A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a private mission on Sunday to place a Japanese lander and an United Arab Emirates’ rover onto the surface of the moon, and an American spacecraft into lunar orbit that will search for water ice on the surface.

NASA’s uncrewed Orion spacecraft is set to splashdown on Sunday off the coast of California after a nearly 26-day long flight test to the moon on Sunday. The return will occur only hours after a private mission to land a spacecraft and rover on the lunar surface is scheduled for launch from Florida. Live coverage as Mission Control in Houston monitors the spacecraft’s entry, descent, and splashdown off the coast […]

A team led by Collins Aerospace has been awarded a $97.2 million contract to develop a next-generation extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuit for the International Space Station.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a private company named Vyom Space Exploration and Services Private Ld. that says it is developing a reusable capsule that will transport cargo and eventually astronauts to and from space.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority responded to claims that it is responsible for holding up Virgin Orbit’s launch from Spaceport Cornwall. Tim Johnson, Director for Space Regulation, said in a statement: “The UK space regulation process is not a barrier to a UK space launch. Virgin Orbit has said in its statement this morning that there are some technical issues that will need to be resolved before launch. These in […]

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Dec. 7, 2022 (Dynetics PR) — Dynetics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leidos, today announced it has submitted a bid on the Human Landing System (HLS) Sustaining Lunar Development (SLD) contract for NASA’s Artemis Mission. Northrop Grumman will join the Dynetics team in this pursuit.

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has named “Everyday Astronaut” YouTube video producer Tim Dodd, American disc jockey Steve Aoki and six other people from five nations to accompany him on a six-day trip around the moon in a SpaceX Starship at some future date.

The first orbital launch from the United Kingdom will have to wait a little longer. In yet another delay, Virgin Orbit (NAS: VORB) will not be able to conduct a launch from Spaceport Cornwall in the United Kingdom on Dec. 14 as the company previously announced. The launch will be delayed until at least late December after Christmas, or possibly next year.

BANGALORE, India., 6th Dec 2022 (ISRO PR) — Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Social Alpha today signed an MoU to launch SpaceTech Innovation Network (SpIN), India’s first dedicated platform for innovation curation and venture development for the burgeoning space entrepreneurial ecosystem. A one-of-its-kind public-private collaboration for start-ups and SMEs in the space industry, this novel partnership is a significant step forward in providing further stimulus to India’s recent space reform policies and will work towards identifying and unleashing the market potential of the most promising space tech innovators and entrepreneurs in India. SpIN will primarily focus on facilitating space tech entrepreneurs in three distinct innovation categories: Geospatial Technologies and Downstream Applications; Enabling Technologies for Space & Mobility; and Aerospace Materials, Sensors, and Avionics.

Blue Origin has formed a team of aerospace heavyweights to bid for a new NASA contract to land astronauts on the moon. “The National Team of Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics is competing for a NASA Sustaining Lunar Development contract to develop a human landing system for the Artemis program. In partnership with NASA, this team will achieve sustained presence on the Moon,” the company […]

Editor’s note: This advisory was updated Wednesday, Dec. 7, to reflect some changes to briefing participants, as well as RSVP information for media attending in person.

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — NASA will provide live coverage of the Artemis I uncrewed Orion spacecraft’s return flyby of the Moon on Monday, Dec. 5, as well as its return to Earth on Sunday, Dec. 11.

CHRISTCHURCH, NZ (Dawn Aerospace PR) — Icehouse Ventures has made one of its largest-ever investments in a New Zealand company. The [NZ] $20 million [US $12.63 million] backing of space-transportation company Dawn Aerospace also attracted support from GD1 and Movac.