HOUSTON (NASA PR) — Astronauts traveling to the Moon, Mars, and other future deep space destinations will likely make new and amazing discoveries. Undertaking these exploration missions will not be possible without increased risk to crew members from exposure to the space environment. To reduce risks of the hazards of spaceflight and protect astronauts from space radiation, NASA is using the International Space Station to develop capabilities to predict space radiation exposure for future exploration missions.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting Saturday, Aug. 28, at 3:37 a.m. EDT to launch its 23rd commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff will be from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will deliver new science investigations, supplies, and equipment for the international crew.

Live coverage will air on NASA Television, the NASA app and the agency’s website, with prelaunch events starting Friday, Aug. 27.

• Transaction to Close on August 25, 2021
• Combined Company to be Renamed “Rocket Lab USA, Inc.”
• Common Stock and Warrants to Commence Trading on Nasdaq as “RKLB” and “RKLBW”, on August 25, 2021
• Gross proceeds to Rocket Lab of $777 million expected, combining funds held in Vector’s trust account and concurrent PIPE financing

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Vector Acquisition Corp. PR) — Vector Acquisition Corporation (Nasdaq: VACQ) (“Vector”), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company backed by leading technology investor Vector Capital, today announced that Vector’s shareholders voted to approve its proposed merger with Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (“Rocket Lab” or the “Company”), a global leader in launch and space systems, at its annual general meeting of shareholders held on August 20, 2021. Vector also announced that holders of less than 3% of its Class A ordinary shares have properly exercised their right to redeem their shares in connection with the proposed merger. As a result, the gross amount of cash that that the combined company will receive from Vector’s trust account and concurrent PIPE financing upon the closing of these transactions, before transaction expenses, will equal approximately $777 million.

Written by Jennifer Trosper
Project Manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

I will always remember the moments around our first sampling attempt. Longtime friend (and Sampling System Chief Engineer) Louise Jandura and I were in the operations area awaiting the next data downlink. It was “so far, so good” with our earlier morning results showing we had achieved a full-depth borehole. Other members of the team began to filter in as images of the sealed sample tube came up on the ops room monitors. We were all starting to get that feeling you can get in this business when a big milestone comes together because, at first look, it appeared to be our first cored sample. But within minutes, the team noted that the volume probe indicated no sample was in the tube, and we quickly switched to problem-solving mode – once again trying to solve another problem tossed our way from the surface of Mars.

Kleos Space S.A (ASX:KSS, Frankfurt:KS1), a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data-as-a-service (DaaS) company, has appointed Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Mario E. Zaltzman as a military advisor for a 12-week period under a secondment program with the US Department of Defence.

LTC Mario Zaltzman is a member of the US Army Reserve, where he is responsible for critical technology and product acquisitions. He has also held several senior positions in the private sector, including Process Engineer, Product Manager, Regional Business Unit Manager, National Accounts Manager, Director of Commercial Operations and Director of Integration Projects.

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 18, 2021 (Aerojet Rocketdyne PR) — Aerojet Rocketdyne has finished a major expansion of its Los Angeles facility to support production of new-generation RS-25 main engines for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), which will send astronauts to the Moon as early as 2024.

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Roscosmos PR) — The launch of the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with 34 OneWeb spacecraft as part of mission 35 has been postponed to the second backup date – August 22, 2021 at 01:13 Moscow time. The launch was postponed at the request of the customer for additional work on the ground control and monitoring system for spacecraft. The launch vehicle, booster and spacecraft are in a stable and […]

NEW YORK (ATL Partners PR) — ATL Partners (“ATL”) announced today that it has made a majority investment in GEOST, LLC (“GEOST” or the “Company”). Headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, GEOST is a leading designer and integrator of small-to-medium sized electro-optical/infrared sensors for high-value, national security space missions.  ATL’s investment will support GEOST as the Company enters the next phase of growth.

Since its founding in 2004, GEOST has been focused on the cutting edge of the United States Department of Defense and the intelligence community’s efforts to enhance the country’s national security capabilities in space through optical systems and solutions. GEOST is a leading provider of small and medium, low-cost payloads for space domain awareness, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, missile warning, and laser communication applications. These markets are experiencing rapid growth as the United States increases its focus on new architectures to enhance the survivability and resiliency of its national security space assets.

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Arianespace PR) — The investigations on the ground equipment at the origin of the interruption of the automatic launch sequence being completed, and the anomaly having been identified and corrected, the new launch date for Soyuz Flight ST34 is August 21, 2021: > 06:18 p.m., in Washington, D.C., on August 20,> 10:18 p.m., Universal Time (UTC), on August 20,> 00:18 a.m., in Paris,> 01:18 a.m., in Moscow,> 03:18 […]

Launching on Electron in Q4 2021, the mission will deploy a range of pocket-sized satellites designed to demonstrate innovative radio and night-time Earth observation technologies

LONG BEACH, Calif., August 18, 2021 (Rocket Lab PR) – Rocket Lab, a leading launch provider and space systems company, today announced it has signed a rideshare agreement with Scottish / American PocketQube satellite manufacturer, Alba Orbital, to launch a cluster of small satellites designed to demonstrate innovative radio and night-time Earth observation technologies. 

HERNDON, Va., Aug. 18, 2021 (BlackSky PR) – BlackSky Holdings, Inc. (“BlackSky”), a leading technology platform providing real-time geospatial intelligence and global monitoring, today announced three additions to its executive team as it begins its next phase of growth and development.

Johan Broekhuysen joins BlackSky as a Senior Advisor and will assume the role of Chief Financial Officer following the completion of BlackSky’s merger with Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: SFTW). Broekhuysen has significant executive experience helping lead public, high-growth technology companies including Segra, formally known as LUMOS Networks (LMOS) where he served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for almost seven years and led business expansion efforts during his tenure there. Most recently, Broekhuysen was the founding principal of Open Water Advisory Group, an advisory group that delivers differentiated capital solutions to the entire telecom infrastructure value chain. BlackSky’s current CFO, Brian Daum, will remain with BlackSky as a senior advisor for a transitional period.

RESTON, Va., August 19, 2021 (Leidos PR) – Leidos (NYSE:LDOS), a FORTUNE^® 500 science and technology leader, was awarded the Fully Integrated Lifecycle Mission Support Services 2 (FILMSS 2) contract by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to provide program, science, engineering, operations and project management support at the agency’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. The single award cost-plus fixed-fee and indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract holds an approximate value of $270 million. It includes a two-year base period and three one-year options.

“For decades, Ames has accelerated scientific discovery through global research and collaboration,” said Jim Moos, Leidos Civil Group president. “As a company founded and fueled by science, we are pleased to continue supporting critical research missions that will advance human exploration in deep space.”