Commercial Space

A Mars architecture concept review is expected to be completed in January.

SLS debut launch is scuttled by an approaching hurricane.

Axiom aims to include two Saudis during next private mission to the ISS.

AE Industrial Partners, the leading private equity investor in aerospace and defense by deal volume, has acquired a majority stake in small satellite builder York Space Systems, the companies announced Oct. 4.

U.S. space infrastructure specialist Redwire said it will buy Qinetiq Group’s Space NV business, a provider of integration, equipment and other backbone space systems in Europe, for about €32 million ($31.4 million).

The new facility will enable the integration of eight satellites onto Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket.

The rocket upstart recently shelved its troubled small launch vehicle to focus on developing a larger launcher.

Firefly Aerospace has recovered from the unsuccessful 2021 debut launch of its Alpha small-satellite booster with a successful follow-on flight test.

Vulcan’s debut launch, targeted for late this year or early 2023, will send a privately owned lander, carrying payloads for NASA and other customers, to the surface of the Moon.

The U.S. Department of Defense has released a request for proposals for “Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Satellite-Based Services.”

Analysis is needed determine whether slamming a spacecraft into an asteroid belongs in the Earth’s future planetary defense arsenal.

The National Reconnaissance Office on Sept. 28 increased its work with commercial space companies, awarding six study contracts for commercial radio frequency remote sensing.

Over the past two weeks, SpaceX has started selling two “high performance” user terminals.

After the U.S. Treasury announced exemptions to new sanctions, Elon Musk said SpaceX is “activating Starlink” internet in Iran.

Axiom Space plans to train and fly two Saudi astronauts on a flight to the International Space Station as early as next year.

Dawn Aerospace plans to start test flights of its rocket-powered spaceplane technology demonstrator before year-end.

Brian Binnie, who clinched the $10 million Ansari XPrize for the Paul Allen-Scaled Composites team that built the SpaceShipOne reusable suborbital spacecraft, has died, his family announced on Sept. 18.

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.