News
Daily coverage of the global space industry with an emphasis on business and political news.
Mike Griffin critical of U.S. response to China’s advances in hypersonic weapons
In the global race for geopolitical dominance, hypersonic glide weapons level the playing field “not by improving their own capabilities, but by removing ours,” said Mike Griffin.
Lightfoot to lead Lockheed Martin space unit
Lockheed Martin has named a former acting administrator of NASA as the new head of its space business unit.
Anuvu raises $50 million for small GEO mobility constellation
Investors that rescued Anuvu from bankruptcy in March have thrown $50 million behind plans for the mobile connectivity provider to have its own constellation of small geostationary-orbit (GEO) satellites.
Airbus Ventures leads Q-Ctrl’s $25 million quantum sensor funding round
Australian startup Q-Ctrl has raised $25 million to develop software for space-qualified quantum sensors in a funding round led by Airbus Ventures, the venture capital arm of European aerospace and defense giant Airbus.
Biden taps former Air Force procurement official LaPlante to run Pentagon acquisitions
President Biden has nominated William LaPlante to be the Defense Department’s top procurement official, the White House announced Nov. 30.
NASA postpones ISS spacewalk because of debris
NASA postponed a spacewalk outside the International Space Station by two astronauts just hours before it was scheduled to start after getting a warning that debris would pass close to the station.
DARPA to launch DoD’s first in-space manufacturing research program
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in a new program will explore options to conduct biomanufacturing in space, using biological systems like microbes to construct materials for use in orbital operations.
Space Force official: Satellites in orbit have become pawns in geopolitical chess games
China and Russia have watched the United States display its military power, much of it enabled by satellites in space. China’s recent demonstration of an orbital hypersonic weapon and Russia blowing up a satellite are expected countermoves, said Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman.
India orders halt on Starlink presales until it gives regulatory approval
India’s government has told SpaceX to stop taking preorders for Starlink broadband services in the country until it has a license to operate there.
ADA Space raises $55.6 million in Series B round
Chinese satellite operator and remote sensing data firm ADA Space raised $55.6 million in a Series B investment round for its artificially intelligent satellite network plans.
Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic select astronauts for future flights
Virgin Galactic has selected the winner of a contest to fly on a future SpaceShipTwo suborbital flight while Blue Origin prepares for its first New Shepard launch with a full six-person crew.
Russian node module docks with ISS
A node module billed as the final Russian element of the International Space Station docked with the station Nov. 26.
Chinese space firms present big ambitions at commercial space forum
Players in China’s emerging commercial space sector have outlined big plans for rockets, spaceplanes and more for the coming years at a space forum hosted in Wuhan, central China.
JWST undamaged from payload processing incident
Launch preparations for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will resume after testing found no damage to the spacecraft from a payload processing incident earlier this month.
Astroscale raises $109 million Series F round
Astroscale announced Nov. 25 that it raised $109 million from European and Japanese investors in a round it says will allow it to accelerate plans for active debris removal and satellite servicing.
Kuaizhou-1A rocket launches classified Shiyan-11 satellite
A Chinese Kuaizhou-1A rocket launched the experimental Shiyan-11 satellite for China’s main space contractor from northwest China late Nov. 24.
