Intelsat 33e Breakup Sends Shockwaves
Space-tracking company ExoAnalytic Solutions has identified about 500 pieces of debris from Intelsat 33e’s recent breakup in geostationary orbit (GEO).
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Policy
UAE taps Japan’s MHI for Asteroid Mission
Asteroid exploration is not for the faint of heart, and the latest mission announced in a long line of asteroid explorers does not shy away from a challenge. The UAE has become the latest nation to set their sights on asteroids close to home, with an ambitious mission lined up to explore not one, but 7 Near Earth Asteroids.
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Falcon 9 Completes Second Return to Flight of 2024
SpaceX’s Starlink 8-10 mission lifted off successfully at 3:43 AM EDT on the morning of August 31st, deploying 21 Starlink satellites into orbit. This mission represents the second return to flight for Falcon 9 this year, and a historic turnaround.
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ISS Crews Face Upcoming Shakeups amid Curtailed Seat Exchanges
In an age marked by aggression and deterioration of relationships, it appears that the end of a long standing practice, seat exchange on partner vehicles, is coming to an end – thrusting the station into a period of uncertainty as it faces the twilight years of its operation.
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Starliner Astronauts to Return Aboard Crew-9
In a press conference starting at 1:13 PM EST, a panel of NASA program managers officially declared that Starliner astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will be returning aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon at the conclusion of the Crew-9 mission in February of 2025.
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Moon to Mars Part I: Forging the Path
At its core, the Artemis Program represents a new way of thinking in space exploration. NASA’s Moon to Mars objectives incorporate the Artemis Program as part of the roadmap to the Red Planet.
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Australia Joins US-Led Landsat Next Program
As the United States prepares to shift from the legacy Landsat program to the next generation Landsat Next constellation, new players in space have been integrated with the program to support broad reaching global observation. Australia has formally joined the United States-led Landsat Next satellite program as a core partner, building on nearly half a century of collaboration in satellite land imaging across the globe.
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CFT Continues Safely: Starliner and the Commercial Crew Return Process
Boeing’s Crew Flight Test mission is continuing its stay aboard the International Space Station. On July 25, NASA and Boeing held a press conference to provide an update on the mission including ongoing tests, the current status of the spacecraft, and upcoming events.
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A Graceful Exit, Part 2: What Comes After ISS?
The end of the International Space Station will mark a tectonic shift in human spaceflight. The ISS program united the efforts of fifteen nations, including a landmark union between the United States and Russia, and citizens from eight other countries have since visited the orbiting laboratory. Now, approaching retirement, we begin to ask the question of what comes next?
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Ariane 6 Conducts Inaugural Flight
On July 9, 2024 at 3:00 PM EST, the inaugural launch of Ariane 6 took place, carrying with it the promise of renewed access to space for Europe.
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A Graceful Exit, Part 1: How to Responsibly Retire ISS
Responsibly disposing of the ISS will be a monumental undertaking all its own. As we prepare to lay to rest one of humanity’s greatest accomplishments, what will it take to give the ISS a graceful exit?
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Asteroid Day 2024: A Plethora of New Insights
For Asteroid Day 2024, we’ll be briefly covering updates to various small body missions, and exploring how these vital ambassadors from Earth teach us so much about our origins.
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US and India Advance Cooperation on Space and Technology
In a White House press release on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, the governments of both the United States and India laid out a strategic roadmap for future collaboration in space – a goal that has long captivated the imaginations of scientists and diplomats alike.
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GOES-U Heads for Geostationary Orbit
NASA and SpaceX have launched GOES-U, the final Earth observation satellite in the GOES-R series. The spacecraft was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy, dodging inclement weather to lift off from Launch Complex 39A at 5:26 PM EDT on July 25th, 2024.
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Starliner Mission Extended, All Systems Stable
Boeing’s Starliner Crew Flight Test (CFT) has once more been extended, but everything remains stable and safe for the station, spacecraft, and crew. A new return date has yet to be determined, but it will be no earlier than early July.
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Meet The Pressurized Rover
In April of this year, the United States and Japan signed a formal agreement to collaborate on the first of a new kind of spacecraft for the Artemis Program: a pressurized rover. Acting like a camper van for astronauts to live in as they roam across the surface of the Moon, the pressurized rover is a dramatic new capability for the Artemis Program.
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Europe Eyes Future in Commercial Space
Throughout the tremendous rise of the commercial space ecosystem, Europe has been eyeing numerous partners in the private sector to facilitate access for the continent in a new and changing world – one that could rewrite the narrative for future space exploration.
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Blue Origin, SpaceX, ULA Selected for National Security Missions
In an announcement on June 13th, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and Blue Origin were selected for the Department of Defense’s National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 program. All three providers are now eligible to compete for a series of 30+ launches, with a combined value of $5.6 billion.
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Gyro Issues Force Hubble Into Safe Mode
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has suspended science operations for the time being. NASA reported that the space observatory entered safe mode on May 24th.
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China Continues Growth of ILRS Project
On Friday, May 10 2024, Serbia became the most recent partner on China’s International Lunar Research Station, a multinational effort to support permanent science and research at the lunar South Pole.
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NASA Seeks Industry Assistance with Mars Infrastructure
NASA has enlisted the help of commercial partners to respond to two fronts in exploration, aiming to remove some of the technical and financial burden on the agency, so that larger and more ambitious goals can be accomplished in the next 15 to 20 years.
