SpaceRef

Starship Launch Possible in October, Though Environment Permit Questions Remain Open

The SpaceX Starship sits on the Starbase launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas prior to its first test flight. Image credit: SpaceX. The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) acting administrator, Polly ...
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Ad Astra Rocket Company Wins Two NASA Contracts For VASIMR Technology Development

Ad Astra Rocket Company (Ad Astra) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have signed two separate contracts to continue the maturation of the VASIMR® rocket technology. The ...
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NASA Letter To FCC Regarding SpaceX Starlink Gen 2 System

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) submits this letter in response to the amendment (SAT-AMD-20210818-00105) filed by Space Exploration Holdings, LLC (SpaceX) for a ...
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Memorandum of Understanding Between The National Aeronautics And Space Administration and The United States Space Force

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United States Space Force (USSF), through this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), affirm a strong interest in continuing their ...
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China’s Answer To Starlink Gets A Call from the Central Government

If I may start with a tired, but extremely true pun: covering the Chinese space industry inevitably involves a lot of reading of tea leaves. Speeches and press releases are full of party jargon. The ...
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Humanity’s Space Future Comes with a Heftier Price Tag, New National Academies Decadal Survey Finds

The National Academies recommend a significant investment in further studying how space affects living things. Image credit: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The already fast ...
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Sierra Space Working with NASA on Crewed Dream Chaser

Dream Chaser shuttle during taxi tests at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Test Center in California. Image credit: Sierra Space. Sierra Space is working with NASA to develop a crewed version of its Dream ...
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Firefly Aerospace and Xtenti Collaborate to Conduct Responsive Space Demonstration in Support of the NRO

Firefly Aerospace, Inc., an end-to-end space transportation company, today announced a new agreement with Xtenti, LLC, an innovative space logistics company, to conduct a responsive space mission with ...
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NASA Requests Funding for $1 Billion ‘Space Tug’ to Deorbit the ISS

The ISS is too large to entirely burn up in the atmosphere. Image credit: NASA. NASA is developing a plan to deorbit the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of its lifetime, currently ...
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NASA Plan to Shoot and Ship Samples of the Red Planet on Hold

NASA Perseverance rover is now on Mars and busily collecting samples, storing the specimens in tubes, then depositing those tubes on the surface for later pick-up. Image credit: NASA. NASA’s ...
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Like a G60 — What’s China Planning with its Other NGSO?

Rendering of “G60 Starlink” Industrial Base. Image credit: ChinaNews.com / Yangtse. For some time, we have been hearing public statements from Chinese decision-makers regarding the country’s LEO ...
SpaceRef

Mimicking the Moon – Here’s the (Simulant) Dirt

Lunar simulant is used to test a rover at Michigan Tech’s Planetary Surface Technology Development Lab. Image credit: Michigan Technological University. There is a growing business in selling fake ...