Space

By Thierry Dubois
An additional friction stir welding facility in Thales Alenia Space’s Turin factory is helping meet increased demand from space station operators for pressurized modules.
Commercial Space

By Mark Carreau
The NASA Johnson Space Center’s (JSC) Rocket Park was named Dec.10 in honor of George W.S. Abbey, an early space agency stalwart who served as the center’s director from 1996 to 2001.
Space

By Irene Klotz
With efforts to troubleshoot an issue with a Space Launch System main engine controller ongoing, NASA is now targeting the rocket’s rollout to Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B for mid-January—about two weeks later than previously planned—for a key prelaunch fueling test.
Space

By Michael Bruno
Tomorrow.io—the former ClimaCell weather services company that rebranded and announced a plan to launch and operate a constellation of relatively small satellites by 2022—will go public via a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company.
Commercial Space

By Mark Carreau, Irene Klotz
A new tool for astrophysicists to probe polarized X-ray light radiating from some of the highest energy objects in the universe is in orbit following an early morning launch by SpaceX from Kennedy Space Center.
Space

By Tony Osborne
The plan to begin production in the UK would likely mean the closure of OneWeb’s Florida-based facility which used automation to produce its first generation of satellites.
Commercial Space

By Tony Osborne
Orbex has commissioned Motive Offshore to fabricate the launchpad at the company’s test site, a former Royal Air Force airfield at Kinloss, Scotland.
Commercial Space

By Irene Klotz
The launch from New Zealand marked BlackSky's third launch in 21 days to double the size of its constellation from six spacecraft to 12.
Commercial Space

By Irene Klotz
After a successful launch and 7-hr. ride into geosynchronous orbit, a long-awaited optical communications relay experiment, designed and financed by NASA, is in position to begin a technology demonstration in March.
Commercial Space

By Maxim Pyadushkin, Irene Klotz
Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina will fly to the International Space Station on the SpaceX Crew-5 mission next fall, Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian State Space Corp Roscosmos, announced on Dec. 8.
Space

By Mark Carreau
The Soyuz MS-20 carrying two Space Adventures private spaceflight clients docked to the ISS Russian segment’s Poisk module at 8:40 a.m. EST.
Space

By Mark Carreau
Mark Geyer, a former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center who led the early development and initial test flight of the Orion crew capsule, died here Dec. 7 from pancreatic cancer.
Space

By Thierry Dubois
ArianeGroup will develop a reusable mini-launcher for entry into service in 2026, Bruno Le Maire, French minister of economy and finance, announced Dec. 6.
Commercial Space

By Brian Everstine
The SDA’s Tranche 0 is slated to launch next September, one month before the agency officially joins the Space Force.
Space

By Mark Carreau
NASA on Dec. 6 presented its 2021 class of new astronaut candidates, six men and four women chosen not only for their diverse professional skills but also their commitment to teamwork.
Space

By Michael Bruno
Safran on Dec. 6 said it has entered into exclusive discussions to acquire Orolia from majority shareholder Eurazeo alongside the company’s founders and management to expand its product line and local country footprints.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Irene Klotz
NASA said it intends to issue a sole-source modification to SpaceX’s Commercial Crew Transportation Capabilities contract that would enable the agency to purchase up to three more crew flights to the International Space Station.
Space

By Irene Klotz
After reaching orbit on its fourth try from Alaska, startup Astra Space will debut commercial launch services from Florida beginning in January.
Space

By Mark Carreau
Intuitive Machines (IM) has begun construction of a $40 million, 115,000-sq.-ft. lunar production and operations center at the Houston Spaceport to support plans to establish an annual cadence of commercial missions to the lunar surface.
Space

By Irene Klotz
The agreement will see South Africa use China’s Beidou Navigation Satellite System for geophysics, space science, geodetic surveys and other research.
Space

By Thierry Dubois
Using a twin model of the flight rover, engineers are preparing for a post-landing egress test.
Space

By Thierry Dubois
The space telescope set to launch in 2023 has been built to address two of the most important questions in cosmology today: How did the universe originate and why is it expanding at an accelerating rate?
Space

By Mark Carreau
The debris was forecast to pass as close as 1.86 mi. to the ISS.
Space

By Michael Bruno
The company acknowledged it had received a warning of noncompliance from the New York Stock Exchange.
Commercial Space

By Mark Carreau
The SLS is a cornerstone of NASA efforts to return to the Moon with human explorers and prepare for human expeditions to Mars.
Space