CANBERRA, September 22, 2021 (Angus Taylor PR) — The Morrison Government is helping Australian space businesses break into international supply chains, with a further $3 million [US $2.18 million] in funding awarded today under the Moon to Mars initiative.

Round 3 of the Supply Chain Capability Improvement grants will support four local companies to improve their technical capabilities and help them enter new national and international markets.

Acting Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Angus Taylor said the grants will strengthen Australia’s space manufacturing base, while also boosting the economy and creating new high-skilled jobs.

Firefly Aerospace’s recent announcement that it would supply rocket engines to other companies left everyone wondering what customers it had in mind. The Verge reports that Astra Space is a buyer. Under the deal, which closed earlier this year, Firefly will send up to 50 of its Reaver rocket engines to Astra’s rocket factory in Alameda, California, where a development engine was already delivered in late spring for roughly half […]

• OneWeb Technologies will continue TrustComm mission of providing managed satellite services to commercial and government entities
• New unit will be led by former TrustComm CEO Bob Roe

London, U.K. – 21 September 2021: OneWeb, the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications company, announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Texas-based TrustComm Inc., a provider of managed satellite communications and professional services to commercial and governments organizations. OneWeb announced the planned acquisition of TrustComm in May 2021 and received all necessary regulatory approvals enabling the transaction to close.

Following consummation of this transaction, TrustComm will become known as OneWeb Technologies Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of OneWeb.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21, 2021 (Aerojet Rocketdyne PR) — NASA has selected Aerojet Rocketdyne to build the Orion Main Engine (OME), the primary propulsion element for NASA’s Orion spacecraft that will be used to explore deep space. Under the contract, which runs through 2032, Aerojet Rocketdyne will deliver up to 20 new OME engines for use on future Artemis missions beginning with Artemis VII, or to support other NASA-sponsored, deep space exploration missions.

Agreement between international newspace pioneers will pilot a cutting-edge smallsat propulsion system.

SINGAPORE, September 23, 2021 (Aliena PTE PR) — Aliena PTE Ltd (Aliena), a satellite propulsion provider, has signed a contract with Orbital Astronautics Ltd (OrbAstro), a satellite and in-orbit service provider, to fly its AA Multi-modal all-electric AOCS propulsion system onboard an OrbAstro ORB-12 (12U-class satellite) scheduled for launch in September 2022. The ORB-12 Strider mission will host a variety of payloads for in-orbit testing and demonstration purposes, of which the Aliena-Aurora (AA) propulsion system will be primary. 

Aliena has developed a multi-modal attitude and orbit control system (AOCS) with partners from Finland, Aurora Propulsion Technologies. Sharing a common back-end architecture for the propellant, electronic control, and fluidics, the propulsion segment will comprise of Aliena’s MUlti-Staged Ignition Compact (MUSIC) Hall thruster, and Aurora’s ARM resistojets.  

Integrated solutions address global navigation satellite system test requirements defined by 3GPP and major US carriers

ROCHESTER, N.Y., September 21, 2021 (Keysight Technologies PR) — Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS), a leading technology company that delivers advanced design and validation solutions to help accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world, and Orolia have joined forces to advance 5G location-based services (LBS) based on global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technologies.

Working with Orolia, a world leader in Resilient Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) solutions, allows Keysight to extend its 5G device test solution portfolio with advanced global navigation satellite system (GNSS) simulation capabilities. As a result, existing users of Keysight’s 5G device test solutions can easily address GNSS-related 3GPP protocol conformance and carrier acceptance test requirements by upgrading the software in Keysight’s E7515B UXM 5G Wireless Test Platform and combining it with Orolia’s GSG-8 simulator.

Kymeta’s electronically steered flat-panel antenna technology can form two distinct full duplex beams for connection redundancy and intelligent data management.

REDMOND, Wash. (Kymeta PR) — Kymeta, the communications company making mobile global, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded Kymeta Corporation a U.S. Patent for its multi-beam antenna configuration, enabling redundant, simultaneous, multi-orbit satellite connectivity.

Kymeta’s innovative patented technology can generate two beams simultaneously with a single antenna panel, enabling the tracking of two satellites across multiple constellations and seamless traffic hand off from the initial satellite to the second. Kymeta’s metamaterials approach forms, receives, and transmits multiple distinct beams, each with its own receive/transmit (RX/TX) connection, for redundant connectivity and intelligent data management.

LUXEMBOURG, 21 September 2021 (OQ Technology PR) – 5G satellite operator OQ Technology has revealed six pending patent applications in the USA and in Europe that will improve satellite-based IoT and M2M communications in remote locations. OQ Technology’s patent applications include a “wake-up” technology for satellite IoT (Internet of things) devices, IoT device localisation, frequency and timing synchronisation, inter-satellite link technology and satellite system design.

The various technologies within these applications allow customers of the Luxembourg company to receive better quality of service, save power and exchange data easier and more efficiently. They will be implemented onboard its planned satellite constellation in low Earth orbit (LEO). The first commercial IoT satellite of that constellation, OQ’s satellite Tiger-2, which was launched in June, performed well during the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP), and is now reaching the final stages of the payload commissioning phase.

SOUTH AYRSHIRE, UK, September 22, 2021 (Prestwick Spaceport PR) — Prestwick Spaceport has secured a launch partner for its spaceport development in a landmark deal that will boost Scotland’s space industry ambitions and create an important strategic asset for the UK.

The spaceport, represented by Glasgow Prestwick Airport and South Ayrshire Council, yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Astraius, the leading UK based, commercially operated horizontal ‘air launch’ company. The organisations will collaborate closely alongside other key project partners, including Scottish and UK governments, to prepare for the orbital launch of small satellites from 2023.

Electron’s Kick Stage will enable an Astroscale satellite to rendezvous with a spent Japanese upper stage rocket body in low Earth orbit, demonstrating new debris removal technology for space sustainability

LONG BEACH, Calif., September 21, 2021 (Rocket Lab PR) — Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced it has signed a dedicated launch contract with Astroscale Japan Inc. (“Astroscale Japan”), a subsidiary of Astroscale Holdings Inc. (“Astroscale”), a market leader in satellite servicing and long-term orbital sustainability. Scheduled for lift-off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in 2023, the Electron rocket will launch the Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J) satellite, which has been selected by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for Phase I of its Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration Project (CRD2), one of the world’s first technology demonstrations of removing large-scale debris from orbit.

CENTENNIAL, Colo., Sept. 21, 2021 (Sierra Nevada PR) – Global aerospace and national security company Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) concluded a successful two-year on-orbit research mission for U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The mission utilized SNC’s Demonstration and Science Experiments (DSX) spacecraft in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), and resulted in research and technologies that advance potential future deployment of Department of Defense (DoD) spacecraft in the harsh radiation environment of MEO. SNC is a longtime leader in the national security space domain; earlier this year the company transferred its civil and commercial space contracts to its new commercial space subsidiary, Sierra Space.

REDMOND, Wash., September 21, 2021 (Xplore PR) — Xplore Inc., a commercial space company providing Space as a Service, today announced it has received a $2M contract from National Security Innovation Capital (NSIC) within the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) of the Department of Defense (DoD). This funding will accelerate the development of the Xcraft spacecraft platform, culminating with launch in 2023.