Science

VALLETTA, Malta — The head of Italian rocket manufacturer Avio assured customers Nov. 19 that the company was working hard to return Vega to service following the rocket’s second failure in its last three launches.   In a video statement, Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo said that in initial investigation into Vega’s Nov. 16 launch failure had

WASHINGTON — Small launch vehicle developer Astra will make its second orbital launch attempt in December, three months after an initial launch attempt failed shortly after liftoff. The company announced Nov. 19 that it has completed testing of the vehicle, known as Rocket 3.2, and will soon ship it from its California headquarters to Pacific

WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab launched its Electron rocket Nov. 19, placing nearly 30 smallsats in orbit while making its first attempt to recover the rocket’s first stage. The Electron lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand, at 9:20 p.m. Eastern on a mission called “Return to Sender” by the

“Over the next 18 months we’ll complete the transition to a fully reusable SpaceX fleet,” said Col. Robert Bongiovi, director of the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Launch Enterprise. WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force expects to clear SpaceX to use previously flown boosters for all national security missions. So far the Space Force only

WASHINGTON — A Senate committee approved a bill Nov. 18 that gives the Commerce Department authority for civil space traffic management (STM), but it still faces significant obstacles to win passage in Congress this year. The Senate Commerce Committee favorably reported S. 4827, the Space Preservation and Conjunction Emergency (SPACE) Act of 2020, on a

SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. and U.K. military space officials at Defence Space 2020 conference expressed enthusiasm for joint pitch competitions as a way to tap into commercial space sector innovation. During the conference, 10 companies participating in the first International Space Pitch Day (ISPD) won awards of 53,000 British pounds apiece ($70,167), plus the opportunity

WASHINGTON — Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) says the first flight of its Dream Chaser spacecraft to the International Space Station is now planned for 2022 after development delays caused by the pandemic. During a media briefing Nov. 17, SNC executives said that despite the near-term delays in assembly of the lifting-body cargo spacecraft, they were

A “memorandum of understanding” between Commerce and DoD could be signed soon, said Mark Daley, deputy for operations at the Office of Space Commerce. WASHINGTON — The transfer of space traffic management responsibilities from the military to a civilian agency in the Commerce Department is moving ahead even though Congress has yet to provide funding

SAN FRANCISCO – Orbit Fab, a startup preparing to establish fuel depots in space, announced an agreement Nov. 17 with Spaceflight Inc. to send its first microsatellite into orbit in 2021. Under the agreement, Orbit Fab’s first operational fuel depot, Tanker 001 Tenzing, will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 as early as June 2021. Tanker

On Oct. 15, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released the much-anticipated update to its rules for rocket safety, which streamline launch and reentry licensing. These clarified rules provide a solid foundation for the commercial rocket launch industry — ensuring that launch companies can understand and follow the rules while keeping critical national infrastructure and American

WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft with four astronauts on board successfully docked with the International Space Station Nov. 16, a day after launch on the first operational commercial crew mission. The spacecraft, named “Resilience,” docked with the station’s Node 2, or Harmony, module at 11:01 p.m. Eastern. Hatches separating the station and spacecraft

A new study by the Aerospace Corp. says there are growing opportunities for national security agencies to buy commercial services. WASHINGTON — Commercial companies in the space industry are offering increasingly sophisticated services that previously only governments could provide. That shift has been apparent for years but many U.S. defense and intelligence agencies are still

VALLETTA, Malta — The European Space Agency (ESA) signed contracts for three pairs of satellites for the agency’s Earth-observing Copernicus program on Nov. 13 with a total award value of more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.54 billion).  The three Copernicus satellite pairs are part of six High-Priority Candidate Missions approved during ESA’s Council at Ministerial

WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying four American and Japanese astronauts is on its way to the International Space Station after a successful Falcon 9 launch Nov. 15. The Falcon 9 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A at 7:27 p.m. Eastern. The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named “Resilience” by its

Lamborn held a “Space Force Workforce Development Roundtable” event Nov. 12 at the U.S. Air Force Academy. WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force and the space industry have a growing need for expertise in the science and technology fields and should develop a plan to fill that demand, said Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.). Different organizations

