Commercial
Boeing says Spaceway-1 battery failure has low risk of repeating on similar satellites
The battery malfunction that put DirecTV’s Spaceway-1 satellite at risk of exploding has a “very low likelihood” of occuring on other satellites, according to the satellite’s manufacturer, Boeing.
Vector proceeding with sale of assets
Vector, the launch vehicle and smallsat technology company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December, announced Jan. 24 it is proceeding with plans to sell its satellite technology to Lockheed Martin or another bidder.
Space industry group focused on cybersecurity to begin operations in spring 2020
The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center, or Space ISAC, will launch an unclassified portal where companies can share and analyze cybersecurity information.
Tethers Unlimited says early results of deorbit hardware test promising
Hoyt said observations from the U.S. military’s Space Surveillance Network showed the Prox-1 satellite deorbiting more than 24 times faster than before deploying the tape.
Firefly suffers anomaly during launch vehicle test
Firefly Aerospace says it had an “anomaly” during a Jan. 22 static-fire test of the first stage of its Alpha rocket under development, an incident that prompted evacuations and road closures in the vicinity in the test site.
Descartes Labs unveils data refinery, modeling platform
Descartes Labs unveiled Jan. 22 a cloud-based platform for commercial customers that pairs geospatial datasets with modeling tools and applications.
DirecTV fears explosion risk from satellite with damaged battery
DirecTV is racing to move its Spaceway-1 satellite out of the geostationary arc after the 14-year-old satellite suffered a crippling battery malfunction that the company fears could cause it to explode.
Boeing drops out of DARPA Experimental Spaceplane program
Boeing has decided to no longer continue development of an experimental suborbital spaceplane for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the latest setback for DARPA’s long-running efforts in space access.
Firefly, Innovative Space Logistics sign launch agreement • Viasat nabs $90M IDIQ contract
Dutch launch broker Innovative Space Logistics and Firefly Aerospace signed a launch services agreement for launch opportunities on multiple Firefly Alpha missions starting this year.
Acting NOAA leader stresses importance of public-private partnerships
The acting administrator of NOAA says the private sector is playing an increasingly important role in its work across the board, including space.
EU to invest 200 million euros into space industry
The European Union will provide 200 million euros ($222 million) to support Europe’s space industry, in the form of a loan to help fund development of the Ariane 6 and investment in space startups.
Capella unveils radar satellite design
Capella Space unveiled the new design Jan. 21 for its Whitney constellation of seven synthetic aperture radar satellites scheduled to launch in 2020.
Stratolaunch confirms interest in launch services and hypersonic vehicles
As Stratolaunch ramps up operations after being sold last year, it says it remains interested in providing launch services as well as supporting hypersonic vehicles.
Made In Space expands facilities, moves headquarters to Florida
Made In Space announced plans Jan. 17 to move its corporate headquarters from Mountain View, California, to Jacksonville, Florida.
Startup Skylo seeks to connect millions of devices, vehicles, vessels via satellite
Startup Skylo emerged from stealth mode Jan. 21 with $116 million in the bank and plans to connect devices by transferring data over existing geostationary communications satellites.
Work advances on space sustainability rating
A consortium established last year to develop a rating to measure how well satellites comply with space sustainability guidelines expects to have an initial version of its rating system ready by late this year or early next year.
