Science

As deputy secretary, Kathleen Hicks would have major responsibilities for budget and financial management. WASHINGTON — President Biden’s nominee for deputy defense secretary Kathleen Hicks said in congressional testimony that space acquisition programs should leverage commercial innovation and ensure the United States can counter China’s technological advances.  Hicks sat in front of the Senate Armed

SAN FRANCISCO – MDA is designing the follow-on to Radarsat-2, the C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite the Canadian firm built through a public-private partnership with the Canadian government. “We are announcing today that we are well into our project to design and develop our next generation of radar-based Earth observation capabilities to ensure that

WASHINGTON — An entrepreneur has purchased a SpaceX Crew Dragon mission slated for launch late this year that will include three other people as part of a project that is a mix of charity and commerce. SpaceX announced Feb. 1 that Jared Isaacman, the founder and chief executive of online payment processing company Shift4 Payments,

SAN FRANCISCO – General Atomics announced the acquisition Feb. 1 of Tiger Innovations, a Herndon, Virginia small business focused primarily on satellite systems, and related hardware and software. General Atomics plans to integrate Tiger Innovations with its General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) group to “complement GA-EMS’ portfolio of advanced space systems and technologies,” according to

SAN FRANCISCO – Earth observation startup Umbra raised $32 million in an investment round led by the family office venture fund of Passport Capital founder John Burbank with participation from existing Umbra investors including CrossCut Ventures, Starbridge Ventures, Hemisphere Ventures and PonValley. Umbra, based in Santa Barbara, California and previously known as Umbra Lab, is

WASHINGTON — A Maine startup made its first, albeit small, step towards space Jan. 31 with the successful launch of a rocket testing the engine technology it plans to use on future small launch vehicles. The Stardust 1.0 rocket by Braunschweig, Maine-based bluShift Aerospace launched at about 3 p.m. Eastern from the Loring Commerce Centre,

WASHINGTON — NASA is considering changing the orbit of one of its oldest Mars spacecraft, a move intended to support the Mars 2020 mission after landing but which could affect both its science and support of other missions. NASA launched the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) in 2005 with a suite of six science instruments, including

WASHINGTON — The second operational SpaceX commercial crew mission to the International Space Station will now launch in mid-April, carrying astronauts from Europe, Japan and the United States. NASA said Jan. 29 that it set a launch date of April 20 for the Crew-2 mission to the station. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur

The only change the Space Force made is in four categories of Air Force enlisted ranks called “airman.” The equivalent ranks in the Space Force will be “specialist.” WASHINGTON — It’s now official: There will be no admirals in the U.S. Space Force. The Space Force on Jan. 29 revealed its new rank structure for

WASHINGTON — NASA will carry out a second hotfire test of the Space Launch System core stage, a move that makes it more likely the vehicle will miss its scheduled launch date of late this year. NASA announced late Jan. 29 that it will re-run the static-fire test of the core stage’s four RS-25 engines

SpaceX is expected to join Space Command’s ‘commercial integration cell’ in the near future. WASHINGTON — To get intelligence about what is happening in orbit, U.S. Space Command works with a close-knit group of allies and private companies.  The command is now looking to expand its network of data-sharing partners as activities in space grow

WASHINGTON — A test flight of SpaceX’s Starship launch vehicle is on hold as the company awaits approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, a delay that has publicly aggravated the company’s chief executive. SpaceX had planned to perform a suborbital flight of its Starship SN9 vehicle at its Boca Chica, Texas, test site Jan. 28.

