REDONDO BEACH, Calif., Dec. 18, 2020 (Northrop Grumman PR) – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and NASA have successfully completed the final sunshield deployment test on the James Webb Space Telescope in preparation for its 2021 launch.
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VOSTOCHNY COSMODROME, Russia (Arianespace PR) — OneWeb’s fourth launch overall -the third for 2020- is the first to be conducted with Soyuz by Arianespace from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia.
By successfully placing 36 new OneWeb constellation satellites into orbit, Arianespace resumed the deployment of this client’s satellite network, which now is composed of 110 satellites in low Earth orbit.
PARIS, 17 December 2020 — On Tuesday, November 17, Arianespace announced the loss of the Vega VV17 mission, which was carrying two payloads, SEOSAT-Ingenio, an Earth-science observation satellite for the European Space Agency (ESA), on behalf of Spain’s Center for Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI), and TARANIS for France’s National Centre for Space Studies (CNES).
The first three stages functioned nominally until the ignition of the AVUM upper stage, eight minutes after liftoff. At that time, a degraded trajectory was detected, followed by a loss of control of the vehicle and the subsequent loss of the mission.
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ELCHE, Spain, 17 December 2020 (PLD Space PR) — The Ministry of Science and Innovation’s CDTI agency has acquired a stake in PLD Space through its Innvierte programme. This initial tranche of 450,000 euros [$551,880] in a bridge financing round could subsequently be supplemented by further economic contributions up to a maximum of 15 million euros [$18.4 million] if so requested by the those investing in the forthcoming Series B.
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BCT demonstrated maturity and capability of its X-SAT bus design which will enhance LEO communications for the U.S. Department of Defense
BOULDER, Colo. (Blue Canyon Technology PR) — Leading small satellite manufacturer and mission services provider Blue Canyon Technologies, Inc. (“BCT” or “Blue Canyon”) announced today that it has completed its critical design review (CDR) for the Blackjack Program, a military space capabilities demonstration being developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
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AUSTIN, Texas, December 16, 2020 (Institute of Space Commerce PR) — This week as the USA notes the 48th anniversary of Apollo 17 and prepares to return to the Moon with NASA’s Artemis Program, the new US the Institute of Space Commerce is being launched with its aim to change the equation for the human race with its goal of bringing one million new minds to the space economy.
Humanity is facing an uncertain future of Climate Change, conflict, pandemics, resource depletion, over population, and growing totalitarianism. Yet it doesn’t have to be this way. As Institute Patron Larry Niven says, “The dinosaurs became extinct because they didn’t have a space program.”
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Pilot program explores how commercial RF geospatial data can augment NGA and United States combatant command intelligence activities
Herndon, Virginia (December 16, 2020) — HawkEye 360 Inc. is supporting a commercial radio frequency (RF) geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) pilot program for the United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), using its constellation of formation flying satellites to deliver RF data and analytics to the agency and combatant commands so analysts can explore how this new source of commercial data can augment intelligence activities.
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LUXEMBOURG (Kleos Space PR) — Kleos Space S.A. (ASX: KSS, Frankfurt: KS1), a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data-as-a-service (DaaS) company, is pleased to announce that it appointed Heribert Krämer as Chief Operating Officer who will join the team headquartered in Luxembourg on 1st January 2021.
Mr Krämer is a highly qualified professional who brings a significant expertise to the company, having held diverse senior leadership roles with extensive experience in operations management, change management and business transformation. Mr Krämer’s experience will be instrumental in driving growth for Kleos, managing upcoming change and managing the company’s profitability.
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Mountain View, Calif. (Apollo Fusion PR) – December 16, 2020 – Saturn Satellite Networks Inc. has selected Apollo Fusion propulsion systems for Saturn’s NationSat geostationary communications satellites. The Apollo 1.4 kW ACE Max propulsion system will be used for orbit transfer to geosynchronous orbit and on-orbit station keeping on 15 year missions.
Saturn selected Apollo Fusion because Apollo’s unique Electric Propulsion system supports the Saturn objectives to enable its NationSat small GEO sats to perform functions of much larger satellites, hence substantially reducing the barrier to spacecraft development and manufacturing.
(more…)PITTSBURGH (Astrobotic PR) — Astrobotic’s CubeRover successfully completed more than 150 mobility tests inside a 120-ton enclosure designed to mimic the surface of the Moon. These tests will further inform the final wheel design of all three sizes of the scalable CubeRover line.
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PARIS (ESA PR) — Today, the ESA Council appointed Dr Josef Aschbacher as the next Director General of ESA, for a period of four years. He will succeed Prof. Jan Wörner, whose term of office ends on 30 June 2021.
Dr Aschbacher is currently ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes and Head of ESRIN, ESA’s centre for Earth Observation near Rome.
Born in Austria, Dr Aschbacher studied at the University of Innsbruck, where he obtained Masters and PhD degrees in Natural Sciences. He has over three decades of experience working in international organisations, including ESA, the European Commission, the Austrian Space Agency and Asian Institute of Technology.
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SRIHARIKOTA, India (ISRO PR) — India’s communication satellite CMS-01 was successfully launched by PSLV-C50 on Wednesday December 17, 2020 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.
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