Virgin Orbit Could Sell Up To $250M In Shares To Sustain Ops
Virgin Orbit, the newly public satellite launch provider, saw revenue halve and its net loss double in the first quarter of 2022. 
guy.ferneyhoug… Fri, 05/13/2022 - 11:40
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Scientists Set Priorities For Next Decade Of Planetary Exploration

By Irene Klotz May 13, 2022
After Mars Sample Return, scientists want a flagship mission to Uranus.
Space

Boeing Starliner Space Taxi Poised For Uncrewed Flight Test, Take 3

By Irene Klotz May 13, 2022
After 29 months, Boeing will again attempt to fly its commercial space taxi to the space station.
Commercial Space

First Take, May 16, 2022

May 13, 2022
Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.
Aerospace

Milky Way’s Black Hole Brought To Light

By Irene Klotz May 12, 2022
An international team of astronomers has directly imaged for the first time the telltale ring of gas surrounding the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, some 27,000 light years from Earth.
Space

Axiom Space Breaks Ground As Houston Spaceport Tenant

By Mark Carreau May 12, 2022
Fresh off the success of the first U.S. private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Space has broken ground on a headquarters campus at Houston Spaceport to support work on the first U.S. commercially developed and operated space station.
Commercial Space

JAXA And Toyota Progress Cruiser Plan

By Guy Norris May 12, 2022
Mini-rover Moon landing planned for later this year to prove technology for pressurized JAXA-Toyota Lunar Cruiser.
Space

Demonstrators Smoothing Path Toward UK ISR Constellation

By Tony Osborne May 12, 2022
Initial efforts for Istari will be focused on the development of a synthetic aperture radar, but additional capabilities will be added.
Space

The Week In Defense, May 12-19, 2022

By Jen DiMascio May 12, 2022
Russia blamed for Viasat attack; MQ-9B adds short-takeoff capability; U.S., Japan to study loyal wingman; and Black Hawk sustainment.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Colorado Lawmakers To Continue SPACECOM Fight Despite IG Report

By Brian Everstine May 11, 2022
Several lawmakers are continuing to raise concerns about the decision to base U.S. Space Command’s headquarters in Alabama even after the Defense Department Inspector General on May 10 issued its findings that the Air Force’s choice was reasonable.
Budget, Policy & Operations

NASA SpaceX Crew-3 Astronauts Praise Space Station’s Role

By Mark Carreau May 11, 2022
Less than a week after their safe return to Earth, NASA’s four SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts offered a positive assessment of a growing workload aboard the International Space Station and the level of mutual trust and camaraderie among the astronauts and cosmonauts who serve despite Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.
Space

Orbex Reveals Prototype Prime Launcher

By Tony Osborne May 11, 2022
UK space startup Orbex has unveiled a fully completed prototype of the company’s Prime satellite launcher.
Commercial Space

Virgin Orbit Grows Launcher Fleet With Extra 747-400s

By Guy Norris May 11, 2022
Satellite air launch company Virgin Orbit has secured an agreement with conversion specialist L3 Harris Technologies to acquire two Boeing 747-400 airframes to support growth plans for additional launch capacity.
Commercial Space

Lunar Rover Hopefuls Explore New Approaches

By Guy Norris May 11, 2022
Lockheed Martin-General Motors lunar vehicle designed to transit moon autonomously for prepositioned rendezvous with incoming missions.
Space

NASA Moon Planners Eager To Partner

By Mark Carreau May 10, 2022
NASA has every intention of leveraging commercial partnerships as it plans a return to the Moon with human explorers, according to those at the agency closely involved in laying the groundwork.
Space

Space Force Wants To Evolve Test And Evaluation

By Brian Everstine May 10, 2022
The U.S. Space Force is overhauling how the military tests its satellites, with the goal of speeding up the process, relying more on digital modeling to represent new threats, and growing a more skilled workforce to meet that need.
Space

Ukraine Hopes To Re-Emerge As ‘Trustworthy Partner’ In Space

By Tony Osborne May 10, 2022
Ukraine is hoping to become a “trustworthy partner” to the West on future space projects, the former chairman of the country’s space agency says.
Space

U.S., Europe Officials Blame Russia For Viasat Attack

By Brian Everstine May 10, 2022
The U.S., the European Union and multiple other nations on May 10 formally attributed cyber attacks against Viasat’s KA-SAT network on Feb. 24 to Russia, claiming Moscow attempted to disrupt Ukrainian command and control as the invasion began.
Commercial Space

Astra Space Eyes Shetland Satellite Launch

By Tony Osborne May 10, 2022
U.S. launch startup Astra Space has teamed up with the UK’s SaxaVord Spaceport as a potential new location for satellite launches.
Commercial Space

Maxar WorldView Legion Launch Delayed After Test Issue

By Michael Bruno May 10, 2022
The highly anticipated debut of the WorldView Legion high-resolution constellation from Maxar Technologies is slipping again, this time to September, as the Colorado company works through a test configuration anomaly, executives announced late May 9.
Commercial Space

First UK Virgin Orbit Launch To Carry Defense CubeSat Demo

By Tony Osborne May 10, 2022
The UK Defense Ministry will launch a pair of CubeSats on the first planned horizontal launch from a UK spaceport as early as this summer.
Space

Xona’s Private ‘Precision’ GNSS Satellite Readies To Launch

By Garrett Reim May 10, 2022
Xona Space Systems has finished environmental testing of its Huginn demonstrator satellite ahead of its planned May 25 launch on SpaceX’s Transporter 5 rideshare mission.
Commercial Space

Vega C Will Kick Off Revamp Of Europe’s Space Launch Services

By Thierry Dubois May 10, 2022
With its first launch in the offing, Vega C is to start a series of key and long-awaited evolutions in Arianespace’s offering.
Space

JWST Commissioning Enters Homestretch

By Irene Klotz May 09, 2022
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is entering the final phase of commissioning prior to the start of science observations this summer, project scientists told reporters May 9. The telescope, which launched on Dec. 25, 2021, aboard an Arianespace Ariane V rocket, is designed to follow on and expand scientific observations made by the Hubble Space Telescope and other space observatories.
Space

Blue Origin To Fly Repeat Passenger On Next Flight

By Irene Klotz May 09, 2022
Blue Origin’s next flight of the New Shepard suborbital spacecraft will include its first repeat customer.
Commercial Space