Author: starpathwp-production
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Crew-11 to cut mission short and return to Earth due to medical issue
Crew 11 during training before launch last August (left to right): Cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Crew 11 commander Zena Cardman and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui. Image: NASA Four space station fliers have been told to cut their mission short and return to Earth ahead of schedule because of an apparently serious medical…
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Eutelsat Taps Former Maersk Exec for Key Connectivity Role
Eutelsat has hired a former Maersk exec as it looks to boost revenues in the connectivity space. It has appointed Eva Birgitte Bisgaard as its new president of the Connectivity business unit. Bisgaard will also join Eutelsat’s Group’s executive committee. Bisgaard will replace Cyril Dujardin who is transitioning to a new executive role within the…
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Twilight Rideshare Mission Deploys the First Tranche of Kepler’s Optical Network
SpaceX’s “Twilight” rideshare mission on Sunday deployed the first tranche of Kepler Communications’ next-generation optical satellite constellation. The Twilight mission launched on a Falcon 9 rocket on Jan. 11 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, taking off at 5:44 a.m. PT. The mission launched to dusk-dawn Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO). There were 40 payloads on…
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Rocket Report: A new super-heavy launch site in California; 2025 year in review
Welcome to Edition 8.24 of the Rocket Report! We’re back from a restorative holiday, and there’s a great deal Eric and I look forward to covering in 2026. You can get a taste of what we’re expecting this year in this feature. Other storylines are also worth watching this year that didn’t make the Top…
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NASA orders “controlled medical evacuation” from the International Space Station
NASA officials said Thursday they have decided to bring home four of the seven crew members on the International Space Station after one of them experienced a “medical situation” earlier this week. The space agency has said little about the incident, and officials have not identified which crew member suffered the medical issue. James “JD”…
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Artemis 2’s rocket will roll to the pad in less than two weeks
We’re getting closer and closer to the beginning of launch operations for NASA’s Artemis 2 mission around the Moon; the first crewed mission to the Moon since the 1970s. The rocket, NASA’s Space Launch System, will begin its launch readiness with its rollout to Launch Complex 39B in just a few weeks. NASA‘s massive Space…
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What is Payload Integration in CubeSats & Small Satellites?
A payload is the mission-specific equipment carried by a satellite to fulfill its primary objective. Unlike the satellite bus which provides power, communication, propulsion and control, the payload is the reason the satellite exists. The rapid growth of CubeSats and Small Satellites (SmallSats) has transformed access to space, enabling cost-effective missions for Earth observation, communications,…
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China’s Mars rover discovers longer water existence on red planet
By studying the detection data of China’s first Mars rover, Zhurong, Chinese geologists have found that the Martian surface had still exhibited significant aqueous activity approximately 750 million years ago. This discovery shows that water existed on Mars several hundred million years longer than previously thought. The study, conducted by a research team from the…
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Voyager Awarded NASA HUNCH Contract
Voyager Technologies was awarded a contract with NASA for the Create Hardware (HUNCH) program, extending Voyager’s role in advancing workforce development while supporting human spaceflight operations. HUNCH provides high school students with hands-on experience designing and fabricating hardware used by NASA, including for the International Space Station. Under the renewed contract, Voyager will build on…
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Missile Defense Agency Selects MDA Space for SHIELD Program
MDA Space, a trusted mission partner to the rapidly expanding global space industry, announced it has received an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract from the Missile Defense Agency for the Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) program. This contract award positions MDA Space to bid on future tasks and services that support the expansive…