• The software will be open source.
• A module from the DLR research group can be used to explore quantum computing for applications such as flight route optimisation or satellite missions planning.
• Focus: Quantum technology, quantum computing, digitalisation, aerospace

COLOGNE, Germany (DLR PR) — The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are collaborating on a software library that will make it possible to use today’s quantum computers to explore the potential of quantum computing to solve real-world aerospace application problems.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

NASA is funding research into a system capable of generating oxygen on Mars far more efficiently than the one the space agency tested aboard the Curiosity rover.

LONG BEACH, Calif. & CARDIFF, Wales (Virgin Orbit PR) — Leading launch company Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB) and European in-space manufacturing tech start-up Space Forge announce today an agreement to launch the first satellite developed in Wales in summer 2022.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Camden County voters overwhelmingly rejected the Board of Commissioners plan to buy 4,000 acres of land to build a spaceport near on the Georgia coast for small-satellite launch vehicles.

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla. (SpaceX PR) — On Wednesday, March 9 at 8:45 a.m. EST, Falcon 9 launched 48 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This was the fourth launch and landing of this Falcon 9 first stage booster, which previously launched Arabsat-6A, STP-2, and COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation FM2.

Developed by SolAero Technologies Inc., a space solar power company recently acquired by Rocket Lab, the IMM-β solar cells are the highest efficiency commercial space solar cell

LONG BEACH, Calif., (Rocket Lab PR) — Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (“Rocket Lab” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: RKLB), a global leader in launch services, space systems and space solar power products, announced today that its next-generation solar cell technology is transitioning into qualification. The cell is the next product from SolAero’s patented Inverted MetaMorphic (IMM) solar cell technology, dubbed IMM-β, that is expected to exhibit a conversion efficiency of ~33.3% in volume production. IMM-β is the 4^th generation IMM product created by SolAero Technologies Inc. (SolAero), a space solar power company acquired by Rocket Lab in January 2022.

MIDLAND, Texas, March 9, 2022 (AST SpaceMobile PR) — AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (“AST SpaceMobile”) (NASDAQ: ASTS), the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by standard mobile phones, today announced it has signed a multi-launch agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (“SpaceX”). In addition to the planned summer launch of the BlueWalker 3 test satellite (BW3), the agreement covers the launch of the BlueBird satellites and provides a framework for future launches.

“This agreement secures the availability for a reliable launch of our first production satellites out of the U.S.,” said AST SpaceMobile Founder, Chairman and CEO Abel Avellan. “Our summer launch of BlueWalker 3 will complete the development phase for our company.  We have also been industrializing our technology and preparing for the launch of the BlueBird satellites, with this agreement as a key step”

SatixFy is a vertically integrated fabless semiconductor chip company providing products based on in-house developed chips across the entire satellite communications value chain

SatixFy customers include a list of significant players in the satellite telecom industry, such as Telesat, OneWeb, Airbus and others.

This transaction along with a recently completed capital raise will result in up to $350 million in gross proceeds assuming no trust redemptions, including a $29 million PIPE with participation from key institutional investors including Sensegain Group and Antarctica Capital, and a Committed Equity Facility of up to $75 million from CF Principal Investments LLC, an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald. In addition, the Company recently closed on an additional financial commitment of $55 million from Francisco Partners.

Transaction implies a pro forma implied equity value of the combined company at approximately $813 million.

NEW YORK & REHOVOT, Israel, March 08, 2022 (SatixFy Communications/Endurance Acquisition Corp PR) — SatixFy Communications Ltd. (“SatixFy”), a leader in next- generation satellite communication systems based on in-house developed chipsets, and Endurance Acquisition Corp. (“Endurance”) (NASDAQ: EDNC), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company formed by an affiliate of Antarctica Capital, an international private equity firm with $2 billion of assets under management, announced today a definitive merger agreement that will result in SatixFy becoming a publicly listed company.

ROCKLIN, Calif., March 8, 2022 (Orbital Assembly Corporation PR) — Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC), the only company advancing the development and operation of the first commercially viable, space-based business park with gravity, has appointed two highly-accomplished executives, William Tauskey and Drew Wahl to its board of directors.

“We are extremely fortunate to expand our board with executives who possess the vision, experience, and financing track records to help Orbital Assembly actualize our goal of building a space park with gravity,” says Rhonda Stevenson, chief executive officer of Orbital Assembly Corp. “These two successful business leaders have decades of operational and management success working with literally hundreds of companies from startup to IPO and acquisition. Their dedication and commitment will enable OAC to beat the competition with the first on-orbit facility with gravity for a sustainable, long-term economy of manufacturing, services, and tourism.”

GREENBELT, Md. (NASA PR) — NASA’s On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 (OSAM-1), a mission that will be the first to robotically refuel a satellite not designed to be serviced, and will also demonstrate assembly and manufacturing technologies and capabilities, has passed its mission critical design review (CDR). This is an important milestone that paves the way for the construction of the spacecraft, payloads, and ground system.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

NASA is funding research into a system that would create a magnetic field around spacecraft to protect astronauts from damaging cosmic rays and solar ration.

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla. (SpaceX PR) — SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, March 9 for a Falcon 9 launch of 48 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 8:45 a.m. EST, or 13:45 UTC. The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched Arabsat-6A, STP-2, and COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation FM2. Following stage […]