May 19, 2024

Blue Origin Completes 25th Mission to Space with Six Crew Onboard (Source: Blue Origin)
Today, Blue Origin successfully completed its seventh human spaceflight and the 25th flight for the New Shepard program. Our astronaut crew included: Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller, Gopi Thotakura, and former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight, who was selected by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 as the nation’s first Black astronaut candidate but never had the opportunity to fly. New Shepard has now flown 37 people into space, including today’s crew. (5/19)

NASA Astronauts Practice 'Moonwalking' in the Arizona Desert (Source: Space.com)
It's a training exercise for NASA astronauts that will be part of the future Artemis Program of missions to the lunar surface. The week-long expedition across the San Francisco Volcanic Field near Flagstaff, AZ, will give NASA astronauts Kate Rubins and Andre Douglas the opportunity to enact moonwalk scenarios in replica spacesuits on a landscape that's similar to the moon.

Throughout the training, the team will rehearse lunar operations from start to finish and will be supported by NASA engineers and field experts on the ground and virtually with a team of flight controllers and scientists at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. (5/17)

From Tails to (Umbilical) Arms, the Hidden Details in Lego's New Artemis SLS Rocket (Source: CollectSpace)
What do two dinosaur tails, four beehives, six segments of roller coaster track and 88 faucets have to do with a rocket designed to fly astronauts to the moon? They are all among the repurposed parts, hidden details and "easter eggs" found when building the new Lego Icons NASA Artemis Space Launch System model, now lifting off from store shelves.

The $259.99 set, which was released Saturday, includes both the rocket and its mobile launcher (ML), built up from 3,601 pieces. Among those many plastic "bricks" are some creative new uses for older Lego sets' custom parts, as well as a few well-placed nods to the toy company's history. The set also packs in a slew of small details from the real Space Launch System (SLS), some of which Lego identifies in the kit's 370-page instruction book, but others assembled without explanation. (5/18)

Tanzania to Establish its First Space Agency and Satellite (Source: Business Insider)
Tanzania plans to establish its first-ever Space Agency in the 2024/2025 fiscal year. The country aims to promote satellite technology for communication, defence, security, research, disaster management, and weather forecasting. The continent of Africa has ambitious plans to triple the number of satellites in Earth's orbit over the next few years, with 125 new satellites lined up for development in 23 African countries by 2025. (5/18)

Pentagon to Forge Deeper Ties with Space Industry in ‘First-of-its-Kind’ Program (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon is poised to sign agreements with commercial space companies that go far beyond the usual contractor relationships, integrating their equipment into military units and exercises with the expectation they will deploy systems if conflicts arise. This initiative, known as the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve (CASR), will see private sector equipment embedded into military units, used in training exercises and actual operations.

This new type of partnership has been in discussions for over a year and comes as the U.S. military increasingly views space as a critical domain for national security alongside land, air, sea and cyberspace. Citing growing threats from China and Russia to disrupt American satellites, Pentagon officials say private companies are needed to help maintain crucial satellite capabilities like communications, navigation, surveillance and missile warnings. (5/19)

Startup’s Chip Design Aims to Boost Satellite Computing Power (Source: Space News)
A Carnegie Mellon University spinoff has developed an energy-efficient computer chip architecture that it claims consumes a fraction of the power required by traditional chips, potentially enabling more powerful and autonomous capabilities on tiny satellites. Instead of the traditional sequential approach, Efficient Computer’s chip architecture operates in parallel, treating programs as a circuit of instructions that execute as soon as the data is ready. This significantly reduces energy waste, said Lucia. (5/17)

How Spacecraft Are Tested to Handle the Harsh Environment of Space (Source: NASA JPL)
Have you ever wondered how spacecraft are designed to handle the punishing conditions of launch and the extreme variations of space? From rocket vibrations, to the temperatures and pressures of space and other planets, to the solar illumination of the Sun, the Environmental Test Lab (ETL) at JPL is responsible for simulating these conditions and verifying, through a series of rigorous tests, that spacecraft will be able to fulfill their missions unharmed. Click here. (5/16)

