MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — Yuri Borisov, Director General of the State Corporation Roscosmos, during his speech at the federal educational marathon “Knowledge”, named seven main priorities for the rocket and space industry, which will be the focus of attention:

•  Development of the orbital space constellation;
•  Industrial model for the production of spacecraft on the principles of unification and standardization;
•  Development of space instrumentation;
•  Conducting institutional reforms and a new system of industry management;
•  Implementation of manned programs;
•  Implementation of scientific programs;
•  Commercialization of the industry.

NewSpace India Ltd. has awarded a contract worth Rs 860 crore deal ($107.9 million) to a consortium of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Larsen & Toubro to manufacture five Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLVs). The Economic Times reports: “We have now signed the service level agreement with the industry for production,” an official of NSIL, a central public sector enterprise under the Department of Space (DoS) and commercial arm of the […]

THUMBA, India (ISRO PR) — An Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (IAD), designed and developed by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), has been successfully test flown in a Rohini sounding rocket from TERLS, Thumba at 12.20 pm today. The IAD was initially folded and kept inside the payload bay of the rocket.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA has selected Ball Aerospace & Technology Corp. of Boulder, Colorado, to provide the Laser Prestabilizaton System (LPS) for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) laser assembly.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said it expects to launch the nation’s new H3 booster during the 2022 fiscal year that ends on March 31, 2023, after overcoming a series of problems with the rocket’s engine. The Mainichi reports: The agency had delayed the launch after a test conducted on the H3 rocket’s main engine found holes on the wall of a combustion chamber as well as a defect […]

Editor’s Note: The Roscosmos State Corporation is not just focused on space; its various subsidiaries produce a wide range of civilian products. Here we look at Roscosmos’ activities in automating agriculture and cleaning up oil spills.

Roscosmos press releases rendered into English by Google Translate

NPO Automation (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) was one of the first in the country to develop and start serial production of an autopilot for agricultural and specialized equipment. Such systems allow to increase harvesting by 20-30%.

NASA Mission Update

After standing down on today’s Artemis I launch attempt when engineers could not overcome a hydrogen leak in a quick disconnect, an interface between the liquid hydrogen fuel feed line and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, mission managers met and decided they will forego additional launch attempts in early September.

Bloomberg reports that satellite broadband provider OneWeb took a $229 million write down after Russia canceled a series of planned launches and confiscated 36 of the company’s satellites. The impairment came after OneWeb canceled a launch in March at a Kremlin-controlled launchpad in Kazakhstan, after refusing Russia’s demand for Britain to sell its stake in the company. That postponed a series of planned launches, incurred an insurance cost, and left […]

India’s Skyroot Aerospace has raised $50.5 million in a Series B round to fund development of its Vikram family of launch vehicles. ENTRACKR reports:

Skyroot Aerospace has issued 106 equity shares and 1,15,938 Series B compulsory convertible preference shares at an issue price of Rs 34,728.39 each to raise $50.5 million or Rs 403 crore, its regulatory filings show.

GIC (via Waverly Pte Ltd) has led the round with $47.61 million or Rs 380 crore whereas LNM India Internet Venture has infused $2.88 million or Rs 23 crore. The round appears to be an ongoing one and Skyroot may receive more funds.

With this new round, Skyroot Aerospace has raised over $67 million to date including seed capital from Mukesh Bansal, a $11 million Series A and a $4.5 million bridge round.

As per Fintrackr’s estimates, Skyroot has been valued at around $165 million or Rs 1,304 crore (post allotment). Following the allotment of the Series B round, GIC holds a 30.11% stake while LMN India Internet owns a 1.82% in the four-year-old company.

NASA Mission Update The launch director waived off today’s Artemis I launch attempt at approximately 11:17 a.m. EDT. Teams encountered a liquid hydrogen leak while loading the propellant into the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket.  Multiple troubleshooting efforts to address the area of the leak by reseating a seal in the quick disconnect where liquid hydrogen is fed into the rocket did not fix the issue. Engineers […]

MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — On Monday, August 29, 2022, Yuri Borisov, Director General of Roscosmos State Corporation, inspected the construction site of the National Space Center (NCC).  

LUXEMBOURG, DHAHRAN, ATHENS,September 1, 2022 (OQ Technology PR) — OQ Technology, a global 5G IoT (Internet of Things) satellite operator, has closed a 13 million Euro Series A funding round led by Wa’ed Ventures, the venture capital arm at Aramco (the Saudi oil and gas company), and Phaistos Investment Fund, managed by 5G Ventures in Greece.

OQ Technology will use the funds to further develop its own technology solutions, acquire more spectrum licenses, and grow its 5G IoT satellite constellation. The constellation provides fast and real-time data processing for IoT and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) applications in remote and rural areas. Such applications can range from wellhead monitoring, SCADA system, asset tracking, drone control, vehicle telematics and smart cars to artificial intelligence, mining, defence, and automated transport.