MAHENDRAGIRI, India (ISRO PR) — On July 14, 2021, ISRO has successfully conducted the third long duration hot test of the liquid propellant Vikas engine for the core L110 liquid stage of the human rated GSLV Mk III vehicle, as part of the engine qualification requirements for the Gaganyaan Programme. The engine was fired for a duration of 240 seconds at the engine test facility of ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri […]

Largest Gift Since James Smithson’s Founding of the Smithsonian

WASHINGTON (Smithsonian Institution PR) — The Smithsonian will receive a $200 million donation from Jeff Bezos, founder and executive chair of Amazon, and founder of aerospace and space flight company Blue Origin. The donation is the largest gift to the Smithsonian since the Institution’s founding gift from James Smithson in 1846. A $70 million portion of the donation will support the renovation of the National Air and Space Museum and $130 million will launch a new education center at the museum. 

KENT, Wash. (Blue Origin PR) — Today, Blue Origin’s  foundation, Club  for the  Future, announced 19 non-profit charitable organizations will each be offered a $1 million grant to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM and help invent the future of life in space. The funds are made possible by the recent auction for the first paid seat on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.  

Each of the organizations selected have demonstrated a commitment to promote the future of living and working in space to inspire the next generation to explore space careers. They enhance Club for the Future’s ability to reach students, teachers, and communities, and to engage them in the excitement and adventure of innovation and space exploration.    

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA invites the public to take part in virtual activities and events ahead of the agency’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission to the International Space Station. Targeted to launch at 2:53 p.m. EDT Friday, July 30, OFT-2 is the second uncrewed flight test for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

Sailing on sunlight, NEA Scout will capture images of an asteroid for scientific study.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA’s Near-Earth Asteroid Scout is tucked away safely inside the agency’s powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The solar sailing CubeSat is one of several secondary payloads hitching a ride on Artemis I, the first integrated flight of the agency’s SLS and the Orion spacecraft.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA is leading an effort, working with the Department of Energy (DOE), to advance space nuclear technologies. The government team has selected three reactor design concept proposals for a nuclear thermal propulsion system. The reactor is a critical component of a nuclear thermal engine, which would utilize high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel.

Virgin Galactic HoldingsFull Document We have entered into a distribution agency agreement (the “Distribution Agency Agreement”) with Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (“Credit Suisse”), Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC (“Morgan Stanley”) and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (collectively with Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley, the “Agents”), dated July 12, 2021, relating to the sale of shares of our common stock offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. In […]

KENT, Wash. (Blue Origin PR) — New Shepard is go for launch. On July 20, Blue Origin will fly its 16th New Shepard flight to space, and its first with astronauts on board. The launch will be broadcast live on BlueOrigin.com beginning at 6:30 am CDT / 11:30 UTC. Liftoff is currently targeted for 8:00 am CDT / 13:00 UTC. Following the launch, a live press conference with the astronauts will be broadcast on BlueOrigin.com.  […]

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) have formed a first-of-its-kind strategic partnership to observe Earth and its changing environment. The global climate is rapidly changing and the demand for accurate, timely, and actionable knowledge is more pressing than ever. Recognizing that climate change is an urgent global challenge, the timing is right for NASA and ESA, as partners in space, to join forces to lead and support a global response to climate change. The partnership is an effort to help address and mitigate climate change through monitoring Earth with combined efforts of both agencies in Earth science observations, research, and applications.

• The German Space Agency in the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is committed to promoting start-ups within the framework of the European space organization ESA.
• On July 5, 2021, the German space start-up was awarded the contract to build and operate an innovative test satellite for broadband internet in very low Earth orbit.
• The test satellite “LoLaSat” (Low Latency Communication Satellite) is intended, among other things, to significantly shorten the transit times of the signals and pave the way for Internet via satellite, also for virtual reality or augmented reality and certain applications in autonomous driving.

COLOGNE (DLR PR) — Young, innovative companies are playing an increasingly important role in space travel – also in Germany. 

STAR CITY, Russia (Roscosmos PR) — At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC), four newly admitted Cosmonaut Squad members were introduced to the Center staff. Sergey Teteryatnikov, Alexander Kolyabin, Sergey Irtuganov and Harutyun Kiviryan are cosmonaut candidates of the 2020 open enrollment.

SWINDON, UK (UK Space Agency PR) — New government funding will help leading UK space technology company Reaction Engines bring low-carbon space propulsion one step closer.

The £3.9 million [US $5.4 million] grant from the UK Space Agency will support the development of Reaction Engines’ ground-breaking SABRE technology, enabling low-carbon air-breathing space access propulsion technology to be applied more widely in the space sector and beyond.