Airbus Defense and Space is facing schedule challenges as it develops a European service module that will power the NASA Orion crew capsule, including documentation issues for Shuttle-era propulsion systems and NASA safety concerns over redundancy.
Commercial space bill nears final passage; Middle East nations seek precision weapons; DHS pledges new security enhancements; and Ex-Im Bank reauthorization takes another step forward.
Delivering a staggering 1 terabits per second of throughput, ViaSat-3 will also comprise the first spacecraft in a three-satellite constellation designed to provide global broadband from geostationary orbit, feeding mobile demand from the U.S. government and commercial aeronautical markets.
NASA evaluators appear to have winnowed the field for future ISS cargo contractors to the commercial-cargo capsules already operated by CRS-1 contractors Orbital ATK and SpaceX and an unmanned cargo version of the Sierra Nevada Corp. Dream Chaser reusable lifting body.
NASA delays its CRS-2 contract, again. Italy is in line to become the next nation with armed Reapers. The FAA scrambles to create a UAV registration system. And the Ex-Im bank bill nears final passage.
Wayne Hale, former shuttle program manager, tells deep-space exploration advocates: “There must be a revolution in how we get things done, financially and organizationally.”
A determination on the second set of contract awards for commercial resupply missions to ISS, expected on Nov. 5, could be influenced by an independent agency review of the Oct. 28, 2014, engine failure on Orbital ATK’s Antares launch vehicle.
NASA human-spaceflight managers are evaluating whether it will be possible to switch to a more capable upper stage for the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) in time for its first flight with a crew.
BAE Systems is partnering with air-breathing rocket developer Reaction Engines as part of an agreement under which BAE will acquire a 20% share of the U.K.-based company for £20.6 million.
As Cassini probes closer to intriguing Enceladus south pole ice-spray—possible evidence of life-sustaining oceans—space agencies may use that experience as springboard for Europa mission.
The Journey to Mars planning update lacks cost estimates because intermediate steps are still being determined, NASA says; U.S. House Republicans are skeptical.
The Cassini spacecraft is prepared to make its most detailed measurements yet of the curtain-like ice sprays from the south pole of the Saturn moon Enceladus.
NASA’s congressional overseers have questioned the relevance of both the asteroid capture and astronaut rendezvous to the agency’s ultimate objective of reaching the Martian environs with human explorers in the 2030s.
NASA astronauts are set to resume external upgrades to the International Space Station intended to prepare its U.S. segment for future commercial crew vehicle dockings.
What can we mine in space? And will it really deliver world peace, or just another realm for competition and conflict? Perhaps a look at the immediate past and near future may help us answer some of these questions.
SpaceX’s new respect for the difficulty of the space-launch business might explain why it has decided to reverse the order of payloads scheduled for return to flight, affording a chance to test the rocket’s new and improved upper stage.
The 1,500-kg platform is in an advanced stage of development and is ready to bring to market, where IAI will target low-cost, dual-manifest missions on the SpaceX Falcon 9.
