SAN DIEGO, Calif. (Space Micro PR) — Space Micro, powered by Voyager Space, has been selected by the United States Air Force (USAF) AFWERX program for an award to develop an air-to-space laser communications system.

Under this contract, Space Micro, a leader in space-based laser communications, addresses some of the most challenging air-to-space laser communications problems, which are primarily caused by the regular instability of Earth’s atmosphere. Space Micro’s laser communications products have been developed for commercial and government customers and are now evolving into a key solution for highly directional, long-distance, high-bandwidth telecommunications for air-to-space connective applications.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA has selected 12 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.

Award selections are:

• ABL Space Systems of El Segundo, California
• Astra Space Inc. of Alameda, California
• Blue Origin Florida LLC of Merritt Island, Florida
• L2 Solutions LLC of Houston
• Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation of Chandler, Arizona
• Phantom Space Corporation of Tucson, Arizona
• Relativity Space Inc. of Long Beach, California
• Rocket Lab USA Inc. of Long Beach, California
• Spaceflight Inc. of Seattle
• Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California
• United Launch Services LLC of Centennial, Colorado
• Virgin Orbit LLC of Long Beach, California

MUSCAT, Oman (SatRevolution PR) — The Sultanate of Oman has selected Poland’s SatRevolution S.A. (“SatRev”) to deliver and operate its proprietary nanosatellite technologies alongside partners Virgin Orbit, a leading US-based launch company, Polish capital group and AI data analytics specialists TUATARA, and Omani-based emerging technology innovator ETCO, under a framework agreement for collaboration on Oman’s first mission to deep space and for delivering small satellites to Low Earth Orbit, the first in the country’s history. The framework agreement was signed today in Muscat by the five consortium members.

MOJAVE, Calif., January 25, 2022 (Stratolaunch PR) – Stratolaunch, LLC is pleased to announce a research contract with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Stratolaunch, under partnership with Booz Allen Hamilton, is on contract with AFRL to examine and assess the feasibility of hypersonic flight tests of a wide range of Air Force experiments and payloads on a frequent and routine basis. Stratolaunch supports national security objectives for hypersonic […]

• Oman selects innovative space companies Virgin Orbit, SatRevolution, TUATARA and ETCO as mission partners to launch the sultanate’s first satellites to Low Earth Orbit
• The first satellite is scheduled to launch from the UK’s spaceport Cornwall in 2022
• The Oman mission to deep space will be targeted for launch as early as Q3 2024

MUSCAT, Oman (Virgin Orbit PR) — The Sultanate of Oman, leading US-based launch company Virgin Orbit, Polish Small Satellite manufacturer and operator SatRevolution, Poland-originated AI data analytics specialists TUATARA, and Omani-based emerging technology innovator ETCO, have together signed a Memorandum of Understanding for collaboration on Oman’s first mission to deep space. The same agreement also lays the foundation for the consortium to collaborate on delivering additional small satellites to Low Earth Orbit, including the first in Oman’s history.

WASHINGTON, DC (CSF PR) – Tommy Sanford, Executive Director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, is joining Blue Origin, effective January 31, 2022. Sanford has served as Executive Director of CSF since 2014. “Tommy has been an integral part of this organization over the past eight years during a period of substantial industry growth,” said Karina Drees, President of CSF. “He has led a number of efforts to help shape CSF, […]

Translated from Russian by Google Translate

MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — On Tuesday, January 25, 2022, at the XLVI Academic Readings in Cosmonautics (“Royal Readings – 2022”), Vladimir Solovyov, General Designer for Manned Space Systems and Complexes, spoke about the plans for the development of the Russian manned space program.”

• Proposal Grossly Undervalues Comtech and is Not in the Best Interests of Comtech’s Shareholders
• Board Affirms Confidence in Strategy and Long-Term Outlook for the Business

MELVILLE, N.Y., January 25, 2022 (Comtech PR) — Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (NASDAQ: CMTL), a leading global provider of next-generation 911 emergency systems and secure wireless communications technologies, announced today that the Company’s Board of Directors has unanimously rejected the unsolicited proposal to acquire Comtech received from Acacia Research Corporation (Acacia) on October 29, 2021.

• Class A Ordinary Shares to Commence Trading on Nasdaq on January 26, 2022 under ticker “SATL”
• Gross proceeds to Satellogic will total approximately  $262 million, including cash held in CFV’s trust account and concurrent PIPE financing, as well as the transaction with Liberty Strategic Capital, slated to close in February
• Transaction expected to allow Satellogic to scale its constellation of satellites, collecting and analyzing weekly remaps of the Earth by 2023 and creating a live catalog of every square meter of Earth daily thereafter, enabling immense commercial, sustainability, and government applications

NEW YORK, January 25, 2022 (Satellogic PR) – Satellogic Inc., a leader in sub-meter resolution satellite imagery collection (“Satellogic,” the “Company”), today announced that it has completed its previously announced business combination with CF Acquisition Corp. V (Nasdaq: CFV) (“CFV”), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company sponsored by Cantor Fitzgerald. The business combination was approved at a special meeting of CFV stockholders on January 24, 2022. Beginning Wednesday, January 26, 2022, Satellogic’s Class A ordinary shares and warrants will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbols “SATL” and “SATLW,” respectively.

REDMOND, WASH. AND HARWELL CAMPUS, UK, January 25, 2022 (Xplore/OrbAstro PR) — Xplore Inc., a commercial space company providing Space as a Service® today announced it has signed a contract with Orbital Astronautics Ltd. (OrbAstro), a satellite and in-orbit service provider. Xplore will utilize OrbAstro’s satellite buses for a variety of innovative missions, beginning with OrbAstro’s ORB-6 platform. Xplore will fly novel Earth and astronomical observation imagers, with a first launch scheduled for late 2022.

“We are excited to have our first flight underway, and it is wonderful to work with OrbAstro — a collaborative and high-quality supplier helping reduce time and cost in our mission development,” said Lisa Rich, Xplore’s Founder and Chief Operating Officer.

“Xplore is a highly innovative company that likes to move fast, which is what OrbAstro is all about. They are exactly the sort of company we love supporting,” said Dr Ash Dove-Jay, CEO of OrbAstro. Further, Ash said, “Through working very closely with the Xplore team, we were able to quickly create an affordable solution for highly demanding mission parameters.”

PARIS (ESA PR) — European leaders will reaffirm plans to launch Europe on a world-leading trajectory during a high-level space summit to be held on 16 February in Toulouse, France.

Urgent action is needed to tackle the unprecedented societal, economic and security challenges faced by Europe – from the climate crisis and its consequences to threats to crucial infrastructure in space and on Earth.

Update on Proposed Aerojet Rocketdyne AcquisitionLockheed MartinJan. 25, 2022 Earlier this month, Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne agreed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that the parties would not close the transaction before Jan. 27, 2022, to enable the parties to discuss the scope and nature of the merchant supply and firewall commitments previously offered by Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin has been advised by the FTC that its concerns regarding the […]