Space

Dates for the review and Starliner’s departure from the ISS are pending.

The termination of the cost-and-schedule-challenged Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover was announced by NASA on July 17.

The revolving door to the office of Firefly Aerospace CEO is turning again following the sudden departure of Bill Weber on July 17.

A test to see if spacecraft can fly in very low Earth orbit will come in 2027. The orbit has intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance advantages.

NASA awarded a contract, worth up to $843 million, for the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle to SpaceX on June 26.

Rising costs and technical challenges have prompted NASA to cancel a commercially partnered, groundbreaking Moon mission.

The U.S. Space Force does not yet anticipate any delays to its upcoming launch manifest because of the investigation into the July 11 failure of a Falcon 9.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk plans to move the company’s headquarters from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas.

Moon mining startup Interlune says it has received a $348,000 grant from NASA’s TechFlights program to test its lunar regolith beneficiation equipment.

A new data translation system meant to provide U.S. military space operators with a clearer picture of the heavens has entered operational trials.

The 212-ft. core stage will be used for the agency’s Artemis II mission.

Clayton Turner, the director of NASA’s Langley Research Center, was named the STMD acting administrator.

The mission is planned to launch to the lunar south pole in late 2024.

KBR’s board unanimously OK’d the purchase, but it is subject to certain regulatory approvals prior to closing.

ESA has given the provisional go-ahead for a mission to fly by the Apophis asteroid in 2029 as part of planetary defense, with NASA also sending Osiris-Apex.

The SASC says it wants a progress report on the Pentagon’s efforts to field new capabilities to monitor air or ground targets in real time from space.

Chinese privately funded launch company iSpace has suffered its fourth failure in seven launch attempts.

The magnetic field of Jupiter, the Solar System’s largest planet, is 20,000 times stronger than Earth’s.

The newly expanded consortium will also explore opportunities for the Dream Chaser in Japan and across the Asian continent.

UK Royal Air Force Air Marshal Paul Godfrey most recently served as the first commander of UK Space Command.

Russia plans to cancel the development of its future nuclear-powered Zevs (Zeus) space tug due to financial hurdles and a lack of suitable missions.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket broke apart in the final stage of flight, leaving some Starlink satellites in lower-than-intended orbits and sidelining the vehicle.

Northrop Grumman’s 20th Cygnus resupply mission to the ISS departed with more than 7,300 lb. of trash for a destructive reentry into the atmosphere.

Two new spaceports in Scotland are preparing to service rockets heading to LEO and polar orbit, positioning the UK as a new player in the small launch market.

As fixed-price deals signed years ago continue to burden balance sheets, Boeing Defense and Space is focusing on smart growth opportunities.