SIERRA COUNTY, NM, December 7, 2020 (NMSA PR) — The New Mexico Spaceport Authority has started preparations ahead of Virgin Galactic’s first powered spaceflight from Spaceport America. The flight window will open on December 11, pending good weather conditions and technical readiness.

By Lonnie Shekhtman
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

GREENBELT, Md. — On Dec. 6 local time (Dec. 5 in the United States), Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 dropped a capsule to the ground of the Australian Outback from about 120 miles (or 200 kilometers) above Earth’s surface. Inside that capsule is some of the most precious cargo in the solar system: dust that the spacecraft collected earlier this year from the surface of asteroid Ryugu.  

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) — AFWERX kicked-off its inaugural Accelerate event Dec. 7 with an exciting announcement on the formation of SpaceWERX, a new entity that will focus on technologies for the United States Space Force.

“As we approach the first anniversary of our newest Service, the United States Space Force, we also celebrate the opening of the first space-focused innovation hub at Los Angeles Air Force Base,” said Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett.

World’s first-ever demonstration of ceramic additive manufacturing in space

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Redwire PR) – Redwire, a new leader in mission critical space solutions and high reliability components for the next generation space economy, announced today that the company’s Ceramic Manufacturing Module (CMM) successfully manufactured a ceramic part in space for the first time.

EVRY, France (Arianespace PR) — Arianespace has signed a contract with Airbus to launch four new-generation optical observation satellites of the CO3D (Composante Optique 3D) constellation, to be orbited using the Vega C launcher.

HARWELL, UK (ESA PR) — A centre for innovation that will showcase how space can enable future generations of telecommunications and connected applications is being developed.

Phase I Auction Allocates $9.2 Billion to Close the Digital Divide in 49 States and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

WASHINGTON, December 7, 2020 (FCC PR) —The Federal Communications Commission announced today that millions of rural Americans in 49 states and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands will gain access to high-speed Internet service through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has awarded SpaceX $885.5 million over 10 years to bring its Starlink satellite broadband service to remote areas across the country.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., December 7, 2020 (CASIS PR) – SpaceX successfully launched and docked its 21st commercial resupply services (CRS) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) earlier this afternoon. This mission, which launched from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carried thousands of pounds of supplies and research to our nation’s orbiting laboratory.

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.–Global Positioning System III Space Vehicle (SV) 04 received United States Space Force’s Operational Acceptance approval on Dec. 1- marking yet another significant milestone for the GPS III program, Space and Missile Systems Center and USSF.

It is the fourth GPS III satellite delivered into the operational constellation in the past 12 months and the second in the past three months. Additionally, this is the first GPS III vehicle delivered to the warfighter through an expedited satellite control authority transfer process, which cuts ten days off the previous operational acceptance timeline. 

• HALO (Habitation And Logistics Outpost): the initial crew cabin for astronauts visiting the lunar Gateway
• Derived from Cygnus 10-year success story with Thales Alenia Space flight proven technologies
• With HALO, Thales Alenia Space is strengthening its contribution to the Lunar Gateway

TURIN, Italy, December 7, 2020 (Thales Alenia Space PR) –  Thales Alenia Space, the joint company between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has signed a contract with Northrop Grumman to develop the pressurized module for HALO (Habitation And Logistics Outpost) that will be one of the first two elements to form the lunar Gateway which will be launched in late 2023.

Stellar flares with a chance of radio bursts: the weather from Proxima Centauri

SYDNEY (University of Sydney PR) — A discovery that links stellar flares with radio-burst signatures will make it easier for astronomers to detect space weather around nearby stars outside the Solar System. Unfortunately, the first weather reports from our nearest neighbour, Proxima Centauri, are not promising for finding life as we know it.