New OTVs, slated to launch in 2021, will minimize the impact of extended development timelines and schedule delays while providing increased launch flexibility 

SEATTLE, November 12, 2020 (Spaceflight PR) — Spaceflight Inc., the leading satellite rideshare and mission management provider, announced today that it is developing two additional next-generation orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs) that will debut in 2021. Its first, Sherpa-FX, will fly on a fully dedicated rideshare mission with SpaceX, dubbed SXRS-3 by Spaceflight, no earlier than December 2020. The next two ESPA-class space vehicles in the company’s portfolio are designed to provide more orbital diversification, including flexible manifest changes, deployment to multiple altitudes and orbital planes, and rapid launch solutions. 

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft that will launch the Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station has completed a key prelaunch milestone: the integrated static fire. Standing on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the rocket’s nine Merlin first-stage engines were fired for 7 seconds for this critical but routine test. The […]

PARIS (ESA PR) — An ambitious campaign by NASA and ESA to collect samples from the Red Planet and return them to Earth has been praised by an Independent Review Board set up to review the multi-year Mars missions.

• Emxys, a space technology company, has raised €2 million in funding.
• The round was led by Mundi Ventures with participation from CDTI.
• Financing from the round will be used to develop the ODALISS project, an innovative platform for small satellites with laser communications.

ALICANTE, Spain – Emxys (Embedded Instruments & Systems), a Spanish company based in Alicante, has closed a €2 million [US $2.35 million] funding round led by Mundi Ventures and with participation from CDTI. Vinca Capital served as financial advisor and Gesem served as legal advisor to Emxys in the transaction.

Teams will work together to translate concepts into tangible innovations that will support lunar landings, rover missions, satellite servicing, and more.

PITTSBURGH (Astrobotic PR) – Astrobotic and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for Space, High-performance, and Resilient Computing (SHREC) are pleased to announce a partnership to develop new software and hardware technologies for future space applications.

The SHREC consortium, led by the University of Pittsburgh, is an NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) and will work together with Astrobotic by pairing first-class academic researchers with engineering teams to translate concepts into tangible innovations that will support lunar landings, rover missions, satellite servicing, and more.

Raytheon and Airbus US Space and Defense have filed formal protests with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) over the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) decision to award contracts worth $342.5 million to L3Harris Technologies and SpaceX to build eight missile warning satellites.

Bankrupt small satellite launch provider Vector is back in business with new owners, a new engine for the Vector-R booster, and a focus on suborbital flights. SpaceNews reports: The new owner of Vector’s launch assets is a consortium led by John Moran, president and chief executive of Moran Logistics, a shipping company based in Pennsylvania. They are restarting Vector with Robert Spalding, a retired Air Force brigadier general who previously […]

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 10, 2020 (Raytheon PR) — Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Blue Canyon Technologies, a leading provider of small satellites and spacecraft systems components. Closure of the acquisition, expected by early 2021, is subject to the completion of customary conditions and regulatory approvals. Blue Canyon Technologies will report into Raytheon Intelligence & Space upon closing. 

“The space market is rapidly expanding and our customers need comprehensive solutions faster than ever before,” said Roy Azevedo, president of Raytheon Intelligence & Space. “What makes Blue Canyon Technologies the right fit for our business is its agile, innovative culture and expertise in small satellite systems and technologies. This acquisition enables us to deliver a broader range of solutions to support our customers’ space missions – from sensing subsystems to mission systems integration and from launch and range support to on-orbit operations.”

DULLES, Va., November 11, 2020 (Northrop Grumman PR) — Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has been awarded two additional missions by NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services contract-2 (CRS-2) with launches occurring in 2023. Northrop  Grumman will deliver a combined total of approximately 16,500 lbs. of cargo to the International Space Station during these missions.

• Scouting Mission Satellites Launch and Early Orbit phase (LEOP) on track
• Successful KSM1 launch supports A$19 million (11.7 mill. EUR) placement
• Placement proceeds to deliver a further two satellite clusters
• Strong institutional and sophisticated investor support

LUXEMBOURG, 11 November 2020 (Kleos Space PR) — Kleos Space S.A. (ASX: KSS, Frankfurt: KS1), a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data provider, is pleased to announce that it has received commitments to raise A$19 million (equivalent to 11.7 million EUR or 13.8 million USD) via a placement of approximately 26,388,889 new ordinary fully paid CDIs.¹

• Former astronaut Pam Melroy and Kathryn Sullivan also named to review teams
• Former XPRIZE vice president leads OSTP team

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

President-elect Joe Biden has appointed former NASA chief scientist Ellen Stofan to lead the review team assigned to the space agency.

Stofan, a planetary scientist who became the first female director of the National Air and Space Museum in 2018, leads an eight-member team that includes former NASA astronaut Pam Melroy and former NASA chief scientist Waleed Abdalati.

Biden has also appointed Kathryn Sullivan, who was part of the first group of women recruited as NASA astronauts, to serve on the agency review team for the Department of Commerce.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada grated the approval last week for Starlink’s satellite broadband service. The approval followed last month’s decision by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to grant SpaceX a Basic International Telecommunications Services license to offer the Starlink service. Starlink recently opened the service for public beta testing in the United States. According to an invitation email posted on Reddit, U.S. beta testers the satellite Internet […]