News
Daily coverage of the global space industry with an emphasis on business and political news.
NASA implements changes to planetary protection policies for moon and Mars missions
NASA announced July 9 two new directives regarding planetary protection for missions to the moon and Mars that implement recommendations of an independent review board last year.
Loft Orbital satellite to carry experiment for DARPA’s Blackjack program
DARPA's Pit Boss experiment, dubbed Sagittarius A*, is projected to launch in early 2021.
Eumetsat shifts two tardy satellites to Ariane 6
Program delays have forced Eumetsat to reserve a pair of Ariane 6 rockets for two European weather satellites originally anticipated to launch on Ariane 5 rockets.
DoD awards $15 million Defense Production Act contract to LeoLabs
DoD said this agreement is to "ensure the continued viability of space surveillance capability" in the U.S. industrial base.
Cost growth prompts changes to Europa Clipper instruments
Cost overruns on three instruments for NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft led NASA to consider dropping them from the mission and ultimately requiring significant changes to some of them.
First launch of Chinese Kuaizhou-11 rocket ends in failure
Launch of a new Chinese Kuaizhou-11 commercial solid rocket ended in failure Friday resulting in the loss of two satellites.
ESA confirms Ariane 6 delay to 2021
Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket won’t launch until the second half of 2021, a delay of at least six months if not more, the European Space Agency confirmed July 9.
Ex-Im Bank to step up support for space industry challenged by Chinese competitors
Congress stood up the “Program on China and Transformational Exports" which Ex-Im is now working to implement
Apstar-6D launches on Long March 3B rocket
The first satellite for a Chinese company planning a global system of geostationary satellites, launched July 9 on a Long March 3B rocket.
House Republicans criticize NASA spending bill
As the head of NASA emphasized what he saw as bipartisan support for the agency in Congress, several Republican members of the House criticized colleagues for a fiscal year 2021 spending bill they believe inadequately funds the agency.
Three companies selected to develop military GPS handheld devices
Collins Aerospace, Raytheon and Technology Advancement Group were awarded contracts to develop military GPS handheld devices.
Descartes Labs wins U.S. Air Force contract for geospatial data analytics
The Air Force will use Descartes Labs' platform to draw intelligence from imagery collected by satellites and by autonomous aerial vehicles.
NASA completes reviews of Boeing commercial crew test flight
NASA announced July 7 that it has completed two major reviews that stemmed from Boeing’s flawed commercial crew test flight last December as the agency and company prepare for a second test flight later this year.
Space Force proposes headquarters staff led by generals and civilians
Maj. Gen. Chance Saltzman wil serve as acting staff director of the Office of the Chief of Space Operations.
House bill offers flat funding for NASA
A House appropriations bill released July 7 rejected the administration’s proposed major budget increase for NASA, instead offering the agency a flat budget for 2021 that takes particular aim at the agency’s efforts to develop lunar landers.
OneWeb’s revival worries astronomers
A potential return to operations of satellite megaconstellation company OneWeb is a new source of worry for astronomers who previously had been focused on the effect SpaceX’s Starlink satellites will have on their observations.
