Launch

TriSept Corporation has procured a full mission aboard an Orbex Prime launch vehicle set for 2022 from the U.K.’s first spaceport in Sutherland, Scotland. TriSept is building a multiple spacecraft manifest for a dedicated rideshare mission aboard the reusable Orbex Prime small satellite launcher. The Orbex Prime launch vehicle offers a payload capacity of 150...

OneWeb and SatixFy UK plan to add a digital technology pathway payload with a full digital payload into OneWeb’s launch schedule during 2021, the companies announced Monday. The technology is designed so that satellites with a higher level of flexibility can support peaks in demand without oversizing the constellation. OneWeb launched its first satellites in...

Hispasat has contracted with Thales Alenia Space to construct the Amazonas Nexus satellite, which will replace Amazonas 2 in the 61º West orbital position, and expand its capabilities. The Spanish operator plans to put the Amazon Nexus will be put into orbit in the second half of 2022. Thales Alenia Space will be responsible for the...

NASA and Boeing are in the process of establishing a joint, independent investigation team to examine the issue with Boeing’s uncrewed Orbital Flight Test, the space agency announced Tuesday. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test on Dec. 20 missed its objective to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) because a necessary orbital burn did not happen...

Virgin Galactic has reached the “Weight on Wheels” milestone in the build of its second commercial spaceship, the company announced Tuesday. All major structural elements of the vehicle were assembled, and the vehicle deployed its main landing gear and carried its own weight for the first time, a sign of progress for Virgin Galactic’s space...

MethaneSAT has selected Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT) to develop and build the spacecraft bus for its first mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2022. The donor-funded mission aims to provide global, high-resolution detection and quantification of methane emissions from oil and gas facilities, as well as measure emissions from other human-generated methane sources. The...

In its first launch of 2020, SpaceX launched its third set of Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, on Monday at 9:19 p.m. The satellites were deployed about an hour after liftoff.  Starlink engineer Lauren Lyons said in the live broadcast that the launch brings...

MDA will design and manufacture space-based L-band navigation antennas as part of a hosted payload on the MEASAT-3d satellite, which is currently being built by Airbus. The navigation antennas will be integrated on a hosted payload for South Korean KTSAT that will support the Korea Augmentation Satellite System (KASS). Scheduled for launch in 2021, the...

Defense contractor Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will develop and build the State of Israel’s national communications satellite, “Dror 1,” the company announced on Thursday. Dror 1 built by the state-owned company is intended to meet the country’s satellite communication needs for 15 years once operational. While no financial details were disclosed, development of the government-funded...

Elon Musk tweeted a simulation of what a crewed flight to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s Dragon will look like, forecasting a crewed flight during 2020.  “Crew Dragon should be physically ready & at the Cape in Feb, but completing all safety reviews will probably take a few more months,” Musk tweeted on Dec....