Author: starpathwp-production
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Meet Helios, a new class of space tug with some real muscle
In recent years there have been a number of modest “tugs” brought online to ferry small satellites to designated orbits. These miniature spacecraft provide so-called last-mile service and are particularly useful for satellites that launch as a part of rideshare missions and seek to reach a different altitude or inclination than that of the primary…
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Daily Telescope: A beautiful supernova remnant from an uncertain age
Welcome to the Daily Telescope. There is a little too much darkness in this world and not enough light, a little too much pseudoscience and not enough science. We’ll let other publications offer you a daily horoscope. At Ars Technica, we’re going to take a different route, finding inspiration from very real images of a…
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SpaceX readies Falcon 9 for commercial flight to space station
Update: SpaceX has delayed the launch of the Axiom 3 mission to Thursday. Dragon Freedom stands ready for launch Wednesday morning at pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now. An international four-man crew strapped into a SpaceX capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket at the Kennedy Space Center Tuesday for a…
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Three Pacific Northwest space companies win awards from Space Force venture fund
An artist’s conception shows Gravitics’ space module in orbit. (Gravitics Illustration) SpaceWERX, which essentially serves as a venture fund for the U.S. Space Force, has awarded contracts worth as much as $1.7 million each to 18 companies — including three startups headquartered in the Seattle area. The Washington state awardees are Marysville-based Gravitics, which is…
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Sierra Space Secures $740M Prime Contract from SDA for 18 Missile Warning Satellites
Sierra Space, one of the leading commercial space companies building the first end-to-end business and technology platform in space, announced that it has won a significant contract from the Space Development Agency for 18 missile warning and tracking satellites. The prime contract, valued at $740 million and awarded through an Other Transaction Authority (OTA), is…
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Sidus Space Signs Technology Hosting Payload Contract with ASPINA for LizzieSat Mission
Sidus Space, a multi-faceted Space and Data-as-a-Service company announced it has secured an agreement with ASPINA, a Japanese technology company, for technology hosting onboard the Company’s upcoming LizzieSat mission, currently scheduled for launch with SpaceX in the second quarter of 2025. As per the agreement’s terms, Sidus will host a payload mission in collaboration with…
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Axiom and SpaceX are disrupting Europe’s traditional pathway to space
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) has a deal with Axiom Space to get more Europeans in orbit. But does the partnership benefit European taxpayers who fund the agency’s operations? On Wednesday, January 17, the third privately funded mission by US commercial spaceflight company Axiom Space is set to lift off from Kennedy Space Center in…
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NASA and ISRO’s Radar Satellite to Monitor Earth’s Changing Frozen Regions
NISAR, the soon-to-launch radar satellite from NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation, will measure some key Earth vital signs, from the health of wetlands to ground deformation by volcanoes to the dynamics of land and sea ice. This last capability will help researchers decipher how small-scale processes can cause monumental changes in the ice…
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No, the James Webb Space Telescope hasn’t found life out there—at least not yet
The rumors have been out there for a while now, percolating through respectable corners of the astronomy and astrobiological community, that the James Webb Space Telescope has found a planet with strong evidence of life. Some of this sentiment recently bubbled into the public view when the British news magazine The Spectator published an item…
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Orbit Communication Systems Reports $36.7M in Defense Orders
Orbit Communication Systems recently received $36.7 million in orders for its satellite communication technology for defense use cases. The company, based in Israel, recently finalized an agreement with the Israeli Ministry of Defense to supply advanced communication systems valued at approximately $16.6 million. The U.S. Air Force also awarded Orbit a $16.5 contract for the…