SAN FRANCISCO (Capella Space PR) — 2021 has been a momentous year for Capella Space and all-weather Earth observation with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology. Since officially starting our commercial operations in January, we have served government and commercial customers alike with very high-resolution, ultra-low latency, 24/7 all-weather data to support better decisions.  

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

The House Science Committee approved an infrastructure bill that provides an additional $173 million to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to accelerate the development and launch of the Space Weather Follow-On Lagrange-1 (SWFO-L1) mission. The spacecraft, scheduled for launch in 2024, will monitor the solar wind and coronal mass ejections from the Earth-sun L-1 Lagrange point.

• DLR supports the increasing demand for engine tests for new, innovative propulsion technologies in space travel.
• DLR and the Spanish start-up Pangea Aerospace agree on a collaboration. The focus is on tests with a technology demonstrator of an additively manufactured aerospike engine from October 2021.
• At the Lampoldshausen site, DLR offers a test infrastructure that is unique in Europe for space propulsion systems of all sizes and types.

LAMPOLDSHAUSEN, Germany (DLR PR) — In order to ensure Europe’s independent and competitive access to space, the Federal Government is also relying on efficient start-ups. With their ideas and visions, they can accelerate the development of new technologies in the carrier market. Against this background, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) at the Lampoldshausen site has signed a contract with the Spanish start-up Pangea Aerospace in the summer of 2021.

ROME (ASI PR) — Finding the best route for lunar orbit and easy parking on the Moon is the goal of NEIL (Navigation Early Investigation on Lunar surface) GNSS receiver with Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology. The creation of NEIL, named in honor of Neil Armstrong, the first man to touch the lunar soil, is at the center of an agreement between the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and NASA linked to the CLPS 19-D mission (NASA missions with contributions commercial and private of an experimental nature) with which the American space agency has planned to land with a lander in the Mare Crisium basin in 2023. [Editor’s Note: This is Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander mission.]

NEIL, subject of the contract signed between ASI and the company Qascom SRL, is the on-board payload that will be an integral part of the experiment called Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment  (LuGRE), defined in the ASI/NASA agreement, which aims to develop an activity in a lunar and cislunar environment.

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket with 51 Starlink advanced broadband satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Monday night. The booster launched at 8:55 p.m. PDT, streaking southward across the nighttime sky. The Starlink satellites are the first to be equipped with laser links to speed communications for SpaceX’s broadband service. The booster’s first stage, which flew for the 10th time, landed on the “Of Course I Still Love […]

Video Caption: Privateer Space is working to keep space safe and accessible to all humankind. Co-founded by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and Ripcord founder Alex Fielding, Privateer will be providing private audiences a glimpse into the companies future plans at AMOS. Editor’s Note: AMOS is the Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies conference in Wailea, Hawaii, which begins tomorrow. I guess we’ll know more then. In the meantime, feel […]

DENVER (Voyager Space PR) — Voyager Space (Voyager), a global leader in space exploration, today announced the appointment of Abby Dickes as Vice President of Marketing. In this new role, Dickes will lead Voyager’s marketing and brand strategy, including providing marketing leadership of Voyager subsidiary companies.

Prior to joining Voyager, Dickes was the manager of U.S. government marketing and communications at Maxar Technologies for the company’s civil and national security space infrastructure portfolio. Dickes also previously served as the director of marketing, communications and special events for Nanoracks LLC, now a Voyager subsidiary, where she grew the brand substantially during her tenure.

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (SpaceX PR) — SpaceX is targeting Monday, September 13 for a Falcon 9 launch of 51 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The instantaneous window is at 8:55 p.m. PDT, or September 14 at 3:55 UTC, and a backup opportunity is available on Tuesday, September 14 at 8:56 p.m. PDT, or September 15 at 3:56 UTC. The booster […]

This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston: Tuesday, September 14 — 7 PM PDT (9 PM CST; 10 PM EDT): We welcome back DR. TOM MATULA regarding his latest work on space habitat research & the human expansion into the solar system. Wednesday, September 15 — Hotel Mars pre-recorded. See the Upcoming Show Menu at www.thespaceshow.com for details. Friday, September 17 — 3. 9:30-11 AM PDT; 11:30 […]

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

South Korea plans to invest more than $14.25 billion over the next decade to improve its military and civil space capabilities. The Republic of Korea will transfer satellite and launch vehicle technology to the private sector to boost the nation’s domestic capabilities and improve its international competitiveness. The nation is also deepening defense and civil space cooperation with the United States.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Space Hub Sutherland in Scotland can move forward without a legal challenge now that billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen has decided to abandon his fight against the launch complex planned for A’Mhoine peninsula. The richest man in Scotland had challenged the plans over concerns about its environmental impact, but lost in court last month.