- SpaceX reaches 100 successful launches with Starlink mission
WASHINGTON — SpaceX launched another set of Starlink satellites Oct. 24, marking the 100th time the company has placed payloads into orbit. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 11:31 a.m. Eastern. The rocket’s upper stage deployed the payload… Read more » - Asteroid samples leaking from OSIRIS-REx
WASHINGTON — NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected so much material from the surface of the asteroid Bennu that the lid of its sampling head is jammed open, causing material to leak out and changing the agency’s plans for the mission. At a media briefing called by NASA on short notice Oct.… Read more » - Axiom Space finalizing first commercial ISS mission
WASHINGTON — Axiom Space hopes to soon finalize its first commercial mission to the International Space Station, scheduled for late 2021, as it continues development of a commercial module for the station. During a panel discussion at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) Oct. 13, Michael Suffredini, president and chief executive… Read more » - Chinese rocket companies secure local government support for research, production facilities
HELSINKI — Two young Chinese rocket have secured deals with local governments for the establishment of major launch vehicle research and production facilities. The agreements made in September demonstrate ongoing and deepening support of commercial space endeavors by Chinese provincial and local governments. Beijing-based Galactic Energy will construct a base… Read more » - Intelsat rejects $1.8 billion SES claim for C-band clearing payments
WASHINGTON — Intelsat rejected a $1.8 billion claim filed by SES regarding the breakup of the C-Band Alliance, arguing instead that SES’s action cost Intelsat more than $1.6 billion in potential C-band clearing payments. SES filed the claim in July in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia,… Read more » - International consortium to launch tiny hyperspectral camera
SAN FRANCISCO – An international consortium plans to launch a hyperspectral camera built by South Africa’s Dragonfly Aerospace on a NanoAvionics rideshare mission scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in 2021. The mission, called HyperActive, is designed to demonstrate the performance of Dragonfly’s miniature hyperspectral imager plus… Read more » - Space Force official: Launch scrubs are no reason to despair
WASHINGTON — A streak of United Launch Alliance and SpaceX launch scrubs has frustrated rocket company executives and space aficionados. But Space Force launch managers are not discouraged, and in fact see scrubs as proof that systems are working like they should, Col. Douglas Pentecost said Oct. 22. ULA and… Read more » - Thuraya CEO shares plans for fleet update and view of market
SAN FRANCISCO — Two years after acquiring mobile satellite services provider Thuraya Telecommunications, Emerati fleet operator Yahsat is prepared to begin updating its L-band fleet. In August, Yahsat announced a contract with Airbus Defence and Space for Thuraya-4 NGS that includes an option for a second identical satellite, Thuraya-5 NGS.… Read more » - Lockheed Martin shifts U.K. launch site
WASHINGTON — More than two years after Lockheed Martin announced it would be one of the first customers of a proposed spaceport in Scotland, the company has decided to move to another proposed spaceport there. The U.K. Space Agency announced Oct. 22 that it backed a proposal by the company… Read more » - Raymond: Space Force has a plan to unify acquisition agencies
WASHINGTON — The Space Force is moving forward with plans to establish a field command sometime next year to oversee research, development and acquisition of major programs such as satellites, launch services and information systems. “We’re in the very final stages of completing the plan for Space Systems Command,” Gen.… Read more »
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