Constellations, Launch, New Space and more…
From Sample to Results: In-Space Data Analysis Enables Quicker Data Return
HPE Spaceborne Computer-2. (Credit: NASA)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (CASIS PR) – Space-based computing has achieved a significant milestone by enabling investigators conducting an experiment onboard the International Space Station (ISS) to go from sample analysis to results while the experiment was on station. The ability to process data onboard the ISS drastically reduces the time required for investigators to get data and enables potential iteration of the research while the experiment is still in orbit.

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  • April 6, 2022
Private Companies Produce RF Packages and Electromechanical Actuation Systems for ISRO
ISRO Chairman Shri S. Somanath examines components. (Credit: ISRO)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (ISRO PR) — SFO Technologies, Thiruvananthapuram and Hical Technologies, Bengaluru realized and delivered flight grade RF systems and Electromechanical Actuators, respectively, at the Government-owned Company-operated (GOCO) facilities at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. Firms handed over the modules to ISRO Chairman Shri S. Somanath in a function held last month.

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Ger­man En­MAP Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite Launch­es Suc­cess­ful­ly on SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-4 Mission
Launch of Fal­con 9 with Ger­man en­vi­ron­men­tal satel­lite En­MAP. (Credit: SpaceX)
  • At 18:24 CEST on 1 April (12:24 local time), the first German-developed hyperspectral satellite (EnMAP) successfully launched on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
  • The mission is being managed by the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Bonn on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK).
  • OHB-System AG was commissioned to develop and build the satellite and the hyperspectral instrument. Meanwhile, the ground segment has been developed and will be operated by DLR in Oberpfaffenhofen. The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) in Potsdam is the scientific coordinator for the mission.
  • Focus: Space, Earth observation, climate change, environmental protection and nature conservation

COLOGNE, Germany (DLR PR) — It all began in 2003 with a competition announced by the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) as part of the National Space Programme. The task was to design and build a new type of hyperspectral instrument and a satellite to carry it, and to test both the instrument and its satellite for several years in the harsh conditions of space. At the same time, an (inter)national community of scientists was formed to define the user requirements and objectives for the first German hyperspectral mission, which was also to be the first of its kind in Europe. What data about Earth should be collected with EnMAP, and for what purpose? This is how the special environmental satellite – the abbreviation stands for Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program – was created.

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NOAA FY 2023 Budget Advances a Climate-Ready Nation, New Blue Economy and Equity
A collage of typical climate and weather-related events: floods, heatwaves, drought, hurricanes, wildfires and loss of glacial ice. (Credit: NOAA)

SILVER SPRING, Md. (NOAA PR) — “The Biden-Harris Administration recently released its proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2023, which includes strong support for NOAA‘s mission and goals. This level of funding signals the Administration’s support of NOAA as the authority on climate data and information. The FY 2023 budget will allow NOAA to scale our efforts to deliver accurate climate products and services to all Americans by building on our research, forecasts, and observations,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D.

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NASA’s First Practice Countdown of Space Launch System Ends with Glass (and Tank) Half Filled
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen at sunrise atop a mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B, Monday, April 4, 2022, as the Artemis I launch team conducts the wet dress rehearsal test at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)

by David Bullock and Douglas Messier

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA ended its first attempt to conduct a wet dress rehearsal for the maiden flight test of the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft to the moon on Tuesday after four days of wrestling with a series of technical challenges and weather delays.

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NASA Prepares for Next Artemis I Wet Dress Rehearsal Attempt
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen at sunrise atop a mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B, Monday, April 4, 2022, as the Artemis I launch team conducts the wet dress rehearsal test at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — Teams are preparing for the next attempt to at the Artemis I wet dress rehearsal, pending range availability and restoration of propellants and gases during the test. Through the past two test runs April 3 and 4, engineers accomplished several test objectives that will prepare the teams and integrated systems for launch:

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U.S. Air Force Announces Candidate Locations for STARCOM HQ, Deltas
The Department of the Air Force will begin site surveys in late April or early May 2022 to determine the location that is best suited to host the U.S. Space Force’s Space Training and Readiness Command Headquarters. The assessment will be based on factors related to mission, infrastructure capacity, community support, environmental considerations and cost. (Credit: U.S. Air Force)

WASHINGTON (AFNS) — The Department of the Air Force selected six candidate locations for U.S. Space Force’s Space Training and Readiness Command Headquarters, April 4.

