Commercial
Benchmark to provide propulsion for Spaceflight’s Sherpa-NG
Satellite propulsion startup Benchmark Space Systems announced an agreement Aug. 4 to provide non-toxic chemical propulsion for rideshare provider Spaceflight Inc.’s next-generation orbital transfer vehicle, Sherpa-NG.
Lockheed Martin teams with USC and Momentus on cubesat program
USC students will build the satellites and integrate them with Lockheed Martin’s SmartSat mission payload.
Rocket Lab increases Electron payload capacity
Rocket Lab announced Aug. 4 it has increased the payload capacity of its Electron launch vehicle thanks to improvements in the batteries used in the rocket.
PredaSAR may launch 48 satellites with SpaceX, exec says
Synthetic aperture radar startup PredaSAR has signed a contract to launch a small satellite with SpaceX, and is in discussions to launch its entire first constellation with the company, PredaSAR co-founder Marc Bell, said Aug 4.
AWS completes six ground stations, changes rollout strategy
Amazon Web Services has slowed the rollout of its ground station network to accommodate customer feedback about the best locations to place its antennas.
Small launch industry sees pandemic, government affecting market
Executives with several major small launch vehicle companies say both the economic repercussions of the pandemic and the growing interest by the U.S. government in such vehicles could reshape the industry.
Loft Orbital to fly Canadian quantum communications satellite
Loft Orbital on Aug. 4 announced a contract to provide the spacecraft platform and arrange a launch for a Canadian quantum communications experiment.
Virgin Galactic delays SpaceShipTwo commercial flights to 2021
Virgin Galactic has pushed the beginning of commercial flights of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle to no earlier than the first quarter of 2021 while announcing plans to sell additional stock to raise money.
Scolese: NRO sees growing opportunities to use small satellites
Scolese said the NRO "will be able to do more with smaller satellites.”
Swarm works with Exolaunch to fly 24 SpaceBees on SpaceX Falcon 9
Swarm Technologies is working with Exolaunch of Germany to send 24 SpaceBee satellites into orbit on the SpaceX Falcon 9 small satellite rideshare mission scheduled to launch in December.
Ball Aerospace wrapping up green propellant smallsat demo mission
Ball Aerospace says it has successfully flight-tested a green propellant developed by the Air Force, and is lowering the satellite’s altitude so that it deorbits in the coming weeks.
Made In Space highlights defense applications for manufacturing and robotic assembly technology
Made In Space is underscoring national security applications for its in-space robotic assembly and additive manufacturing technologies at the annual Small Satellite Conference.
Momentus to fly hosted payloads in 2021
In-space transportation startup Momentus announced plans Aug. 3 to begin flying hosted payloads for customers in 2021.
Belgian company SpaceBel forms hyperspectral imaging spinoff
SpaceBel, a space systems and software company, will seek to raise around 10 million euros ($11.8 million) in 2021 to initiate development of the constellation and prepare for a demonstration satellite launch in 2023.
Small launch startup ABL secures over $90 million in new funding and Air Force contracts
ABL says the funding will accelerate the development of its two-stage launch vehicle and mobile infrastructure.
Raytheon designs prototype for Space Force weather satellite
Raytheon Intelligence & Space is designing a prototype weather satellite for the U.S. Space Force Space and Missile Systems Center that draws heavily on technology from the firm’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer.
