ALAMEDA, Calif. (Astra Space, Inc. PR) — Astra Space, Inc. (“Astra”) (NASDAQ: ASTR) today announced that it has entered into a common stock purchase agreement with B. Riley Principal Capital II, LLC (“B. Riley Principal Capital II”).

Addition of the Airbus constellation, including all-weather, day and night imagery, expands product offerings to meet customers’ global 24/7 needs

HERNDON, Va. (BlackSky Technology Inc. PR) — BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) and Airbus (EPA: AIR) have signed a reseller agreement enabling BlackSky to expand its dynamic monitoring platform’s all-weather, day and night, and very high-resolution satellite imagery offerings for BlackSky customers.

• Australians more likely to associate space with aliens than satellite communications
• Space industry needs “to create a new narrative about space and show Australians how space already touches their lives everyday”
• 49% of Australians are concerned about space junk and collisions, with 44% worried about polluting space

SYDNEY (Inmarsat PR) — Australia was at the forefront of the first space race and played a vital role in Apollo 11’s iconic Moon landing in 1969. Half a century later, Australians are more likely to see space as a threat than a frontier full of positive possibilities, and just one in ten say they would like to work in the space industry.

According to a new global report from Inmarsat – ‘What on Earth is the value of space?’, based on a survey of 20,000 people in 11 countries – 49% of Australians are concerned about space junk and collisions and 44% are worried about polluting space, while just over one third (36%) say they feel hopeful about the possibilities of space, one fifth (21%) say they don’t understand much about space and 10% say they don’t care about space at all.

• Slingshot’s dual acquisitions transform spaceflight safety and sustainability for satellite operators at a time of unprecedented and growing risk on-orbit.
• The acquisition of Numerica Corporation’s Space Domain Awareness (SDA) division includes the world’s first and only commercial low Earth orbit (LEO) to geosynchronous orbit (GEO) daytime and nighttime optical sensor network for satellite tracking.
• The acquisition of Seradata brings the company’s industry-leading SpaceTrak satellite and launch database into Slingshot’s portfolio and establishes Slingshot’s footprint in the UK/European market.

AUSTIN, Texas & EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (Slingshot Aerospace, Inc. PR) — Slingshot Aerospace, Inc., a company building space simulation and analytics products to accelerate space sustainability, today announced that the company has acquired Numerica’s Space Domain Awareness (SDA) division and UK-based Seradata. Numerica’s SDA division includes the world’s first and only commercial low Earth orbit (LEO) to geosynchronous orbit (GEO) daytime and nighttime optical sensor network for satellite tracking. Seradata brings the company’s industry-leading SpaceTrak satellite and launch database into Slingshot’s portfolio and establishes the company’s footprint in the UK/European market.

Its operational life should have been a few hours to experiment with new technologies. Instead, the ASI nanosatellite continued to function for over two weeks, traveling at orbital altitudes dense with deadly radiation.

ROME (ASI PR) — Its operational life in orbit after launch was supposed to be only a few hours, but for about fifteen days its signal, loaded with scientific data, was loud and clear. This is the mission of Astrobio Cubesat (ABCS) a nanosatellite created by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) and the School of Aerospace Engineering (SIA) of the Sapienza University of Rome, responsible for the development, integration and platform operations, assisted by the University of Bologna (UniBO) for the preparation of the experiment.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
National University Corporation Hokkaido University

JAXA Program Update

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (President: Hiroshi Yamakawa, hereinafter referred to as JAXA) and Hokkaido University (President: Kiyohiro Hokin) have announced the results of ground-based tests on the combustibility of solid materials in a microgravity environment. Aiming to verify the world’s first quantitative evaluation method¹ based on started on May 19, 2022 at the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module. In addition, we will release the results of the first material combustion experiment on the ISS under high-concentration oxygen conditions on June 23, 2022 (Fig. 1). The FLARE theme contributes to ensuring fire safety inside spacecraft and living facilities, which is an extremely important issue for international space exploration (Artemis Project) on the moon, etc., in which Japan is also participating.

ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) — Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman has been nominated to be U.S. Space Force’s next Chief of Space Operations.

If confirmed by the Senate, Saltzman will become the service’s highest ranking officer and the second Chief of Space Operations in the young service’s history. Saltzman will step into the position currently held by Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, who has led the Space Force since its establishment in December 2019.  Raymond is projected to retire later this year.

”I am very honored and humbled by the nomination to be the second Chief of Space Operations. If confirmed, Jennifer and I will be committed to building on the incredible foundation Gen. Jay and Mollie Raymond put in place for our service and we are forever grateful for their service and dedication,” said Saltzman.

Raymond praised Saltzman and his nomination and paid tribute to the Guardians and Airmen that he has led over his career. 

DELFT, The Netherlands (Dawn Aerospace PR) — The European Space Agency has awarded Dawn Aerospace €200k [US $203,109] GSTP funding to increase the performance of its green bi-propellant thrusters for satellites.

Dawn has received over €10 million [US $10.16 million] in orders for satellite propulsion systems in the last 12 months, specifically the B20 and B1 green propellant thrusters and associated turn key systems. Thirty-three of these thrusters on eight spacecraft are already in orbit, with over 100 more thrusters either delivered to customers or in production. All current systems are in ‘Low Earth Orbit.’

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (Netherlands Space Office PR) — Is it possible to send data from a small satellite to Earth not by radio signals, but by laser light? That’s the question the Dutch instrument SmallCAT is going to answer. SmallCAT is an innovative optical instrument developed by TNO and Hyperion that will fly on the Norwegian satellite NorSat-TD. The instrument was delivered at the end of May to be mounted on the satellite, with the launch scheduled for early 2023.

Less than two weeks after its launch, the cultivation of vegetables in the all-Italian micro-garden was started thanks to GreenCube, a minisatellite of ASI and Sapienza University of Rome.

ROME (ASI PR) — The space garden begins its cultivation in orbit thanks to the GreenCube project coordinated by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), within which the Sapienza University of Rome, with the collaboration of ENEA and the Federico II University of Naples , has created a nano-satellite dedicated to the cultivation of micro-vegetables in space, beyond low orbits.

Signature Campus in Sierra County Will Anchor Curated Customer Journey
Buildout of Campus Planned in Parallel with Fleet Expansion

TUSTIN, Calif. (Virgin Galactic PR) — Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) (the “Company” or “Virgin Galactic”), an aerospace and space travel company, today announced it has secured land to move forward with a new astronaut campus and training facility in the State of New Mexico, near the Company’s commercial operations headquarters.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Sinus Space, Inc. PR) — Sidus Space, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIDU), a Space-as-a-Service satellite company focused on commercial satellite design, manufacture, launch, and data collection is pleased to announce its selection of Amazon Web Services, Inc (AWS) to provide cloud storage of mission critical Satellite-as-a-Service operation and customer data for the upcoming LizzieSat™ Constellation.