 6:15 p.m. Eastern. A launch attempt three hours earlier was aborted at engine ignition because

The world is entering an era that “will be defined by rapid global growth in space commerce, exploration and military activities,” Raymond said. WASHINGTON — The White House unambiguous statement of support for the Space Force makes it “really clear that this is not a political issue, it’s an issue of national security,” Chief of

NGA is pushing for innovation and agility as China continues to advance its space-based remote sensing capabilities. WASHINGTON — The United States is in a “great power competition” and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency is being challenged to provide faster and better products and services, the agency’s deputy director Stacey Dixon said March 2. To

KVH Industries, the U.S. maritime satellite-connectivity specialist, expects clear sailing ahead after growing quarterly revenues despite shaky seas for cruise ships. TAMPA, Fla. — KVH Industries, the U.S. maritime satellite-connectivity specialist, expects clear sailing ahead after growing quarterly revenues despite shaky seas for cruise ships. KVH said cost-containment measures, and strong sales of its TACNAV

WASHINGTON — A growing realization of the need for a medium-class launch vehicle led Rocket Lab to speed up its plans to go public by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Rocket Lab announced March 1 it would merge with Vector Acquisition Corporation, a SPAC established by venture fund Vector Capital. The deal, expected

WASHINGTON — A Falcon 9 first stage failed to land after a launch last month because one of its engines shut down during flight after hot gas breached a worn-out cover. During a NASA press conference March 1 about the upcoming Crew-2 commercial crew flight, Benji Reed, senior director for human spaceflight programs at SpaceX,

U.S. service members  are at risk of losing the most up-to-date knowledge of weather conditions. Just before dawn on August 30, 1776, a bank of fog crawled over New York’s East River, concealing George Washington’s beleaguered Continentals as they slipped away to safety and out of reach of the surrounding British forces. Washington had pulled

WASHINGTON — SpaceNews has hired veteran satellite industry reporter Jason Rainbow to anchor the organization’s satellite telecommunications coverage and expand its reporting on existing and emerging commercial space markets.  Rainbow has spent more than a decade covering the global space industry as a business journalist. Previously, he was Group Editor-in-Chief for Finance Information Group, including

SAN FRANCISCO — Maxar Technologies is continuing to diversify its business but remains in the “early innings” in attracting more defense and intelligence work, said Dan Jablonsky, Maxar president and CEO. “It’s a multiyear journey that we’re on,” Jablonsky said Feb. 24 during a company earnings call. “We do expect to gain programs over time

HELSINKI — India launched its first mission of the year late Saturday, sending Brazil’s Amazonia-1 Earth observation satellite and 18 smaller payloads into orbit. The 44-meter-high PSLV-C51 rocket with two solid side boosters lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on the Indian island of Sriharikota at 11:54 p.m. Eastern Feb. 28. The  PSLV

CSIS released a new study called “Defense Against the Dark Arts in Space: Protecting Space Systems from Counterspace Weapons.” WASHINGTON — Nations around the world — notably China and Russia — are building arsenals of weapons that can destroy or disrupt satellites in orbit. Not much can be done to slow that trend down, but

WASHINGTON — Astra has won a NASA contract to launch a small constellation of Earth science cubesats, while General Atomics selected Rocket Lab for the launch of a small satellite with a NOAA hosted payload. NASA announced Feb. 26 that it awarded a $7.95 million contract to Astra for three launches of the company’s Rocket

WASHINGTON — It is increasingly likely that a NASA astronaut will fly on a Russian Soyuz mission to the International Space Station in April as the agency finalizes an agreement with its Russian counterpart. In a Feb. 25 statement, Roscosmos said that its director general Dmitry Rogozin, spoke that day with NASA Acting Administrator Steve

SAN FRANCISCO – After 14 years at satellite communications fleet operator SES, Nicole Robinson is taking on a new role: president of Ursa Space Systems, a geospatial analytics firm based in Ithaca, New York. Robinson was SES senior vice president of global government when she began talking in 2020 with Adam Maher, Ursa Space CEO

Eric Brown said on-orbit logistics and servicing technologies are driving the industry to think of new ways of designing satellites.  WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin is redesigning the bus used for Global Positioning System satellites so they can be upgraded with new hardware on orbit, a company executive said Feb. 25. Eric Brown, senior director of

HELSINKI — Chinese private automaker Geely has got the green light to begin manufacturing satellites for navigation, connectivity and communications needed for self-driving cars. China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) approved a license for a new facility Taizhou, Zhejiang province, in which Geely is based, to begin manufacturing earlier in February. Geely announced plans

WASHINGTON — Virgin Galactic says it is delaying the next test flight of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle by more than two months to address technical issues, part of a revamped flight test program that will postpone flights of space tourists to 2022. In an earnings call Feb. 25 timed to the release of its fourth

VALETTA, Malta — On the heels of raising $24 million in December, Orbex announced Feb. 24 that it has commissioned AMCM to build a large-volume 3D printer for manufacturing its rocket engines.  The Scottish microlauncher startup is currently developing Prime, a two-stage launch vehicle powered by six first-stage and one second-stage biopropane engines. The maiden

SAN FRANCISCO – Iceye published the first images Feb. 25 from three synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites the Finnish company launched in January on a SpaceX rideshare mission. “All three spacecraft have successfully completed initial operations and are now progressing through the calibration process,” Iceye said in a Feb. 25 news release. Iceye customers will gain

Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt said U.S. diplomats and military leaders are drafting language in support of an international effort to adopt rules of behavior in space. WASHINGTON — The United States and allies are drafting language in support of an international effort to adopt rules of behavior in space,  U.S. Space Command’s Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt

