SWINDON, UK (UK Space Agency PR) — The two parachutes that will safely deliver the UK’s first ever Mars vehicle to the Red Planet have completed their first full-scale high altitude drop test.

AUSTIN, Texas/EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Slingshot Aerospace, Inc., a leader in situational awareness technology, announced that it has raised $8 million in Series A funds for a total raised of $17.1 million to date.

The round is led by ATX Venture Partners, and includes additional investments from Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Techstars Ventures, and Okapi Venture Capital. Angel investors that participated in the round include former CEO of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation and current Principal Consultant for Plum Run, LLC Keith Masback; Gregory Mead and Marie-Alicia Chang, co-founders of Semetric; and Glenn Degenaars who was recognized as a Top Wealth Advisor for 2020 by Forbes.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

The previously reprimanded head of the Russian company that oversees Russia’s ground-based space infrastructure has been fired in a continuing shakeup related to schedule delays and alleged corruption at the Vostochny Cosmodrome.

The Board of Directors of the Center for Operation of Ground-Based Space Infrastructure Facilities (TsENKI) voted to relieve General Director Andrei Okhlopkov from his post beginning on Nov. 27. A month earlier, Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin had reprimanded him during a visit to Vostochmy.

Okhlopkov had been the head of TsENKI since June 2018. The board replaced him with Ruslan Mukhamedzhanov, a 20-year TsENKI employee who most recently headed up the company’s Barmin Research Institute of Launch Complexes.

TsENKI is responsible for the creation of ground space infrastructure and manages Russian cosmodromes. The company, which is part of Roscosmos, employs more than 12,000 people.

A H-2A rocket launched Japan’s first Optical Data Relay Satellite with laser communications capabilities on Sunday from the Tanegashima Space Center. The civilian-military spacecraft will relay data from Japan’s optical and radar-imaging Information Gathering Satellites as well as JAXA’s scientific spacecraft. JAXA’s Laser Utilsing Communication System (LUCAS) will use infrared technology to transmit data between the spacecraft and the ground. The H-2A rocket lifted off at 4:25 p.m. local time […]

GLASGOW (ESA PR) — British engineers are fine-tuning a process that will be used to extract oxygen from lunar dust, leaving behind metal powders that could be 3D printed into construction materials for a Moon base.

It could be an early step to establishing an extra-terrestrial oxygen extraction plant. This would help to enable exploration and sustain life on the Moon while avoiding the enormous cost of sending materials from Earth.

KOUROU, French Guiana (Arianespace PR) — On November 29, Arianespace will carry out from the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in French Guiana, its eighth launch of the year.

This mission will be the third realized this year with the Soyuz medium-lift launch vehicle, the two previous ones were conducted from Russia.

BEIJING (CNSA PR) — At 20:58 on November 28, Beijing time, the Chang’e-5 probe flew to the moon for about 112 hours and successfully ignited a 3000 N engine at a distance of about 400 kilometers from the lunar surface. About 17 minutes later, the engine shut down normally. According to real-time telemetry data monitoring and judgment, the Chang’e-5 probe braked normally in the recent month and entered the orbit around […]

CANNES, France (Thales Alenia Space PR)  – Thales Alenia Space, Joint Venture between Thales (67 %) and Leonardo (33 %)  announces that a major milestone for Space Inspire (INstant SPace In-orbit REconfiguration) development has been achieved by the accomplishment of the Preliminary Design Review (PDR).

\MONTREAL (ABB PR) — A two-year contract awarded to ABB from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will see key ABB/Nüvü Camēras technology fly onboard the space telescope in 2025, on course to capture the first spaceborne images of planets outside our solar system.

LONGUEIUL, Quebec (CSA PR) — The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is preparing Canada’s space community and collaborating sectors – including Canadian companies, universities, research institutions, and other organizations – for potential roles in the long-term exploration of the Moon. The Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP) was created to provide a wide range of opportunities for Canadian science and technology activities in lunar orbit, on the Moon’s surface, and beyond.

All around the Wall Street
Investors rolled the big dice
Investors thought ’twas a big feat
Pop! Goes the stock price….

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Earlier this week, Rich Smith over at the Motley Fool noted that Virgin Galactic’s stock had popped big time:

Volatile space stock Virgin Galactic Holdings (NYSE:SPCE) is rewarding investors once again on Wednesday, rising 8.7% through 12:15 p.m. EST on no obvious news — or at least, no obviously new news.

SpaceX will attempt a high-altitude flight test of its Starship prototype sometime next week. Teslerati reports: CEO Elon Musk says that SpaceX’s first fully-assembled Starship prototype is on track for its 15-kilometer (~50,000 ft) launch debut after completing a second three-engine static fire test on Tuesday. Starship serial number 8’s (SN8) three Raptor engines ignited for a few seconds around 5:30 pm CST (UTC-6) on Tuesday, November 24th, less than […]