MOJAVE, CA – December 8, 2021 – Stratolaunch, LLC is pleased to announce a research contract with the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). The company plans to augment existing Department of Defense flight test resources through affordable, commercially contracted, rapid-turnaround hypersonic flight testing for the Department of Defense and its prime contractor partners. “We’re excited to provide MDA with a threat-representative and threat-replicating target that allows them to understand how to […]

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer ( IXPE) early Thursday morning from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft will study of the most energetic objects in the universe – the remnants of exploded stars, powerful particle jets spewing from feeding black holes, and more.

MAHIA, New Zealand. December 09, 2021 (Rocket Lab PR) – Rocket Lab USA, Inc (Nasdaq: RKLB), a leading launch and space systems company, has successfully deployed two satellites to orbit for real-time geospatial intelligence company BlackSky (NYSE: BKSY), bringing the total number of satellites deployed by Rocket Lab to 109.

Chinese commercial launch provider Galactic Energy orbited five satellites on Tuesday, Nov. 7, in the second successful flight of the four-stage Ceres-1 booster. The launch took place from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. The successful flight made Galactic Energy the first private Chinese company to successfully launch an orbital rocket for the second time. Payloads launched on this flight included: Satellite: BaoyunPurpose: Technology demonstration/Earth observationOperator: Spacety […]

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA is inviting the public to take part in virtual activities and events ahead of the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. Webb will be the world’s largest and most powerful space science observatory. It will build upon the discoveries of other missions to answer fundamental questions about the universe and its origins. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than Wednesday, Dec. 22, at 7:20 a.m. EST on an Ariane 5 launch vehicle from French Guiana.

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFRL PR) — The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate small satellite named Ascent was launched Dec. 7 from Cape Canaveral, Florida as part of the U.S. Space Force’s Space Test Program-3 mission, aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

Ascent is a 12-unit Cubesat conceived and developed within the directorate’s Small Satellite Portfolio at Kirtland AFB, and in partnership with the Space Security and Defense Program.

MONTREAL, December 8, 2021 (GHGSat PR) — GHGSat, the world leader in high-resolution remote sensing of greenhouse gas emissions, is building on its momentum to deploy a constellation of satellites in collaboration with the global technology leader ABB. GHGSat’s next three satellites, GHGSat-C3, C4 and C5, will be launched into orbit in summer 2022 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-5 mission. GHGSat also announced that it has exercised a contract option with ABB to provide six more payloads for monitoring methane emissions as well as a payload to detect CO₂ emissions.

“We were delighted to be an active participant at the recent COP26 conference. Not only did we announce $20 million in funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), but we also announced that GHGSat would provide the first commercial high-resolution satellite emissions data to the International Methane Emission Observatory (IMEO) to support environmental policy actions. Satellite data is critical for stakeholders globally to take immediate action for a sustainable future. GHGSat is serving this need with our growing constellation,” explained Stephane Germain, GHGSat CEO.

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano on the Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft docked to the International Space Station at 8:40 a.m. EST while the station was traveling 260 miles over the Atlantic Ocean. Coverage of hatch opening and welcome remarks will air at 10:15 a.m. on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

The missions follow on from the launch of Synspective’s first satellite, StriX-α, by Rocket Lab in 2020

LONG BEACH, Calif., December 7, 2021 (Rocket Lab PR) – Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (“Rocket Lab” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: RKLB), a leading launch provider and space systems company, has today announced it has signed a deal with Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective to carry out three dedicated Electron launches.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (SpaceX PR) — SpaceX is targeting Thursday, December 9 for Falcon 9’s launch of NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission to low Earth orbit from historic Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 90-minute launch window opens at 1:00 a.m. EST (6:00 UTC). A backup opportunity is available on Friday, December 10 with the same 90-minute launch window, should it […]

By Danielle Sempsrott
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

Ever since he was a young boy, watching the televised lunar landings from his hometown of Cañuelas, Argentina, Pablo de León knew he wanted to contribute to human space exploration. Now, as chair of the Department of Space Studies at the University of North Dakota (UND), he’s doing just that, designing and developing 3D-printed spacesuit models that may support future exploration of Mars. The research is made possible through the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), a part of NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement and based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.