HOUSTON (NASA PR) — Axiom Space astronauts Michael López-Alegría, Larry Connor, Eytan Stibbe, and Mark Pathy have safely returned to Earth, marking the end of the Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) – the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, carrying the crew of four and more than 200 pounds of science and supplies, including NASA experiments and hardware, undocked from the space station at 9:10 p.m. EDT on Sunday, April 24. About 16 hours later, the vehicle splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.

BERLIN (Planet Labs PR) — Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL), a leading provider of daily data and insights about Earth, today announced that Planet’s PlanetScope and SkySat data have joined the European Space Agency (ESA) Third Party Missions portfolio, enabling ESA to utilize Planet data for scientific, research, and pre-operational Earth Observation based applications development. Through distribution under the ESA Earthnet Programme, European researchers, scientists, and companies can access Planet’s high-frequency, high-resolution satellite data for non-commercial use.

Initiated in 1976, the ESA Earthnet Programme is a “Network for the Earth,” with the purpose of building an Earth Observation science community to acquire and share knowledge of our planet. Within this program, Planet joins more than 50 other missions owned by commercial or public organizations to add near-daily PlanetScope imagery, 50 cm SkySat imagery, and RapidEye archive data to this global network. In 2019, Planet entered into an agreement with ESA to evaluate making Planet’s data from its high-resolution constellation available as a Third Party Mission.

LAKEWOOOD, Colo., April 22, 2022 (Aphelion Aerospace PR) — Aphelion Aerospace is proud to announce reaching a major milestone in developing the company’s commercial launch services with the completion of critical propulsion system testing. The team recently spent two weeks at the company’s test facility in Wyoming integrating a rocket engine and support systems on a ground test stand and conducting a series of hot fire tests. The test activity was conducted with support from Aphelion Aerospace’s propulsion R&D partner, Frontier Astronautics, at their facility near Chugwater, WY.

Orbital Insight will integrate Satellogic’s high-resolution multispectral imagery, hyperspectral imagery, and full-motion video capabilities into its geospatial intelligence platform

PALO ALTO, Calif. (Orbital Insight PR) — Orbital Insight, the leader in geospatial intelligence, today announced that it has partnered with Satellogic (NASDAQ: SATL), a leader in sub-meter resolution satellite imagery collection. The partnership will integrate Satellogic’s high-frequency, high-resolution collections of satellite imagery and full-motion video into Orbital Insight’s platform and offer customers better access to high quality data, improve the revisit rate and reduce the cost of running analytics.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 21, 2022 (Aeva PR) – Aeva^® (NYSE: AEVA), a leader in next-generation sensing and perception systems, today announced that NASA’s Kinematic Navigation and Cartography Knapsack (KNaCK) Instrument project, a LiDAR-based mobile terrain-mapping and navigation system designed to support the next generation of lunar and planetary exploration, is using Aeva’s 4D LiDAR™ technology. Aeva’s technology, including the new Aeries™ II sensor, is expected to enable the KNaCK Instrument to create highly accurate maps of the lunar surface and provide precise navigation capabilities to overcome the lack of global positioning and navigation systems on the Moon. These capabilities are designed to support missions that are part of NASA’s Artemis program which aims to return humans to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

Next generation georegistration software boasts applications across industries, aligning satellite imagery to ground truth within two to three meters of accuracy

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (Edgybees PR) — Edgybees, the global leader in georegistration software, is announcing today the release of its Satellite Software to enhance the accuracy of satellite imagery. Edgybees Satellite Software aligns electro-optical satellite imagery to ground truth, within two to three meters of accuracy, in less than 15 seconds. The software vastly reduces discrepancies and provides clear and concise context to consumers of satellite imagery across industries.

New Real-Time Earth Space Relay Service Will Provide Resilient, Flexible and Scalable Communications Links for Optimized Data Transfer of LEO Space Missions

CARLSBAD, Calif. (Viasat Inc. PR) — Viasat Inc., (NASDAQ: VSAT) a global communications company, today announced it was selected on April 20^th by NASA to support its Communications Services Project (CSP), which seeks to accelerate the development of near-Earth communications by partnering with commercial satellite communications (SATCOM) providers. Aligned to the CSP objectives, Viasat is developing a space relay capability that will leverage its upcoming ViaSat-3 global satellite constellation, with a newly developed terminal that will enable on-demand and cost-effective communications services for LEO spacecraft anywhere and at any time in their global orbit.

New analytic capabilities pinpoint dark maritime activity not seen by AIS

HERNDON, Va. (HawkEye 360 Inc. PR) — HawkEye 360 Inc., the world’s leading commercial provider of space-based Radio Frequency (RF) data and analytics, released a new maritime association analytics capability which analyzes RF signal geolocations and third-party global AIS maritime geolocations to provide insight into potential dark ship activity in key areas of interest (AOI) across the world. The maritime insights enable organizations to understand anomalies in the maritime domain and more effectively employ other collection and surveillance modalities to gather intelligence. This capability will allow coast guards, navies, law enforcement, fisheries, and non-profit organizations to increase maritime domain awareness and quickly identify RF activity that cannot be attributed to publicly identifiable maritime activity.

Capella will use the funding, led by NightDragon, to expand its AI-enabled geospatial analytics and imaging offerings for its satellite sensors that penetrate all weather conditions – clouds, fog, smoke, rain – and capture clear imagery 24-7, day and night, across the globe

SAN FRANCISCO (Capella Space PR) — Capella Space, the leading earth observation company, today announced a $97M Series C financing round led by NightDragon, with significant participation from existing investors DCVC and Cota Capital. Capella plans to use the funding to expand its offerings and continue its mission to provide 24-7 access to frequent, timely and high-quality satellite analytics and imagery products to customers with demanding geospatial intelligence needs worldwide.

Capella’s SAR (synthetic aperture radar) sensors are deployed across its seven satellites in orbit today, with more satellites ready to launch across 2022 and 2023. This constellation can penetrate all weather conditions – clouds, fog, smoke, rain – and capture clear imagery 24-7, day and night, providing unparalleled insight into what is happening anywhere on the globe at any given moment. Recent global events in Ukraine and Russia have shown that access to accurate and timely earth observation data has never been more critical.

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Virgin Orbit PR) — Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB), a leading satellite launch provider, announced today the renaming of its national security arm. Formerly “VOX Space,” Virgin Orbit’s U.S.-based, wholly owned subsidiary engaged with national security organizations in the U.S. and its allies will now do so under the name “Virgin Orbit National Systems.”

Popular Mechanics reports that the Pentagon is studying how SpaceX was able to quickly thwart attempts to jam Starlink satellite broadband receivers the company sent to Ukraine to help the nation defend itself against a Russian invasion. The U.S. Department of Defense is casting envious eyes on Elon Musk’s SpaceX after the aerospace company swiftly responded to an “electronic warfare attack” in Ukraine last month. SpaceX donated Starlink terminals to […]

JSX Air describes itself as a “hop on jet service” that offers point-to-point flights to 17 destinations within Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, New York and Texas. The airline flies 23 Embraer ERJ-145 and ERJ-135 aircraft with 30 passenger seats. The company was founded as JetSuiteX in 2016. JetBlue and Qatar Airways are minority shareholders in the airline.