Space

NASA plans to suspend additional tanking tests of the Space Launch System and return the Moon rocket to Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs, the space agency said.

Space tug startup TransAstra and small satellite startup ReOrbit have signed multiple contracts to study joint development projects.

Technicians on April 15 were preparing to access the tail service mast unit of the Space Launch System mobile launcher in an effort to stem a liquid hydrogen leak that prompted the launch team to scrub a tanking test of the Moon-class rocket on April 14.

As their nearly six-month mission to the International Space Station draws to a close, four NASA SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts praised their experience with Axiom-1, the first U.S. all-private astronaut mission to the ISS, and predicted there will be more missions to come.

Capella Space has unveiled new software features that automate analysis of images captured by its synthetic aperture radar satellite constellation.

A hydrogen leak halted NASA’s third attempt to fuel the first Space Launch System rocket at the launchpad on April 14.

Launch contracts are game changers for ULA, Arianespace and Blue Origin.

First U.S.-backed private mission to the ISS is a turning point in the ongoing commercial development of space.

The Air Force Research Laboratory has successfully completed testing of a prototype 1-newton thruster using its Advanced Spacecraft Energetic Non-toxic propellant in a vacuum chamber.

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Space Agency’s governing council announced April 13 that it is ending cooperation with Russian space agency Roscosmos on three future Moon missions—Luna 25, 26 and 27.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew 4 Dragon mission to the International Space Station holds promise for the agency’s goals of extending the life and utility of the ISS as well as transitioning its human spaceflight focus to the Moon and Mars.

With its improved and enlarged 3D printer enabling Starship engines, Velo3D talks about riding along with SpaceX, but not joining it.

Chinese and Russian capabilities in space grew 70% between 2019 and 2021, as both countries are seeking to establish superiority on orbit and beyond, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency warns in a new report.

Rapid release of imagery from space has helped Ukraine make strategy decisions and document destruction and Russian attacks on civilians.

The Defense Innovation Unit has released a request for information seeking commercial on-orbit satellite refueling and bulk fuel depot ideas as part of its “RAPIDS Refueling and Fuel Depot” project.

Aiming at bodies bearing liquid water, the hardened spacecraft will search for life in harsh environments.

Problems with a helium isolation check valve on the upper stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket prompted NASA on April 9 to revise plans for a full tanking test and to delay a modified wet dress rehearsal to April 14.

Axiom Mission-1's (Ax-1) four private astronauts successfully docked to the International Space Station (ISS) April 9, to begin an eight-day visit filled with medical and scientific research and technology development activities.

Artificial intelligence programs are well suited for dealing with the deluge of data generated by space systems, according to the companies.

The Axiom-1 mission kicks off a series of private astronaut flights to the International Space Station as part of an ongoing effort to expand commercial use and development of low Earth orbit

The Japanese startup said April 6 that it had resolved or mitigated most of the spacecraft anomalies experienced in January that caused it to halt an autonomous capture demonstration in low Earth orbit.

The Ax-1 astronauts will kick off more than two dozen wide-ranging scientific research and technology development activities with value to life on Earth as well as nurturing the space economy.

Parts for the first batch of Lockheed Martin’s advanced GPS IIIF Follow On space vehicles (SV) are arriving at the company’s facility in Littleton, Colorado, paving the way for assembly of the initial satellite to start before 2023.

Sidus Space, a Cape Canaveral startup proffering the LizzieSat—a partially additively manufactured, 100-kg. (220-lb.) low-Earth-orbit satellite—reported 2021 financial results that showed net loss more than doubled while revenue decreased from 2020.

After a recent successful demonstration of its Protected Tactical Enterprise Services (PTES) ground system, Boeing is continuing to develop a Protected Tactical Satcom Prototype (PTS-P), leveraging its heritage on the Wideband Global Satcom program and commercial satellite technologies.