HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (Maritime Launch Services PR) – Maritime Launch Services, one of Canada’s leading aerospace firms and the owner of the country’s first commercial spaceport, Spaceport Nova Scotia, announced today the creation of Maritime Launch USA Inc., a wholly-owned American subsidiary of the Canadian-owned and operated Maritime Launch Services Ltd., to be led by space industry veteran Robert Feierbach.

LONG BEACH, Calif., December 1, 2021 (Rocket Lab PR)  – Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, announced today that it has closed the previously-announced transaction to acquire Planetary Systems Corporation (PSC), a Maryland-based spacecraft separation systems company, for $42 million in cash and 1,720,841 shares of the Company’s common stock, plus the potential for an additional 956,023 shares of common stock for a performance earnout based on PSC’s CY 2022 and 2023 financial results. Rocket Lab announced the execution of the agreement to acquire PSC on 15 November, 2021 pending certain closing conditions.

A Data With Destiny” launch window opens Dec 7 on a mission to deploy two spacecraft for BlackSky real-time geospatial intelligence constellation

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Rocket Lab PR) — Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB), a leading launch and space systems company, has today revealed its next Electron mission is scheduled to take place during a launch window that opens on December 7, 2021, fewer than three weeks since Rocket Lab’s most recent mission on November 18, 2021. These two missions for BlackSky (NYSE: BKSY) occur 19 days apart and represent Rocket Lab’s quickest turnaround in its launch history.

The Joint Development Agreement between OneWeb and Kymeta aims to bring to market a u8 based LEO terminal that supports COTP and COTM

REDMOND, Wash. & LONDON (Kymeta/OneWeb PR) — Kymeta, the communications company making mobile global, and OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company, announced today a joint development agreement (JDA) to develop an innovative flat panel electronically steered user terminal that is compatible with the OneWeb network to support land fixed applications and leading the way to various mobility applications like land mobile, maritime, and other mobility needs of the future.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — Vice President Kamala Harris chaired the first National Space Council meeting of the Biden-Harris Administration Wednesday, Dec. 1 at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington. Prior to the meeting, President Biden expanded the number of participants of the council by executive order, reflecting the Biden-Harris administration’s broad priorities and creating the largest, most diverse space council in the nation’s history.

UNITED STATES SPACE PRIORITIES FRAMEWORK
The White House
December 2021

UNITED STATES SPACE PRIORITIES FRAMEWORK

Space activities are essential to our way of life. They advance our understanding of the Earth, the universe, and humanity; enable U.S. national security; create good jobs and economic opportunity; enhance our health and well-being; and inspire us to pursue our dreams. Space capabilities provide critical data, products, and services that drive innovation in the United States and around the world. Access to and use of space is a vital national interest.

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — After evaluating more than 12,000 applications, NASA will introduce its 2021 astronaut candidates at 12:30 p.m. EST Monday, Dec. 6, from Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. After completing training, these individuals could be eligible for a variety of flight assignments including missions on and around the Moon under Artemis.

BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 30, 2021 (Lockheed Martin PR) — Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) announced today that Robert Lightfoot will be the new executive vice president of the company’s Space business area. The appointment is effective Jan. 1, 2022. Lightfoot, currently the vice president of Operations for Lockheed Martin Space, spent 29 years at NASA in several critical leadership roles to support space operations, exploration and science missions, including as the agency’s acting administrator; director of the […]

Video Caption: Meet Neutron. Building on Rocket Lab’s proven experience developing the Electron launch vehicle, the advanced 8-ton payload class Neutron launch vehicle is designed to transform space access by delivering reliable and cost-effective launch services for satellite mega-constellations, deep space missions and human spaceflight. Editor’s Note: I did a Twitter thread with highlights of the video with images and commentary. I also provide background on why Peter Beck and […]

VERNON, France (ESA PR) — Recently completed tests of two propellant tanks set a first technological milestone in the ESA reusability roadmap towards the demonstration of a reusable first stage vehicle called Themis.

BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan (Rocosmos PR) — During each long half-year expedition to the International Space Station, Russian cosmonauts conduct more than fifty experiments in various scientific fields. However, for space medicine, even a short flight is a source of information for the development of means and methods for maintaining the health of crews in zero gravity.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission, the first satellite dedicated to measuring the polarization of X-rays from a variety of cosmic sources, such as black holes and neutron stars.

IXPE is scheduled to launch no earlier than 1 a.m. EST Thursday, Dec. 9, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.