Space

The cover of the Mar. 8 1965 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology shows a detailed contour map of the lunar surface, developed by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey's Flagstaff, Arizona, laboratories based on the last photograph made of the Moon by Ranger 7.

Singapore-based Transcelestial will place its satellite-to-ground laser communication system on the 6GStarLab satellite, a low-Earth-orbit spacecraft.

NASA’s commercial lunar services initiative scores another major win.

At about 8 min. and 30 sec. into flight Starship–in the final 20 or 30 sec. of its ascent burn–lost several engines and attitude control.

Planet aims to use Claude’s reasoning and pattern recognition abilities to analyze its daily scan of Earth, the company said on March 6.

Intuitive and NASA are awaiting imagery from the agency’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to establish whether Athena is upright, leaning, or tipped over.

The service could readily exchange data with the members of its Commercial Integration Cell (CIC), including Intelsat itself.

The Ariane 6’s second flight, mission VA263, took off at 11:24 a.m. ET March 6 from the European spaceport at French Guiana.

The 52-min. launch window is currently set to open at 9:25 a.m. EST.

A recent bid protest and government report have heightened scrutiny of the Space Development Agency’s rapid acquisition model.

Those payloads are collecting “all kinds of very interesting data” on Beijing’s network of space surveillance satellites, Space RCO Director Kelly Hammett said.

The space agency plans to cease operating Voyager 2’s low-energy charged particle instrument on March 24 to conserve power.

NASA says the technology could serve as a “stepping stone to advanced navigation systems and services for the Moon and Mars.”

The Space Systems Center plans to expand the reach of the optical crosslinks in stages.

The service on March 5 said it planned to award a sole-source contract to Boeing for the work that it aims to have completed before next Oct. 1.

Civilian cellular network technology has many military uses.

NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams spoke favorably about their greatly extended mission.

Both entities shrunk optical systems to fit inside 6U cubesats.

The countdown recycled back to a preestablished T-minus-40 sec. mark for assessment, but SpaceX called off the launch for further analysis.

The launch is planned for the second half of 2026, the Japanese company said in a statement.

Spire in February warned that it could run out of money within a year absent the deal.

The tests were on behalf of Japan’s Space Compass Corporation and telecoms partner NTT Docomo.

The company did not immediately say what the issue or issues were.

Space Systems Command Commander Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant served as acting director of the Space Development Agency beginning Jan. 16.

NASA, which leads the 15-nation ISS’s operations, plans to retire the orbital lab in 2030.