Commercial Space

SpaceWERX awarded startup ThinkOrbital a Small Business Technology Transfer contract to study how the company’s autonomous robotic arm assembly and electron beam welding system might be used for in-space service assembly and manufacturing.

Companies say satellites could be refurbished and reused, addressing both costs and environmental concerns.

The FAA has awarded Raytheon Intelligence & Space an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract with a ceiling of $375 million over 10 years to upgrade the Wide Area Augmentation System space-based precision navigation system.

The goal of having a European constellation enter into service in late 2024 appears ambitious at best.

The testing marks a major step toward the U.S. startup’s goal of developing a fully reusable, rapid turn-around rocket vehicle.

Masten Space Systems, a Mojave, California, pioneer of the modern era of new-space startups, has been sold and will combine with Astrobotic, another startup targeting a predicted lunar logistics marketplace.

NASA is seeking proposals for the third and fourth agency-sponsored private astronaut missions to the International Space Station set for launches in late 2023 and 2024, a Sept. 14 solicitation notice says.

Sierra Space recently conducted a burst test of a subscale version of its Large Inflatable Flexible Environment habitat.

Avio, the prime contractor in Europe’s Vega light launcher program, is working on an experimental launch vehicle using only a liquid oxygen-methane propellant.

New satellite technologies are expected to enable more accurate forecasting of severe weather phenomena.

Against a backdrop of tough geopolitical and economic issues, Director General Josef Aschbacher has to convince the agency’s 22 member states that those difficulties are precisely why they need to invest more into space.

Virgin Galactic is reviewing initial responses to RFPs for structural and systems components for the company’s planned new Delta-class spaceplanes as it looks ahead to serial production.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

Airbus is testing a pair of UK defense cubesats in readiness for the first orbital launch from the UK.

Rocket Lab has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with U.S. Transportation Command to explore using the company’s Neutron and Electron launch vehicles to transport cargo around the world.

Albedo, a startup developing very-low-Earth-orbit imagery satellites, has raised a $48 million Series A round.

Only one agency has the independence, credibility and technical expertise to investigate.

Placing Eutelsat's Konnect VHTS into orbit signals the beginning of the end for Europe’s Ariane 5 workhorse.

A British think tank suggests the UK should leave Copernicus and develop its own Earth observation program with the European Space Agency.

Private equity investors CIC Partners and Juniper Capital Management have teamed to buy Applegate EDM and Icon Machine, both in the Dallas area, to create a new portfolio company called Precision Aerospace that focuses on exotic and precision metal work for defense and commercial space.

OQ Technology, a 5G Internet-of-Things satellite startup, has received a €13 million ($12.9 million) Series A investment led by Wa’ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of oil-and-gas company Saudi Aramco.

SpaceX joins race to connect mobile phones via low-Earth-orbit satellites.

NASA has added five more missions to SpaceX’s crew transportation services contract, bringing the total value for 14 flights to $4.9 billion.

NASA and Axiom Space have signed a mission order for a second four-person private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), planned for the second quarter of 2023.

Royal Caribbean Group plans to start installing SpaceX’s Starlink satellite dishes aboard its cruise ships.