KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA has updated the schedule to move the combined Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft out of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for testing to no earlier than March 2022. NASA has added additional time to complete closeout activities inside the VAB prior to rolling the integrated rocket and spacecraft out for the first […]

The new commercial space venture focuses on developing the first commercial lunar robotic outpost 

ROCKVILLE, Md., February 3, 2022 (Quantum Space PR) – With a focus on rapid technological advancement and lowering the cost to access cis-lunar space, a quartet of space veterans are launching Quantum Space, a commercial space infrastructure and services company aimed at disrupting the current norms of the satellite industry. At the center of the new company is an evolvable and scalable space platform, called a robotic outpost, that will serve multiple users with deploying satellites, hosting payloads and acquisition of data and logistics services via customizable missions from locations in lunar and Earth orbits.  

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched 49 Starlink broadband satellites to low Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday. Falcon 9 flew a southern trajectory along Florida’s eastern coast after liftoff at 1:13 p.m. EST (18:13 UTC). Following stage separation, the Falcon 9’s first stage landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship in the Atlantic Ocean. The booster previously launched Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, […]

Agreement Signed to Procure, License and Operate a Fleet of Specially-Modified Zero-Gravity Flight Aircraft, as well as Providing Air-Launch Services for the Space and Defense Industries. 

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 3rd, 2022 (0-G Launch) — 0-G Launch, a Washington DC-based provider of the Space Jet™ aircraft for microgravity services and horizontal rocket air-launch, and Global Aviation Ventures (GAV), a firm with extensive expertise in the growth, development, funding and exit of startups in the aviation, aerospace and defense sectors, announce the signature of their agreement to join forces on deploying a global fleet of specialized aircraft to provide much-needed services to the fast-growing Space economy, which is slated to grow into a $1 trillion industry within the next decade.

• Indra is expected to enter this Series A of Sateliot with an approximate 10.5% stake in the company and Cellnex with another 3.5%
• Sateliot expects to reach a turnover of more than 1 billion euros and an EBITDA of 370 million euros by 2025

MADRID Sateliot, the company that will put into orbit the first commercial constellation of 5G-IoT nanosatellites that will act as a coverage extension for mobile operators, is finalizing the closing of a capital increase divided into two tranches for 10 million euros through which Indra and Cellnex are incorporated as new shareholders and industrial partners.

FORRES, UK, 3 February 2022 (Orbex PR)  – Orbex has submitted its application to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for a launch licence, the latest stage on its roadmap to beginning commercial space launches from the UK.

HELSINKI, Finland, February 3, 2022 (ICEYE PR) – ICEYE, a world-leading SAR data provider and expert in NatCat solutions, today announced the closing of a $136M Series D funding round, led by long-standing investor Seraphim Space. New strategic investors to ICEYE also include BAE Systems and Kajima Ventures. In addition, Molten Ventures, OTB Ventures, True Ventures, C16 Ventures, Chione Ltd, Services Group of America, the UK’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), Space Capital and Promus Ventures have also participated in the funding round. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as placement agent for the transaction.

With this latest funding round, ICEYE has raised a total of $304M in financing since 2015. ICEYE owns and operates the world’s largest constellation of SAR satellites and the company has successfully launched 16 satellite missions in total since its first-ever spacecraft was placed into orbit only four years ago.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (SpaceX PR) — SpaceX is targeting today, Thursday, February 3 for a Falcon 9 launch of 49 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The instantaneous launch window is at 1:13 p.m. EST (18:13 UTC), and a backup opportunity is available on Friday, February 4 at 12:51 p.m. EST (17:51 UTC). Falcon 9 will fly on a southern […]

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Relativity Space unsuccessfully applied for NASA funding to begin work on a commercial space station under the space agency’s Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) program, according to a newly released government document.

The space agency awarded $415.6 million for space station proposals from Blue Origin, Nanoracks and Northrop Grumman. The commercial stations are designed to provide the United States with uninterrupted access to Earth orbit when the International Space Station is retired in 2030.

• Fleet Space Technologies rapid growth continues through first international market HQ
• Houston strategically selected due to proximity to key industries and existing collaboration through NASA’s Artemis programme
• Global expansion follows an oversubscribed Series B funding round. Further global growth planned
• Fleet Space Technologies is Australia’s leading space company

HOUSTON (Fleet Space PR) — Fleet Space Technologies, Australia’s leading space company has established its first international HQ in Houston, Texas. This first phase of the company’s ambitious global expansion plans follows institutional affirmation of its vision and proven commercial model in the rapidly growing space industry.

COLUMBIA, Ill., February 2, 2022 (NanoAvionics PR) – US company Turion Space, aiming to build spacecraft to remove orbital-debris, satellite servicing, and domain awareness, has selected NanoAvionics small satellite bus, the MP42, as the basis for its ‘Droid-1’ spacecraft designed for a reconnaissance mission in low Earth orbit (LEO). The launch of the Droid-1 satellite is planned for the first quarter of 2023.

Using its onboard sensors, Turion Space’s satellite will be able to take extremely accurate measurements of spacecraft and objects in orbit. The data will give operators and users the exact location of their satellites and in relation to others, especially at crucial times when two spacecraft are critically close.

WASHINGTON, D.C.  February 2, 2022 (CSF PR) – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) announced today individual and organization winners of awards in recognition of milestone accomplishments in commercial space. The 2022 winners are:

• Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) for The Commercial Space Policy Award: recognizes a policymaker who has made significant and lasting contributions over the past year to the advancement of commercial space policy.
• Blue Origin New Shepard Team for The Commercial Space Pioneer Award: recognizes outstanding technical contributions over the past year that has enabled commercial access to space.
• Elon Musk, SpaceX, for The Commercial Space Business & Finance Award: recognizes an investor, financier, or benefactor of commercial space activities whose support has benefited the industry as a whole.
• Jeff Foust, SpaceNews, for The Excellence in Commercial Space Journalism Award: recognizes a member of the media who has published critical stories on commercial space, contributed to expanding public awareness of the industry, and demonstrated the highest levels of journalistic integrity.
• The Future Space Leaders Foundation for The Patti Grace Smith STEM Award: recognizes a student, teacher, or program who/that has demonstrated a commitment to scientific excellence and the expansion of knowledge for the next generation of commercial space pioneers.
• Tim Hughes, SpaceX  and Clay Mowry, Voyager Space Holdings, for The James Kuzma Space Community Award: recognizes outstanding contributions to the commercial space industry through advocacy and community building.