Space Industry Analysis
Apr 23, 2012
New French space strategy urges the EU to play a stronger role.
Apr 23, 2012
An article in the April 16 issue (p. 44) incorrectly stated NASA's plans for launching cargo to the International Space Station. The agency plans to use commercial rockets for the missions.
Apr 16, 2012
Scientists preparing to use International Space Station facilities for research will have better online access to their experiments after U.S. astronauts finish revamping communications links. The work, intended to support a substantial increase in simultaneous science research, includes a doubling of the downlink data rate, solid-state recording and additional voice loops.
Apr 16, 2012
Scientists using NASA's Kepler spacecraft (see photo) to look for planets around other stars have been “surprised by the universe,” and the value of those surprises has earned the mission a four-year funding extension. Kepler was one of nine astrophysics programs granted peer-reviewed extensions on the recommendation of a NASA Senior Review Committee (SRC). Most of them—including the Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory—also will continue operating through 2016.
Apr 16, 2012
A hosted payload agreement between Space Systems/Loral and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center offers the U.S. the chance to catch up with Europe's leadership in the use of optical systems, which hold the promise of faster data transmission for space communications and lower power demands.
Apr 16, 2012
The choice is between adding more muscle to the Ariane 5 rocket and building a new launcher designed to rely less on commercial business.
Mar 12, 2020
Ongoing problems with NASA’s Space Launch System may delay efforts to return to the Moon with human explorers by late 2024, according to the NASA inspector general.
Mar 11, 2020
Japanese suborbital spaceflight startup PD AeroSpace plans to fly the latest in a series of the subscale company’s first suborbital test vehicles.
Mar 11, 2020
The strategy aims to correct a longstanding problem for the Pentagon—that its communication networks use thousands of disparate terminals that are not compatible with each other.
Mar 10, 2020
“Soon we will release an inaugural doctrine” for the Space Force, Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said March 10 in Washington.
Mar 10, 2020
"Unless we improve our rate of innovation dramatically, then there is no chance of a base on the Moon or a city on Mars,” SpaceX Founder Elon Musk says.
Mar 10, 2020
Rocket Lab will launch its second mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office during a 14-day launch window that opens March 27.
Mar 10, 2020
The U.S. Space Force has a new launch goal, dubbed “Set the Pace for Space,” which aims to make launch on demand available for commercial and military customers.
Mar 10, 2020
"Ames Research Center is temporarily on mandatory telework status with restricted access to the center until further notice,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said March 9.