HANGZHOU, China (STAR.VISION AEROSPACE GROUP LIMITED PR) — STAR.VISION AEROSPACE GROUP LIMITED, a Chinese space technology innovator, has recently won the second place in the Multimodal Learning for Earth and Environment (MultiEarth 2022) competition during the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR 2022). They also topped the rankings in another track “CropHarvest 2022” which focuses on crop classification, using testing data set from Kenya, Togo and Brazil.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (Millennium Space Systems PR) — The United States Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command’s (SSC) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) Wide Field of View (WFOV) Testbed is scheduled to launch June 30, 2022. SSC’s GEO WFOV space vehicle was designed built and integrated by Millennium Space Systems, a Boeing Company, and will inform the future Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) architecture.

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla. (SpaceX PR) — SpaceX is targeting today, Wednesday, June 29 for launch of SES-22 to a geosynchronous transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The two-hour launch window opens at 5:04 p.m. ET, 21:04 UTC. A backup launch opportunity is available on Thursday, June 30 with the same window. The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this […]

SILVER SPRING, Md. (NOAA PR) — Projected growth in rocket launches for space tourism, moon landings, and perhaps travel to Mars has many dreaming of a new era of space exploration. But a NOAA study suggests that a significant boost in spaceflight activity may damage the protective ozone layer on the one planet where we live. 

Kerosene-burning rocket engines widely used by the global launch industry emit exhaust containing black carbon, or soot, directly into the stratosphere, where a layer of ozone protects all living things on the Earth from the harmful impacts of ultraviolet radiation, which include skin cancer and weakened immune systems in humans, as well as disruptions to agriculture and ecosystems.

LOUISVILLE, Colo., June 29, 2022 (Sierra Space PR) – Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company at the forefront of creating and building the future of space transportation and infrastructure for low-Earth orbit (LEO) commercialization, the Turkish Space Agency and ESEN Sistem Entegrasyon (ESEN) announced today the signing of a new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC). The three parties will combine efforts on Sierra’s Space’s low-Earth orbit, lunar and astronaut programs.

• On June 20, 2022, the German Space Agency at DLR started the second round of the competition for small satellites to fly on micro-launchers developed and built in Germany.
• The competition is aimed not only at European institutions, but also at start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises.
• A total of three more flights will be offered by the space companies Isar Aerospace Technologies GmbH and Rocket Factory Augsburg AG in 2023 and 2024.
• Focus: space travel, commercialization, start-up funding

COLOGNE, Germany (DLR PR) — On June 20, 2022, the German Space Agency started the second round of the competition at DLR for a free flight of small satellites on micro-launchers developed and built in Germany. This marks the beginning of the application phase for a total of three further flights, which will be offered by the space companies Isar Aerospace Technologies GmbH and Rocket Factory Augsburg AG in 2023 and 2024. This time, the competition is aimed not only at European institutions, but also at start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises.

ROME (Italian Space Agency PR) — The Italian Space Agency and NASA have signed an agreement for bilateral cooperation. The objective is the realization of a preliminary study dedicated to the development planning of the housing capacities related to the future lunar modules, the Lunar Surface Multi-Purpose Habitation (MPH) Module (s) proposed by ASI, of the Artemis program.

TOKYO (JAXA PR) — The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has conducted the 0th selection test on 2,266 people who have passed the document selection of astronaut candidates, and as a result, the successful candidates have been determined as follows. Number of successful applicants for the 0th selection: 205 (reference) 188 males (91.7%), 17 females (8.3%) Number of people who passed the English test in the 0th selection 1,407Male 1,113 […]

by Rick Smith
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA science research on the International Space Station reached an extraordinary milestone June 14.

The vital, versatile EXPRESS Racks – properly known as “EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to the Space Station” multipurpose payload shelving units – logged 1 million hours of combined powered duty on station. That’s the equivalent of nearly 115 years’ worth of scientific research completed in just two decades.

PARIS (ESA PR) — ESA has awarded a contract worth €160 million [$168.5 million] to Airbus in the UK to build the Earth Explorer FORUM satellite. This exciting new mission will yield unique insight into the planet’s radiation budget and how it is controlled – thereby filling in a critical missing piece of the climate jigsaw.

Short for Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring, FORUM is ESA’s ninth Earth Explorer mission.

Owning the world’s largest SAR constellation, ICEYE is the only company in the world that can provide customers with complete SAR satellite missions delivered in months.

HELSINKI, Finland (ICEYE PR) — ICEYE, an Earth observation company operating the world’s largest synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation, today announced the establishment of a new line of business focused solely on delivering fully operational satellite missions to customers looking for their own orbital SAR capabilities.

Virgin Orbit’s first international commercial rocket launch will carry a joint U.K. and U.S. mission scheduled for takeoff later this year.

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Virgin Orbit PR) — Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB) announces today that it will carry a joint mission between the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the United States’ National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in its historic flight out of Newquay Airport in Cornwall, England later this year. It will be the first rocket launch from British soil, and the first commercial launch from Western Europe.

Virgin Orbit will send two satellites to Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) using the LauncherOne launch platform aboard Cosmic Girl, a modified Boeing 747 aircraft. The Prometheus 2 CubeSats will provide a test platform for monitoring radio signals including GPS and sophisticated imaging, expected to pave the way for a more collaborative and connected space communication system with our allies.