- PLD Space raises €7 million as it aims for sounding rocket’s 2021 debut
VALLETTA, Malta — Launch startup PLD Space of Spain raised 7 million euros ($8.2 million) this week from Madrid-based investment bankers Arcano Partners to continue development of its Miura family of partially reusable rockets. PLD Space spokeswoman Lorena Santos said Sept. 17 the new investment will allow the Elche, Spain-based… Read more » - Mars smallsat mission bumped from launch
WASHINGTON — A smallsat mission to study the atmosphere of Mars is looking for a new ride after being removed as a secondary payload on the launch of a NASA asteroid mission. The Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, or EscaPADE, mission, was one of three smallsat missions selected… Read more » - Reliable COTS Components for AOCS – Gyro and IMU Modules
New Space has for the last decade challenged the established design rules for spacecraft, and proved that is it possible to design and launch small spacecrafts at a fraction of the cost of traditional designs. OneWeb being one of the pioneers challenging the established supplier base using new thinking to… Read more » - Reality show latest sign of growing commercial interest in ISS
WASHINGTON — As a new venture proposes to send the winner of a reality show to the International Space Station, some investors see a stronger business case for a future commercial space station. A television production company, Space Hero LLC, announced Sept. 17 that it was planning a “global, unscripted… Read more » - NASA human spaceflight directorate completes reorganization
WASHINGTON — The NASA directorate responsible for human spaceflight efforts has completed a long-anticipated internal reorganization intended to better align activities ranging from the International Space Station to Artemis. At a Sept. 16 Washington Space Business Roundtable webinar, Kathy Lueders, who took over as NASA associate administrator for human exploration… Read more » - Space Development Agency praised as change agent in Pentagon procurement
WASHINGTON — “We couldn’t believe they went so fast,” Telesat executive Don Brown said of the Space Development Agency’s first major contract award for 20 satellites. Brown, general manager of government services for the Canadian communications satellite operator Telesat, said he and many colleagues in the space industry expected that… Read more » - Astranis adds former NASA Administrator Dan Goldin to advisory board
WASHINGTON — Astranis, a startup developing small geostationary satellites, has brought onboard former NASA Administrator Dan Goldin as an adviser. Astranis announced Sept. 17 that Goldin will chair the company’s new technical advisory board, and recently oversaw the critical design review of the company’s first satellite ahead of a mid-2021… Read more » - Exotrail wins ESA contracts • SmartSky suing ATG equipment contractor • Eutelsat executive steps down
To receive FIRST UP Satcom, a weekly SpaceNews newsletter for satellite and telecom professionals, sign up here. TOP STORIES French propulsion startup Exotrail has signed two contracts with the European Space Agency for its smallsat electric propulsion technology. Under the first contract, Exotrail said it will “accelerate the qualification and flight demonstration”… Read more » - Intelsat taps Maxar for fifth C-band satellite, capping order spree
WASHINGTON — Intelsat has signed a satellite contract with Maxar Technologies, placing the final order in a one-time surge in manufacturing deals triggered by the Federal Communications Commission’s upcoming C-band spectrum auction. Maxar will build the Intelsat-37 communications satellite at its Palo Alto, California, factory on a 1300-class platform, Intelsat… Read more » - Megaconstellation startup Mangata Networks joins T-Mobile-backed 5G incubator
WASHINGTON — Mangata Networks, a broadband megaconstellation venture created by former OneWeb Satellites CEO Brian Holz, is one of 16 startups newly added the 5G Open Innovation Lab, an ideas-and-partnership incubator founded earlier this year by T-Mobile, Intel and NASA to help unleash the potential of 5G mobile networks. Mangata… Read more »
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