WASHINGTON, DC (White House PR) — The new National Space Policy is my plan for how the executive branch will advance United States interests in space for the benefit of the American people.  By charting a clear course for United States space activities, this policy reaffirms our leadership in the space domain and our status as the world’s foremost spacefaring nation.

This policy represents a whole-of-government approach that recognizes space as a national imperative.  After years of drift, my Administration revived the United States space enterprise to once again unleash our unmatched pioneering potential. 

LOS ANGELES, December 7, 2020 (US Nuclear Corp. PR) — US Nuclear (OTCQB: UCLE) is the prime contractor to build MIFTI’s [Magneto-Inertial Fusion Technologies Inc.] fusion generators, which could be used in the relatively near future to power the propulsion systems for space travel and provide plentiful, low-cost, clean energy for the earth and other planetary bases once our astronauts get to their destination, be it the moon, Mars, Saturn or beyond.

Chemical powered rockets opened the door to space travel, but are still far too slow and heavy even to travel to distant planets within our solar system, let alone travel to other stars. Accordingly, NASA is now looking for nuclear-powered rockets that can propel a space vessel at speeds close to the speed of light and thermonuclear power plants on the moon and Mars, as these are the next steps towards space exploration and colonization.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) has awarded multiple Venture Class Launch Services Demonstration 2 (VCLS Demo 2) contracts to launch small satellites (SmallSats) to space, including CubeSats, microsats or nanosatellites. The three companies selected to provide these commercial launch capabilities, and the value of their firm fixed-price contracts, are:

• Astra Space Inc. of Alameda, California: $3.9 million
• Relativity Space Inc. of Long Beach, California: $3.0 million
• Firefly Black LLC of Cedar Park, Texas: $9.8 million

SpaceX scrubbed the launch of the SXM-7 for SiriusXM satellite radio on Friday morning. The countdown for the Falcon 9 rocket was held at T-30 seconds. “Standing down from today’s launch attempt to perform additional ground system checkouts; teams are working toward no earlier than Sunday, December 13 for next launch attempt of SXM-7,” SpaceX tweeted. The window for Virgin Galactic’s first suborbital flight of SpaceShipTwo from Spaceport America in […]

Update: Astra stood down on Friday due to weather.

Editor’s Note: Astra said it will begin tweeting 15 minutes prior to a launch attempt. Follow https://twitter.com/Astra for updates.

ROCKET 3.2 PRESS KIT

LAUNCH WINDOW

11 December – 18 December

DAILY LAUNCH OPPORTUNITY

10:00 am– 1:00 pm Kodiak Time
11:00 am – 2:00 pm Pacific Time
6:00 – 9:00 pm UTC

by Nicole Quenelle
NASA’s Flight Opportunities program

EDWARDS, Calif. — Successful space and suborbital technology developments require ingenuity, understanding of mission and science needs, and testing. For many technologies matured with support from NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, the ability to undergo testing multiple times – and often on different types of commercial flight vehicles – adds the necessary rigor and refinement to advance these innovations.

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE BASE, Fla., (Dec. 11, 2020) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying the NROL-44 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) lifted off from Space Launch Complex-37 on Dec. 10 at 8:09 p.m. EST. To date ULA has launched 142 times with 100 percent mission success.

Relativity Space and TriSept Sign Launch Services Agreement (LSA) for a Dedicated Rideshare Manifest Focused on Providing Access to Space for Large and Small Satellite Payload Missions

LOS ANGELES & CHANTILLY, Va. ()–Supporting a rideshare manifest with a mix of small and large satellites, TriSept Corporation has selected Relativity Space for a full mission aboard Relativity’s Terran 1, the world’s first entirely 3D printed rocket.

Under the signed agreement, TriSept has secured a full mission on Terran 1 as early as 2022. The launch will take place from one of Relativity’s launch sites at Cape Canaveral or Vandenberg Air Force Base.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, a joint U.S.-European satellite built to measure global sea surface height, has sent back its first measurements of sea level. The data provide information on sea surface height, wave height, and wind speed off the southern tip of Africa.

LUXEMBOURG (Luxembourg Space Agency PR) — On 3 December at Web Summit 2020, the European Investment Bank (EIB), and Spire Global announced a venture debt financing agreement of up to €20 million.

According to the European Investment Bank, the financing supports Spire Global’s nanosatellite development and launches, space infrastructure, data analytics, and high-skilled job creation in Luxembourg and the EU. It also represents the first-ever direct EIB financing for the emerging European “New Space” industry.

The financing will back capital expenditure and research and development (R&D) activities to further develop Spire’s constellation of small satellites and high-quality maritime, aviation and weather space data and analytics. It will also back the development of new software applications for customers and create high-skilled jobs in Luxembourg.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — President Donald J. Trump issued the National Space Policy Wednesday. Through this policy, the president reaffirms his commitment to move space exploration goals beyond low-Earth orbit and return humans to the Moon for long-term exploration and utilization, followed by human missions to Mars and other destinations.