The New York Times reports that the incident last week when the new Russian Nauka module on the International Space Station unexpectedly fired its thrusters was far worse than NASA reported last week. The rotation of the station went far beyond 45 degrees. NASA Mission Control Flight Director Zebulon Scoville told The Times: In an interview, Mr. Scoville described how the International Space Station spun one-and-a-half revolutions — about 540 […]

The White House has tapped space policy expert Chirag Parikh to become executive secretary of the National Space Council. He will oversee day-to-day operations of the council, which helps to formulate, coordinate and implement space policies across the federal government. Vice President Kamala Harris chairs the council. Parikh was director of space policy at the National Security Council from 2010-16, where he oversaw creation of the Obama Administration’s 2010 National […]

This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston: Tuesday, August 03 — 7 PM PDT (9 PM CST; 10 PM EDT): We welcome back DR. PAT PATTERSON to discuss the upcoming all virtual Small Sat Conference, August 7-12, 2021. See www.smallsat.org for details. Wednesday, August 04 — Hotel Mars pre-recorded. See the Upcoming Show Menu at www.thespaceshow.com for details. Friday, August 06 — 9:30-11 AM PDT; 11:30 AM- […]

HOUSTON, August 2, 2021 (Nanoracks PR) – Nanoracks, a Voyager Space Holdings Company, has appointed Marshall Smith, the former Deputy Associate Administrator (DAA) for NASA’s Systems Engineering and Integration (SE&I), Human Exploration and Operations (HEO), as Senior Vice President of Commercial Space Stations.

Nanoracks is the world’s leading provider of commercial space services and continues to expand its presence nationally, most recently announcing a new office in Huntsville, Alabama, which Smith will lead. He will also coordinate and direct the Nanoracks Outpost Program, which is focused on the continued use of upper stages past their primary mission, as well as the Nanoracks crewed free flyer efforts, both within the US Government and with international partners.

KOUROU, French Guiana (ESA PR) — A sophisticated telecommunications satellite that can be completely repurposed while in space has launched.

Developed under an ESA Partnership Project with satellite operator Eutelsat and prime manufacturer Airbus, Eutelsat Quantum has pioneered a new generation of satellites with the European space industry.

PARIS (ESA PR) — Future rockets could fly with tanks made of lightweight thanks to ground-breaking research carried out within ESA’s Future Launchers Preparatory Programme.

Building on earlier studies, MT Aerospace in Germany has demonstrated a novel design of a small scale tank made of a unique carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) that is not only leak-proof with liquid hydrogen, but also compatible with liquid oxygen, without the use of a metal liner.

FINO MORNASCO, Italy (D-Orbit PR) — D-Orbit, the space logistics and transportation company, announced that it has successfully completed the deployment phase of its WILD RIDE mission. As part of this phase, D-Orbit’s ION Satellite Carrier (ION), the company’s proprietary space transportation vehicle, successfully deployed all six satellites hosted onboard and will now proceed with the in-orbit demonstration of 12 hosted payloads.

• The sixth INNOspace Masters conference took place virtually on July 29, 2021 under the motto “Innovations for sustainable infrastructures in space and on earth”.
• A total of 330 companies, start-ups, universities and research institutions from 23 European countries took part in the competition.
• The winners include quantum processors for satellite communications, solutions for precision agriculture and a small satellite for the disposal of space debris.

COLOGNE, Germany (DLR PR) — At the sixth INNOspace Masters Competition, the German Space Agency looked for innovative solutions at DLR to ensure the unrestricted and reliable availability of satellite-based infrastructures in the digital age. A total of 330 participants from companies, start-ups, universities and research institutions in 23 European countries took part in the competition under the motto “Innovations for sustainable infrastructures in space and on earth.” There were five competition categories from different development and innovation phases to choose from. The winners have now been announced at the INNOspace Masters conference, which took place virtually on July 29, 2021. Initiatives like the INNOspace Masters are important because innovations mainly arise from competition.

STUTTGART, 28 July 2021 (Porsche PR) — Porsche Automobil Holding SE (“Porsche SE”), Stuttgart, acquires a low single-digit percentage stake in Isar Aerospace Technologies GmbH (“Isar Aerospace”), Ottobrunn, Munich. The company develops and manufactures launch vehicles for the transport of satellites. The investment was part of a new financing round of Isar Aerospace.

Satellites Will Track Earth’s Atmosphere, Water, Surface, and Interior

PASADENA, Calif. (GeoOptics PR) – A leader in Earth remote sensing, GeoOptics Inc., today announceda major upgrade to its CICERO constellation of satellites to measure our evolving planet. With launches beginning next year, CICERO-2 will form a unified Earth observatory allowing governments, industry, and individual stakeholders to monitor and prepare for the many impacts of climate change.

“In today’s environment, in which precision Earth sensing is becoming ever more critical, GeoOptics is deploying a flexible observatory made up of dozens of small satellites. The real time services will satisfy a broad range of needs for government and civil users around the world,” said Alex Saltman, Chief Executive Officer of GeoOptics.

Video Caption: China’s private Beijing Interstellar Glory Space Technology (iSpace) conducted test of grid fin sub-system of its Hyperbola-2 reusable rocket.

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch, launch, and docking activities for the agency’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission to the International Space Station. OFT-2 is the second uncrewed flight for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The mission is targeted to launch at 1:20 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 3