Launch

The University of Colorado Boulder and Lockheed Martin are working on a smallsat mission called Janus to capture the first-ever closeup look at binary asteroids. In 2022, the Janus team will launch two identical spacecraft that will travel millions of miles to individually fly close to two pairs of binary asteroids, which are pairs of...

Satellite in-space transportation provider Momentus and LunaSonde on Thursday revealed a launch service agreement to fly a demo cubesat (Gossamer) to Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) in Q1 2021, with further options to fly a constellation of 3U cubesats to SSO in the future. LunaSonde is a radar satellite remote sensing startup that provides subsurface imaging...

Jordan Noone, who co-founded Relativity Space with Tim Ellis, is transitioning from CTO to executive advisor in preparation for starting his next venture. Noone emailed Relaltivy Space employees on Tuesday to share the news, CNBC reported. Noone confirmed the move on Twitter on Wednesday.  “As a first-time founder, I am so lucky and grateful to...

Gilmour Space Technologies revealed on Wednesday that it has secured Space Machines Company as a customer for its maiden Eris rocket launch in 2022. The company has closed two commercial launch contracts within the past several months, and aims to launch 12 rockets a year by 2025, according to Gilmour Space Technologies co-founder and CEO...

Construction of the Indonesian telecommunications satellite project called the Satellite of Republic of Indonesia (SATRIA) is set to start this month, PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN) announced. Thales Alenia Space is designing and manufacturing the satellite. Indonesian government officials and Thales executives met virtually on Sept. 3 to sign the SATRIA Preparatory Work Agreement, signalling...

Exolaunch has signed a launch agreement with German university Technische Universität Berlin for the SALSAT nanosatellite. Exolaunch is providing launch, mission management, and integration services for the Technische Universität Berlin on a Soyuz-2 rideshare mission called Wanderlust later this month. SALSAT is a part of the September Soyuz rideshare mission – Exolaunch’s seventh mission with...

SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink satellites on Thursday morning. A Falcon 9 rocket launched 60 Starlink sats from Launch Complex 39A at 8:46 a.m. EST, deploying the satellites about 15 minutes after liftoff. The Falcon 9 first stage successfully landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship. SpaceX also provided a key...

Rocket Lab revealed Thursday that it launched its first satellite in its family of configurable Photon satellites on the recent “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Optical” launch on Aug. 30. The satellite, named “First Light,” is a technology demonstration. Rocket Lab said this milestone marks the company’s evolution from a launch provider to an end-to-end...

An Arianespace Vega rocket lifted 53 satellites to orbit Wednesday evening, marking the first occasion of the launcher’s new service to address the small satellite market. The Vega rocket took off from the Guiana Space Center (CSJ) in French Guiana on Wednesday at 9:51 p.m. EST. Vega was set to deliver the small satellites during...

Lockheed Martin and Ball Aerospace successfully completed a phased array transmit test for a Multi-Band, Multi-Mission (MBMM) antenna. This is a milestone for the U.S. Space Force’s MBMM program, as it moves the team one step closer to a full end-to-end satcom demonstration. This transmit test follows a successful receive test from February. MBMM helps...