News
Daily coverage of the global space industry with an emphasis on business and political news.
RSCC planning four satellites to cover Russia’s Far North
Yuri Prokhorov, RSCC’s chief executive, said the company wants to have the satellites in orbit in 2024 to provide Ku-band coverage to Russia’s Far North.
Current and former NASA leadership share credit for commercial crew
On the eve of the first crewed orbital flight from the United States in nearly nine years, both the current NASA administrator and his predecessor agreed that credit for the ultimate success of the commercial crew program should be shared.
Roccor completes key tests of Link 16 satellite antenna
Roccor has completed radio frequency testing of the antenna scheduled for launch later this year on the satellite housing Viasat’s Link 16 military communications terminal.
U.S. Army signs deal with SpaceX to assess Starlink broadband
The U.S. Army will experiment using Starlink broadband to move data across military networks.
Weather primary concern for Demo-2 launch
NASA and SpaceX officials said after a final pre-launch review they had no major issues about the upcoming Demo-2 commercial crew launch beyond one over which they have no control: the weather.
Virgin Orbit first launch attempt fails
Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne failed to reach orbit in its first launch attempt May 25, with the mission “terminated” moments after the rocket’s release from its aircraft.
Pentagon presses on with campaign to overturn FCC’s Ligado order
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration formally petitioned the FCC to reverse its decision to grant a spectrum license to Ligado.
Two payloads qualified for U.S. Space Force early warning satellites
Raytheon and a Northrop Grumman/Ball Aerospace team designed competing sensor payloads for the Next-Gen OPIR geosynchronous satellites.
Rocket arrives as China targets July for Tianwen-1 Mars mission launch
China is gearing up to launch its Tianwen-1 Mars mission following the delivery of a Long March 5 launch vehicle to Wenchang launch center.
Air Force: Report on space acquisition reforms ‘not finalized’
A report sent to Congress last week proposing changes to Space Force acquisition programs was an “initial version” and not the final product, the Air Force said.
SpaceX overcame parachute, thruster problems in Crew Dragon development
To get a new, state-of-the-art crewed spacecraft ready to carry astronauts, SpaceX and NASA had to overcome problems with a technology long thought to be understood.
SpaceNews Webinar | Back to the Moon: Private Partnerships for Lunar Landers
SpaceNews Senior Staff Writer Jeff Foust and Editor-in-Chief Brian Berger lead a live panel discussion about NASA's use of public-private partnerships to develop lunar landers that could return astronauts to the surface of the moon as soon as 2024. Featuring Draper, Dynetics and the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.
Trump to attend Demo-2 launch, but fewer other guests
While both the president and vice president plan to attend the Demo-2 commercial crew launch, there will be far fewer people attending the first American human orbital spaceflight in nearly a decade than once expected.
Virgin Orbit sets expectations for first launch
Virgin Orbit says that it’s ready for its first orbital launch attempt, scheduled for May 24, while acknowledging potentially long odds of successfully placing a payload into orbit.
SpaceX Demo-2 commercial crew mission passes flight readiness review
NASA has given SpaceX approval to proceed with final preparations for the first commercial crew mission with astronauts on board, although there is still work to complete ahead of the planned May 27 launch.
Webinar | Space Force commanders talk with SpaceNews about defending the ultimate high ground (and rescuing astronauts)
Join us the day after NASA’s Demo-2 commercial crew mission, scheduled to launch May 27, for a SpaceNews Live discussion with Maj. Gen. John Shaw, the two-star general responsible for ensuring the renowned 45th Operations Group’s Detachment 3 team is ready at a moment’s notice to lead astronaut-recovery operations.