The Space Force is considering future investments to improve weather monitoring in the Arctic. WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last month directed the Pentagon to develop plans to prepare for the impact of climate change and extreme weather. The new guidance is intended to shape policies and budgets over the next several years, including

WASHINGTON — Satellite operator Inmarsat has hired the former president and chief executive of Nokia as its new chief executive, succeeding Rupert Pearce. Inmarsat announced Feb. 24 it is hiring Rajeev Suri as its new chief executive, effective March 1. Suri will also take a seat on the board of Inmarsat’s parent company, Connect Bidco

WASHINGTON — The White House said Feb. 23 has no schedule for nominating a NASA administrator as a new round of rumors swirl about who might be selected to lead the agency. The topic arose at a press conference when a reporter asked press secretary Jen Psaki about rumors that the Biden administration was considering

In its first hearing of the 117th Congress, the subcommittee invited experts from think tanks to discuss Russia’s and China’s nuclear and space capabilities. WASHINGTON — The leaders of the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on strategic forces during a hearing Feb. 23 called on the Defense Department and other agencies to more openly discuss

WASHINGTON – Scott Soenen, who held key engineering jobs at Capella Space and Planet, is the new chief technology officer of Hydrosat, a data analytics company building a satellite constellation to produce a global thermal infrared map. “If you are looking for the one person that has engineered successful remote sensing data platforms across three

WASHINGTON — Just days after NASA said it was ready to perform a second static-fire test of the Space Launch System core stage, the agency announced Feb. 22 that the test would be delayed because of a valve problem. NASA said it was postponing the Green Run static-fire test, which had been scheduled for Feb.

Austin has “communicated to Air Force leaders that he supports their decision-making process about the preferred location of Space Command headquarters.” WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has issued a statement in support of the U.S. Air Force’s handling of the basing decision for U.S. Space Command, his spokesman said. Austin’s statement follows an announcement

If fighter pilots are the rock stars of the Air Force, it could be said that software coders and app developers are the fighter jocks of the Space Force. “Software touches everything we do in the Space Force,” said 1st Lt. Jackie Smith, who runs a Space Force software boot camp whose graduates are known

WASHINGTON — As NASA’s management of its human spaceflight programs evolves to incorporate greater roles for companies, the agency needs to take a strategic look at its workforce and infrastructure requirements, a safety panel advised. At the Feb. 18 meeting of NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), members reiterated concerns cited in its annual report

WASHINGTON — NASA’s Perseverance rover successfully landed on Mars Feb. 18, completing a nearly seven-month journey from Earth and beginning a years-long exploration of the red planet. Perseverance touched down at Jezero Crater on Mars at 3:55 p.m. Eastern, seven minutes after the rover, encapsulated within a heatshield and backshell, entered the Martian atmosphere. The

WASHINGTON — When the White House called to congratulate NASA on the successful landing of the Mars rover Perseverance, acting administrator Steve Jurczyk new immediately it was the real deal. “About an hour after landing, I got a phone call from the president of the United States, and his first words were, ‘Congratulations, man,’” Jurczyk

HELSINKI — Chinese private firm Landspace is working towards a potential first orbital launch attempt with a methane-fueled launch vehicle later this year.  Landspace completed assembly of the four Tianque-12 liquid methane-liquid oxygen engines which power the first stage of the Zhuque-2 rocket in early February. This was preceded by a payload fairing separation test

WASHINGTON — A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket launched a Cygnus spacecraft carrying supplies and experiments for the International Space Station Feb. 20. The Antares 230+ rocket lifted off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 12:36 p.m. Eastern. The Cygnus spacecraft separated from the rocket’s upper stage nine minutes

Correction: This article was corrected on Feb. 19 at 5:26 pm Eastern time to note that the latest delivery order calls for GeoOptics alone to supply 1,300 daily radio occultations. SAN FRANCISCO – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced plans Feb. 19 to dramatically expand the number of daily radio occultation soundings it acquires

Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) said in a statement Feb. 19 that he requested the IG investigation a month ago. WASHINGTON — The Defense Department’s inspector general will begin a probe into how the Air Force decided U.S. Space Command should move its headquarters from Colorado to Alabama.  “We plan to begin the subject evaluation in February

WASHINGTON — NASA remains cautiously optimistic that the first launch of the Space Launch System rocket can take place before the end of the year despite having to perform a second hotfire test of the rocket’s core stage. That test, the culmination of the Green Run test campaign for the core stage that started in

The U.S. military should consider investments in space “mobility and logistics” to prepare for the future, said Lt. Gen. John Shaw. WASHINGTON — The U.S. military over decades has built extensive infrastructure to move troops and equipment around the world. It may now need to start thinking about investing in foundation technologies to support future

SAN FRANCISCO – The Quebec government will invest 400 million Canadian dollars ($315.5 million) in Telesat’s Lightspeed low-Earth orbit communications network. MDA will produce the constellation’s phased array antennas. And Thales Alenia Space will manufacture the satellites in Quebec, under a memorandum of understanding announced Feb. 18. “The Lightspeed program will create 600 high-paying STEM

SAN FRANCISCO – German propulsion startup Morpheus Space has opened a Los Angeles office and named a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer and fighter pilot as its chief revenue officer. David Kalinske, who retired from the Marine Corps in 2013 after serving as commanding officer of a fighter squadron and an aide to Presidents George

WASHINGTON — A second uncrewed test flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle will be delayed by a little more than a week to replace hardware damaged during processing of the spacecraft. In statements issued Feb. 17, NASA and Boeing said the Orbital Flight Test (OFT) 2 launch, previously scheduled for March 25, is