DOUGLAS, U.K. — Glavkosmos, the commercial arm of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, has announced its intent to enter the space tourism market, selling a minimum of four Soyuz seats to commercial astronauts through 2023.  Roscosmos has previously sold such seats through a long-standing relationship with American company Space Adventures. In December, Glavkosmos tweeted its

Gen. James Dickinson released a “commander’s strategic vision” document that lays out broad goals for Space Command. WASHINGTON — The commander of U.S. Space Command warns in a new document that keeping satellites safe from hostile attack will require a coordinated response involving all elements of the U.S. military and allies.  The U.S. military operates

WASHINGTON — NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is on track for a landing next month that will begin in earnest an effort to return samples of the planet to Earth. The spacecraft, launched July 30, is scheduled to land in Jezero Crater at 3:55 p.m. Eastern Feb. 18. It will place on the surface the Perseverance

WASHINGTON — Small launch vehicle developer Firefly Aerospace, nearing its first orbital launch attempt, is looking to raise $350 million to scale up production and work on a new, larger vehicle. During an IPO Edge webinar Jan. 26 about investment in the space industry, Tom Markusic, chief executive of Firefly Aerospace, said the funding the

WASHINGTON — Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) on Jan. 27 added his voice to the chorus of lawmakers demanding that the Biden administration investigate the Air Force’s decision to move U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama. Speaking on a Politico live webcast, Cooper alleged political corruption in the selection of Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama,

WASHINGTON — Apollo Fusion announced Jan. 26 it won an order from York Space Systems for a set of satellite electric propulsion systems. Apollo Fusion said it will provide its Apollo Constellation Engine (ACE) electric propulsion system for a low Earth orbit constellation of at least 10 satellites York is building for launch in 2022.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force on Dec. 31 officially terminated launch technology partnerships signed in October 2018 with Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman. The Air Force awarded Launch Service Agreements to Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman and United Launch Alliance. These were six-year public-private partnerships where both the government and the contractors agreed to invest

HELSINKI — The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is moving ahead with testing of its new H3 rocket as it seeks to replace its aging flagship H-IIA launch vehicle. The first stage of the 5.2-meter-diameter H3 launcher was unveiled to press at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Tobishima plant in Aichi Prefecture Jan. 24. The core stage is

WASHINGTON — Less than a week after leaving the agency, former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine is joining a private equity firm that invests in the aerospace and defense industries. Acorn Growth Companies, a private equity firm based in Oklahoma City, said Jan. 25 that it had hired Bridenstine as a senior adviser, assisting the company

The SDA will consider funding research-and-development projects for technologies it might not be able to find in the open market.  WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s Space Development Agency issued an open call for information from the space industry on a laundry list of technologies.  The “broad area announcement” published Jan. 25 asks companies to submit pitches

In December, China successfully conducted its first lunar sample retrieval mission. Chang’e-5 landed on the moon, deployed a rover who then dug up various pieces of the lunar surface, then returned to Earth with about 5 pounds of material. This marked the first return of moon rocks in over 40 years. During the week that

WASHINGTON — A recent NASA mission successfully demonstrated the performance of a non-toxic “green” propellant, creating opportunities for its use in a wide range of future spacecraft. NASA flew the Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) spacecraft as one of the payloads on the Space Test Program 2 mission that launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy

WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched 143 small satellites for a wide range of customers Jan. 24 on the company’s first dedicated rideshare mission, a service that poses a competitive threat to emerging small launch vehicles. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida

Gen. John Hyten said space is “is critical to everything we do” and the Space Force plays an important role protecting U.S. assets WASHINGTON — What does a change in administration mean for the U.S. Space Force? “I get that question a lot,” Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said

WASHINGTON — After fraying relations in recent years, officials with the European Union and European Space Agency say they’re committed to rebuilding a more cooperative relationship on space programs. At the 13th European Space Conference Jan. 12, Thierry Breton, commissioner for the internal market at the European Union, extended an olive branch to ESA, saying

Space Command crews will attempt to track as many as 143 commercial and government satellites that Transporter-1 will deploy. UPDATE: The launch of Transporter-1 was scrubbed Jan. 23 due to weather. The next attempt will be Jan. 24. WASHINGTON — U.S. Space Command’s traffic watchers have been working with SpaceX and satellite operators in recent

WASHINGTON — A proposal to replace the giant radio telescope at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico with a new facility suggests it could be used for tracking space objects as well as for scientific research. Plans for a potential replacement of the 305-meter radio telescope at Arecibo, whose observing platform collapsed Dec. 1, are still