NASA’s recent mission to send payloads on Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander, launched in January on United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur, faced a setback when a propellant leak prevented the spacecraft from attempting a lunar landing. Despite this, valuable data was still collected from the mission. According to Dan Hendrickson, vice president of Astrobotic, many of the payloads were tested during the flight, even though the spacecraft did not reach the moon. “In transit, we were going to keep most of those payloads in a survival mode,” Hendrickson explained during a session at the Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference. “But as…
Author: Jacob Gray
French maritime surveillance provider Unseenlabs is set to advance its ambitious satellite constellation with the imminent launch of its 12th and 13th nanosatellites, marking a significant stride towards a real-time vessel tracking system slated for deployment by 2025. German launch services provider Exolaunch will oversee the integration of the BRO-12 and BRO-13 (Breizh Reconnaissance Orbiter) satellites onto a Falcon 9 rocket, scheduled to lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Unseenlabs announced this development on February 20, as part of SpaceX’s Transporter 10 rideshare mission. Clement Galic, CEO, and co-founder of Unseenlabs, highlighted the capabilities of the company’s…
Spanish aerospace company PLD Space has clinched a lucrative contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) under its Boost! program, aimed at advancing commercial space transportation endeavors. The contract, valued at 1.3 million euros, will facilitate the development of a versatile payload accommodation system on PLD Space’s MIURA 5 orbital launcher, enhancing flexibility for its clientele. In collaboration with OCCAM Space, the project seeks to bolster PLD Space’s commitment to tailored services, catering to the diverse needs of satellite deployment missions. The initiative, endorsed by ESA, aligns with PLD Space’s strategic vision of offering adaptable solutions to its customers. Raúl…
The European Space Agency (ESA) is closely monitoring the reentry of its Earth-observing satellite, ERS-2, which is expected to largely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere on Wednesday morning. The agency’s Space Debris Office, in collaboration with an international surveillance network, is tracking the satellite, predicting its reentry at 6:14 a.m. ET Wednesday, within a 15-hour window of uncertainty. Live updates on the satellite’s status are available on the ESA’s website. “As the spacecraft’s reentry is ‘natural’, without the possibility to perform maneuvers, it is impossible to know exactly where and when it will reenter the atmosphere and begin to burn…
Australian startup Gilmour Space Technologies has secured $55 million Australian dollars ($36 million) in a Series D funding round, as announced on February 19. This investment is intended to support the company’s efforts in manufacturing, testing, and launching rockets and satellites from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in North Queensland. Gilmour Space, founded in 2012, is currently developing a three-stage rocket named Eris. According to a news release from Gilmour Space, the first test flight of Eris is expected “in the coming months, pending launch approvals from the Australian Space Agency.” Subsequently, a second test flight is planned for later this…
California-based EpiSci has been selected by the Space Development Agency (SDA) to develop a tool capable of detecting hypersonic missiles in flight from satellite data, a challenging endeavor due to the extreme speeds of these weapons. Hypersonic missiles, traveling at speeds of at least Mach 5, pose a significant challenge for current defense systems. The SDA, a branch of the U.S. Space Force, aims to build a network of satellites in low Earth orbit to provide global indications, warning, tracking, and targeting of advanced missile threats. Under a $1.6 million two-year Small Business Innovation Research Phase 2 contract announced on…
A cutting-edge moon lander, Odysseus, has captured its first images from space, showcasing Earth in the backdrop as it embarks on its pioneering mission. Launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on February 15, the robotic spacecraft, developed by Intuitive Machines, transmitted several snapshots shortly after separating from the rocket’s second stage. “Intuitive Machines successfully transmitted its first IM-1 mission images to Earth on February 16, 2024. The images were captured shortly after separation from @SpaceX’s second stage on Intuitive Machines’ first journey to the moon under @NASA’s CLPS initiative,” announced the Houston-based company in a post on X, sharing…