33rd Space Symposium
CNSA boss outlines China’s space exploration agenda
China is pushing forward on a number of space fronts, including milestone-making robotic missions to the moon, as well as scoping out an automated Mars sample--return mission by 2030.
Orbital ATK confident in prospects for large launch vehicle
Orbital ATK says it is well positioned to win a U.S. Air Force competition early next year to support continued development of a new large launch vehicle to serve government and commercial users.
Lockheed Martin sets 18-month goal for A2100 satellite builds
Lockheed Martin wants to cut in half the time it needs to build satellites that use its flagship A2100 spacecraft platform.
Space agency heads see the moon on the path to Mars
With NASA’s long-term strategy for human missions to Mars in flux, heads of several space agencies said they supported initial missions to the moon as a key step before going to Mars.
Want the NRO to go faster? Send money and stay out of the way
When members of Donald Trump’s transition team visited the National Reconnaissance Office, they were so impressed by the intelligence organization’s innovation that they asked NRO Director Betty Sapp, “What do you need to go faster?”
Space plays key role in $9 trillion data market
In a world economy worth an estimated $90 trillion, the market for information that could be obtained from physical observations will be worth at least $9 trillion, said Lars Dyrud, OmniEarth chief executive.
Russia open to keeping ISS going past 2024
At a press conference during the Space Symposium, Igor Komarov, director general of Roscosmos, said he was ready to discuss an extension of the ISS to at least 2028.
U.S. Air Force creating new three-star position in charge of space
The U.S. Air Force is creating a new deputy chief of staff for space position to be filled by a three-star general, Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, the head of Air Force Space Command, announced Tuesday.
Global-IP picks SpaceX to launch its Boeing-built satellite
Global-IP Cayman, a Cayman Islands-based startup, has picked SpaceX to launch a high-throughput satellite it has under contract to Boeing.
Le Gall confident French Guiana launches will resume “in the coming days”
The head of the French space agency expects launch activity will resume soon at the European spaceport in French Guiana, where political protests have grounded Arianespace launches for the past two weeks.
The JICSpOC is dead; Long live the National Space Defense Center
One of the national security space sector’s longest acronyms just got a lot shorter.
Rogers calls for separate “Space Corps” within the Air Force
Rep. Mike Rogers said the U.S. Air Force needs a separate “Space Corps” to handle military operations in orbit, as a first step in creating a completely separate military branch.
Op-ed | Wishful thinking collides with policy, economic realities in ‘Capitalism in Space’
The price competition created by SpaceX has not resulted in new demand coming to the market, merely a reallocation of market share among suppliers, largely to the detriment of the European Ariane launcher and the Russians. This is good for the United States, but it doesn’t mean there’s a commercially viable launch market without government supports.
For Rep. Rogers, fighting through a war in space starts with fixing acquisition
The Alabama Republican has vowed to make “major reform” of the national security space sector a centerpiece of this year’s defense authorization bill.
Launchspace pitches debris sweeper that doubles as satellite tracker
Launchspace Technologies Corp. proposes sending platforms as large as football fields into low Earth orbit to sweep up space debris. The platforms also would be equipped with sensors to help U.S. government agencies detect and track orbiting satellites and debris.
