Commercial Space

Ispace of Japan plans to launch the world’s first private lunar lander mission, dubbed Mission 1, during a target window of Nov. 9-15.

Pioneering space tourist Dennis Tito, who 21 years ago became the first privately paying passenger to visit the International Space Station, has booked two seats aboard a planned SpaceX Starship mission around the Moon.

A Rocket Lab Electron booster has arrived at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia in preparation for the company’s first launch from the U.S.

A pair of test satellites for Amazon’s planned 3,236-member Kuiper broadband constellation will be launched as secondary payloads on the debut flight of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan-Centaur rocket, targeted for early 2023.

JAXA ordered the Epsilon-6 rocket to self-destruct on the morning of Oct. 12.

New standardized mechanical interfaces for grappling and connecting spacecraft are critical to enabling growth of the in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing industries, a panel of industry players says.

Virgin Orbit’s Cosmic Girl Boeing 747-400 launch aircraft has arrived in the UK, ready to play its part in the country’s first orbital launch.

At the request of its customer, United Launch Alliance is delaying the debut flight of its Vulcan-Centaur booster to the first quarter of 2023, though CEO Tory Bruno acknowledges that even if Astrobotic’s lunar lander was ready, it would be difficult to make the previously targeted December launch date due to delays with Vulcan’s BE-4 core stage engines.

Ready or not, the next era of space exploration is upon us. The Moon and Mars are calling, and through advancements in key technology the means exist

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

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.