Russia’s Soyuz MS-18 capsule carrying NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov docked to the International Space Station early April 9.
NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts initiative has awarded $5 million in grants to seven innovators, among them a Jet Propulsion Laboratory researcher investigating the possible construction of a lunar far side radio telescope using wire mesh embedded in an impact crater by small climbing robots.
Rocket Lab plans to conduct its second parachute-assisted booster splashdown next month, as it works to evolve the Electron small satellite launch vehicle into a reusable rocket, the company said on April 8.
The U.S. Space Force intends to establish a Space Systems Command this summer, pending the nomination and Senate confirmation of a three-star commander.
Airbus and the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) are to develop a terminal for aircraft to receive laser-based communications.
Philippe Baptiste, an engineer by training with experience in science, industry and politics, is to succeed Jean-Yves Le Gall at the helm of French space agency CNES after the country’s parliament approved the nomination.
SpaceX on April 7 completed its eighth mission of the year to deploy its Starlink broadband network, boosting the constellation to about 1,400 spacecraft.
Swedish-British small satellite manufacturer AAC Clyde Space this month entered a conditional agreement to buy privately owned Omnisys Instruments, a Swedish developer and manufacturer of sensors for space projects, in a deal worth about $8.7 million.
Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will chair the advisory board at Voyager Space Holdings, the market’s first vertically integrated new-space holding company that recently acquired the Launch Co, Nanoracks and others.
The Russian government has approved an extension of its bilateral cooperation with the U.S. on exploration and the use of space for peaceful purposes for 10 more years, until Dec 31, 2030.
As SpaceX prepared to deliver its 24th batch of Starlink satellites into orbit this week, President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell said beta trials will continue until the network, designed to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet, is more reliable.
In a major growth move following the 2020 acquisition of Cobham by private-equity investors, the company’s radio-frequency products arm has forged a strategic alliance to bring 3D-printed waveguide technology to U.S. space, electronic warfare, radar and other applications.
NASA’s Mars Ingenuity helicopter has been deployed from the Perseverance rover, kicking off a 31-day test campaign to demonstrate powered flight on another planet.
Lockheed Martin is doubling down on investments in small satellite launch service companies, signing a block buy with startup ABL Space Systems for up to 58 missions through 2029.
In a first for a U.S. spacecraft at the International Space Station, SpaceX’s Crew-1 Dragon and its four-member crew swapped docking ports early April 5 to prepare for an upcoming crew exchange and provide a parking spot for a resupply version of the Dragon.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program plans to observe another milestone early April 5, as the $8.5 billion initiative to provide the U.S. with a means of transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station marks its 10th anniversary.
As China prepares to launch the first module of a new space station in low Earth orbit, Russia says it is open to potential cooperation on the project.
The U.S. Space Force is in need of additional intelligence analysts as U.S. adversaries’ space capabilities continue to grow and is working toward establishing a National Space Intelligence Center by January 2022.
Vaya Space, a Cocoa, Florida, space startup formerly known as Rocket Crafters, on March 31 announced its entrance into the small satellite launching marketplace for launches of up to 1 ton to low Earth orbit starting in 2023.
