The silver ring depicted in the Spaceflight illustration above is an ESPA ring developed by Moog under a U.S. Air Force contract. The black ring is called Hub and was manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. It is similar to the ESPA Grande payload adapter.

Government agencies prepare for piggyback flights, secondary payloads

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Ten years after then-U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne called for maximizing use of secondary payload adapters to launch small satellites on large rockets, the Air Force, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are working together to make that happen.

From the Magazine EELVrideshareSmall Satellites
Construction workers at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, move a protective enclosure in February as part of transition to new terminals that work with Wideband Global SATCOM satellites. Credit: U.S. Defense Department

Op-ed | Military satcom evolving to meet resiliency requirements

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As the military sometimes must operate in contested environments, they will need more resilient communications system to overcome any intentional interference.

From the Magazine DoDSatcomWGS
Inmarsat's largest market, connecting ships at sea, is becoming increasingly competitive. Around 40 percent of the company's revenue comes from maritime customers using Inmarsat products for voice and data services. Credit: Inmarsat

Inmarsat battles to maintain leadership in connecting the high seas

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Inmarsat’s largest market — connecting ships at sea — is becoming increasingly competitive.

From the Magazine InmarsatKVH
"Almost every first meeting we have with someone, whether they have an engine or not, their answer is 'we have to build our own.'" — Joe Laurienti, Ursa Major CEO

Ursa Major Technologies wants outsourcing engines to be the norm

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Founded in 2015, Ursa Major wants to build engines for companies building small launch vehicles. Most such ventures want to make nearly everything in house, just like SpaceX and Blue Origin.

From the Magazine rocket enginesUrsa Major Technolgies
By creating a demand function for propellant for future exploration and providing key investments…the U.S. government can create an environment where free enterprise can thrive and the nation and world economy can prosper by expanding the Earth’s economic realm into space. Credit: SpaceNews illustration

Mars and the moon: not an either/or proposition

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The moon may be a much-needed pit stop for a very long journey to Mars.

From the Magazine Mars
“There are definite limitations to small spacecraft,” said NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program executive Chris Baker (left). “They are not the solution for everything but they can be part of the solution.” Credit: Keith Johnson for SpaceNews

Small satellites are at the center of a space industry transformation

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No longer the province of university researchers and technology developers, small satellites are moving into the aerospace mainstream.

From the Magazine Aerospace Corp.HoneywellSmall Satellites
Trident Space Inc. of Fairfax, Virginia, plans to launch its first SAR smallsat in 2021, followed by six more satellites in 2023, and 12 each year thereafter, eventually building a 48-satellite constellation in low Earth orbit. Credit: iStock

Trident Space’s challenge: Standing out from the crowd of SAR satellite startups

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More companies and investors are moving to capitalize on the potential of small satellites equipped with synthetic aperture radar, creating what looks likely to become a highly competitive market.

From the Magazine SmallsatTrident Space
"A growing talent gap is one of the biggest economic, cultural, and security risk this nation faces in the critical next two decades."

Op-ed | Talent gap jeopardizes space business, national security

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A growing talent gap is one of the biggest economic, cultural, and security risk this nation faces in the critical next two decades.

From the Magazine talent gapworkforce
This chart from “Small Launch Vehicles – A 2018 State of the Industry Survey” shows the growth of the Small launcher market from 2015-2018. Some 34 small rockets are in active development worldwide.

Small launch industry growing, but with growing pains

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The number of small launch vehicles under development continues to grow despite some high-profile setbacks and uncertainty about the demand for such vehicles.

From the Magazine Small launch vehicles
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (left) and Defense Secretary James Mattis share a light moment during the Aug. 9 rollout of the Trump administration’s plan for establishing a Space Force. Credit: Department of Defense

On National Security | Space Force is a huge meme but it’s no joke

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Most people outside the national security community don’t think of space as a warfighting domain. But the military has regarded it as such for at least 20 years.

From the Magazine Mike PencePresident TrumpSpace Force
SpaceX Falcon 9 SES-12

Foust Forward | As the launch industry grows, it finds it needs to share

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The commercial spaceflight industry has been enjoying success both on and off the launch pad this year.

From the Magazine Blue OriginCommercial spaceSpaceXVirgin Galactic
The French space agency CNES is funding construction of the Ariane 6 launch pad at the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Credit: ESA

Ariane 6 is nearing completion, but Europe’s work is far from over

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ESA is pushing European industry to continue innovating and finding efficiencies even after Vega C’s introduction in 2019 and Ariane 6’s debut in 2020.

From the Magazine Ariane 5Ariane 6European Space AgencyVega C

Vega’s long-awaited (small) successes

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Although the mostly Italian Vega rocket was added to the Arianespace family in 2012, it’s only recently achieved tangible success in wooing the smallest spacecraft operators.

From the Magazine European Space AgencyVega
Sunrise On Planet Earth - Europe View

Op-ed | SmallSat Alliance is on a path toward a new space horizon

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The early returns of this economic revolution are already on our doorstep: space data capabilities are exponentially growing elements of the 21st century world economy.

From the Magazine Commercial spaceSmallsat
After years of efforts within the British government, and lobbying by the country’s space industry, the U.K. is taking steps to get back in the launch business.

Five decades after Black Arrow, a reawakening UK launch industry aims for bullseye

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After years of efforts within the British government, and lobbying by the country’s space industry, the U.K. is taking steps to get back in the launch business.

From the Magazine Farnborough AirshowU.K. Space Agency
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine recently compared the commercial satellite remote-sensing sector to the market for cheeseburgers. Credit: SpaceNews illustration

Op-ed | Satellite Data and Cheeseburgers

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The U.S. government is evaluating how it can engage with a series of new commercial remote-sensing companies, but one of the biggest challenges in these partnerships is determining how widely the data can be shared after it is purchased from the government.

From the Magazine Jim Bridenstineremote sensing

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