Infrastructure
Rivals Launch Military Satellites Amid U.S.-led Space Defense Drills
A flurry of military and intelligence satellite launches by rival powers this month came as the United States and two dozen partner nations wrapped up the largest global space defense wargame in history.
Russia launched what some leaders have described as a spy satellite for Iran and its own on-orbit snooping satellite Cosmos-2558, which is circling Earth in an orbit conspicuously close to a recently launched U.S. National Reconnaissance Office satellite, a Netherlands researcher confirmed.
Solving Space Junk Problem Could Net Federal Prize
A grand prize could be in the offing for inventors who come up with new methods to prevent orbiting debris or design tools that can clean up space junk, according to recommendations from the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Aug. 4 Sets Record for Most Launches in One Day
The beginning of August saw a flurry of launch activity as Aug. 4 set a record for most orbital launches on a single day (based on UTC launch times). The final launch count for the day reached five – three American and two Chinese.
Space Matters: Experts Call for More Governance in LEO
The Wild West regulatory environment in low Earth orbit was ranked as a top threat to space sustainability by a panel of experts convened for Space Symposium 365’s Space Matters webcast Thursday.
Clockwise from top left, panelists former Rep. Robert Walker, Carissa Christensen, former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, and Patricia Cooper.
ESA Sending Heroic, Fictional Sheep Aboard Artemis I
NASA says its Artemis I flight set to launch as soon as late August will be an uncrewed lunar fly-by.
The Paris-based European Space Agency would beg to differ. Shaun is leaving the happy confines of Mossy Bottom Farm to lead the flight around the Moon, an agency press release announced.
2022 Sets Record for Launch Success Through June 30 Amid Busy Commercial Payload Pace
The first six months of 2022 saw a record pace of space launches, matching the mark of 75 set in the first half of 1967. And through June 30, the year saw a record pace for successful launches, topping the mark of 70 set in 1984.
SLS Test Fire: Igniting the Booster that Will Fuel Artemis Missions
The July 21 static test of the Flight Support Booster-2 conducted by NASA and Northrop Grumman in Promontory, Utah, propelled the Artemis Program one step further. While Artemis I is scheduled to launch later this summer, data from the booster test will drive improvements in future missions.
Commercial Space Revenue Climbs More Than 6%, Edging Toward $400 Billion Annually
Commercial space activity refers to efforts undertaken by private industry with little or no government investment. Commercial space revenue in 2021 totaled $362 billion.
Partisan Fight Threatens to Delay Pentagon, Space Force Budget
Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee sent warning signals on Wednesday that the Pentagon’s $762 billion spending plan for 2023 could snag in the Senate over hot-button policy provisions. . .
James Webb Space Telescope Revelations Explore Time’s Dawn, Black Holes, and Earth-like Worlds
With the capability to peer at the faint glow of the ancient universe in the wake of the Big Bang, Webb already has surprised and impressed the scientific community.