Science

WASHINGTON — The ground terminals used to operate U.S. military and intelligence satellites are running out of capacity and in dire need of upgrades, warns a new report from the Government Accountability Office. GAO auditors spent more than a year investigating the state of the Satellite Control Network, operated by the U.S. Space Force. The

“I don’t think I’ve ever worked with a cagier bunch who obfuscate and hide the true pricing of what they’re selling until the very last minute when the customer says, ‘Uncle’.” Matt Tirman, Satellogic chief commercial officer Pricing transparency is working for Ursa Space Systems. After most trade shows or conferences, a single customer signs

WASHINGTON — Northrop Grumman is developing a geostationary communications satellite that will compete against a Boeing design in a military procurement estimated to be worth $2.4 billion. Boeing and Northrop Grumman were selected in 2020 by the U.S. Space Force to develop Protected Tactical Satcom prototype payloads, known as PTS. Both payloads passed government design

HOUSTON — As preparations for the Artemis 2 mission ramp up, NASA has established a congressionally mandated office to oversee planning for that and future missions to the moon. NASA announced March 30 it had created the Moon to Mars Program Office within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. The office will focus on integrating

HELSINKI — China has invited Venezuela to join its lunar research station project as the country works to gain partners for the endeavor.  Venezuela would be the first country to join China and Russia in the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), which is planned to be constructed in the early 2030s using super heavy-lift launch

WASHINGTON — Loft Orbital has ordered an additional 15 satellite buses from Airbus OneWeb Satellites to meet growing demand for its standardized space platforms. Loft Orbital said April 6 that it ordered the buses, which it calls Longbow, from Airbus OneWeb Satellites, the joint venture of Airbus Defence and Space and OneWeb. The satellites will

WASHINGTON — True Anomaly, a startup based in Denver, is building two small satellites that it plans to launch into orbit later this year. One of the spacecraft will attempt to chase down an “uncooperative” object and take pictures up close.  This is the type of technology that the U.S. military needs to compete with

WASHINGTON — Thule Air Base, a U.S. military installation in Greenland where Space Force units conduct missile warning operations, has been renamed Pituffik Space Base.  Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman at the renaming ceremony April 6 said the new name acknowledges the “rich cultural heritage of Greenland and its people and how

TAMPA, Fla. — U.S.-based Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) said April 6 it has started trialing Starlink ahead of plans to potentially deploy the satellite broadband service across eight cruise ships this year. The company is testing the low Earth orbit (LEO) network on Norwegian Breakaway, one of 29 ships in a fleet it plans to

WASHINGTON — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is once again requesting a significant budget increase for future weather satellite programs after Congress cut its funding request for 2023. In its fiscal year 2024 budget proposal, recently posted online, NOAA requested $417.4 million for the Geostationary Extended Observations, or GeoXO, program of next-generation geostationary weather

WASHINGTON — Axiom Space’s second private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, commanded by a former NASA astronaut and including two Saudi astronauts, is scheduled to launch as soon as May 8. Axiom announced April 6 that its Ax-2 mission to the station, flying on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, is scheduled for launch

WASHINGTON — SpaceX offered its strongest signals yet that it is nearing the first full-scale launch of its Starship vehicle, now expected for later this month. The company tweeted April 6 that it was planning a launch rehearsal for the vehicle, now fully stacked on the pad at its Starbase facility at Boca Chica, Texas,

A comparison of two recent wargames reveals that the United States’ current course of action to ensure space resilience may not adequately deter and defend against emerging new Chinese space threats beginning around the mid-2020s. However, these wargames suggest a practical way forward for timely space resilience in the 2020s and beyond. On Jan. 10,

TAMPA, Fla. — SpaceX successfully launched Intelsat’s IS-40e communications satellite April 7, which will help the operator meet growing demand for connectivity on planes while also carrying its first hosted payload for NASA. The satellite deployed solar arrays and is receiving and sending signals in geosynchronous transfer orbit following its 12:30 a.m. Eastern launch, its

WASHINGTON — In-space transportation company Momentus announced March 31 it has successfully started tests of the propulsion system on its Vigoride tug launched earlier this year. The company said it completed an initial test sequence of the Microwave Electrothermal Thruster (MET) on its Vigoride-5 vehicle launched in January on SpaceX’s Transporter-6 rideshare mission. The MET

WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off April 2 at 10:29 a.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, carrying 10 military satellites, including two built by SpaceX.  The mission to low Earth orbit is the first launch of a new military communications and missile tracking constellation built

Queen’s University Belfast team Kevin Prise, Shannon Thompson and Stephen McMahon are modelling laser-accelerated proton delivery to investigate the potential contribution of inter-track interactions in ultrahigh-dose rate proton therapy. (Courtesy: Shannon Thompson) Laser-accelerated proton (LAP) beams may offer a delivery mechanism for proton therapy that has a smaller physical and financial footprint than cyclotron accelerators.

WASHINGTON — Astra is still planning to conduct a first launch of its Rocket 4 vehicle before the end of the year as it scales up production of spacecraft electric propulsion systems. Astra said in a March 30 earnings call that it was making steady progress on the new vehicle, development of which it accelerated