News
Daily coverage of the global space industry with an emphasis on business and political news.

Maxar studies Legion spacecraft for NOAA weather mission
Under a new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration six-month study contract, Maxar Technologies will explore the application of its WorldView Legion constellation to weather observation from low Earth orbit.

BlackSky launching two satellites on June Starlink mission
After the SpaceX rideshare, BlackSky has another four satellites booked to launch on India’s new Small Satellite Launch Vehicle this year, though delays with that program have made a launch date unclear, Merski said.

Virgin Orbit moving ahead with U.K. launch plans
Virgin Orbit and the British government are continuing efforts to begin flights of the company’s air-launch system from an English airport by early 2022 despite challenges on both sides of the Atlantic.

Chinese private launch firms advance with methane engines, launch preparations and new funding
A number of Chinese private launch firms for the burgeoning commercial space sector have reported progress in efforts to develop a range of launch vehicles.

Trump campaign pulls space-themed ad after complaints
The reelection campaign of President Donald Trump has taken down an online ad tied to the recent Demo-2 commercial crew launch after complaints it appeared to violate NASA media guidelines, and criticism from one person who appeared in it.


Space Force thinking about NASA-style partnerships with private companies
Felt said NASA’s commercial crew program is “super exciting” and one that the Space Force can learn from.

Astronomers warn about effects of other satellite megaconstellations
Astronomers who have spent the last year worried about the effect that SpaceX’s Starlink satellites will have on their observations say they are increasingly concerned about the impact from other proposed megaconstellations.

Webinar Replay | Sowing the Seeds for Future Space Technologies
Col. Eric Felt, director of the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate, talks with SpaceNews Staff Writer Sandra Erwin and Editor-in-Chief Brian Berger about the R&D investments the directorate is making to help the U.S. military maintain a technological advantage in the space domain.

Asia-Pacific satellite operators still assessing pandemic’s market impacts
Three months after the coronavirus pandemic brought large swaths of the global economy to a near halt, Asia-Pacific satellite operators say they are still trying to identify a new normal.

Momentus signs contract with OrbAstro for SpaceX rideshare flight
Silicon Valley startup Momentus announced a contract June 4 with OrbAstro, a small United Kingdom company developing hardware and software to enable satellites to operate in flocks or constellations.

Raytheon wins NOAA study contract for geostationary imager
Raytheon won a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration contract for a design study of Real Time Imager, an instrument to obtain high-resolution Earth observation imagery from geostationary orbit.

SpaceX launches eighth Starlink mission, first VisorSat satellite
SpaceX launched a batch of 60 Starlink broadband satellites June 3, including one with a deployable sunshield meant to test out a new way to reduce the brightness of future satellites.

SOFIA preparing to resume flights after being grounded by pandemic
A NASA airborne astronomy observatory that has been grounded for nearly three months by the coronavirus pandemic may resume flights later this month as advocates for the program address another cancellation threat.

DoD reviewing new data on pandemic impact on space industry suppliers
Data received so far from space industry suppliers shows the pandemic has caused schedule delays and strains on the supply chain.

GAO flags concerns about procurement of DoD’s early warning satellites
GAO in its annual assessment of DoD acquisition programs says Next-Gen OPIR “faces multiple challenges."