Maj. Gen. Matthew Glavy will be dual-hatted as the commander of Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command and Marine Corps Forces Space Command. WASHINGTON — The United States Marine Corps activated a new unit called Marine Corps Forces Space Command as a subordinate organization to U.S. Space Command, the service announced Nov. 13. Maj. Gen. Matthew

WASHINGTON — The first launch of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from a site in the United States won’t take place until 2021 because of problems with the flight termination system NASA requires the rocket to use. Rocket Lab had planned to conduct the first launch from its Launch Complex (LC) 2 at Wallops Island, Virginia,

Updated 7 p.m. Eastern with briefing comments. WASHINGTON — NASA has postponed the launch of its first operational commercial crew mission by a day, citing weather conditions that delayed the arrival of the droneship used for the recovery of the Falcon 9 first stage. NASA said Nov. 13 that it was pushing back the Crew-1

The Atlas 5 for the first time flew with three GEM 63 solid rocket boosters made by Northrop Grumman. WASHINGTON — A National Reconnaissance Office satellite flew to orbit Nov. 13 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. The rocket lifted off at 5:32 p.m. Eastern from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air

WASHINGTON — A longtime Virgin Galactic executive will return to Australia to take over the country’s young space agency, the Australian government announced Nov. 13. In a statement, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Enrico Palermo, chief operating officer of Virgin Galactic, will take over as head of the Australian Space Agency in January.

WASHINGTON — Rideshare launch service provider Spaceflight Inc. announced a new version of its Sherpa tug Nov. 12 equipped with electric propulsion that can send smallsats to high orbits or cislunar space. Spaceflight announced the first flight of its Sherpa-LTE orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) will take place in mid-2021. The vehicle is based on the

The program in question is the Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications system known as ESS. WASHINGTON — The Senate Appropriations Committee questioned why it will take the U.S. Space Force 12 years to acquire new jam-resistant communications satellites to replace the existing Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) spacecraft made by Lockheed Martin. The program in question

WASHINGTON — An independent review panel created by NASA to examine its plans to return samples from Mars endorsed the overall campaign, but recommended that the agency delay two upcoming missions to provide a more realistic development schedule. NASA established the Independent Review Board (IRB) in August to provide an outside assessment of its overall

SAN FRANCISCO – Luxembourg-based Kleos Space raised $13.8 million following the Nov. 7 launch of its first cluster of radio frequency mapping satellites. “Kleos is now well financed to execute the launch of the second cluster of satellites, Polar Vigilance Mission in mid-2021, and to develop its third cluster of satellites, targeted to be in

WASHINGTON — The Export-Import Bank of the United States is evaluating nearly $2 billion in applications to finance space industry sales as it seeks to return to a field that has changed significantly over the last few years. The Ex-Im Bank had been a major source of financing for commercial satellites and launches prior to

WASHINGTON — NASA formally certified SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft for transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station, clearing the way for a Nov. 14 launch. Agency officials completed the certification of the spacecraft by signing a document known as a Human Rating Certification Plan during a flight readiness review for the Crew-1 mission

Appropriators questioned “recent moves by some agencies to procure launches outside of the space launch enterprise through direct commercial contracts or delivery on orbit contracts.” WASHINGTON — The Senate Appropriations Committee in a report Nov. 10 criticized the practice by some agencies of procuring launch services directly from commercial providers, bypassing the National Security Space

WASHINGTON — After two consecutive years of losses, the space insurance industry is hoping to break even this year while seeking continued increases in premiums. Speaking at Euroconsult’s World Satellite Business Week Virtual Edition Nov. 10, Dominique Rora, head of space underwriting at AXA XL, said he expected insurers to break even after suffering several

WASHINGTON — A Japanese company developing commercial lunar landers has opened an office in the United States in a bid to win more business from NASA’s Artemis program. Tokyo-based ispace announced Nov. 9 it opened an office in Denver that it will use to design lunar landers. The company is already working on two commercial

The Space Force is enshrined in Title 10 of the U.S. Code so any move to dismantle it would require congressional legislation.  WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force was a signature initiative of the Trump administration. President-elect Joe Biden has said he plans to reverse a number of Trump policies but he is expected to