TORONTO, Ont., 21 March 2022 (SFL PR) – Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) has been awarded a contract by GHGSat, world leader in high-resolution remote sensing of greenhouse gas emissions to build another three microsatellites – GHGSat-C6, C7, and C8 – for the company’s commercial greenhouse gas monitoring constellation. A key factor in the selection was the high-performance attitude control system developed by SFL to enable precise pointing of the onboard methane-detecting sensors.

GHGSat has achieved unrivaled success in detecting and measuring point sources of greenhouse gas emissions on the Earth’s surface from space. Thanks to its technology, GHGSat is the only organization in the world capable of detecting methane emissions from sources 100 times smaller than those detected by other satellites by using a resolution 100 times greater than other systems. GHGSat-C6, C7, and C8 are needed to meet the growing commercial demand for GHGSat services and information products.

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, the newest addition to a long line of ocean-monitoring satellites, becomes the reference satellite for sea level measurements.

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — On March 22, the newest U.S.-European sea level satellite, named Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, became the official reference satellite for global sea level measurements. This means that sea surface height data collected by other satellites will be compared to the information produced by Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich to ensure their accuracy.

DENVER, March 23, 2022 (Ursa Major PR) — Ursa Major, America’s only independent pure-play rocket propulsion company today announced the delivery of “Hadley” engines to two different customers for very different applications—hypersonics and space launch. Hadley is an American-made oxygen-rich staged combustion engine, the type of system preferred by the world’s most advanced space programs. The engine is now in full production, with 30 expected to be delivered this year.

MOJAVE, Calif., March 24, 2022 (Stratolaunch PR) – Stratolaunch is pleased to announce Dr. Zachary Krevor, a 20-year aerospace veteran and President and COO of Stratolaunch LLC, has ascended to the role of President and Chief Executive Officer. His appointment is effective immediately.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — As NASA makes strides to return humans to the lunar surface under Artemis, the agency announced plans Wednesday to create additional opportunities for commercial companies to develop an astronaut Moon lander.

Under this new approach, NASA is asking American companies to propose lander concepts capable of ferrying astronauts between lunar orbit and the lunar surface for missions beyond Artemis III, which will land the first astronauts on the Moon in more than 50 years.

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) have selected two astronauts to launch on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli and ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen will serve as spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively, for the mission. Two mission specialists will be announced later, following review by NASA and its international partners.

During an address to the 2022 Royal Australian Air Force Air and Space Power Conference on Tuesday, Australian Minister of Defense Peter Dutton announced the creation of the new Defence Space Command.

An excerpt from the speech concerning the new command follows.

Peter Dutton
Minister of Defense

For any nation, losing access to space would have significant civil and military consequences.

Thus all nations have an interest in assuring their access to space.

It is a domain which must be used to deter aggression, rather than become a new realm for conflict.

So friends, to that end, it is my great pleasure today to officially announce the stand-up of Australia’s Defence Space Command.

By Roberto Molar Candanosa
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

GREENBELT, Md. — Arctic sea ice appeared to have hit its annual maximum extent on Feb. 25 after growing through the fall and winter. This year’s wintertime extent is the 10th-lowest in the satellite record maintained by the National Snow and Ice Data Center, one of NASA’s Distributed Active Archive Centers.

• During trials on the International Space Station (ISS), one robot positions itself so that it could grab another.
• These simulate an approach to a tumbling object.
• The robots work completely autonomously.
• Focus: Spaceflight, ISS, security, artificial intelligence

OBERPFAFFENHOFEN, Germany (DLR PR) — A challenging feat for a little robot: Honey the Astrobee must grasp and transport Bumble the Astrobee. To pull it off, Honey needs to understand Bumble’s trajectory, position itself correctly and avoid a collision at all costs. Artificial intelligence (AI) helps the cube-shaped robot to accurately assess the situation.

The experiment is part of the TumbleDock/ROAM project, which the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is carrying out together with its partners on the ISS. The experiments are part of an effort to determine the best way to remove hazardous pieces of space debris from Earth orbit.

PARIS (ESA PR) — To survive on Mars will mean maximising use of all available resources. A team from Spanish technological centre Tekniker is working on a system that uses sunlight to produce fuel from astronaut wastewater.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., March 23, 2022 (OAC PR) — Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC), the only company advancing the development and operation of the first commercially viable, space-based business park with gravity, is relocating its headquarters and facilities from Rocklin, California to Huntsville, Alabama, home of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

The company negotiated $3 million worth of incentives from state and local governments to develop the Gravity Ring, which is also an essential structural component of its future Pioneer and Voyager space parks.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

NASA plans to release a draft request for proposal (RFP) by the end of the month for a second crewed lunar lander to join the Human Landing System (HLS) being developed by SpaceX, officials announced during a media conference on Wednesday.

“Competition is the key to our success,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in describing the Sustaining Lunar Development contract.