U.S. Department of Education Launches Space Mission Challenge for High School Students, Department of Education “Today, the U.S. Department of Education launched CTE Mission: CubeSat, a national challenge to build technical skills for careers in space and beyond. The Department invites high schools to bring space missions to students by designing and building CubeSat prototypes — in the classroom or at home. … Each finalist will receive an equal share […]

Aerospace Corporation Policy Paper proposes Launch Unit Standards for SmallSats “The Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy (CSPS) released a new policy paper today that explores the benefits of Launch Unit standards for smallsats during its Emerging Issues in Space Technology and Policy event at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. “More than 6,000 smallsats are expected to launch in the next 10 years, which is […]

SKY7 spots stealthy space startup testing its rocket in Alameda (with video), Sky7 “A lease application filed with the City of Alameda gives some clues about what’s in the works: a rocket called Astra that the company claims is the world’s smallest. The document includes a scale diagram showing its diminutive size and capacity compared to other rockets: The SpaceX Falcon Heavy, with a payload capacity of about 56,000 kg […]

Rocket Lab successfully circularizes orbit with new Electron kick stage, Rocket Lab “Rocket Lab, a US aerospace company with operations in New Zealand, has successfully tested a previously unannounced kick stage on the Still Testing Electron launch vehicle, using it to circularize the orbits of the two Spire Lemur-2 CubeSats on board. The kick stage was flown and tested on board the recent Still Testing flight that was successfully launched […]

Rocketlab Places Three Satellites Into Orbit (with video), SpaceRef “Rocketlab conducted its second Electron launch today placing three cubesats into orbit. The launch occurred from the remote M?hia Peninsula in New Zealand. Mission control is located in Auckland, New Zealand. On board was a Planetlab cubesat named Dove Pioneer which will conduct Earth resource imaging and two Lemur-2 cubesats for Spire which will be used for weather and ship tracking. […]

The US intelligence nominee can’t believe India just launched 104 satellites, Ars Technica “During his confirmation hearing this week, the Trump administration’s nominee for this cabinet-level [Director of National Intelligence] position, former Senator Dan Coats, assured the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that he would remain vigilant in keeping the nation’s reconnaissance satellites ahead of the global curve. The United States would also speed up the process by which it […]

Keith’s note: NASA PAO offered news media a chance to ask questions of Thomas Zurbuchen, the new Science Mission Directorate Associate Administrator. The audio of that event should be online shortly. NASA Watch Question: “I have heard you mention massive things such as the Webb Space Telescope and tiny things like cubesats in the same sentence. You mentioned National Academy and White House initiatives for cubesats and Decadal designations for […]

NASA to Announce Selections for Small Satellite Launch Contract “NASA will host a news conference at 1 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to announce the outcome of the Venture Class Launch Service (VCLS) competition. The news conference will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.” Keith’s note: NASA issued these Venture Class Launch Service contract awards last week. Rocket […]

Singapore-made device survives rocket explosion, The Straits Times “Last October, scientists at the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT), National University of Singapore, were horrified when the Antares rocket exploded just seconds after take-off from a launch pad in Virginia, in the US. … The CQT scientists thought their 300g device, embedded in a Danish satellite called GomX-2 in the rocket, and costing $12,000, had been lost. But they have been […]

NASA – Lunar IceCube to Take on Big Mission From Small Package “In what scientists say signals a paradigm shift in interplanetary science, NASA has selected a shoebox-size mission to search for water ice and other resources from above the surface of the moon.” Marc’s note: CubeSats for deep-space exploration is an exciting new aspect of space exploration. It opens space exploration to more participants at a much lower cost. […]