Smallsats
Rocket Lab to launch NASA smallsat using SBIR award
Rocket Lab will launch a NASA technology demonstration satellite under an unconventional arrangement as the agency works on a more standardized approach for launching smallsats.
Japanese carmaker Honda developing reusable rocket for LEO satellites
Honda says its core automotive technologies for combustion, fluid, remote control and guidance will be applied to a rocket it aims to test launch by 2030.
BAE Systems to acquire smallsat company In-Space Missions
BAE Systems announced Sept. 14 that it will acquire In-Space Missions, a company that recently won a contract to build a British military satellite.
Orbion wins contract to demonstrate high-thrust propulsion
Orbion Space Technology announced a U.S. Air Force contract to develop and demonstrate high-thrust propulsion to help small satellites quickly dodge satellites or space debris.
Euroconsult: Pandemic does little to slow smallsat sector
The space sector in general has proven resilient throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Alexandre Najjar, Euroconsult senior consultant, said Aug. 12 during a Small Satellite Conference side panel.
Hemeria seeks niche in microsat manufacturing
French space and defense company Hemeria is taking steps to quickly scale beyond cubesats and find a niche building slightly larger classes of small satellites.
Rocket Lab launches first Photon satellite
Rocket Lab announced Sept. 3 that it has placed its first Photon satellite into orbit, demonstrating the spacecraft’s technologies and the company’s ability to provide end-to-end space solutions.
FCC streamlined smallsat licensing regulations published
New FCC regulations will go into effect next week intended to make it easier for small satellites to get licenses for commercial operations.
Pandemic delays launch of NASA astrophysics smallsat mission
The launch of a NASA astronomy smallsat mission next year will be postponed by several months after the pandemic delayed assembly of key elements of the spacecraft.
Smallsat reliability increasing
The percentage of small satellites that successfully complete their missions has improved in recent years even as the number of such satellites has dramatically increased.
GomSpace shuts down constellation spinoff
European smallsat builder GomSpace has entered a settlement agreement with Aerial & Maritime, a company Gomspace helped start and for which it had already built eight satellites.
Blue Canyon Technologies opens smallsat constellation factory
Smallsat builder Blue Canyon Technologies is moving employees into a recently opened factory designed to build 100 satellites a year, and more in the future.
NRO to increase investments in commercial space technology
Small satellites and responsive launch are areas of particular interest to the NRO.
General Atomics opens satellite factory in Colorado
The new 33,514 square foot facility in Colorado triples the company’s capacity for satellite production.
Rocket Lab to acquire smallsat component manufacturer
Rocket Lab announced March 16 that it is acquiring a Canadian smallsat component company as it seeks to build up its satellite division.
Smallsat industry faces challenges to growth
While the smallsat industry continues to grow, experts warn that several blind spots could slow its growth in the near future.
Accion Systems raises $11 million Series B for space propulsion
Space propulsion startup Accion Systems has raised $11 million in a new round of funding designed to allow the company to increase production of its electric thrusters for smallsats.
2010-2019: The decade in space
It was a decade of enormous change. When it began, SpaceX was on the ropes, cubesats were teaching tools, NASA’s lunar ambitions were back on hold and no one in Washington was calling for a Space Force.
EchoStar, fresh off Helios Wire acquisition, orders S-band smallsats from Tyvak
EchoStar has ordered two tiny S-band satellites from Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems to jumpstart a low-Earth-orbit constellation using spectrum gained through its October acquisition of IoT startup Helios Wire.
