SpaceNews : Special economic zones for restoring American space dominance
[[{“value”:” Will China beat America in returning astronauts to the moon? We hear this question time and again. It is a perennial concern, both from a prestige and national security standpoint. But it is the wrong question. What we really need to assess is whether or not China is on track to dominate America in […]
SpaceNews : Momentus and Solstar to offer communications, transportation and infrastructure in low-Earth orbit
[[{“value”:” BRISBANE, Australia – Momentus and Solstar Space announced a three-year agreement Oct. 13 to expand communications, transportation and infrastructure services for government and commercial missions in low-Earth orbit. The reciprocal-services agreement is designed to combine “the respective strengths, products and services of each company to deliver comprehensive low-Earth orbit space capabilities to address a […]
SpaceNews : JAXA to launch tech demo satellites on Electron rockets
[[{“value”:” WASHINGTON — The Japanese space agency JAXA has selected Rocket Lab to launch a set of technology demonstration satellites on Electron rockets after continued delays with a Japanese launch vehicle. Rocket Lab announced Oct. 10 that it signed a contract with JAXA for two dedicated Electron launches, one late this year and the other […]
SpaceNews : SpaceX prepares for next Starship test flight
[[{“value”:” WASHINGTON — SpaceX is set to conduct its next Starship test flight as the company continues to test the launch vehicle and play well with others in airspace. The Flight 11 mission of Starship is scheduled to launch from the company’s Starbase test site in South Texas at 7:15 p.m. Eastern on Oct. 13. […]
SpaceNews : French space defense startup Dark ceases operations
[[{“value”:” WASHINGTON —Dark, a French startup developing air-launched spacecraft technology to capture and dispose of orbital objects, has shut down operations after struggling to establish a sustainable business model, the company announced this week. The four-year-old Paris-based firm said the decision to cease operations was made by founders and the board following years of work […]
SpaceNews : Huge commercial Chinese solid rocket launches 3 satellites from barge in the Yellow Sea
[[{“value”:” HELSINKI — Chinese launch startup Orienspace successfully conducted its second launch late Friday, with a Gravity-1 solid rocket lifting off from a barge in the Yellow Sea. The second Gravity-1 rocket lifted off at 10:20 p.m. Eastern, Oct. 10 (0220 UTC Oct. 11) from a barge off the coast of Haiyang, Shandong Province, supported […]
SpaceNews : Planet announces new line of satellites for daily Earth imaging
[[{“value”:” AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Planet has announced a new class of imaging satellites that will replace a line of spacecraft dating back to the company’s earliest days. Will Marshall, co-founder and chief executive of Planet, wrote in an Oct. 7 blog post that the company will launch late next year the first Owl satellite, […]
SpaceNews : New Zealand charts continued growth of its space industry
[[{“value”:” CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The New Zealand government is touting the progress it is making to grow the country’s aerospace industry. In a speech Oct. 8 at the New Zealand Aerospace Summit here, Judith Collins, the country’s space minister, said the government was making headway on goals laid out a year earlier in a […]
SpaceNews : Former U.S. defense officials urge Pentagon to scale up hypersonic weapons to match China, Russia
[[{“value”:” WASHINGTON — A group of former senior U.S. defense officials is urging the Pentagon to dramatically expand investment in advanced hypersonic weapons and manufacturing capacity, warning that China and Russia are outpacing the United States in developing high-speed, maneuverable missiles that threaten to erode U.S. military deterrence. The recommendation comes in a new report […]
SpaceNews : Momentus wins two NASA contracts to fly tech demo payloads
[[{“value”:” AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Momentus announced Oct. 9 two new contracts with NASA to carry payloads to test in-space manufacturing and an advanced propulsion system on its Vigoride spacecraft. The company said it won the contracts, with a combined value of $7.6 million, to fly the payloads on a future Vigoride mission. One contract, […]