by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Small satellites are increasingly being used for missions in Earth orbit and deep space. Although they are easy to launch, their size limits their capabilities and usefulness to scientists. NASA has selected a pair of research and development (R&D) projects designed to address some of these limitations for continued funding under the space agency’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

The space agency selected Flight Works for a Phase II award to continue developing a high-performance, pump-fed transfer stage for Venture Class cislunar and deep space missions. The space agency also selected Nanohmics of Austin, Texas, for a SBIR Phase II award to continue working on adaptive optics for low-cost CubeSat optical systems. Each award is worth up to $750,000 over 24 months. Both companies received smaller SBIR Phase I awards.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

LONG BEACH, Calif. — The question of how to strengthen the U.S. space industry’s weakened supply chain, which has been battered over the past two years by the global COVID-19 pandemic, was the subject of a panel discussion at the Space Tech Expo last week. The answers boiled down to the Pentagon adopting an agile approach to developing and acquiring technology, and reversing a decades-old trend by industry of outsourcing manufacturing abroad.

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — An uncrewed Russian Progress 81 spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station’s Zvezda service module at 9:02 a.m. EDT, two orbits after launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Progress is delivering almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the International Space Station for the Expedition 67 crew. Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts. […]

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (NASA PR) — NASA launched the second phase of its Break the Ice Lunar Challenge to advance technology that is – quite literally – groundbreaking. The challenge invites the public to advance system technology for excavating and delivering lunar resources.

High on NASA’s list of innovation priorities are technologies that use the Moon’s resources to support sustainable surface operations while decreasing supply needs from Earth. This includes systems that could convert lunar ice into rocket fuel, drinkable water, or other vital resources. 

200,000-Square-Foot Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center Will Feature 150 Interactive Exhibits and Become Permanent Home for Space Shuttle Endeavour

LOS ANGELES, Calif., June 1, 2022 (California Science Center PR) — The California Science Center today broke ground on the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, a 200,000-square-foot addition to the Science Center that will contain 150 educational exhibits spanning three multi-level galleries and become the permanent home of Space Shuttle Endeavour, one of only three remaining flown space shuttle orbiters and the only one located on the west coast.

Will conduct space optical communications business

NEW YORK (Sony PR) — Sony Group Corporation (“Sony Group”) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Sony Corporation of America (“SCA”), has formed a new company, Sony Space Communications Corporation (“SSC”), to conduct space optical communications.

• Inaugural launch for an expected 240 satellite constellation, with first phase of 72 satellites expected to be completed by 2025.
• Geely Future Mobility Constellation to provide services for autonomous driving, logistics, drone navigation, mapping and other fields
• Sustainably developed satellites leave no debris after designed operating lifespan
• GeeSAT-1 is China’s first modular, high-resilience, high-performance, mass-produced satellite

XICHANG, China, June 2, 2022 (Geespace PR) — Geespace, a wholly owned subsidiary of Geely Technology Group* and China’s first privately owned developer, operator, and mass producer of low-orbit commercial satellites, has successfully launched its first nine satellites into low earth orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

NASA has selected two research and development (R&D) projects focused on producing technologies that future astronauts will need to produce fuel and oxygen on the moon and Mars.

Air Company Holdings of Brooklyn, NY, and New York University will share a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) award worth up to $150,000 to develop a system to produce kerosene-based fuels on Earth and Mars. Innosense of Torrance, Calif., and the University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottsville will receive a STTR award to develop a hydrogen sensor to be used in the processing of oxygen from lunar regolith.

Over 100 participants from 18 countries – including NASA scientists and the agency’s NEOWISE mission – took part in the international exercise.

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — Watching the skies for large asteroids that could pose a hazard to the Earth is a global endeavor. So, to test their operational readiness, the international planetary defense community will sometimes use a real asteroid’s close approach as a mock encounter with a “new” potentially hazardous asteroid. The lessons learned could limit, or even prevent, global devastation should the scenario play out for real in the future.

PARIS (CNES PR) — On May 25, CNES launched a new call for projects aimed at all organizations (SMEs, start-ups, industrial groups, research laboratories, schools, universities, etc.) with an innovative project to propose on the subject of intelligence. technology applied to space transport by 2030-2040. Candidates, who have until June 12 to submit their project, may be awarded up to 100,000 euros in funding as well as dedicated support within the […]

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA intends to issue a sole source modification to SpaceX to acquire five additional crewed flights to the International Space Station as part of its Commercial Crew Transportation Capabilities (CCtCap) contract. The additional crew flights will allow NASA to maintain an uninterrupted U.S. capability for human access to the space station with two unique commercial crew industry partners.

Agreement includes 11 ports aboard Falcon 9 for missions in 2023

D-Orbit continues to execute on growth plans with increasing launch opportunities to satisfy growing demand for its last-mile space delivery and in-orbit demonstration services

FINO MORNASCO, Italy, May 31, 2022 (D-Orbit PR) — D-Orbit, the space logistics and orbital transportation company that is going public through a transaction with Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: BREZ), announced today that it has secured 11 ports for D-Orbit’s ION Satellite Carrier (“ION”) for launch on SpaceX Rideshare missions in 2023.

Securing these slots is in line with D-Orbit’s plans to launch 13 IONs in 2023, as the Company works to meet the increasing demand for last-mile space transportation solutions and in-orbit demonstration of third-party payloads. The launches have been purchased through the Italian launch broker impulso.space.