News
Daily coverage of the global space industry with an emphasis on business and political news.
Soyuz returns cosmonauts and film crew to Earth
A Soyuz spacecraft carrying a cosmonaut and two spaceflight participants landed in Kazakhstan Oct. 17, nearly two days after that spacecraft caused the station to briefly lose attitude control.
Atlas 5 launches NASA’s Lucy asteroid mission
An Atlas 5 successfully launched a NASA spacecraft Oct. 16 on a mission to study distant asteroids that may hold clues to the early history of the solar system.
Starliner valve investigation continues to focus on moisture interaction with propellant
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner was within hours of launch on its second uncrewed test flight in early August when stuck valves in the spacecraft’s propulsion system forced a launch scrub that has turned into a delay that will extend well into next year.
Shenzhou-13 heads for space station after reaching orbit
A second crew of three astronauts are heading for China’s Tianhe space station module after the successful launch of the Shenzhou-13 mission Friday.
Virgin Galactic postpones SpaceShipTwo flight, begins maintenance period
Virgin Galactic will postpone a SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceflight that had been scheduled for this month, electing to instead immediately begin an extended maintenance period for the spaceplane and its carrier aircraft that will further delay the start of commercial flights.
Kendall looks to accelerate appointment of civilian leader to oversee Space Force acquisitions
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall is asking Congress to authorize a new assistant secretary for space acquisitions before the Oct. 1, 2022, date that was set in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.
Space Force wants to learn how venture capitalists assess startups
An agreement just announced between the U.S. Space Force and a venture capital firm is a pilot project intended to help government buyers understand how investors assess space industry startups.
Rocket Lab acquires software company as it plans additional deals
Rocket Lab’s acquisition of an aerospace software company is one of a series of deals it is considering, enabled in part by going public.
Iceye officially joins Copernicus Earth-observation Program
Iceye won a contract to provide data from its constellation of small synthetic-aperture radar satellites to Copernicus, the European Union program aimed at providing continuous, global Earth observation.
Arianespace launches OneWeb past the halfway mark
OneWeb has contacted all 36 satellites launched from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome Oct. 14, enlarging the broadband constellation beyond its halfway mark toward full deployment next year.
Orbit Fab signs technology sharing agreement with U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory
Orbit Fab, a venture-funded startup offering a refueling service in space, has signed a technology sharing agreement with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.
China launches first solar observatory, tests grid fins
China carried out its 37th orbital launch of the year Thursday, successfully sending the Chinese H-alpha Solar Explorer and 10 other satellites into orbit.
Leaf Space establishes five new ground stations
Italian ground segment provider Leaf Space announced plans Oct. 14 to add five ground stations to its global Leaf Line Network.
Space Perspective raises $40 million for stratospheric ballooning system
Space Perspective, a company developing a stratospheric ballooning system intended to give people views like those from space, has raised $40 million to fund the company through the start of commercial operations.
SpaceLink hires OHB to build data relay satellites
SpaceLink has awarded OHB System AG a contract with an anticipated value of more than $300 million to manufacture four satellites for its commercial space data relay constellation.
CAPSTONE launch delayed to March 2022
The launch of a NASA cubesat mission that will test the orbit to be used by the lunar Gateway has slipped to next March, the result of broader launch delays Rocket Lab has suffered because of the pandemic.
