Focus: In-Space Services

Kayhan Space is launching a new spaceflight safety platform, Pathfinder, the company announced Aug. 9. The platform aims to enable satellite and mission operators to manage operational risks and make preemptive maneuvers based on precision analytics to avoid conjunctions in space. Capella Space, Globalstar, and Lynk Global are among an initial group of operators using...

SpaceLink has entered into an R&D agreement with the U.S. Army to jointly explore space communication pathways. SpaceLink announced the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command Technical Center on Monday. SpaceLink is building a satellite relay system in Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO), with both optical and radio...

South Korean satellite data and technology company Hancom inSpace (Hancom) has signed its second contract with Spire Global to host an additional optical payload on a Spire 6U satellite that will be named HANCOM-2. The agreement, announced Thursday, will also see Spire’s Space Services segment manage the satellite’s payload integration, launch, and mission operations. Hancom...

Commercial in-space transportation services company Momentus has identified the root cause of anomalies that created power and communications issues for its Vigoride-3 orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) during its May 27 demonstration mission. The company did not provide detail on the specific cause, but said that its findings were confirmed by an independent review board. Momentus’...

Nanoracks confirmed Monday that it will conduct a second Bishop Airlock mission with Japanese space robotics startup Gitai. A follow-up to the companies’ successful Bishop Airlock demonstration in 2021, the second mission will involve demonstrating “S2,” Gitai’s 1.5 meter-class dexterous robotic system. Bishop Airlock was the first permanent, commercial platform added to the International Space...

Denver-based in-space transportation company Atomos Space entered into a technology partnership with Addvalue Innovation, a communication terminals provider, to develop orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs) that relocate Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites and provide terrestrial logistics in orbit. The companies said Thursday that the collaboration will leverage Addvalue’s Inter-satellite Data Relay System (IDRS) terminal operating over Inmarsat’s...

Space logistics company D-Orbit will deploy two satellites for Kepler Communications as part of an agreement announced Thursday.  The contract covers the launch of two 6U telecommunications satellites on D-Orbit’s orbital transfer vehicle, the ION Satellite Carrier. After launch, which is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023, the ION will release the satellite on...

Space-as-a-Service company Sidus Space has been tapped to join the Collins Aerospace team that was awarded NASA‘s Exploration Extravehicular Activity (xEVAS) services contract at the beginning of June. Sidus Space will provide a range of multi-disciplinary engineering services to the team. With a potential value of $3.5 billion through 2034, the xEVAS Program will include...

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) company Synspective is partnering with Addvalue to use its inter-satellite data relay system (IDRS) to deliver its SAR imagery more quickly to customers.  Addvalue’s data relay system offers constant connection to satellites in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) for data transfer when satellites are not in view of an Earth station. IDRS uses...

Astroscale’s U.K. subsidiary received 14.8 million euros ($16 million) in funding from the European Space Agency (ESA) for its ELSA-M servicer mission, which is developed in partnership with OneWeb, the United Kingdom Space Agency, and ESA.  Astroscale announced the funding on May 27, and that the mission is set to launch near the end of...