LONDON, May 10, 2021(OneWeb PR) — OneWeb, the global communications network powered from Space, announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Texas-based TrustComm Inc., which will enable OneWeb to offer its Low Earth Orbit (LEO) network and connectivity services to U.S. government clients and TrustComm customers.

Based at the highly secure Ellington Joint Base in Houston, Texas, TrustComm was established in 1999 as a provider of managed satellite communications and professional services to commercial organizations and governments. TrustComm offers services ranging from broadband Internet access, VoIP and voice, video conferencing and data communications for business continuity to emergency response, tactical field deployment and temporary use.

DENVER, May 10, 2021 (Voyager Space Holdings PR) — Voyager Space Holdings, Inc. (Voyager), a global leader in space exploration, today announced it has acquired a majority stake in X.O. Markets and its largest subsidiary,  Nanoracks, the world’s leading provider of commercial space services. In Dec. 2020, Voyager announced its intent to acquire majority control of the company through the infusion of growth capital and with today’s closing, adds industry leading commercial space services to its list of vertically integrated NewSpace capabilities.

“In the last year, the space industry has undergone a rapid evolution with demand for commercial space services reaching record highs,” said Dylan Taylor, Chairman and CEO and of Voyager Space Holdings. “Innovative companies like Nanoracks are continuing to drive this transformation forward with first-of-their-kind technologies like the Bishop Airlock. We look forward to working with Jeffrey and his team as Nanoracks continues to push the envelope of what’s possible in the years to come, while benefiting from the full support of our integrated model.”

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla. (SpaceX PR) — On Sunday, May 9 at 2:42 a.m. EDT, Falcon 9 launched 60 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. After stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth and landed on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship. This was the first Falcon 9 first stage booster to complete a tenth launch […]

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

A Chinese Long March 5B reentered the Earth atmosphere on Sunday over the Indian Ocean north of the Maldives, ending more than a week of global anxiety that the massive booster could spread debris over a populated area.

The 18th Space Control Squadron confirmed the 21-metric ton stage reentered the atmosphere and fell into the ocean north of the island chain at latitude 22.2, longitude 50.0 on Sunday, May 9 at 0214 UTC. There have been no reports of injuries.

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — Sounds of the Mars Helicopter’s whirring rotors add another new dimension to the historic project.

For the first time, a spacecraft on another planet has recorded the sounds of a separate spacecraft. NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used one of its two microphones to listen as the Ingenuity helicopter flew for the fourth time on April 30, 2021. A new video combines footage of the solar-powered helicopter taken by Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z imager with audio from a microphone belonging to the rover’s SuperCam laser instrument.

VOSTOCHNY, Russia (Glavkosmos PR) — A new batch of 36 OneWeb satellites arrived at Ignatievo airport (Blagoveshchensk) by an An-124-100 aircraft on Thursday. The specialists of the Vostochny Cosmodrome (a branch of TsENKI, part of Roscosmos) transported the satellites to the cosmodrome.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 6, 2021 (Redwire PR) – Redwire, a new leader and innovator in mission critical space solutions and high reliability components for the next generation space economy, announced today that it has successfully delivered the first pair of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) to Boeing, NASA’s prime contractor for space station operations. The delivery follows acceptance testing comprised of multiple ambient functional deployments, vibration, and cold and hot temperature deployments. The solar arrays are currently undergoing flight package integration and are slated to launch on SpaceX’s 22nd commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Democratization has a set of fundamental elements to it. It involves giving the people the power to choose their leaders. It means making a political system accountable to those people. It’s creating a government and culture that respect the freedoms laid out in the First Amendment: speech, assembly, religion, press and the right to peacefully petition the government for change. It’s not just changing how the government operates, but how the society functions.

The last thing I ever expected democratization to include are joy rides into space by millionaires and billionaires. But, that’s what NewSpace spinmeisters would have us believe as space tourism returns this year after a 12-year hiatus. They really should stop.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., May 7, 2021 (CASIS PR)  – During the early hours of Monday, February 22, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft berthed with the International Space Station (ISS), bringing with it dozens of research and technology development payloads. This launch, which was part of Northrop Grumman’s 15th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission funded by NASA, carried more than 10 payloads sponsored by the ISS U.S. National Laboratory. Now that the payloads safely arrived onboard the orbiting laboratory, the ISS crew members of Expedition 64 and 65 have been hard at work supporting many of these investigations.

Eta Space to Fly LOXSAT Mission to Demonstrate Cryogenic Fluid Management in Orbit

ROCKLEDGE, Fla. (Eta Space PR) — Eta Space signed a $25M contract on April 27 with NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate under the Technology Demonstration Missions (TDM) Program to demonstrate critical Cryogenic Fluid Management (CFM) technologies in low Earth orbit. Headquartered in Rockledge, Florida, Eta Space was the only small business awarded one of NASA’s STMD “Tipping Point” contracts for a CFM project within the TDM Program. This contract, along with a separate 2019 Tipping Point award to develop cryogenic propellant depots on the Lunar surface, solidifies Eta Space as the new space industry leader in commercial cryogenic propellant servicing.

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla. (SpaceX PR) — SpaceX is targeting Sunday, May 9 for launch of 60 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous window is at 2:42 a.m. EDT, or 6:42 UTC, and a backup opportunity is available on Monday, May 10 at 2:21 a.m. EDT, or 6:21 UTC. This will be the tenth flight of the Falcon […]