News
Daily coverage of the global space industry with an emphasis on business and political news.
Rocket Lab launches cubesats for NASA
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket successfully launched a group of cubesats Dec. 16 on a mission funded by NASA as the company looks ahead to more frequent launches in the next year.
Committee recommends review of planetary protection policies
The NASA Advisory Council has recommended that NASA review its existing planetary protection guidelines to balance the needs of science and exploration, an effort that could set the stage for a similar revision at the international level.
Virgin Galactic flight wins praise from government and industry
While some question whether Virgin Galactic’s latest SpaceShipTwo test flight actually went into space, a number of government officials and industry organizations have few doubts that it did.
Business Finland gives ICEYE 10 million Euros
Business Finland, a Finnish trade and economic development agency, awarded a 10 million Euro ($11.36 million) grant to radar satellite operator ICEYE.
Branson looks ahead to beginning commercial SpaceShipTwo flights
With a first flight to the edge of space under the company’s belt, Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson believes commercial flights of SpaceShipTwo could begin some time next year.
DARPA’s next project: Design a Space Development Agency
A DARPA team will “inventory the DoD space-based command-and-control capabilities, identify critical gaps, deficiencies and inefficiencies in our existing architectures."
OneWeb scales back baseline constellation by 300 satellites
Greg Wyler, OneWeb’s founder, said the company will need only 600 satellites or so instead of 900 after ground tests of the first satellites demonstrated better than expected performance.
Mike Pence headed to Cape Canaveral for GPS 3 launch
The first GPS 3, known as SV01, is the first of an entirely new design of GPS satellite that has three times better accuracy and up to eight times improved anti-jamming capabilities, according to Lockheed Martin.
Highly anticipated GPS 3 launch just days away
The U.S. Air Force’s first GPS 3 satellite was encapsulated within a SpaceX payload fairing at Astrotech Space Operations on Dec. 7 in preparation for a Dec. 18 launch at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Pentagon putting final touches on Space Force proposal
Once lawmakers have a chance to review the proposal, said Shanahan, he will be “happy to take the red pen out."
Virgin Galactic achieves space on SpaceShipTwo test flight
Virgin Galactic achieved a long-awaited milestone Dec. 13 when its SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle performed its longest test flight to date, exceeding one altitude often used as the boundary of space.
Intelsat launches broadband service aimed at military and government aircraft
The telecommunications company COMSAT, which supplies services to the U.S. government, has signed a deal with Intelsat to market FlexAir to U.S. government aviation users and coalition partners.
Virgin Galactic ready for milestone SpaceShipTwo flight
A test flight more than a decade in the making is scheduled to take place Dec. 13 as Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle is set to make its highest and fastest flight to date, one that, if all goes well, will take it beyond one boundary of space.
Air Force Space Command officially takes over as chief buyer of satellite communications for the Defense Department
The shift was mandated by Congress in Section 1601(a) of the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act.
Satellite industry seeks answers on future direction of military satcom
This year’s satcom workshop comes amid major questions about the Pentagon’s plans — or lack thereof — to buy more satellite communications services from the private sector.
