Commercial Space

On the eve of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ministerial council, 21 startup companies are requesting that member states approve a resolution for an open competition every time an institutional payload has to be placed into orbit.

German space startup Polaris Spaceplanes has performed the first flight of its spaceplane demonstrator built under a contract from the German defense ministry.

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

The new 16U satellite bus is tailored for Earth observation and space domain awareness missions.

The approvals help pave the way for the first planned orbital launch from the UK mainland for Virgin Orbit’s “Start Me Up” mission using its air-launched LauncherOne space vehicle that will be carried by its modified Boeing 747.

A slew of new-space companies are unveiling strategic changes or acknowledging setbacks. Is it the end or the beginning?

In a joint technology demonstration, United Launch Alliance and NASA tested a 20-ft.-dia. inflatable heat shield that is intended to pave the way for a future rocket engine recovery system for ULA and a system for NASA to land heavy, human-class missions on Mars, among other uses.

HyImpulse, Isar Aerospace, Latitude, Maia Space, Orbex, PLD Space, RFA and Skyrora are forming a new ecosystem in space launchers.

The single-port Sirius engine will be used to power the Eris, Australia’s first orbital rocket, which is set to launch in 2023.

Intelsat is turning to Switzerland-based SWISSto12 to provide a small geostationary satellite outfitted with 12 Ku-band transponders for regional communications services.

The chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission announced Nov. 3 that she would reorganize the agency to create a standalone Space Bureau to better support the needs of the growing satellite industry.

Virgin Galactic is set to return its first SpaceShipTwo spaceplane VSS Unity to test flights in the coming months following the completion of upgrade work and says it remains on track to begin the long-delayed start of commercial spaceflights in the second quarter of 2023.

After a three-year hiatus, SpaceX’s heavy lifter is back in business.

A modified Sikorsky S-92 helicopter will attempt to snare the returning booster by its parachute line.

NASA has issued a draft request for proposals (RFP) from industry for a Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) for exploring the Moon’s south pole as part of the

Bell will supply the vehicle’s feathering system and flight control surfaces while Texas-based structures specialist Qarbon Aerospace will produce the fuselage and wing.

A triple-core Falcon Heavy, currently the most powerful rocket operating today, lifted off from a fog-shrouded Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 1 on a challenging and classified mission for the U.S. Space Force.

As well as a launch provider, UK-based Orbex will now become a launch site operator with assistance from Jacobs.

New research shows China’s growing capabilities to disrupt military satellite communications.

NorthStar Earth & Space’s initial three space situational awareness satellites are scheduled to launch into orbit in mid-2023.

Small-satellite maker Terran Orbital has formally aligned with Lockheed Martin, receiving a $100 million investment boost.

Anti-satellite threats force military satellites to use more fuel.

With its first two satellites set for launch in early 2023, Amazon on Oct. 27 unveiled plans for an additional, 172,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing plant in the Seattle area that will be dedicated to production of Kuiper satellites for an Amazon-owned high-speed broadband network.

Despite differences between nations, space exploration should remain a place for civil collaboration.

Startup Quantum Space is targeting October 2024 for the launch of the first in a series of spacecraft to provide space situational awareness, host customer payloads and other services in cislunar space.