NASA planning to purchase additional Soyuz seats

NASA is considering buying two additional seats on Soyuz spacecraft to ensure a continued American presence on the International Space Station amid worries about additional delays in commercial crew flights.

Air Force smallsat to fly on upcoming Falcon 9 launch

An experimental Air Force small satellite intended to test space situational awareness technologies will be a secondary payload on the upcoming Falcon 9 launch of a commercial communications satellite and lunar lander.

NASA seeks to accelerate work on lunar missions

NASA is now emphasizing speed in its lunar exploration plans, including seeking to fly payloads on commercial lunar landers before the end of this year as it works with industry on lander concepts.

After the reorganization, who’s really in charge of military space?

During a recent conversation with a senior defense official about the changes coming to military space, he pointed out that under the proposed reorganization the lines of authority could become a little blurred.

Report: Updating the military’s nuclear communications systems a complex and expensive challenge

Bill LaPlante, MITRE: The NC3 system “has been studied a lot, its life has been extended as long as we could, and that’s where we are."

Pentagon to propose a lean Space Force

We are starting to get a clearer picture of how the Pentagon plans to fund and organize the Space Force as a new military branch.

Australian startup Fleet prepares Series A to fund next 10 satellites

Fleet Space Technologies will begin raising money next week from investors in a Series A financing round after service launch immediately filled its four cubesats with customers.

Relativity adds former SpaceX executives to leadership team

Small launch vehicle developer Relativity has added three people, all of whom previously held key positions at SpaceX, to its leadership team as it refines the technologies it will use on its rockets.

NASA selects infrared astronomy survey mission

NASA has selected for development a mission that will perform a spectroscopic survey of the entire sky at near-infrared wavelengths to study the origins of solar systems, galaxies and the universe.

NASA declares Opportunity Mars rover mission over

NASA announced Feb. 13 that it was ending efforts to restore contact with the Opportunity Mars rover, bringing its mission to an end more than 15 years after it landed on the planet.

SpaceX protests NASA launch contract award

SpaceX has filed a protest over the award of a launch contract to United Launch Alliance for a NASA planetary science mission, claiming it could carry out the mission for significantly less money.

Air Force launch procurement under scrutiny

Lawmakers are calling for an independent review of the Air Force Launch Service Agreement contracts and its strategy to acquire launch services in the coming years. Why?

FIRST UP Satcom | Six Protons and an Angara launching this year • Airbus invests $25M in German plant

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TOP STORIES

New FAA commercial space head promises transparency with industry

The new leader of the commercial space transportation office within the Federal Aviation Administration pledged to be open and “over-communicate” with industry as it works on new regulatory proposals.

Gilat issues $25 million dividend while pumping R&D

CEO Yona Ovadia said Gilat had $104 million on hand as of Dec. 31 and will have sufficient resources for significant financial plays even after subtracting the dividend.

Spanish electricity company buys Hispasat for $1.1 billion

Spanish power company Red Eléctrica announced an agreement Feb. 12 to buy out Abertis’ 89.7 percent stake in domestic satellite operator Hispasat for 949 million euros ($1.08 billion).