Commercial Space

Virgin Orbit’s disappointing stock debut marks the end of the beginning of the special purpose acquisition company phenomenon.

AST SpaceMobile, a newly public company aiming to establish a space-based cellular broadband network for smartphones, has offered a peak inside its 85,000-ft.2 manufacturing headquarters in Midland, Texas.

French space agency’s invitation to use Kourou spaceport may help European microlauncher projects meet hoped-for high demand.

Japan’s Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry Co. are planning a 2023 mission to launch what they claim to be the first orbiting wooden satellite.

Addman Engineering, the additive manufacturing rollup under private equity investor American Industrial Partners, has acquired Castheon, a refractory metals maker that has partnered with spacecraft-providing companies, the companies announced Jan. 3.

Large U.S. defense prime contractor L3Harris Technologies has reorganized to include just three main business divisions, with Aviation Systems and its top unit executive no longer part of the company’s structure.

A new Inmarsat I-6 F1 satellite was successfully put into orbit by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on Dec 23.

SpaceX’s 24th NASA-contracted resupply mission is carrying a diverse array of research projects to the International Space Station.

The FAA on Dec. 20 granted a license to Spaceport Camden in Camden County, Georgia, for small-rocket launches to low Earth orbit after several years of local community debate.

SpaceX set a new record for Falcon 9 booster reuse, launching and landing its fleet leader for an 11th time on Dec. 18 as the company neared the end of a 2021 launch manifest that aims for a record 31 flights.

The Soyuz MS-20 carrying Yusaku Maezawa, Yozo Hirano and veteran cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin touched down in remote Kazakhstan on Dec. 20, marking the end of a 12-day private spaceflight.

Stoke Space, a startup trying to develop a completely reusable rocket for the burgeoning commercial satellite market, has closed a $65 million Series A venture capital round that will go toward developing a rapidly repeatable second-stage segment.

As the military and burgeoning commercial space sector eye thousands of new satellites in low-Earth orbit companies such as Honeywell International and Skyloom Global are teaming to provide more secure and higher-performance optical-communication products and services.

The aerospace and defense industry enters 2022 facing many of the same concerns it faced in 2021.

Major events in aerospace and defense during 2021.

Virgin Orbit is taking a 17.5% stake in partner Hypersat as the companies work to launch a six-satellite constellation to provide hyperspectral imaging from low Earth orbit.

The MU-B200 is a 200-kg (441-lb.) 1.2 kW satellite that aims to provide 5-Gbps (V-band) communications over Southeast Asia.

Two commercial positioning and communication satellites onboard—GeeSAT-1A and 1B—were lost in the Dec. 15 failure.

A growing number of satellite operators are either pursuing a multi-orbit strategy to provide high-capacity, low-latency data services, or are ready to jump on the bandwagon.

Multiple providers and an assortment of vehicles herald a healthy start to commercial passenger spaceflight.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is already seeing MRO graduates being poached by emerging industries such as commercial space.

ArianeGroup's CEO has shared the company's vision based on launchers of different sizes using common technologies.

OneWeb has said there are no plans to close its Merritt Island, Florida, factory, even though the company has disclosed its intention to build its next-generation satellites in the UK.

Companies that can remain nimble or provide niche capabilities will have the advantage.

Next year could see maiden launches of the Ariane 6 and Blue Origin's New Glenn follow the first orbital flight of SpaceX's Starship launcher, which is set for liftoff in January or February.