By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1.  Purpose.  Nuclear energy is critical to United States national security.  That is why I have taken a series of actions to promote its development and facilitate its use.  On June 29, 2017, I announced an initiative to revive and expand the nuclear energy sector and directed a complete review of United States nuclear energy policy to help find new ways to revitalize this crucial energy resource.  On July 12, 2019, I signed a Presidential Memorandum entitled “The Effect of Uranium Imports on the National Security and Establishment of the United States Nuclear Fuel Working Group,” with the goal of examining the current state of domestic nuclear fuel production and reinvigorating the nuclear fuel supply chain, consistent with United States national security and nonproliferation goals.  On August 20, 2019, I signed National Security Presidential Memorandum-20, entitled “Launch of Spacecraft Containing Space Nuclear Systems,” calling for development and use of space nuclear systems to enable or enhance space exploration and operational capabilities.

VAN HORN, Texas (Blue Origin PR) — Blue Origin’s next New Shepard flight is targeting liftoff tomorrow, January 14, at 9:45 AM CST/15:45 UTC from Launch Site One in West Texas. Mission NS-14 is the 14th flight for the New Shepard program. For this mission, the crew capsule will be outfitted with upgrades for the astronaut experience as the program nears human space flight. The upgrades include improvements to environmental features such as acoustics and […]

Reform its board member and move to the next phase with the new service and team

TOKYO — Space BD Inc., the leading Japanese space startup providing access to space with the International Space Station (ISS) “Kibo” module and piggyback launch on Japan’s flagship launch vehicle “H3”, announced that they contracted with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to undertake the integration work package for Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-3 Small Satellites and Cubesats.

The satellites will be launched using Japan’s solid-propellant launcher, Epsilon. With the integration work package contract, Space BD approached the various launch method in Japan, which Space BD has aimed.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA and the Government of Japan have finalized an agreement for the lunar Gateway, an orbiting outpost that commercial and international partners will build together. This agreement strengthens the broad effort by the United States to engage international partners in sustainable lunar exploration as part of the Artemis program and to demonstrate the technologies needed for human missions to Mars. 

CSA Announcement

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is working with NASA on the Deep Space Food Challenge, a competition to develop new technological ways of producing food for future space missions while expanding opportunities for food production on Earth.

About the challenge

Ensuring that astronauts have nutritious food is a critical part of all human space exploration missions, especially future missions to the Moon and  Mars. Crews will likely have to produce food in space to meet their nutritional needs. Producing food in extreme or hostile environments like space is a challenge that many of Canada’s northern communities also face.

The Deep Space Food Challenge seeks to create novel food production technologies that require minimal inputs (materials, energy, water, etc.) and maximize safe, nutritious, and palatable food.

EDINBURGH, Scotland (Skyrora PR) — On 23rd December 2020 the Skyrora test and flight operations team performed one of their most important test campaigns to date, a full upper stage static fire test, at their engine development complex in Fife, Scotland. This historic event represents yet another significant milestone in the Edinburgh-based rocket manufacturer’s development plan. In fact, it is a crucial milestone for the entire UK space industry.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — Astronauts need hearty nutrients to maintain a healthy diet in space, but like any of us, they want their food to taste good, too! As NASA develops concepts for longer crewed missions to Mars and beyond, the agency will need innovative and sustainable food systems that check all the boxes.

Virgin Orbit has delayed the flight test of its LauncherOne booster originally scheduled for Wednesday until Sunday, Jan. 17. Operations are expected to take place between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PST (1800-2200 UTC). Your local time may vary; please adjust accordingly. Virgin Orbit’s modified Boeing 747 named Cosmic Girl will take off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. It will release LauncherOne over the Pacific Ocean […]

Blue Origin will attempt the 14th launch of its New Shepard launch vehicle on Thursday, Jan. 14 from its facility outside Van Horn, Texas. The launch window opens at 9:45 a.m. EST/8:45 a.m. CST (1445 UTC). The window closes on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 4 p.m. EST/3 p.m. CST (2100 UTC). Blue Origin has not made an announcement about the flight or its objectives. Wikipedia says it will be an […]

SAN FRANCISCO (Orbit Fab PR) — Orbit Fab, the Gas Stations in Space™ company, and SCOUT, an in-space inspection firm, announced the world’s first dedicated commercial in-space situational awareness mission. SCOUT will launch a SCOUT-Vision payload on Orbit Fab’s Tanker-001 Tenzing fuel depot, scheduled to ride to orbit aboard a Spaceflight Inc. Sherpa orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) on an upcoming SpaceX Falcon 9 mission later this year.

The hosted payload is a demonstration mission of SCOUT’s in-orbit inspection capability and the collaboration provides tangible evidence of Orbit Fab and SCOUT’s alignment and shared commitment to the satellite servicing ecosystem.

SWINDON, UK (UK Space Agency PR) — The UK Space Agency and Rolls-Royce are joining forces for a unique study into how nuclear power and technologies could be used as part of space exploration.

This new research contract will see planetary scientists work together to explore the game-changing potential of nuclear power as a more plentiful source of energy, capable of making possible deeper space exploration in the decades to come.

Nuclear propulsion, which would involve channelling the immense energy released in splitting the atom to accelerate propellants, like hydrogen, at huge speeds, has the potential to revolutionise space travel.

European GNSS Agency (GSA) to evolve into European Union Agency for the Space Programme, with expanded duties and responsibilities

BRUSSELS (European Commission PR) — The Commission welcomes the political agreement between the European Parliament and the EU Member States on the European Union Space Programme proposed by the Commission in June 2018. Trilogue negotiations have now concluded with the political agreement, pending the final approval of the legal texts by the European Parliament and the Council. The EU Space Programme will bring all existing and new space activities under the umbrella of a single programme.

Thanks to the financial envelope of €13.202 billion agreed by the co-legislators, the EU Space Programme will ensure the further development of the current European flagship programmes, Copernicus for earth observation and Galileo/EGNOS for satellite navigation.  It will also enable the launching of European initiatives in satellite communication (GOVSATCOM) and on Space Situational Awareness (SSA) for the protection of space infrastructure from space debris.