SINGAPORE (Singapore Space & Technology PR) — Singapore Space & Technology Limited (SSTL) announces the second year of its partnership with the World Bank Group, to organize a Digital Earth Partnership Technology Challenge focused on the measurement and analysis of extreme urban heat. The challenge aims to improve our understanding of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) Effect and its impact on East Asian communities.

Like the rest of the world, Asia is getting warmer due to climate change. The UHI effect, which is caused mainly by the modification of land surfaces due to urbanisation, is exacerbating this trend. The removal of trees and other green spaces to make way for buildings and roads, the addition of heat-absorbing materials, and waste heat from energy use in buildings and transportation are adding to the already rising ambient temperature. This is a growing problem in the region as it results in reduced productivity, worse education and health outcomes, and greater energy requirements for cooling, leading to more carbon emissions. Heat waves in cities also correlate with increased crime, conflict, domestic violence, and poorer mental health. Extreme heat disproportionately impacts poor or otherwise marginalized communities and is a particular problem for the region’s developing countries.

KOUROU, French Guiana, December 25, 2021 (NASA PR) — NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope launched at 7:20 a.m. EST Saturday on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, South America.

A joint effort with ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency, the Webb observatory is NASA’s revolutionary flagship mission to seek the light from the first galaxies in the early universe and to explore our own solar system, as well as planets orbiting other stars, called exoplanets. 

NEW YORK, Dec. 20, 2021 (CF Acquisition Corp. V PR) — CF Acquisition Corp. V (Nasdaq: CFFV, “CF V”), announced today that it convened and then adjourned, without conducting any other business, CF V’s special meeting of stockholders (the “Special Meeting”) held on December 20, 2021. The Special Meeting has been adjourned until Thursday, December 30, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, to allow CF V additional time to continue discussions regarding potential additional financing for the post-combination company.

The Special Meeting is being held to vote on the Business Combination Proposal as described in CF V’s definitive proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on November 12, 2021, relating to its proposed business combination with Nettar Group Inc. (d/b/a Satellogic) (the “Company”).

WASHINGTON (FAA PR) – In an open letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Santa Claus revealed who made it on his FAA Safety Naughty and Nice Lists. 

“I have the utmost gratitude and respect for everyone who makes it their job to keep air travel safe,” writes Santa. “For those people whose bad behavior puts air travel safety in jeopardy, remember: I’m watching!”

KOUROU, French Guiana (NASA PR) — NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope – inside the Ariane 5 rocket it will ride to space – has arrived at its final location on Earth: the Arianespace ELA-3 launch complex at Europe’s Spaceport located near Kourou, French Guiana. Webb is scheduled for liftoff at 7:20 am EST Saturday, Dec. 25. With Webb and its rocket securely on the pad, the team will run electrical diagnostics to […]

MOJAVE, Calif. (Virgin Orbit PR) — Yesterday, Virgin Orbit, which has announced a planned business combination with NextGen Acquisition Corp. II (“NextGen”) (NASDAQ: NGCA), completed a full wet dress rehearsal of its air-launched LauncherOne satellite delivery service, taking the integrated system through a full run of procedures to verify the health of the system and the preparedness of the team.

LONG BEACH, Calif., December 22, 2021 (Rocket Lab PR) – Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq:  RKLB) (the “Company” or “Rocket Lab”) today announced that it will redeem all of its outstanding public warrants (the “Public Warrants”) to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock that were issued under the Warrant Agreement, dated as of September 24, 2020, by and among Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (f/k/a Vector Acquisition Corporation) and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (“Continental”), as original warrant agent, as amended by and assigned to and assumed by the Company, pursuant to that certain Amendment to Warrant Agreement, dated August 25, 2021, by and among Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (f/k/a Vector Acquisition Corporation), Continental, and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC (“AST”), as successor warrant agent (as so amended, the “Warrant Agreement”), as part of the units sold in the Company’s initial public offering (the “IPO”) and that remain outstanding at 5:00 p.m. New York City time on January 21, 2022 (the “Redemption Date”) for a redemption price of $0.10 per Public Warrant.  In addition, the Company will redeem all of its outstanding warrants to purchase Common Stock that were issued under the Warrant Agreement in a private placement simultaneously with the IPO (the “Private Placement Warrants” and, together with the Public Warrants, the “Warrants”) on the same terms as the outstanding Public Warrants.

Editor’s Note: This advisory was updated Dec. 21 to reflect Webb’s new target launch date of Dec. 25.

KOUROU, French Guiana (NASA PR) — NASA will provide coverage of prelaunch, launch, and postlaunch activities for the James Webb Space Telescope, the world’s largest and most powerful space science telescope.

Webb is targeted to launch at 7:20 a.m. EST Saturday, Dec. 25, on an ESA-provided Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America.

Update 22 December (22.00 CET): launch confirmed for 25 December

KOUROU, French Guiana (ESA PR) — ESA and NASA will be broadcasting live as the James Webb Space Telescope is launched to space on ESA’s Ariane 5 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 12:20 GMT / 13:20 CET on Saturday 25 December.

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFRL PR) – The Air Force Research Laboratory’s and Northrop Grumman’s Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstrations and Research (SSPIDR) Project have successfully conducted the first end-to-end demonstration of key hardware for the Arachne flight experiment.

A ground demonstration of novel components for the “sandwich tile” were used to successfully convert solar energy to radio frequency (RF) – a fundamental step required to pave the way for a large-scale solar power collection system in space.