Updated 8:25 at 12:53 p.m. PDT: Provided more details about Lindner’s reason for resigning.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Todd Lindner resigned earlier this month as CEO of the Mojave Air and Spaceport at Rutan Field after 16 months on the job.

“Todd has a family member with severe health issues and needed to relocate back to Florida to be near family,” said Jim Balentine, a member of the spaceport’s Board of Directors, in an email.

Lindner had given two week’s notice prior to the Aug. 2 meeting of the spaceport’s Board of Directors, a spaceport spokesperson said. Meeting minutes indicate the board appointed Tim Reid, the spaceport’s director of operations, as acting CEO while a search for a permanent replacement is undertaken. Board members also thanked Lindner for his service.

MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — The Ministry of Defense of Russia and the JSC Makeyev Design Bureau (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) signed a contract for the supply of the latest Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles at the Army-2022 International Military-Technical Forum. On the part of the Russian defense department, the contract was signed by the Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Alexei Krivoruchko, and on the part of the Makeyev […]

SEATTLE (Blue Origin PR) — On August 31, New Shepard’s 23^rd mission, a dedicated payloads flight, will fly 36 payloads from academia, research institutions, and students across the globe. The launch window opens at 8:30 AM CDT / 13:30 UTC from Launch Site One in West Texas. 

While newer entrants – and future rivals – in the space race lead on excitement, US respondents most optimistic due to booming space tourism, private sector spending

LONDON (Inmarsat PR) — Investment in space in America shows no signs of slowing down, reaching almost $55 billion in government spending in 2021, with the private sector committing a further $23 billion in the US alone in the same year. Yet despite America’s long-time space supremacy, and ever-growing financial commitment, US citizens are not as enamoured by space as could be expected.

Research from Inmarsat found that just 1 in 10 US respondents are interested in working in the space sector, compared to 24% in India and 27% in Japan. Meanwhile, 39% are excited about what could happen in space, again fewer than in India (46%), which came out on top, and the UAE (43%).

One of Virginia’s fastest growing companies will support over 2,000 geographically dispersed users of the NESDIS Integrated Information Services II contract

VIENNA, Va. (Alpha Omega Integration PR) — Alpha Omega Integration has been selected by NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) to support the requirements of the Integrated Information Services, and ensure a cohesive, scalable, and cost-effective delivery of IT services. Our services will help NESDIS provide secure, timely access to global environmental data to promote and protect the nation’s security, environment, economy, and quality of life.

“Alpha Omega is honored to play a role in supporting NOAA’s mission which is rightfully prioritized at the top of our national agenda as demonstrated via the meaningful investments contained in the recently signed Inflation Reduction Act,” said Gautam Ijoor, Alpha Omega Integration’s President and CEO. “Our partnership with NESDIS via the NIIS program reflects Alpha Omega’s commitment to supporting climate science and having a profound, lasting impact on future generations. We are pleased to have started this important work after unexpected delays.”

The satellite will launch from Kennedy Space Center with Artemis I

BOCA RATON, Fla. (Terran Orbital Corporation PR) — Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP), a global leader in satellite solutions, primarily serving the United States and Allied aerospace and defense industries, integrated the Lunar Infrared imaging spacecraft, also known as LunIR into NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). With its unprecedented power and capabilities, SLS is the only rocket that will be able to send the Orion capsule, astronauts, and cargo directly to the Moon on a single mission. LunIR will fly by the Moon and collect surface thermography as a secondary payload on Artemis 1 – a test mission for SLS. After the flyby, the 6U satellite will conduct technology demonstrations related to deep-space operations for future Mars missions.

LOS GATOS, Calif. (E-Space PR) — E-Space, a global space company focused on bridging Earth and space with the most sustainable low earth orbit (LEO) network, today announced it expanded its leadership team with the addition of Gunjan Murarka as chief financial officer (CFO) and Dalibor Djuran as chief satellite systems engineer. The addition of these two valuable positions will enable E-Space to accelerate its novel LEO network, which will be both the safest satellite constellation ever, and make space affordable and accessible for everyone to solve problems on Earth.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA has selected three companies to further advance work on deployable solar array systems that will help power the agency’s human and robotic exploration of the Moon under Artemis.

Through Artemis missions, NASA will return humans to the Moon and establish a long-term presence near the lunar South Pole. A reliable, sustainable power source is required to support lunar habitats, rovers, and even construction systems for future robotic and crewed missions. To help provide this power, NASA is supporting development of vertical solar arrays that can autonomously deploy up to 32 feet high and retract for relocation if necessary.

Rendered into English by Google Translate

MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — On Monday, August 15, 2022, the Roscosmos State Corporation, during the Army-2022 International Military-Technical Forum, for the first time showed the public a mock-up of the new Russian orbital station.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Two Chinese companies — CAS Space and Space Transportation — are pursuing the suborbital tourism market, with the former closely copying Blue Origin’s fully reusable New Shepard vehicle and the latter developing a winged vehicle that could be adapted for hypersonic point-to-point travel between distant locations on Earth.

CAS Space, a.k.a., Guangzhou Zhongke Aerospace Exploration Technology Co., Ltd., is developing a single-stage reusable rocket that lands under its own power topped with a capsule that descends under three parachutes.

PARIS (ESA PR) — A new map of Mars is changing the way we think about the planet’s watery past, and showing where we should land in the future.

The map shows mineral deposits across the planet and has been painstakingly created over the last decade using data from ESA’s Mars Express Observatoire pour la Mineralogie, l’Eau, les Glaces et l’Activité (OMEGA) instrument and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) instrument.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (Maritime Launch Services PR) — Maritime Launch Services Inc. (Maritime Launch, MLSI or the “Company”) (NEO: MAXQ, OTCQB: MAXQF) is pleased to confirm that it has received approval to trade on the OTCQB Venture Market (OTCQB) beginning August 23, 2022, under the symbol MAXQF.

“We look forward to broadening our investor base and engaging with US investors on the opportunity Spaceport Nova Scotia provides the global space industry” says Stephen Matier, President and CEO, Maritime Launch. “Commercial launch services from Canada will strengthen North America’s position as a global leader in low earth orbit satellite communications. We will offer launch services to the global and US marketplace, fueling new growth and attracting investment. While all other ranges in the United States are owned and operated by government, Spaceport Nova Scotia will be the first, pure-play commercial spaceport on the continent”.