Space

The launch from New Zealand marked BlackSky's third launch in 21 days to double the size of its constellation from six spacecraft to 12.

After a successful launch and 7-hr. ride into geosynchronous orbit, a long-awaited optical communications relay experiment, designed and financed by NASA, is in position to begin a technology demonstration in March.

Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina will fly to the International Space Station on the SpaceX Crew-5 mission next fall, Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian State Space Corp Roscosmos, announced on Dec. 8.

The Soyuz MS-20 carrying two Space Adventures private spaceflight clients docked to the ISS Russian segment’s Poisk module at 8:40 a.m. EST.

Mark Geyer, a former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center who led the early development and initial test flight of the Orion crew capsule, died here Dec. 7 from pancreatic cancer.

ArianeGroup will develop a reusable mini-launcher for entry into service in 2026, Bruno Le Maire, French minister of economy and finance, announced Dec. 6.

The SDA’s Tranche 0 is slated to launch next September, one month before the agency officially joins the Space Force.

NASA on Dec. 6 presented its 2021 class of new astronaut candidates, six men and four women chosen not only for their diverse professional skills but also their commitment to teamwork.

Safran on Dec. 6 said it has entered into exclusive discussions to acquire Orolia from majority shareholder Eurazeo alongside the company’s founders and management to expand its product line and local country footprints.

NASA said it intends to issue a sole-source modification to SpaceX’s Commercial Crew Transportation Capabilities contract that would enable the agency to purchase up to three more crew flights to the International Space Station.

After reaching orbit on its fourth try from Alaska, startup Astra Space will debut commercial launch services from Florida beginning in January.

Intuitive Machines (IM) has begun construction of a $40 million, 115,000-sq.-ft. lunar production and operations center at the Houston Spaceport to support plans to establish an annual cadence of commercial missions to the lunar surface.

The agreement will see South Africa use China’s Beidou Navigation Satellite System for geophysics, space science, geodetic surveys and other research.

Using a twin model of the flight rover, engineers are preparing for a post-landing egress test.

The space telescope set to launch in 2023 has been built to address two of the most important questions in cosmology today: How did the universe originate and why is it expanding at an accelerating rate?

The debris was forecast to pass as close as 1.86 mi. to the ISS.

The company acknowledged it had received a warning of noncompliance from the New York Stock Exchange.

The SLS is a cornerstone of NASA efforts to return to the Moon with human explorers and prepare for human expeditions to Mars.

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

The contracts mark kickoff of two-phase approach to moving from the government-owned ISS to a public-private outpost in low Earth orbit.

Initially planned for Nov. 30, the excursion was delayed two days so that NASA could assess a possible orbital debris concern.

As a reusable booster, Neutron is designed to carry 8 tons into low Earth orbit.

The data will assist with understanding how spaceflight affects human physical and mental health.

With China and Russia demonstrating dangerous new technologies, the U.S. must invest only in solutions that can outpace the threat.

Spacecraft will collide with asteroid in hopes of learning how to deflect threats to Earth.