AST Spacemobile, the new publicly traded version of nanosatellite startup AST & Science of Midland, Texas, should emerge from its reverse-merger with a special purpose acquisition company on April 6 sporting around $462 million.
Russia has made another step toward the development of a new Soyuz 5 medium lift launch vehicle, with NPO Energomash reporting on March 31 that it had completed test firings of the first RD-171MV liquid rocket engine.
Just over a week after NASA outlined renewed plans to foster the development of U.S. commercial low Earth orbit free flyers to succeed the International Space Station, Sierra Nevada Corp. has unveiled ambitious plans to develop an orbital ecosystem based on its inflatable habitat design and Dream Chaser lifting body space vehicle.
Tapping into the crosscurrents of the commercial space boom and advanced technologies such as cloud computing, Amazon is opening an AWS Space Accelerator to assist and network with related startups, with applications due April 21.
Finland-based Iceye, an Earth observation data analytics provider with its own constellation of synthetic aperture radar satellites, said March 31 it plans to launch more satellites this year than previously planned, with the next launch booked for midyear.
The Space Telescope Science Institute has selected 286 proposals for the initial cycle of observations planned with the NASA-led James Webb Space Telescope, which is planned for launch from French Guiana on Oct. 31.
SpaceX is aiming for a mid-September launch of a privately chartered Crew Dragon spacecraft on a three-day, 336-mi.-high, free-flying mission called Inspiration4, bankrolled and commanded by Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman.
The U.S. Space Force plans to release a solicitation in the second quarter of 2021 to purchase services from internet providers in low Earth orbit that will serve as an alternative to geostationary satellite communications.
SpaceX’s fourth high-altitude flight of a Starship upper stage prototype ended in a midair explosion on March 30 as the vehicle was beginning its engine reignition sequence to pivot for vertical touchdown.
Lockheed Martin received a $12.8 million contract award from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) on March 25 for the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) program.
Virgin Galactic unveiled its next-generation reusable suborbital passenger spaceship on March 30, featuring a new design to enhance operations and a mirror-like exterior that adds thermal protection while setting a new bar for aesthetics.
Boeing and Hypersonix Launch Systems will conduct a joint study of an air-breathing space launch system powered by the Australian startup’s Spartan scramjet engines.
Apophis, a 1,120-ft.-wide asteroid that was discovered in 2004, had raised concerns that its frequent Earth-crossing orbit could pose an impact threat. But that all went away on March 26.
Los Angeles-area rocket startup ABL Space Systems has closed a Series B investment round of $170 million, with the infusion going toward developing the 1,000-kg class RS1 launch vehicle and GS0 deployable launch system that should see its first launch this year.
The upcoming launch of Russia’s Soyuz MS-18 to the International Space Station with two cosmonauts and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei will initiate a dynamic few weeks of crew exchanges.
The European Space Agency has allotted a combined €10.45 million ($12.5 million) to two UK companies developing microlaunchers for small satellites: Orbex and Skyrora.
The fifth Space-Based Infrared System satellite has arrived at the processing facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, ahead of its anticipated launch from a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on May 17.
Another month, another big announcement from private equity-founded Redwire: this time that the new-space roll up will become a publicly traded company in a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company known to be hunting for aerospace and defense assets.
Canadian space stalwart MDA, which was taken private a year ago by private equity buyer Northern Private Capital, has filed with Canadian securities authorities for an initial public offering of stock worth almost $400 million.
NASA is unveiling a two-phase, multiyear strategy to foster the development of multiple U.S. commercial low Earth orbit free flyers that would take over current International Space Station activities.
With a 23rd successful mission dedicated to deploying its Starlink communications network, SpaceX is closing in on its initial goal of about 1,450 operational satellites to kick off commercial broadband services in the U.S. and other regions.
Developers of the solar electric propulsion (SEP) system for NASA’s Lunar-orbiting Gateway outpost have successfully validated key elements of the design.
