Highlights:

• Virgin Orbit signs agreement to secure two new airframes to meet U.S. national security and its allies’ launch demands
• L3Harris will modify one aircraft, aims to deliver Virgin Orbit’s second airborne launcher by 2023
• New cargo configuration expected to enable foreign spaceport launch and transport of rockets, support equipment

LONG BEACH, Calif. and MELBOURNE, Fla., May 10, 2022 (Virgin Orbit PR) — Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB), a leading satellite launch company, has signed an agreement with L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) to acquire two Boeing 747-400 airframes to support the growing need for U.S. national security and allies’ satellite launch demands.  

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — During a ceremony at NASA Headquarters in Washington Tuesday, May 10, the Republic of Colombia became the 19th country to sign the Artemis Accords. NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy participated in the signing ceremony for the agency and Vice President and Foreign Minister Marta Lucía Ramírez signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of Colombia.

The Artemis Accords establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations, including those participating in NASA’s Artemis program.

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Virgin Orbit PR) — Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB) has entered flight preparation mode for its forthcoming launch, Straight Up, that will support the United States Space Force’s STP-28A mission. After departing Virgin Orbit’s Long Beach rocket factory on Thursday, April 28, 2022, the rocket arrived at the Mojave Air and Space Port. It will support the Rocket Systems Launch Program (RSLP) and will carry payloads for the Department of Defense (DoD) Space Test Program (STP).

Designed and built by Terran Orbital, CAPSTONE will support NASA’s Artemis program in reducing the risk for future Lunar bound spacecraft while propelling space exploration for all humankind

IRVINE, Calif., May 10, 2022 (Terran Orbital PR) – Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP), a global leader in satellite solutions, primarily serving the United States aerospace and defense industry, today announced it has shipped its CAPSTONE satellite to a launch site on the Mahia Peninsula of New Zealand. CAPSTONE will launch on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket using a Lunar Photon satellite upper stage to send the spacecraft on its planned lunar transfer trajectory. This historic pathfinding mission supports NASA’s Artemis program which includes landing the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.

CAMBRIDGE, MA (Draper PR) — The Board of Directors of The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., announced today that Dr. Jerry M. Wohletz, a senior executive at BAE Systems, Inc., has been selected as Draper’s next President and Chief Executive Officer.

Wohletz will assume his position on June 27. He succeeds William A. LaPlante, who stepped down as CEO in April after the U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination by President Biden as Under Secretary for Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. Tara Clark, who has been serving as Draper’s Acting President and CEO, will return to her role as Vice President for Operations when Wohletz begins his duties.

Draper’s Chairman of the Board, David R. Shedd, is delighted to welcome Wohletz to Draper. Shedd noted that “Jerry brings a breadth and depth of experience as Draper’s next president and CEO that make him ideal for this position. His widespread reputation as a strong leader with a long-standing commitment to the pursuit of excellence in the national security sector underscores why Jerry is an outstanding choice to lead Draper for the coming years.”

TORONTO, ONTARIO – May 10^th, 2022 (Kepler Communications PR) — Kepler Communications announces a contract with data, analytics, and space services company, Spire Global Inc. (“Spire”) (NYSE: SPIR) to bring high-capacity Ku-Band Service to the company’s satellites. Through this contract, Spire will gain access to Kepler’s robust Ku-Band technology, enabling the company to provide additional value to space services customers. The agreement will see Spire install Kepler’s Ku-Band payload on three initial satellites, with the option to scale to up to fifty satellites.

Series B Fundraising Round Opens to New Investors for First Publicly Accessible Spaceflight training Facility and Lab-to-Orbit™ Research Campus

Denver, Colo., May 10, 2022 (STAR HARBOR PR) – STAR HARBOR announced today details of its planned 53-acre mixed-use development campus and training center south of Denver in Lone Tree, Colorado (Douglas County). The commercial astronaut training, space workforce development and technology incubator program also launched a Series B fundraising round through July 15 2022 to further the development of the project.

KENT, Wash. (Blue Origin PR) — Blue Origin today announced the crew flying on its NS-21 mission will include: investor and NS-19 Astronaut Evan Dick; electrical engineer and former NASA test lead Katya Echazarreta; business jet pilot and Action Aviation Chairman Hamish Harding; civil production engineer Victor Correa Hespanha; adventurer and Dream Variation Ventures co-founder Jaison Robinson; and explorer and co-founder of private equity firm Insight Equity Victor Vescovo, Commander, USN (Ret.). Katya will become the first Mexican-born woman and youngest American woman to fly to space, and she will be flying as part of Space for Humanity’s sponsored Citizen Astronaut Program. Victor Correa Hespanha will be the second Brazilian to fly to space.

Katya Echazarreta Will Join Five Other Crew Members in Life-Changing Journey As Space For Humanity’s First Citizen Astronaut Ambassador and First Mexican-Born Woman to Visit Space

DENVER (Space For Humanity PR) — Today, Space For Humanity (S4H), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, announced its selection committee has chosen Katya Echazarreta to become the organization’s first ever citizen astronaut ambassador. Katya will become the first Mexican-born female to fly to space when she flies aboard Blue Origin’s NS-21 flight.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Neptune Flood PR) — Neptune Flood, the first AI-driven flood insurance company to provide fast, easy, and superior flood insurance, has entered a strategic collaboration with ICEYE – an international, satellite imagery company providing earth observation data via the world’s largest synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) constellation. 

As part of the collaboration, ICEYE will provide Neptune Flood with high-resolution flood hazard data in the immediate aftermath of a flood event to enable monitoring of Neptune’s insured geolocations for micro changes in water depths around properties. The agreement also allows for exploration of future initiatives including triggers for parametric insurance products offered through Neptune’s Jumpstart brand. 

Solstar Space makes big strides as it leverages Microsoft for Startups program to build the 
Space Wide Web for persistent space-based communications.

SANTA FE, N.M. (Solstar Space PR) — Solstar Space (Solstar), the company making persistent in-orbit communications available, announces Microsoft has selected Solstar as a Microsoft for Startups Partner.

PARIS (ESA PR) — Combining artificial intelligence with many keen human eyes, astronomers have found 1,701 new asteroid trails in archival data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, consisting of more than 37,000 images that span two decades. The project reflects both Hubble’s value to scientists as an asteroid hunter and how the public can effectively contribute to citizen science initiatives.