Space

Open Cosmos received Ka-band spectrum rights through Liechtenstein as the European space tech company prepares to deploy an LEO broadband satellite system.

Startup sees space-based radar as cheaper than aircraft-based AWACs.

Startup Array Labs is attempting to develop formation-flying radar satellites to study the feasibility of conducting “persistent, wide-area” airborne moving target indication missions from space.

Firefly Aerospace plans to introduce upgrades to its Alpha rocket after the company suffered several mishaps with the launcher.

Axiom Space has revealed new details of its space station assembly plan.

NASA plans to seek ideas to help advance concepts around bringing crewmembers to Mars and providing a power grid for missions to the planet or the Moon.

Low-cost launch startup Stoke Space is testing flight-capable Zenith engines in the buildup to the first orbital test flight of its Nova rocket.

Europe’s meteorological agency Eumetsat gave the formal go-ahead to the EPS-Sterna program, which aims to grow a system of 20 weather monitoring satellites.

Australia agreed with Luxembourg-based satellite communications provider SES to extend the life of the IS-22 satellite’s UHF satcom services for military use.

Portugal has become the 60th nation to sign the Artemis Accords governing deep-space exploration.

The International Space Station crew held a change-of-command ceremony Jan. 12 in advance of the Crew-11 astronauts’ planned early return to Earth.

A Jan. 11 SpaceX rideshare launch carried 40 payloads to orbit, including 10 satellites from Kepler Communications.

MaiaSpace, an ArianeGroup subsidiary developing a small, reusable launcher, has plans for a larger version with twice the payload, CEO Yohann Leroy said.

China’s CAS Space says it has completed the first suborbital test flight of its Li Hong-1 reentry capsule, containing microgravity experiments.

Sweden is joining the list of European countries buying Iceye synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites.

India suffered a third-stage failure on its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket on Jan. 12, leading to the loss of 15 satellites and a reentry capsule.

Eutelsat says it will buy another tranche of satellites from Airbus to build out its OneWeb low-Earth-orbit broadband communication system.

NASA sets Jan. 17 as the "no earlier than" date for the roll out of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule to be used for the Artemis II mission to take four astronauts around the Moon.

As part of the SpaceX Crew-11 astronauts’ upcoming early departure from the ISS, command of the orbital outpost will be turned over to a Russian cosmonaut.

The U.S. Space Force has awarded military space launches worth $739 million to SpaceX to support future missions for the Space Development Agency and NRO.

Russia’s altering of the orbital plans for the ROS follow-on to the ISS has caused Moscow to build use of the Baikonur spaceport back into its planning.

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

NASA plans to return the International Space Station’s Crew-11 astronauts to Earth early due to a recent medical issue experienced by one of the four.

The philanthropic organization of Eric Schmidt, billionaire and former Google chief executive, plans to launch a large private space telescope.

The UK defense ministry is broadening its search for alternative means of position, navigation and timing.