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Hughes Announces Distribution Agreement with OneWeb Technologies

Turnkey managed LEO services available now to DoD for single- and multi-transport SATCOM implementations worldwide

Pictured, left to right: Rick Lober, Vice President & General Manager, Defense & Intelligence Systems, Hughes; Tim Kopra, President, OneWeb Technologies; Ian Canning, Chief Operating Officer, OneWeb Technologies; Steve Perreault, Chief Financial Officer, OneWeb Technologies; Jeff Lessner, Vice President, Hughes; Leslie Blaker-Glass, Vice President, Hughes
Pictured, left to right: Rick Lober, Vice President & General Manager, Defense & Intelligence Systems, Hughes; Tim Kopra, President, OneWeb Technologies; Ian Canning, Chief Operating Officer, OneWeb Technologies; Steve Perreault, Chief Financial Officer, OneWeb Technologies; Jeff Lessner, Vice President, Hughes; Leslie Blaker-Glass, Vice President, Hughes (Image Credit: Hughes Network Systems, LLC)

GERMANTOWN, Md. (Hughes Network Systems PR) — Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), an innovator in satellite and multi-transport technologies and networks for 50 years, today announced it signed a distribution agreement with OneWeb Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of OneWeb, to deliver managed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) services to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The agreement follows the launch of the industry’s first managed LEO satellite communications (SATCOM) network for the DoD, an implementation led by Hughes in the Arctic region for the U.S. Air Force Research Lab (AFRL).

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York Space Systems Wins Second Consecutive Contract from Space Development Agency, Tripling Production Capacity to Support Continued Demand

Denver-based York will reach initial operating capacity at new facility in May to simultaneously produce platform satellites for government and commercial customers at massive scale

(From left to right) Dirk Wallinger, CEO and President of York Space Systems; the Honorable Frank Kendall, Secretary of the Air Force; Dr. Derek Tournear, Director of the Space Development Agency; and Charles Beames, Executive Chairman of York Space Systems tour York's new manufacturing facility.
(From left to right) Dirk Wallinger, CEO and President of York Space Systems; the Honorable Frank Kendall, Secretary of the Air Force; Dr. Derek Tournear, Director of the Space Development Agency; and Charles Beames, Executive Chairman of York Space Systems tour York’s new manufacturing facility. (Image Credit: York Space Systems)

DENVER (York Space Systems PR) — York Space Systems (York), a Denver-based aerospace company dedicated to complete space mission solutions, today announced another award from the Space Development Agency (SDA), a $382 million contract to York to deliver 42 satellites in support of SDA’s Tranche 1 Transport Layer (T1TL). York will produce these satellites, built on the LX-CLASS standard commercial platform, in the new facility for approximately half the price of its nearest peer competitors. York was also selected by SDA in August 2020 to provide 10 satellites for Tranche 0 and remains on schedule for delivery later this year.

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MDA Joins Lockheed Martin and General Motors on Next Generation Lunar Rover Development
MDA’s commercial robotic arm shown on a Lockheed Martin and GM lunar rover. (Image Credit: CNW Group/MDA Inc.)

BRAMPTON, ON & COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (MDA PR) — MDA Ltd. (TSX:MDA), a leading provider of advanced technology and services to the rapidly expanding global space industry, today announced that it is working with Lockheed Martin and General Motors to integrate MDA’s commercial robotic arm technology on their planned human-rated lunar mobility vehicles.

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Venus Aerospace Raises $20 Million In Series A Funding Led By Prime Movers Lab
Venus Aerospace team at the Houston Spaceport. (Image Credit: Venus Aerospace)

HOUSTON (Venus Aerospace PR) — Venus Aerospace, a startup developing hypersonic aircraft, raised a $20 million Series A funding round led by Prime Movers Lab, which invests in breakthrough scientific companies that reinvent and transform the way we live and operate.

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SwRI’s New Space System Integration Facility Supports Smallsat Development
SwRI’s new 74,000-square-foot Space System Integration Facility will allow rapid response to customers needing to design, assemble and test spacecraft, particularly small satellites for emerging “new space” applications, including support for the commercial and U.S. Department of Defense arenas. (Credit: Southwest Research Institute)

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, April 4, 2022 (SwRI PR) — Southwest Research Institute has added a new, 74,000-square-foot Space System Integration Facility to its San Antonio headquarters. The SwRI facility can rapidly respond to customers needing to design, assemble and test spacecraft, particularly small satellites for emerging “new space” applications, including support for the commercial and U.S. Department of Defense arenas. The building is scheduled for completion in June 2022.

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