FAA Statement The FAA is working toward issuing the final Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the SpaceX Starship / Super Heavy on May 31, 2022. SpaceX made multiple changes to its application that require additional FAA analysis. The agency continues to review around 18,000 general public comments.  The completion of the PEA will not guarantee that the FAA will issue a launch license. SpaceX’s application must also meet FAA safety, risk and […]

RIYADH, April 29, 2022 (ARABSAT PR) – ARABSAT, the leading regional satellite operator in the Middle East and Africa, and Thales Alenia Space, the joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), have signed a contract to build ARABSAT-7A, a fully flexible Software-Defined Satellite (SDS) based on the Space Inspire (INstant SPace In-orbit REconfiguration) platform by Thales Alenia Space.

With this contract, ARABSAT joins the exclusive club of geostationary satellite operators who have chosen this revolutionary technology to empower their business and transition from traditional bent-pipe GEO satellites to the highly agile and adaptable SDSs which are expected to change the face of the geostationary satcom industry. Indeed, the Space Inspire platform will enable seamless telecom mission and services reconfiguration of the ARABSAT-7A satellite, instant in-orbit adjustment to broadband connectivity demand, and superior video broadcasting performance while maximizing the effective use of satellite resources.

Memorandum of Understanding Would Explore Opportunities to Extend AST SpaceMobile’s Planned Coverage to Globe Telecom Customers

MIDLAND, Texas (AST SpaceMobile PR) — AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (“AST SpaceMobile”) (NASDAQ: ASTS), the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network designed to be accessible directly by standard mobile phones, today announced a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with Globe Telecom, Inc. (“Globe”) (NASDAQ: GTMEF).

Globe is a leading digital platform in the Philippines, serving consumers and businesses’ telecommunications and technology needs, including about 86 million wireless subscribers.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Momentus PR) — Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) (“Momentus” or the “Company”), a U.S. commercial space company that plans to offer transportation and other in-space infrastructure services, today announced that it has received a license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) supporting the inaugural flight of the Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle on the upcoming SpaceX Transporter-5 mission targeted for launch in May 2022.

The FCC license, issued after consultation with government agencies, authorizes Momentus to use radio frequencies to communicate with Vigoride while the spacecraft is in Low Earth Orbit.

Leading space investor and entrepreneur recognized for positive impact on commercialization of space travel

LOS ANGELES (Voyager Space PR) — Voyager Space, a global leader in space exploration, today announced its CEO and Chairman, Dylan Taylor, has been named the recipient of the 2022 Space Tourism Award for Catalyst, which recognizes a company or individual who has a comprehensive understanding of the market opportunity and societal need for space tourism and also invests time, money, and intellectual capital to support emerging ventures and increase their chances of success.

The award was presented during the 2022 Space Tourism Conference (STC) on April 28. Past winners of the award include Buzz Aldrin, Richard Branson, Paul Allen, The Ansari Family, and Peter Diamandis. 

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA is requesting public comment on the scope of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the agency’s proposed Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign. Comments will be accepted through the mail and online through Monday, May 16, 2022.

The agency also is hosting two virtual public meetings about the proposed program at 3 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, and 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 5, 2022, at:

https://jpl.webex.com/meet/msr

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program has chosen 110 U.S. small businesses for continued technology development. The range of projects support space exploration and improvements to life on Earth – from foldable solar array technology that could help power astronauts’ work on the Moon to antenna technology that could improve satellite internet service.

NASA’s SBIR program provides early-stage funding and other non-monetary support to small businesses with pioneering ideas to help advance NASA’s missions, as well as the aerospace ecosystem. The new round of awards gives almost $95 million to small businesses across 123 projects.

HOUSTON (Axiom Space PR) — The exciting new era of commercial human spaceflight ushered in over the past three weeks by the successful Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1), the first  private mission to the International Space Station (ISS), entered a new phase with the signing of an agreement between Axiom Space and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to fly a UAE professional crew member to the ISS on NASA’s SpaceX Crew 6, expected to occur in 2023.

SpaceX is targeting Friday, April 29 for a Falcon 9 launch of 53 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous launch window is at 5:27 p.m. ET, or 21:27 UTC, and a backup opportunity is available on Saturday, April 30 at 5:05 p.m. ET, or 21:05 UTC. The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched GPS III […]

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Frank Borman only flew to space twice, but both flights were major milestones in the history of human spaceflight. In 1965, he and Jim Lovell flew for nearly 14 days aboard Gemini 7, proving that humans could function for long periods of time in the absence of gravity. Borman, Lovell and Bill Anders orbited the moon on Christmas Eve 1968 aboard Apollo 8 on the first human mission beyond low Earth orbit, an essential step toward the landing of Apollo 11 eight months later.

There was lesser known, but no less vital, mission that Borman undertook that was every bit as essential to the success of Project Apollo. The anniversary of a key event in that mission was earlier this month. Borman, who turned 94 last month, recounted the story in his autobiography, “Countdown.”

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

On the last Friday in January 1967, Frank Borman took a break from a punishing schedule of traveling from Houston to Project Apollo contractors in Massachusetts and California to spend some quality time with his family. He took his wife, Susan, and their two sons to a cottage on a lake near Huntsville, Texas, owned by family friends. In the era cell phones, there were only landlines. Since the phone number at the cottage was unlisted, Borman was looking forward to two uninterrupted of relaxation.

European Space Agency (ESA) & European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC) challenged European and Canadian engineering teams to develop vehicles capable of prospecting resources within a testbed of the Moon’s shadowy polar regions. Five winners are receiving development grants of 75 000€ each to move their rovers forward to the next phase of the contest, to be held in Luxembourg in September 2022.

BELVAUX, Luxembourg (ESRIC PR) — It is 2028. The European Large Logistic Lander just descended in the area between the Shoemaker and Faustini crater in the South Pole region of the Moon. The mission:  to characterise and locate resources (water and metals..) and produce an accurate map of the little impact crater a few hundred meters from the lander, to make a first resource map to guide future missions… We’re not there yet, but this mission scenario is very close to what a future European mission could look like.

LONG BEACH, Calif., April 27, 2022 (Virgin Orbit PR) — Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB) (“Virgin Orbit” or the “Company”), announced today that it will report financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022, after the market closes on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. The Company will host a conference call on the same day at 4:30 pm Eastern Time to discuss the results. Participants may access the call at […]