Author: starpathwp-production
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Starship program conducts major test, firing 31 of 33 Super Heavy engines
SpaceX’s Starship program has reached a major milestone ahead of its historic launch with a static fire test of Booster 7, successfully firing 31 of the booster’s 33 engines for the full planned duration. The test aimed to validate numerous systems, not least the Ground Support Equipment (GSE), which has never previously had to cater…
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Mynaric Delivers Laser Terminals to Telesat for DARPA Blackjack program
Mynaric has delivered multiple lasercom terminals to Telesat for the operators’ satellites involved in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Blackjack Track B program. The company announced Wednesday that it delivered multiple Condor Mk2 optical communications terminals to Telesat’s government subsidiary, Telesat Government Solutions. This was Mynaric’s first delivery for space-based optical terminals. Blackjack…
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AST SpaceMobile to Increase the Scope of Cellular Connectivity in Brazil with Space-Based Cellular Broadband
AST SpaceMobile, the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by standard mobile phones, announced the signing of a non-binding memorandum of understanding (“MoU”) with TIM, one of Brazil’s leading mobile network operators, with the aim of increasing the scope of cellular connectivity and bringing space-based coverage to Brazil. AST…
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Rocket Lab Rolls Out Software-Defined Radio and Reaction Wheels for Small Satellites
Rocket Lab is rolling out two new space systems products for small satellites, a new software-defined radio and reaction wheels. These new components add to the company’s line of products for manufacturing small satellites from solar power to mission software, separation systems, star trackers, radios, and reaction wheels. The new Frontier-X radio is a radio…
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Shenzhou XV astronauts to conduct first spacewalk
The Shenzhou XV mission crew, who are now inside the Tiangong space station, are scheduled to carry out their first spacewalk soon, according to the China Manned Space Agency. The agency said in a brief news release on Wednesday afternoon the Shenzhou XV astronauts — mission commander Major General Fei Junlong, Senior Colonel Deng Qingming…
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China starts development of new Fengyun-3 meteorological satellites
The development of China’s 4th batch of Fengyun-3 (FY-3) meteorological satellites has been launched, according to the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Upgraded from the FY-1 series, the FY-3 series is the second generation of Chinese polar-orbiting meteorological satellites and is designed to beef up the…
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China to advance lunar exploration program
China will push forward its phase-4 lunar exploration program this year, including a planned mission to bring 2 kilograms of samples from the far side of the moon back to Earth, Wu Weiren, chief designer of the country’s lunar exploration program, revealed on Monday. Wu said China will continue its lunar research with the Chang’e-6,…
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Maxar Logs 5-Year NGA Contract for Foreign Commercial Imagery Worth $192M
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) awarded Maxar Technologies a five-year Foreign Commercial Imagery Program contract worth up to $192 million. Under the contract announced Wednesday, Maxar will provide U.S. allies and partners with commercial imagery services including high-resolution electro-optical, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and 3D data products. This includes SecureWatch imagery and analytics; the Rapid…
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SpaceX ready for 33-engine test of Starship’s Super Heavy booster
The Super Heavy booster for SpaceX’s new Starship mega-rocket is powered by 33 methane-fueled Raptor engines, seen here in a file photo from last year. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX is gearing up for the first full-up test-firing Thursday of all 33 engines on the booster for the company’s Starship mega-rocket in Texas, a critical milestone on…
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SpaceX Launches D-Orbit’s OTV ION in a First Mid-Inclination Orbit
Space logistics and orbital transportation company D-Orbit launched Starfield, the eighth commercial mission of their proprietary orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) ION Satellite Carrier (ION), and the first one in a midinclination orbit. The OTV lifted off, on January 31st, 2023, at 8:15 a.m. PT (16:15 UTC) aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Launch…