Author: starpathwp-production
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Italian Space Agency Invests in In-Orbit Servicing Demonstration Led by Thales Alenia Space
The Italian Space Agency (ASI) awarded a 235 million euro ($256 million) contract for an in-orbit servicing demonstration mission to a consortium of space companies led by Thales Alenia Space. The demonstration mission in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) is set to be launched by 2026. The mission will test technologies for future on-orbit servicing missions —…
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Tesat to Build Quantum Key Payload for SES Eagle-1 Mission
Tesat has joined SES’s team for the Eagle-1 quantum key distribution (QKD) satellite. SES announced last week that Tesat will develop and integrate the quantum key payload. Tesat will manufacture the QKD payload comprising its SCOT80 optical communications terminal, which will establish a secure optical link from space to ground. It will also manufacture the…
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Momentus Signs Launch Service Agreement with SpaceX on its Transporter Missions
Momentus Inc., a U.S. commercial space company that offers orbital transportation and in-space infrastructure services, signed a contract with SpaceX to reserve a port on its Transporter-12 mission targeted for launch no earlier than October 2024. With this agreement, Momentus is planning on flying on three missions with SpaceX in 2024, inclusive of every Transporter…
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Ariane 6’s first flight likely to slip into 2024
Just over six months ago the European Space Agency (ESA) revealed the much-anticipated Ariane 6 would debut by the end of 2023, but now in the second quarter of the year, it is becoming clearer that the heavy-lift rocket won’t fly until 2024. While ESA or ArianeGroup, which is developing the vehicle, hasn’t officially announced…
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Overnight launch adds 56 more satellites to SpaceX’s Starlink fleet
Watch a replay of our live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the Starlink 5-9 mission at 1:03 a.m. EDT (0503 UTC) on May 14 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”SFN Live”] [tabbyending] Fifty-six more Starlink internet…
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Skylab at 50 – How the United States entered the space station era
On May 14, 1973, the final Saturn V rocket lifted off to deploy Skylab, America’s first space station. Despite a troubled start to its life, Skylab pioneered long-duration spaceflight, and fifty years later lessons learned in this program are still contributing to the success of the International Space Station. With Apollo 11’s successful landing on…
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Chris Hadfield’s ‘Space Oddity’ cover, shot on the ISS, released to the world | This Day in Space (May 12, 2013)
Creativity in space It’s easy to attempt to separate deeply creative fields like music from the scientific thinking required to send humankind into space. But it is that base level of creativity and curiosity that drives us all to explore what’s possible, inspire others, and reach new heights. The most scientific minds all have their…
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Vast attempting to leapfrog industry with the first commercial space station
Who is Vast? Founded in 2021 by Jed McCaleb, who made his billions in cryptocurrency, Vast aims to make it possible for humanity to live in space. The company is a relatively new one, just like the founder’s funding source, but it seems to have made a name for itself with a partnership with SpaceX.…
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SpaceX launches Starlink Group 5-9 to low Earth orbit
SpaceX launched another batch of 56 Starlink internet communication satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) on Sunday, May 14, at 01:03 EDT (05:03 UTC). Launching from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, in Florida, the Starlink Group 5-9 mission marks SpaceX’s fourth launch in May. Starlink Group 5-9 was…
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SES and TESAT to Develop Payload for Europe’s Pioneering Quantum Cryptography Satellite System
EAGLE-1 consortium lead SES announces a new key partner, TESAT, responsible for developing and integrating the Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) payload for the EAGLE-1 satellite. The SES and TESAT partnership is aimed at achieving the next key milestone in building and implementing Europe’s pioneering quantum secure communications initiative EAGLE-1. Supported by the European Space Agency…