OneWeb has reached an agreement that will allow Panasonic Avionics Corp. to market, sell and support the company’s high-speed, low-latency in-flight broadband services to commercial airlines worldwide.

“Panasonic Avionics will offer OneWeb’s global service standalone or paired with Panasonic Avionics’ award-winning GEO service, which covers 99.6% of the world’s flight routes. Adding support for OneWeb represents Panasonic Avionics’ dedication to a multi-orbit strategy and will offer airlines more choices, with top-tier products supporting forward link speeds approaching 200 Mbps and return link speeds up to 32 Mbps everywhere, including polar routes,” OneWeb said in a press release.

MUNICH, Germany (October 13, 2022) — In-space mobility provider Benchmark Space Systems has been selected by The Exploration Company, a European start-up developing in-orbit exploration vehicles, to develop the propulsion system for its second demonstrator flight (‘Mission Possible’) which is set to launch in 2024. Under a collaborative agreement, Benchmark and The Exploration Company will work together to develop an innovative propulsion system that will utilize non-toxic high-test peroxide propellant, in line with The Exploration Company’s long-term commitment towards reusability and sustainability. The system will be based on Benchmark’s flight-proven Halcyon Avant propulsion system, featuring Benchmark’s 22N “Ocelot” bi-propellant (HTP + IPA) thrusters.

WALLOPS, Va. (NASA PR) — The 18th Northrop Grumman commercial resupply services mission for NASA to the International Space Station carries scientific investigations of topics such as plant mutations and mudflow structure along with a demonstration of camera technology and small satellites from Japan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The Cygnus spacecraft carrying these investigations to the orbiting laboratory is scheduled for liftoff no earlier than November 6 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.

The agreement covers the launch of ODIN Space’s in-orbit technology demonstration aboard ION Satellite Carrier, D-Orbit’s orbital transfer vehicle.

HARWELL/LONDON, UK, 17 October 2022 (D-Orbit PR) — D-Orbit, a leading space logistics company, and ODIN Space, the first company focused on protecting satellites from sub-centimetre space debris, jointly announced today an agreement to launch and demonstrate ODIN’s technology on orbit.

According to the agreement, D-Orbit will host ODIN’s sensor aboard ION Satellite Carrier, DOrbit’s versatile and cost-effective orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) designed to precisely deploy satellites and perform technology demonstrations of third-party payloads in orbit. This technology demonstration will be a key milestone in ODIN’s mission to map and analyse lethal subcentimetre debris, reduce collisions, and protect the space industry from this invisible threat.

An agreement today paves way for direct collaboration between the Luxembourg Directorate of Defence and Virgin Orbit on developing responsive space capabilities that would benefit NATO and other Allies.

LUXEMBOURG (Directorate of Defence PR) — On 17 October 2022, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, François Bausch and Virgin Orbit signed a Letter of Intent that will begin the process towards developing responsive space capabilities inclusive of mobile launch infrastructure that would be based in Luxembourg, but available for NATO partners, and other Allies across the European continent. As part of the agreement, Virgin Orbit, in close coordination with the Luxembourg Directorate of Defence, will assess how a responsive space capability could be based in Luxembourg and optimized for use by NATO and other European allies.

PARIS (ESA PR) — A miniscule special ingredient blended with satellite materials could lead to significant mass savings for future missions. An ESA project with Adamant Composites in Greece tested how the addition of graphene – microscopic flakes of carbon just a single atom thick, combining robust strength with electrical conductivity – plus other nano-sized materials has the potential to optimise a satellite’s thermal and electrical properties.

FORRES, UK, October 18, 2022 – UK-based spaceflight company Orbex has secured a £40.4 million ($45.7 million) Series C funding round as it works toward the first launch of its Prime micro-launcher from the Space Hub Sutherland spaceport in Scotland.

Space launches tend to be binary in nature: they either work as designed, known in the industry by the unrevealing term nominal; or they crash spectacularly. To succeed or not to succeed, that is the question. Most of the time.

Paso Robles is a lovely part of California that is best known for vineyards and fine wines. But, officials want to add spaceflight to the town’s portfolio by turning Paso Robles Municipal Airport into a spaceport.

Welcome to the second Space SPAC index chronicling the progress of space companies that went public by merging with special purchase acquisition companies. In this edition, news about BlackSky, Virgin Orbit, Spire Global, Planet Labs, Virgin Galactic and Rocket Lab.

Planned launches for the last two weeks of October include the first Falcon Heavy launch in three years, a Chinese space station module, a Russian resupply mission to the International Space Station, and possibly Virgin Orbit’s “Start Me Up” mission from Spaceport Cornwall in England.

This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston. Tuesday, October 18. 7 PM PDT (9 PM CDT; 10 PM EDT): We welcome back DR. JOHN BOSSARD to discuss his ongoing work on his Turborocket engine. Wednesday, October 19. Hotel Mars pre-recorded. See the Upcoming Show Menu at www.thespaceshow.com for details. Friday, October 21. 9:30-11 AM PDT; 11:30 AM- 1 PM CDT; 12:30-2 PM EDT: We welcome back JOHN […]