PARIS (ESA PR) — Since the beginning of the space age, with the launch of Sputnik in 1957, we have launched thousands of rockets carrying more than ten thousand satellites into space. The last few years have seen a dramatic increase in these numbers, and over the last few decades there has been a change in the type of mission flown, with private companies (yellow) launching smaller satellites than those […]

NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase I AwardFunding: up to $125,000Study Period: 9 months Kilometer-Scale Space Structures from a Single LaunchZachary ManchesterCarnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburgh, Pa. Synopsis Long-duration spaceflight poses serious challenges for the human body, including muscle atrophy, bone loss, eyesight degradation, and immunosuppression. Many of these effects are linked to a lack of gravity. Generating artificial gravity inside rotating space habitats has been a dream of science fiction since […]

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA and Boeing are evaluating a new target launch date for the CST-100 Starliner’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) to the International Space Station after winter storms in Houston, and the recent replacement of avionics boxes, set the program back about two weeks. NASA also is weighing the volume of verification and validation analysis required prior to the test flight and the visiting vehicle schedule at the International Space Station.

Previously, the launch was targeted for no earlier than April 2.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (NASA PR) — NASA has awarded the Mars Ascent Propulsion System (MAPS) contract to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation of Elkton, Maryland, to provide propulsion support and products for spaceflight missions at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Coupled with the successful touchdown of the Mars Perseverance rover, this award moves NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) one step closer to realizing Mars Sample Return (MSR), a highly ambitious planetary exploration program that will build upon decades of science, knowledge, and experience of Mars exploration.  

CAMBRIDGE, ON, March 3, 2021 (exactEarth PR) — exactEarth Ltd. (“the Company”) (TSX: XCT), announces that it has signed an agreement with MDA to provide advanced Satellite-AIS data services as part of MDA’s recently announced Dark Vessel Detection (“DVD”) program for the Government of Canada. The DVD program is intended to detect and identify vessels that have switched off their AIS transponders and are engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated (“IUU”) fishing.

IUU fishing is a global problem that results in significant economic loss – estimated at $23 billion per year by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada – and leads to considerable damage to the world’s fishing population and habitat. exactEarth is part of the MDA-led project that is supporting the Government of Canada’s commitment to help deter IUU fishing by using satellite technology to locate so-called “dark targets”, those whose AIS transponders have been switched off. Under the terms of its agreement with MDA, exactEarth will provide advanced global Satellite-AIS data services to support pilot trials of the DVD program.

Company reveals more dedicated launches, propulsive OTVs, and GTO/lunar missions to satisfy growing demand for flexible and comprehensive launch services

SEATTLE, March 3, 2021 (Spaceflight Inc.) — Spaceflight Inc., the global launch services provider, announced it has started the year by signing several significant launch agreements with a wide range of organizations, including growing constellations needing routine and reliable launch schedules, smaller payloads requiring affordable bus-like options to popular orbits, firms needing regulatory and logistical guidance, as well as those seeking a personalized taxi service from loading dock to final orbital destination.

Organizations that recently signed launch deals with Spaceflight include Lynk, Astro Digital, Kleos, BlackSky, Umbra, Orbit Fab and several undisclosed U.S. government payloads.

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti has been assigned a second space mission and will fly to the International Space Station in spring 2022.

PARIS (ESA PR) — In a press briefing today, Samantha Cristoforetti, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration David Parker and President of the Italian space agency ASI Giorgio Saccoccia announced Samantha will travel to the Station in spring 2022, following ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (SpaceX PR) — On Thursday, March 4 at 3:24 a.m. EST, SpaceX launched 60 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the eighth launch of this Falcon 9 booster, which previously supported Iridium-8, Telstar 18 VANTAGE, and five Starlink missions. Unbounded by traditional ground infrastructure, Starlink can deliver high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable or completely […]

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (NASA PR) — Engineers have successfully repaired a liquid oxygen valve on the Space Launch System rocket’s core stage with subsequent checks confirming the valve to be operating properly. The team plans to power up the core stage for remaining functional checks later this week before moving forward with final preparations for a hot fire test in mid-March at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. […]

PARIS (ESA PR) — Disruptive services and innovative features of the next generation of secure satellite communications will be analysed following the signing of a new memorandum of understanding.

The agreement extends the cooperation between ESA and the European Defence Agency (EDA), an EU body that promotes and facilitates integration between member states within the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy.

Telecommunications are becoming increasingly crucial to our society, economy and security, including in support of Europe’s strategic autonomy. 

NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase I Award
Funding: up to $125,000
Study Period: 9 months

Making Soil for Space Habitats by Seeding Asteroids with Fungi
Jane Shevtsov
Trans Astronautica Corporation
Lake View Terrace, Calif.

Synopsis

Background and Objectives: Any large, long-term human space habitat will need to grow most of its own food and recycle nutrients. For easily resupplied missions, growing crops hydroponically makes sense, but soil-based systems possess important advantages in the context of a large settlement that cannot be affordably resupplied from Earth.

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA P)R — Since NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover touched down at Jezero Crater Feb. 18, mission controllers have made substantial progress as they prepare the rover for the unpaved road ahead. Mission team members from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California will discuss mission “firsts” achieved so far and those to come in a media teleconference at 3:30 p.m. EST (12:30 p.m. PST) Friday, March 5.

The teleconference audio and accompanying visuals will stream live on the NASA JPL YouTube channel.