MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — The Soyuz MS-18 manned transport spacecraft, which is currently undergoing prelaunch preparation under the program for the delivery of members of the 65th main expedition to the International Space Station, received its own name Yuri A. Gagarin. In accordance with the work schedule, the launch of the Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle with the Soyuz MS-18 manned spacecraft is scheduled for April 9, 2021, three days before the 60th […]

TOKYO, March 23, 2021 (Astroscale PR) – Astroscale Holdings Inc. (“Astroscale”), the market leader in satellite servicing and long-term orbital sustainability across all orbits, confirmed the successful launch of its End-of-Life Services by Astroscale demonstration (ELSA-d) mission. This marks the start of the world’s first commercial mission to prove the core technologies necessary for space debris docking and removal. ELSA-d, which consists of two satellites stacked together — a servicer designed to safely remove debris from orbit and a client satellite that serves as a piece of replica debris — was launched by GK Launch Services into a 550 km orbit on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, March 22, at 6:07 am (UTC).

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

A new report recommends the Pentagon significantly bolster the defense of vulnerable satellites in the face of the increased weaponization of space by Russia, China, India and other nations.

“Non-kinetic active defenses, such as onboard jamming and lasing systems, are needed to thwart kinetic attacks against high-value satellites. A physical seizure capability should also be explored that could double as an inspector and on-orbit servicing satellite,” the report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) recommended.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., March 22, 2021 (CASIS PR) – The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), manager of the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory, today released two separate research announcements that will solicit proposals within the area of in-space production applications.

Applied research and development concepts in this area seek to demonstrate space-based manufacturing and production activities that enable new business growth and capital investment, represent scalable and sustainable market opportunities, and produce reoccurring value with the potential to generate demand for and revenue from access to space. These two in-space production applications research announcements are in the focus areas of: 1) Advanced Manufacturing and Materials and 2) Tissue Engineering and Biomanufacturing.

The successful rideshare mission brings the total count of satellites deployed by Rocket Lab to 104.

LONG BEACH, Calif.. 23 March 2022 (Rocket Lab PR)  – Rocket Lab, a leading launch provider and space systems company, has successfully launched its 19th Electron mission and deployed six spacecraft to orbit for a range of government and commercial customers. The mission, named ‘They Go Up So Fast,’ also deployed Rocket Lab’s latest in-house manufactured Photon spacecraft to build flight heritage ahead of the upcoming CAPSTONE mission to the Moon for NASA.

BRAMPTON, Ont., March 22, 2021 (MDA PR) — MDA Ltd. (“MDA” or the “Company”), a leading technology and service provider to the burgeoning global space industry, today announced that it has filed, and obtained a receipt for, a preliminary base PREP prospectus (the “Preliminary Prospectus”) with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces and territories in Canada for a proposed initial public offering of common shares of MDA (the “Offering”). The gross proceeds of the Offering are expected to be $500 million. The number of common shares to be sold and price per common share have not yet been determined.

The Offering is being made through a syndicate of underwriters led by BMO Capital Markets, Morgan Stanley Canada Limited and Scotiabank, as joint bookrunners, with Barclays Capital Canada Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Canaccord Genuity Corp., CIBC World Markets Inc., National Bank Financial Inc. and Stifel Nicolaus Canada Inc., as underwriters.

WASHINGTON (FAA PR) — The United States is leading the way to a new era of commercial space transportation with a final rule that streamlines the licensing process for private sector launch and reentry operations.

“Innovation in commercial space transportation is increasing dramatically, and policy needs to keep up. This rule will help us to prepare for future U.S. leadership in commercial space transportation by facilitating the continued economic growth and innovation of the American aerospace industry and ensuring the highest level of public safety,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Rocket Lab Launch Update

Mission Name: They Go Up So Fast
Launch Vehicle: Electron
Launch Window: No Earlier than 23 March NZT/22 March UTC
Launch Time: No earlier than 11:20 am NZT/22:20 UTC/6:20 p.m. EDT
Launch Site: Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Rocket Lab’s 19th Electron mission will deploy a range of satellites for commercial and government satellite operators, as well as place a next-generation Rocket Lab Photon spacecraft in orbit to build spacecraft heritage ahead of Rocket Lab’s mission to the Moon for NASA later this year. 

TORONTO, ONTARIO, March 22, 2021 (Kepler Communications PR) – Kepler Communications welcomed two new satellites into their constellation today, further expanding the active constellation to 15 satellites in total.  These two satellites, KEPLER-6 and KEPLER-7, were successfully launched via Soyuz 2 out of Baikonur Cosmodrome as part of the CAS500-1 mission at approximately 02:07 AM EDT. Once fully operational within the constellation these will add additional capacity to Kepler’s Global Data Services offering while also making Kepler Communications the Canadian leader in terms of the number of satellites in space.  

PARIS, 22 March 2021 (Airbus PR)  — Airbus has been selected by Eutelsat, one of the world’s leading satellites operators, to build EUTELSAT 36D, a new generation multi-mission geostationary telecommunications satellite.

The EUTELSAT 36D spacecraft will replace and enhance capacity at 36°East, a key orbital slot for Eutelsat for TV broadcasting (DTH) and government services over Africa, Russia, and Europe.

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Roscosmos PR) — This morning, March 22, 2021, the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the Fregat upper stage and 38 spacecraft on board was launched from the launch pad No. 31 of the Baikonur cosmodrome. 

After 1 hour and 3 minutes after the launch, the main payload was separated – the South Korean satellite for Earth remote sensing CAS500-1. At the moment, after processing telemetry information, the upper stage has successfully completed all stages of the program for placing the remaining 37 spacecraft into target orbits.

This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston: Tuesday, March 23, 7 PM PST (9 PM CST; 10 PM EST): We welcome back BOB ZIMMERMAN for updates on commercial space and other important and timely news events & stories. Wednesday, March 24 — Hotel Mars is pre-recorded. See upcoming show menu on the home page for program details. Friday, March 26, 9:30-11 AM PST; 11:30 AM- 1 PM […]