Terran Orbital: We've Got Plenty of Opportunities Even if $2.4B Rivada Constellation Contract is Terminated (Source: Space Intel Report)
Small satellite manufacturer Terran Orbital sought to persuade investors that its $2.4-billion, 300-satellite contract with Rivada Space Networks, which as of March 31 represented 88% of its backlog, could disappear without having a material impact. It’s not the first time that Terran Chief Executive Marc Bell has portrayed the Rivada deal as just one of many mega-constellations that Terran expects to win once it has completed its new satellite production facility, which is scheduled by early 2025. (5/19)

Avanti Communications launches LEO services in South Africa (Source: Avanti)
Avanti Communications announces the launch of Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity services in South Africa. Avanti has partnered with Q-KON, a leading satellite engineering enterprise for southern Africa, to deliver seamless LEO connectivity from Eutelsat OneWeb. The new deal is set to improve business operations nationwide in what is a unique and challenging connectivity environment. (5/13)

UK Invests £9 Million for Satellite Instruments to Monitor Climate (Source: Gov.UK)
Delivered by the Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation (CEOI), the £9 million will support 12 projects that will enhance the ability to monitor Earth’s atmosphere and measure critical emissions such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen dioxide. This doubles the program’s previous largest funding round. The instruments under development could give a clearer picture of where activities and incidents producing high levels of emissions – such as wildfires or inefficient farming techniques – are taking place, enabling decision-makers to coordinate more effective responses. (5/14)

Astroscale U.S. Appoints Janna Lewis as Senior Vice President of Policy and General Counsel (Source: Astroscale)
Astroscale U.S. Inc., a leading provider of on-orbit services and logistics across all orbits, announces the appointment of Janna Lewis as Senior Vice President of Policy and General Counsel, effective immediately. (5/15)

Northrop Grumman Announces Leadership Changes (Source: Northrop Grumman)
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) announces that Dave Keffer, corporate vice president and chief financial officer, has announced his intent to retire, effective February 21, 2025, to spend more time with family. In addition, Mark Caylor, corporate vice president and president of Mission Systems, has announced his intent to retire, effective July 26, 2024.

The board of directors has elected Kenneth B. Crews, vice president of business management and chief financial officer for the Space Systems sector, to succeed Keffer, effective October 1, 2024. Crews will become vice president, Corporate Finance on July 1, and work directly with Keffer to ensure a smooth transition. (5/14)

AAC Clyde Space Wins EUR 2.3M Order for 16U Satellite (Source: AA Clyde Space)
AAC Clyde Space has won its first order for its 16U EPIC satellite to be delivered and commissioned by June 2026. The total order value is EUR 2.3 M. The satellite will be part of the ESA OPS-SAT VOLT mission and will be capable of hosting multiple payloads. The mission is part of ESA's ARTES Scylight programme. It aims to test and evaluate groundbreaking real-time techniques and technologies with a focus on optical and quantum direct to earth communication. (5/15)

ispace EUROPE and CDS Sign Payload Service Agreement to Transport Precise Location Measurement Technology to the Moon (Source: ispace)
ispace EUROPE S.A. (ispace-EUROPE), the Luxembourg-based subsidiary of ispace, inc., and Control Data Systems SRL (CDS) have signed a payload services agreement to transport precise location measurement equipment to the Moon, the two companies announced.

CDS’s technology, which combines precision localization with telecommunications, uses Ultra-Wideband for determining precise positions and was developed specifically for space applications with support from the European Space Agency. The lack of a GPS-like system on the Moon, makes the technology ground-breaking for future applications related to lunar exploration. (5/14)

US and Philippines Explore Space Collaboration (Source: US Dept. of State)
Jennifer R. Littlejohn, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs; Chirag Parikh, Executive Secretary of the National Space Council; and Joel Joseph Marciano Jr., Director General of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) and Head of the Philippine Mission to the United States on Space Science and Technology Applications, expressed their confidence that the inaugural Space Dialogue will deepen space cooperation for the benefit of the peoples of both countries. (5/13)

Marble Imaging and Reflex Aerospace (Source: Reflex)
Marble Imaging, with the support of strategic partner Reflex Aerospace, is set to make the first step towards revolutionizing the Earth Observation (EO) industry. With a planned constellation of up to 200 small satellites, Marble Imaging aims to be the leading European EO company capturing images of the entire planet every day in very-high resolution (VHR). To achieve this goal, they have partnered with Germany-based satellite manufacturer Reflex Aerospace. (5/19)