On February 26, Sierra Space, which just recently began a massive hiring spree, signed an agreement to explore landing its Dream Chaser spaceplane at Oita Airport, in Japan.
Expand Expanding Close
SpaceX is set to launch a Falcon 9 from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on February 25, 2022, at 12:12 p.m. EST. This launch will carry a new batch of 50 Starlink satellites to polar orbit.
Expand Expanding Close
On Wednesday night, Russian forces began their attack on Ukraine, starting what many viewed as an inevitable invasion of the once soviet country. Once again, we find Russia and the United States on the brink of conflict, but their cooperation in space shows hope.
Expand Expanding Close
While addressing the nation on Thursday, Biden addressed the latest sanctions being put in place against Russia in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Among the industries being affected will be Russia’s space program.
Expand Expanding Close
Sierra Space, a space company with extensive experience in space missions that is currently developing its Dream Chaser space plane, is looking to hire 1,000 new employees, nearly doubling its current 1,100 employee workforce.
Expand Expanding Close
The launch control center at Kennedy Space Center that first sent mankind to the Moon has now been named after Rocco Petrone, a man instrumental in America’s journey to reach Earth’s celestial neighbor during the Apollo program.
Expand Expanding Close
In an update on its website, SpaceX has reaffirmed the company’s commitment to being good stewards of space through safe and sustainable satellite operation. “SpaceX is deeply committed to maintaining a safe orbital environment, protecting human spaceflight, and ensuring the environment is kept sustainable for future missions to Earth orbit and beyond.”
Expand Expanding Close
In an update post on the company’s website, SpaceX called on the FCC and other international parties to change its standard on how long a satellite should stay in Low Earth Orbit.
Expand Expanding Close
Rocket Lab has been working on adding multiple launch locations for its Electron rocket for the past few years. Finally, the company’s second pad in New Zealand is ready, and Rocket Lab is showing it off with dual rockets.
Expand Expanding Close
We’ve been following a rocket upper stage that is headed for a crash landing on the Moon for nearly a month now. While the object has been observed from Earth, and its collision time has been estimated at around 7:30 a.m. on March 4, the actual identity of the rocket stage has come into question. Now a spokesperson for China has denied that the object is one of the country’s rocket upper stages.
Expand Expanding Close
Announced on February 22, Hayley Arceneaux is releasing a book on her story, from battling cancer at St. Jude to representing hope as a crew member of Jared Issacman’s Inspiration4 mission to space.
Expand Expanding Close
Northrop Grumman announced on February 21 that its subsidiary, SpaceLogistics, received the company’s first purchase of the Mission Extension Pod by Australian satellite operator Optus.
Expand Expanding Close
On Saturday, February 19, Northrop Grumman launched an Antares 230+ rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. The rocket carried a Cygnus spacecraft, S.S. Piers Sellers, which has since joined up with the International Space Station.
Expand Expanding Close
In a four-minute “How It’s Made” style video, ULA takes viewers inside its Decatur, Alabama rocket factory to see where the company makes its Delta, Atlas, and Vulcan rockets.
Expand Expanding Close
If you haven’t been to SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas, it is truly a mesmerizing place. Very few places have rockets this size on display, and it looks like SpaceX will share this love with the community.
Expand Expanding Close
SpaceX is preparing to launch the Starlink Group 4-8 mission from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The launch is scheduled for 9:44 a.m. EST on February 21, 2022.
Expand Expanding Close
A Northrop Grumman Antares 230+ is set to launch a Cygnus resupply vehicle to the International Space Station on February 19, 2022, at 12:40 p.m. EST. This Cygnus vehicle is named after former astronaut Piers Sellers.
Expand Expanding Close
Season two of the comedy show Space Force is now available to watch over on Netflix.
Expand Expanding Close
Firefly Aerospace has released an update video after a prolonged period of silence. Both the first and second stages for their Flight 2 vehicle have passed acceptance testing. There is no launch date currently.
Expand Expanding Close
In a Tweet last year, Elon Musk confirmed that Starlink laser-based communication was coming to SpaceX’s Dragon capsule. Now we know the Polaris Dawn mission will be the first crew to test out and make use of this additional connectivity option. And as Starlink continues to expand, with plans for Gen2 Starlink satellites launched on Starship being essential for the company, NASA has expressed some concerns about the expanding constellation.
Expand Expanding Close
Firefly has been a promising startup with a (failed) launch under its belt and hard at work on its Alpha launch vehicle. The time at the company recently has been rather dramatic, as the US Government has been attempting to oust one of the company’s founders, Max Polyakov, citing national security concerns with his Ukrainian origins.
Expand Expanding Close
On February 10, SpaceX‘s Chief Engineer Elon Musk gave us an update on the company’s Starship launch vehicle. While it was light on brand new details, we still got some news. Below are our key takeaways from the event.
Expand Expanding Close
Today, a great deal of news about the future tourism flights of SpaceX came to light, led by none other than Billionaire Jared Isaacman. After commanding Inspiration4 last year, Isaacman will return as commander of a daring first of its kind Dragon mission, flying higher and staying longer than Inspiration4 did.
Expand Expanding Close