• Company Plans to Build and Deploy Space Station Designed for Entertainment and Film Production
• Zero Gravity Fight Competition “Galactic Combat” Set Beyond Earth’s Atmosphere is First TV Series from Space 11

LOS ANGELES (Space 11 Corp. PR) — It was revealed today that Space 11 Corp, an aerospace company pioneering outer space entertainment productions including film, TV, sports and special events, founded by veteran movie producer Andrea Iervolino and run by its Vice President and Head of Operations, MMA legend and movie producer John Lewis, is developing a first-of-its-kind partnership with Nanoracks, a Voyager Space company, and the largest commercial user of the International Space Station.

Spaceflight to provide launch services for VADR missions for science and technology payloads

SEATTLE, January 27, 2022 (Spaceflight Inc. PR) — Spaceflight Inc., the leading global launch services provider, was selected by NASA to provide launch services for the agency’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) missions. Spaceflight and 11 other companies selected will support missions designed to provide new opportunities for science and technology payloads and foster a growing U.S. launch market.

Spaceflight has a long-standing relationship with NASA, coordinating the launch of more than 20 payloads for the organization over the years. With more than a decade of experience providing comprehensive launch, mission management, and in-space transportation services, Spaceflight has launched nearly 400 satellites, ranging from CubeSats to a 700-kilogram satellite, across about 40 missions. In 2021 alone, Spaceflight launched 81 spacecraft across 11 different missions via a global launch vehicle network. 

Translated from Chinese via Google Translate

by Wang Yuqing
Galactic Energy Intern

At 12:13 on December 7, 2021, Galactic Energy successfully launched the Ceres-1 (Yao-2) carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, and successfully sent five commercial satellites into a 500km sun-synchronous orbit. So far, Galactic Energy has become the first domestic commercial rocket company with the ability to launch multiple satellites with one rocket.

In 2022, Galactic Energy is about to usher in a large-scale launch, that is, 5-6 launch missions, achieving an annual production capacity of 24 rounds. This also means that the final assembly and testing department will face unprecedented challenges. How they will provide guarantee for Galactic Energy to successfully complete the large-scale launch, the focus of this week’s Galactic Magazine is on the final assembly and final testing team.

LONG BEACH, Calif., January 27, 2022 (Virgin Orbit PR) — Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB) announced today its selection by NASA’s Launch Services Program to provide launch services for the agency’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated Rideshare (VADR) missions. The fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract will leverage commercial satellite launch practices, and together with the flexibility afforded by Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne system enables more efficient launch timelines, mission-tailored orbits, and competitive costs.

“This contract award is a great step forward for commercial space,” said Dan Hart, CEO of Virgin Orbit. “The VADR contract vehicle now provides a platform for NASA to more easily contract for flights on our LauncherOne service. That means it will be easier than ever for us to work with NASA to provide targeted and economic access to space, maximizing the science gains from their small satellite missions and enabling ever greater technological innovation.”

MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — Director General of the Progress Rocket and Space Center (Samara, part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) Dmitry Baranov summed up the results of the enterprise’s work in 2021 and spoke about plans for the future.

ALAMEDA, Calif. (Astra Space PR) — Astra Space, Inc. (“Astra”) (Nasdaq: ASTR), today announced the award of the Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) Launch Services Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for future task orders, which have not yet been issued. This contract has a five-year ordering period with a maximum total value of $300 million and will be managed by the Launch Services Program at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This new contract is in addition to the four launches NASA has already contracted with Astra for delivery this year.

MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — On January 25, 2022, Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin spoke about promising projects Roscosmos and its subsidiaries at Academic readings on cosmonautics (Korolev’s Readings 2022).

Rocket Lab among companies selected to provide launch services for the agency’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) missions, providing new opportunities for science and technology payloads and fostering a growing U.S. commercial launch market.

Long Beach, California. January 27, 2022 (Rockety Lab PR) – Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (“Rocket Lab” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: RKLB), a leading launch provider and space systems company, has today announced that it has been selected by NASA as one of twelve companies to provide launch services for the agency’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) missions, providing new opportunities for science and technology payloads and fostering a growing U.S. commercial launch market. VADR is a five-year program with a maximum total budget of $300 million in launch contracts.

China’s Space Program: A 2021 Perspective

The State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China
January 2022

Preamble

“To explore the vast cosmos, develop the space industry and build China into a space power is our eternal dream,” stated President Xi Jinping. The space industry is a critical element of the overall national strategy, and China upholds the principle of exploration and utilization of outer space for peaceful purposes.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on the appointment of Dr. Laurie Leshin as director of the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. “NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has a storied history of defying what was once thought impossible in the field of space exploration. In this new era of groundbreaking discoveries and constant innovation, it is clear that Dr. Laurie […]

BOSTON (Tomorrow.io PR) — The Tomorrow Companies Inc. (“Tomorrow.io”), developer of a leading platform for global weather and climate security, today announced the addition of former NASA astronauts Dr. Kathryn Sullivan and Steve Smith to the company’s advisory board. 

Dr. Sullivan was the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She was appointed by President Biden to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Mr. Smith was Deputy Chief of the NASA Astronaut Corps, served as a U.S. Diplomat overseas for 12 years, and is now a Director of the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory.

MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin conducted a working visit to the Vostochny Cosmodrome, where he inspected the progress of construction of the second stage facilities for the Amur space rocket complex with the Angara launch vehicle. “The main construction work at the Vostochny Cosmodrome is to be completed in 2022, enabling to begin installation and testing of the technological equipment in preparation for the start of […]