Author: starpathwp-production
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US Space Force Awards ABL Space Systems Responsive Launch Contract
El Segundo, California-based ABL Space Systems has received a $15 million contract from the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command’s Assured Access to Space (AATS) office for responsive launch, SSC said on Sept. 18. The small business innovation research award from AATS’ Small Launch and Targets Division at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, comes under the $60…
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Rocket Lab’s eighth launch of 2023 ends in failure
Rocket Lab second stage fails after separation At about 2:56 A.M. ET a Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifted off from LC-1B at the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand. The first stage performed what appeared nominally, delivering the rocket high above the atmosphere. After about two and a half minutes of flight, the first stage completed…
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SpaceX launches Falcon 9 on record-breaking 17th flight for booster
Update 12:01 a.m. EDT: SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket at 11:38 p.m. EDT (0338 UTC) from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The first stage booster, B1058, landed back on the drone ship, A Shortfall of Gravitas, about eight-and-a-half minutes into flight, becoming the first booster to fly for a 17th time.…
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NASA Conducts Hot Fire Test of Third Subscale Booster for Future Artemis Missions
Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, conducted a hot fire of a 24-inch subscale solid rocket motor on Sept. 14. The test, conducted in Marshall’s East Test Area, produced more than 82,000 pounds of thrust and was part of an ongoing series of developmental tests for an upgraded booster design for…
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CACI Completes Interoperability Testing for its Optical Terminal for the SDA
CACI International Inc has completed interoperability testing for its optical communication terminal for the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 1 data relay and tracking network. CACI said in a Monday announcement that it has the first SDA-compliant terminal to establish a consistent data link with the reference modem. These were tests on the ground, done…
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Artemis II crew visits Bremen, as Germany signs the Artemis Accords
ESA and Airbus, in coordination with NASA, hosted an Artemis II media event at the Airbus facility in Bremen, Germany, on Friday, Sept. 15. In this event, the whole crew of Artemis II was present at the facility where Airbus assembles the Orion European Service Module (ESM). The ESM will provide life support and propulsion…
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Failure strikes Rocket Lab after launch from New Zealand
Rocket Lab’s string of 20 consecutive successful launches ended Tuesday when the company’s Electron rocket failed to deliver a small commercial radar imaging satellite into orbit. The problem occurred on the upper stage of the Electron rocket about two and a half minutes after liftoff from Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. This was the fourth…
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AST SpaceMobile Achieves First-Ever Space-Based 5G Connection From Everyday Smartphones
AST SpaceMobile, the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by standard mobile phones, announced another unprecedented leap in telecommunications by successfully making the first-ever 5G connection for voice and data between an everyday, unmodified smartphone and a satellite in space. AST SpaceMobile’s groundbreaking space-based 5G cellular broadband capabilities and…
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Momentus to Provide Transportation and Delivery Services for Aarhus University Payload
Momentus, a U.S. commercial space company that offers satellite buses, transportation, and other in-space infrastructure services, has signed a contract with Aarhus University for transportation and orbital delivery services in late 2024. Aarhus University will be flying its DISCO-II payload designed to provide climate monitoring. The university’s DISCO-I payload was placed into Low-Earth Orbit during…
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SpaceX hits a new milestone for booster reuse
Tuesday’s Starlink mission featured one of those milestones. SpaceX Falcon 9 booster serial number 1058 launched and landed for the 17th time. B1058 isn’t you normal Falcon 9 booster, this one has some history behind it. The divide in the community is real with many actually upset with SpaceX this booster hasn’t been moved to…