The imagery, which is the highest resolution in the market, provides key insights to commercial and government agencies as well as new U.S. Defense and Intelligence partners

SAN FRANCISCO, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ —Capella Space, an information services company that provides high quality Earth observation data on demand, today released the first high-resolution SAR images from Capella-3 and Capella-4, the latest satellites in the company’s constellation that launched with SpaceX earlier this year. At 50 cm x 50 cm, these Spot images are the highest resolution commercially available today, providing customers with significantly more insights to support Earth observation monitoring and change detection. Capella Space is the first American commercial SAR provider and the first commercial company to provide 50cm resolution SAR imagery.

• Download all the pre-launch images and videos at this link
• Download the presentation here 
• Follow the launch live on Saturday at 07:07:12 CET at this link

BARCELONA, Spain (Sateliot PR) — Sateliot, the company that will launch this Saturday from the Baikonur base in Kazakhstan the first nanosatellite of a constellation of up to 100 to extend the Internet of Things globally and massively with 5G coverage, plans to start offering service in 2022 to bill more than 236 million euros in 2025, as revealed today by its CEO, Jaume Sanpera, at a press conference with journalists.

Florida Politics reports the Sunshine State is seeking to lure a company code named Kraken to locate its $300 million spacecraft factory to Brevard County. The project would create about 2,000 mostly high-paying jobs.

Space Florida’s board of directors gave approval Wednesday to staff to negotiate with the company to have a satellite factory located near the agency’s launch sites on Cape Canaveral.

Those negotiations could involve creative financing, lease deals, and possibly matching-fund grants from the Florida Department of Transportation.

Space Florida President Frank DiBello told the board Space Florida has competition for the factory from other states.

My best guess is that Kraken refers to Jeff Bezos’ Kuiper Systems. The company was established to develop a broadband satellite constellation composed of 3,236 satellites.

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (NASA PR) — NASA is targeting a two-hour test window that opens at 3 p.m. EDT Thursday, March 18, for the second hot fire test of the core stage for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

There are reports this morning that former Florida Senator Bill Nelson to be the next administrator of NASA. I don’t see anything official on the White House website, but it seems likely. The same reports say that former NASA astronaut Pam Melroy will be nominated to serve as deputy administrator. The retired U.S. Air Force colonel served as pilot for two space shuttle missions before commanding the STS-120 mission in […]

Wall Street’s latest easy money craze has attracted a growing number of space companies. But, just because they can go public, should they?

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Seven space companies have gotten caught up in the SPACovirus sweeping through Wall Street. The impact on the space industry is going to be interesting to watch.

A SPAC is a special purpose acquisition company. It’s a publicly traded investment firm that, with outside investors, acquires or merges with another company, and then takes the acquisition public under its own name.

TOKYO (JAXA PR) — It has been said that it is difficult to reduce the size and weight of satellite-mounted synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology, which has been a major technical issue.

At JAXA, based on the SAR technology accumulated in the Earth observation projects so far, the results started from the basic research on the miniaturization and weight reduction of this technology are summarized. 

We have raised the level of technology to practical application in collaboration with Synspective, the Tokyo Institute of Technology Hirokawa Laboratory, Keio University Shirasaka Laboratory and the University of Tokyo Nakasuka/Funase Laboratory.

BASTROP, Texas (NASA PR) — A team of students from colleges and universities across the United States – members of the Artemis Generation – tested a 3D printed launch and landing pad to see how it holds up to a hot rocket engine March 6 at Camp Swift in Bastrop, Texas. The students’ design concept – called the Lunar Plume Alleviation Device, or Lunar PAD – aims to solve problems caused by lunar […]

SIERRA COUNTY, NM, March 16, 2021 (New Mexico Spaceport Authority PR) –– Canadian Corporation C6 Launch Systems has unveiled a new rocket engine test stand at Spaceport America’s vertical launch area.  

At a ribbon cutting ceremony held on site, C6 showed off the static rocket test stand constructed by Highland Enterprises of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Highland designed, fabricated, and installed the stand at Spaceport America. The rocket test stand supports many different engine sizes, and it will remain at Spaceport America for future use by C6 Launch and other Spaceport customers. C6 Launch Systems have invested $200,000 in developing the test stand and conducting its mission in New Mexico.

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — Members of the projects will lay out the steps necessary before the helicopter attempts its historic test flights.

NASA will hold a virtual media briefing at 1:30 p.m. EDT (10:30 a.m. PDT) Tuesday, March 23, to discuss upcoming activities for the agency’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter. The teams operating Ingenuity and NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover have chosen the flight zone where the helicopter will attempt the first powered, controlled flights on another planet.

This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston: Tuesday, March 16, 7 PM PST (9 PM CST; 10 PM EST): We welcome back DR. JOHN HUNTER regarding his new Green Launch Company. Wednesday, March 17, Hotel Mars is pre-recorded. See upcoming show menu on the home page for program details. Friday, March 19, 9:30-11 AM PST; 11:30 AM- 1 PM CST; 12:30-2 PM EST: No program today due […]

WASHINGTON, DC (FAA PR) — After completing a comprehensive review, the FAA approved the renewal of two Launch Operator Licenses for Orbital Sciences, LLC, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman.