Canada’s MDA Space has increased its acquisition offer for Israeli satellite chipmaker SatixFy by 43% to approximately US$356 million after a rival bidder emerged during the deal’s “go-shop” period. The revised offer, announced May 20, raises the price to $3 per share from an initial $2.10 announced on April 1, a move that follows a competing $2.53-per-share bid from an undisclosed third party. MDA’s updated proposal also includes the assumption of SatixFy’s $76 million debt. “While we disputed the validity of the competing proposal, we chose to raise our bid to reaffirm our strategic interest in SatixFy,” MDA stated. The…
Author: Benjamin Anderson
The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to request funding from member states in November for a high-frequency Earth observation satellite system aimed at supporting security and resilience, marking a significant departure from the agency’s traditional civil mission. Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s director general, said in an interview aired by Friends of Europe that the request follows demands from member nations for capabilities that offer near real-time intelligence of global events. “I’ve been asked to build up a system that allows a much better intelligence of the situation around the world,” Aschbacher said, noting the need for satellite observations every 30 minutes…
Blue Origin has released new details about its plans for a propellant transporter that will support its lunar landing missions under NASA’s Artemis program, as the company moves closer to launching its first robotic lander to the Moon. At the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium meeting on May 19, John Couluris, senior vice president of lunar permanence at Blue Origin, presented updated designs of a transporter vehicle that will refuel the company’s Blue Moon Mark 2 lander in lunar orbit. The transporter is intended to aggregate liquid hydrogen and oxygen in Earth orbit, then deliver the cryogenic propellants to a near-rectilinear…
China plans to launch two new low-cost cargo spacecraft this year, designed to supply the Tiangong space station, highlighting advances in the country’s growing space industry and commercial space sector. The Haolong cargo shuttle, developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute under the Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC), will be launched aboard Landspace’s Zhuque-3 rocket. The Zhuque-3, a reusable rocket powered by methane and liquid oxygen, is expected to have its first flight in the third quarter of 2025. The Haolong shuttle, measuring 10 meters in length and weighing approximately 7,000 kilograms, will be capable of landing on a runway, enhancing…
Spanish aerospace company Added Value Solutions (AVS) has secured a contract for the early phases of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ARRAKIHS mission, marking a significant step as the company moves into the high-performance small satellite market. AVS announced on January 30 that it has won a study contract for Phases A and B of the ARRAKIHS mission, an astrophysics project under ESA’s F-Class initiative, which is designed to be a faster and more cost-effective science mission. The ARRAKIHS mission, which stands for Analysis of Resolved Remnants of Accreted Galaxies as a Key Instrument for Halo Surveys, will operate in…
India marked its first space launch of the year late Tuesday, successfully sending a new-generation navigation satellite into orbit. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk II lifted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 7:53 p.m. Eastern (0053 UTC), carrying the NVS-02 satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit. The NVS-02 is the second satellite in India’s Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) system, designed to provide precise real-time positioning, timing, and velocity information across India and surrounding regions. It follows the launch of the NVS-01 satellite in 2023. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman V. Narayanan confirmed the success of the…
South Korea’s newly established Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) is setting ambitious goals in spaceflight as it aims to act as the “control tower” for the nation’s expanding space endeavors. The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) 45th Scientific Assembly provided a platform for KASA to present its plans to an international audience, just under two months since the agency began operations on May 27. “This year marks a significant milestone in the history of Korea’s space development with the establishment of KASA,” stated Youngbin Yoon, KASA administrator, during the opening ceremonies on July 15. He emphasized that while space activities had…
The U.S. Space Force has broadened its lineup of launch providers eligible for competitive small-satellite missions under the Orbital Services Program-4 (OSP-4) contract, welcoming Blue Origin and Stoke Space Technologies onboard. Established in 2019 by the Air Force, OSP-4 operates under an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) framework, allowing flexibility in procuring supplies or services as needed over a fixed period. The contract focuses on leveraging emerging commercial launch capabilities for missions requiring payloads of 400 pounds or more, with providers expected to be launch-ready within 12 to 24 months from task order award. According to Lt. Col. Steve Hendershot, overseeing…
Cosmic Shielding Corp. (CSC) is set to support the launch of a groundbreaking radiation-hardened edge computer developed by San Francisco startup Aethero, scheduled to fly aboard SpaceX’s Falcon-9 Transporter-11 from Vandenberg Space Force Base on July 10. The computer, featuring Nvidia’s Jetson Orin NX graphics processing unit, is hailed as “the fastest AI-capable chip in space,” according to Yanni Barghouty, co-founder and CEO of CSC, in an interview with SpaceNews. Atlanta-based CSC, established in 2021, has been pioneering the use of its 3D-printed nanocomposite metal material, known as Plasteel. This material was first tested during a 2023 Axiom Space mission…
NASA and Boeing Co said on Tuesday they were delaying the return of a planned two-member crew from the International Space Station (ISS) to conduct additional tests on their CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, aiming to resolve thruster malfunctions and helium leaks. NASA’s commercial crew program manager, Steve Stich, emphasized that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were not “stranded in space,” despite the extended mission duration. “Our plan is to continue to return them on Starliner and return them home at the right time,” Stich said at a briefing. The additional tests, scheduled to begin no earlier than July 2 at…