Japan has joined the space agencies of Canada and Europe in formally partnering with NASA in the development of a lunar-orbiting, human-tended Gateway.
A newly created “European launcher alliance” will gather the European Commission, the European Space Agency, EU member states and the launcher industry to work out a road map for future European launchers, the EC has announced.
After a one-day weather delay, SpaceX’s upgraded Dragon resupply capsule departed the International Space Station early Jan. 12 for a first-ever commercial atmospheric re-entry and parachute descent off the Florida coast with a 4,400-lb. scientific and equipment return payload.
The first set of six new solar arrays for the International Space Station is being prepared for launch in May, setting the stage for a 20-30% jump in power generation for commercial and research activities aboard the orbital outpost.
Adverse weather Jan. 11 prompted SpaceX to delay the first-ever attempt by a NASA-contracted commercial International Space Station resupply mission to return to Earth for an Atlantic Ocean splashdown off Florida’s east coast with a 5,200-lb. cargo that includes science experiments.
NASA’s Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, or SPHEREx, space telescope has completed its Phase C preliminary design review, clearing the way for detailed design work as well as hardware and software development.
FAA and NASA have pledged to coordinate their standards and to work together on commercial space launch and re-entry, point-to-point suborbital transportation, spaceports, airspace design and a host of other issues now that the era of commercially licensed human spaceflight has begun.
Virgin Orbit will make a second attempt to reach orbit with the LauncherOne small satellite rocket on Jan. 13, with backup launch windows available later in the month in the event of a delay.
Following its record-setting 26 launches in 2020, SpaceX kicked off the new year with delivery of the Turksat 5A broadband satellite into orbit on Jan. 7.
Arianespace is willing to operate microlaunchers if the opportunity arises, either as a way to meet demand or as proof of concepts for heavier launchers, CEO Stephane Israel said.
A new bipartisan authorization bill is critical to NASA’s path forward under the Joe Biden administration, according to former U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn, the Oklahoma Democrat who chaired the U.S. House space and aeronautics subcommittee until her re-election defeat and the swearing in of a new Congress earlier this week.
NASA Associate Administrator Stephen Jurczyk, the agency’s highest-ranking civil servant, will take on the role of acting administrator following the departure of NASA chief Jim Bridenstine on Jan. 20.
Virgin Galactic has completed post-flight inspections and root cause analysis of last month’s thwarted suborbital flight test of SpaceShipTwo, the company said on Jan. 7.
Satisfied with the Space Launch System’s recent Wet Dress Rehearsal, NASA is looking to conduct the first simultaneous ground test firing of the heavy rocket’s four RS-25 engines as early as Jan. 17.
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus resupply spacecraft was unberthed from the International Space Station on Jan. 6 to begin the three-week, free-flight phase of its lengthy mission.
The European Commission (EC) has launched a feasibility study for an EU-owned, space-based communication system that would use quantum technology for secure connectivity.
The U.S. Space Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a $4.9 billion undefinitized contract modification to build three geosynchronous Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared satellites.
