LONG BEACH, Calif., October 18, 2021 (AstroAccess PR) – AstroAccess, an initiative dedicated to advancing disability inclusion in space exploration, and Zero Gravity Corporation (ZERO-G) successfully completed a parabolic flight with a crew of 12 ambassadors with mobility, vision, and hearing disabilities on Sunday, October 17.

On Sunday, the ZERO-G aircraft ascended to an altitude of 32,000 feet, at which point the vehicle commenced its parabolic maneuvers. Ambassadors carried out planned demonstrations over the course of 15 arcs, experiencing multiple minutes of weightlessness.

DCVC funds the advancement of the NewSpace startup’s alternative global positioning service.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– TrustPoint, Inc., a startup with operations in Silicon Valley and Northern Virginia, announces that it has raised a $2M seed round from DCVC.

GPS is a ubiquitous global utility: knowing one’s location and accurate time is critical for government, commercial, and consumer applications. Still, today’s solutions are inaccurate, slow, unencrypted, and susceptible to jamming and spoofing. These shortcomings make heritage GPS and other government-owned and -operated systems insufficient for tomorrow’s safety-critical and high-precision commercial applications, such as drone delivery, self-driving cars, urban air mobility, and augmented reality.

SILVER SPRING, Md. (NOAA PR) — The Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC-2) is a network  of six small satellites, each about the size of a standard kitchen oven, designed to improve weather prediction and model accuracy as well as space weather monitoring capabilities.

Tuesday, October 19 — 7 PM PDT (9 PM CST; 10 PM EDT): We welcome back JOAN HORVATH & RICH CAMERON regarding their new book on math, geometry and space. Wednesday, October 20 — Hotel Mars pre-recorded. See the Upcoming Show Menu at www.thespaceshow.com for details. Friday, October 22 — 9:30-11 AM PDT; 11:30 AM- 1 PM CDT; 12:30-2 PM EDT: We welcome back JOHN JOSSY to discuss his unique […]

GREENBELT, Md. (NASA PR) — Following a successful launch on Oct. 16, 2021, analysis of NASA’s Lucy spacecraft systems show the spacecraft is operating well and is stable. Lucy’s two solar arrays have deployed, and both are producing power and the battery is charging. While one of the arrays has latched, indications are that the second array may not be fully latched. All other subsystems are normal. In the current […]

GUILDFORD, UK (Surrey Satellite PR) — Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has secured European Space Agency InCubed programme financial and technical support to demonstrate a high throughput, flexible and intelligent payload downlink chain for small Earth Observation satellites. Currently advanced and innovative satellite imaging payloads are producing data with ever increasing dimensionality, volume and rates which can exceed small satellite’s downlink bandwidth.

To tackle the onboard data bottleneck SSTL is leading a consortium that includes the University of Surrey and Craft Prospect Limited to develop and demonstrate new capabilities for SSTL’s Flexible & Intelligent Payload Chain (FIPC) solution. The FIPC’s advanced hardware architecture enables a new intelligent and adaptive data downlink and a state-of-the-art framework for software defined onboard data processing to realise a payload chain capable of handling the throughput rates of future small Earth Observation satellites. The framework enables processing applications which include data calibration and image compression to Machine Learning (ML) for image classification and information extraction towards greater satellite autonomy. 

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin has Roscosmos taken to task for failing to compete a series of goals even as his government prepares to cut the budget of the Roscosmos state corporation that runs the nation’s space program by more than $500 million.

Video Caption: Relive the emotions and wonder of our second human flight on New Shepard.

PARIS (ESA PR) — What do high-tech sponges, aircraft shaped like falcons and 3D printers on the Moon have in common?

They can all be found among the topics of the 87 research and development activities funded by ESA’s Discovery & Preparation programme between November 2020 and April 2021.

ESA set up the Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP) to discover and invest in new unconventional ideas that could greatly benefit and advance European space industry and academia.

Cluster 3 expands capacity to meet growing demands for RF geospatial intelligence

HERNDON, Va., Oct. 12, 2021 (HawkEye 360 PR — The third cluster of satellites launched by HawkEye 360 Inc., the world’s first commercial company to pioneer radio frequency (RF) data and analytics from space-based satellites, has achieved initial operating capability and has begun to deliver RF data and insights to clients. The trio of satellites, known as Cluster 3, entered orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket June 30^th and has moved into formation and completed functional testing.

H.S.H. Prince Albert II approves a new Government office to focus on the booming space industry.

MONACO (Monaco Government PR) – His Serene Highness Prince Albert II has approved the creation of an Office of Space Affairs in Monaco. The creation of this new entity is a result of calls from numerous companies within the Monegasque aerospace business community, whose activities include the manufacture of Earth observation nano-satellites, communication satellites, and planetary rovers.

By setting up a ‘one-stop-shop’ for aerospace-related matters, and reporting to the Digital Platforms and Resources Department (under the authority of the Minister of State), the Principality is taking its first steps towards supporting the growth and development of these companies by streamlining administrative procedures, and will also act as the welcome office for any prospective aerospace-related businesses looking to set up in Monaco.

At the international level, the Office of Space Affairs will represent the Princely Government in the relevant international organizations, in co-operation with the Department of External Relations and Cooperation. The Office of Space Affairs will interact with its counterparts in other countries for knowledge sharing, to foster economic cooperation, and to benefit Monegasque companies in aerospace and related fields.

Read brings more than a decade of experience in natural catastrophe resilience & re/insurance sectors.

IRVINE, Calif., October 14, 2021 (ICEYE PR) – ICEYE, the largest commercial synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite operator and an expert in flood hazard data, announced today the appointment of Andy Read as Global Head of Government Solutions. With an extensive background in public policy, natural catastrophe resilience and re/insurance, Read will lead ICEYE’s efforts to deliver actionable, natural disaster data to public sector organizations.