Author: starpathwp-production
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ESA’s Spacecraft for Asteroid Mission Successfully Assembled
ESA’s asteroid mission for planetary defense was built and prepared in two halves, but now, through a painstaking operation, they have been mated together to make a single spacecraft, ready for full-scale testing of its readiness for space. The mating took place at OHB Bremen in Germany, with Hera’s Core Module raised more than 3…
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HASC Chair Rogers Calls for GAO Investigation into Space Command HQ Decision
The chair of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) is calling on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an investigation into the Biden administration’s decision to keep U.S. Space Command headquartered in Colorado. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., the HASC chair, sent a letter to the head of GAO on Wednesday, Aug. 23 requesting the…
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Astranis Lands Government Mission for Glitched Satellite Over Alaska
Astranis already has a new customer for a demonstration with its Arcturus satellite, which is in orbit over Alaska but unable to fulfill its primary mission. Astranis announced Friday that it signed a contract with a “trusted partner of the national security space community” for an end-to-end communications demonstration with the microGEO satellite. Astranis said…
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The re-flight of a Rutherford engine demonstrates rocket reuse is here to stay
Rocket Lab launched its 40th Electron mission this week and achieved an important milestone in its quest to reuse orbital rockets. As part of the mission, the launch company reused a previously flown Rutherford engine on its first stage for the first time. In terms of orbital rockets, only NASA’s space shuttle and SpaceX’s Falcon…
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Final ICPS arrives in Florida for Artemis III SLS launch
United Launch Alliance (ULA) delivered the last-ever Space Launch System (SLS) Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) from its Decatur, Alabama, factory to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in early August for eventual use on the Artemis III lunar landing mission. ICPS-3 was also the last Delta hardware to depart Decatur and will support NASA’s…
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Ball Aerospace’s Pollution Monitoring Instrument Releases its First Images of Earth
Ball Aerospace celebrated alongside its mission partners as the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument released its first images of Earth, the next step in its mission to improve air quality monitoring across greater North America. TEMPO launched on April 7, 2023, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station as part of NASA’s Earth Venture…
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Exotrail to Supply Muon Space With Propulsion Systems for Constellation
Muon Space selected Exotrail to supply five of its “spaceware” electric propulsion systems for the company’s climate monitoring constellation, the companies announced Aug. 24. Exotrail’s spaceware is a high-thrust, electric Hall-effect propulsion system designed to perform orbit raising and anomaly phasing, as well as orbit maintenance and collision avoidance. It will also deorbit spacecraft at…
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Globalstar Reveals Details of Petrochemicals Deployment
Globalstar Europe Satellite Services (Globalstar’s European subsidiary) has revealed details of a partnership with a major global petrochemicals provider that sees its solutions used to monitor and safeguard rail and road transport of highly explosive gases across mainland Europe. INEOS Oxide is deploying Globalstar’s Ovinto Sat tracking solution to track rail and road transport here.…
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Venus Flyby of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Sets Course for Record-Setting Flights Around the Sun
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe zoomed past Venus on Aug. 21, using the planet’s gravity to aim toward a record-setting series of flights around the Sun that start next month. Moving approximately 15 miles (more than 24 kilometers) per second, Parker Solar Probe passed 2,487 miles (4,003 kilometers) above the Venusian surface as it curved around…
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Rocket Lab Reuses Rutherford Engine for Company’s 40th Launch
Rocket Lab launched a previously flown Rutherford engine in a Thursday morning mission from New Zealand, a milestone toward the company’s goal of reusing the entire Electron first stage. Rocket Lab hit this milestone on the company’s 40th mission. “Congratulations to our team on delivering 40 Electron launches, completing another booster recovery, and proving Rutherford…