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ESA’s 2022 Astronaut Class Graduates
On Monday, 22 April, ESA celebrated the graduation of its class of 2022 astronaut candidates. The ceremony, held at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, signified the successful completion of basic training for the five European astronaut graduates and the Australian Space Agency’s first astronaut, all now eligible for spaceflight assignments.
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NASA Lays Out LEO Sustainability Vision
To address a rapidly changing space operating environment and ensure its preservation for generations to come, NASA released the first part of its integrated Space Sustainability Strategy on Tuesday, April 9th at Space Symposium.
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A Shake Up For Mars Sample Return
On April 15th 2024, NASA hosted a media teleconference giving updates on the current status of the agency’s Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission. MSR is a vital step in providing high fidelity environmental data which could dramatically inform the technology and methodology for a planned human mission to the Red Planet.
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ESA’s L4 Mission Set to Focus on Icy Moons
After meeting to discuss ideas and assess technologies, the European Space Agency has begun the process of designing their next “Large Class” mission – one that could explore Saturn’s moons of Enceladus and Titan up close.
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Dragonfly Sets Sights on Titan
The NASA Dragonfly mission, a groundbreaking endeavor aiming to explore Saturn’s moon Titan, is making significant progress towards launch in 2028.
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Electron and National Reconnaissance Office Ready for Flight
US-New Zealand based company Rocket Lab is preparing for their next mission to fly out of Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia: a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office on March 21, 2024.
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IM-1 Heads for the Moon
On February 15th, at 1:05 AM Eastern Time, Intuitive Machine’s NOVA-C, Odysseus, lifted off in support of the IM-1 mission – with the aim of becoming the first American spacecraft to make it to the lunar surface in over 50 years.
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Uncertain Funding Threatens JPL’s Future Plans
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced Feb. 6 it will lay off 530 employees, about 8% of its staff, citing uncertainty about its budget for 2024.
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As IM-1 Prepares for Launch, Questions Abound for CLPS
Intuitive Machines is targeting February 14th for the launch of IM-1, the first flight of its NOVA-C robotic moon lander as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
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All European Axiom Mission 3 Prepares for Launch
SpaceX and Axiom Space are targeting January 18th, 2024 at 4:49 PM for the launch of their third mission to the International Space Station, Ax-3, carrying a historic all-European crew on a 14-day mission.
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What To Expect: NASA’s 2023 Architecture Concept Review
Set for release on January 22nd, these highly-anticipated documents will provide key insights into NASA’s overarching Moon to Mars exploration strategy, including new details in its vision for sending humans to Mars.
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Analysis: Earth to the Moon – The Future of Commercial Human Spaceflight
While the Commercial Crew Program seems fairly straightforward, it has already had huge implications on the immediate future of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and beyond.
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NASA Leadership Lays Out Revised Artemis Schedule
In a media teleconference held on January 9th, NASA leadership announced significant delays to the next two missions in its Artemis program.
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United Arab Emirates to Build Gateway Airlock
NASA and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced Sunday plans for the space centre to provide an airlock for Gateway, humanity’s first space station outside of Low Earth Orbit.
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VP Harris Lays Out Cooperative Policy Roadmap
At the National Space Council meeting on December 20, 2023, Vice President Kamala Harris and her advisors announced that the Artemis Program will land an international astronaut on the moon “before the end of the decade.”
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Vulcan Targets January 8th for Debut Flight
After completion of a successful Wet Dress Rehearsal this week, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket is one step closer to its debut – entering a new chapter of American rocketry for both military and civilian space launch.
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Orion’s Journey to Artemis II and Beyond
One year ago, NASA’s Orion spacecraft concluded its maiden voyage around the Moon, a journey of 1.4 million miles ending with a gentle splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Now, the first crewed Orion is well underway in construction, with more on the way…
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South Korea Debuts New Small Launch Vehicle
South Korea has successfully launched a new small launch vehicle from a floating platform near Jeju, South Korea on December 4, 2023.
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GAO Highlights Shortcomings for Artemis III
On November 30th, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report detailing the various challenges remaining for SpaceX, Axiom, and NASA as they work towards the first Moon landing in more than 50 years as part of the Artemis III mission.
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North Korea Launches First Domestic Spysat
North Korea, in a stunning turn of events, has launched their first successful spy satellite, entering an elite club of nations with such power.
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Ariane 6 Conducts Hotfire at Kourou
After repeated delays, the European Ariane 6 rocket has completed a crucial hotfire test of its Vulcain 2.1 engine, one of the final key steps in preparing the vehicle for its maiden launch in the coming year.
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ISRO to Perform Lunar Sample Return
In a lecture given on November 17, Shri Nilesh M. Desai, director of India’s Space Application Center, outlined India’s next missions to the Moon – including the ambitious and tantalizing official plan for Chandrayaan-4.
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Anatomy of a Deep Space Transport
The problem of transporting humans to Mars is a daunting one, yet the slate never stays blank for long. However, if we are to succeed in this boldest of adventures, we must first step away from the whiteboard and take a moment to reflect on our motivations and goals.
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Project Kuiper and Beyond: An Internet Satellite Overview
On the 6th of October, 2023, United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket lifted off from SLC-41 carrying Amazon’s first two prototype Kuiper internet satellites. This marks the beginning of a new internet age…
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A Pause for Mars Sample Return
On November 13 2023, NASA’s Planetary Science Advisory Committee, which advises all of NASA’s planetary science interests, held a meeting to discuss the state of various programs heading into 2024.
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