Tag: Planetary Resources
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Planetary Resources asteroid venture misses fundraising target, forcing cutbacks
Artwork shows Planetary Resources’ Arkyd-6 spacecraft in orbit. (Planetary Resources Illustration) Planetary Resources, a Redmond, Wash.-based venture that aims to make a fortune mining asteroids, is facing a more down-to-earth challenge: a fundraising shortfall. Just last month, the company had its Arkyd-6 prototype space telescope launched into orbit by an Indian PSLV rocket, and that spacecraft…
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Asteroid miners might need a few good applied astronomers to show them the way
An artist’s conception shows a long-range view of mining robots working on an asteroid. (Planetary Resources Illustration) AUSTIN, Texas — Mining asteroids for water and other resources could someday become a trillion-dollar business, but not without astronomers to point the way. At least that’s the view of Martin Elvis, a researcher at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for…
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UPDATED: Planetary Resources and Spaceflight Industries mark successful rocket launch in India
Updated on Friday morning with details of launch. A rocket that lifted off from India’s Satish Dhawan Space Center just before 8 p.m. Pacific time Thursday night carried important payloads for two companies from the Seattle region: Spaceflight Industries and Planetary Resources. The Arkyd-6 spacecraft is buckled up and ready for launch onboard PSLV-C40! Image courtesy…
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Planetary Resources’ prototype asteroid prospector set for January liftoff in India
India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle lifts off on a February space mission. (ISRO Photo) Redmond, Wash.-based Planetary Resources’ technology demonstrator satellite for asteroid prospecting is due for launch in early January, along with more than two dozen other satellites, aboard India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. The latest word on the schedule for the PSLV-C40 mission…
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Planetary Resources’ Arkyd-6 prototype imaging satellite has left the building
Workers prepare Planetary Resources’ Arkyd-6 technology demonstrator satellite for shipment at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Wash. (Planetary Resources via YouTube) Planetary Resources has been working on its Arkyd-6 imaging satellite for years, and today the company reported that the printer-sized spacecraft has finally begun its journey to an Indian launch pad. Arkyd-6 is considered…
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Congress toes a cautious line on support for commercial space partnerships
An artist’s conception shows Axiom Space’s commercial space station. (Axiom Space via Vimeo) WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of Congress spoke to space industry leaders on Capitol Hill last week to show their support for the private sector, but both sides expressed frustrations as well. At the sixth annual Future Space conference, U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, the…
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Planetary Resources’ asteroid miners cheer Luxembourg law on space property
Lawmakers in the tiny European country of Luxembourg today approved a measure affirming that space resources can be privately owned. The law, adopted nearly unanimously by Luxembourg’s parliament, also sets up procedures for authorizing and supervising space exploration missions. It will go into force on Aug. 1. Planetary Resources – which is headquartered in Redmond, Wash.,…
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Are asteroids leaving the spotlight? No way, say Asteroid Day activists
An artist’s concept shows asteroids zooming past Earth (NASA / Asteroid Day Illustration) NASA may be closing down its grand plan to study a piece of an asteroid up close, but the researchers who focus on near-Earth objects aren’t turning their backs on massive space boulders. They say it’s just a matter of time before…
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2020 or bust: Planetary Resources is getting more bullish about asteroid mining
Chris Lewicki, CEO of Planetary Resources (GeekWire photo) Planetary Resources CEO Chris Lewicki wants to let Mars-bound rockets carry five times more cargo than what’s possible today — but he doesn’t plan on simply making bigger rockets. The asteroid-mining company believes that rockets can free up some extra space by refueling in space, rather than…
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Luxembourg sets its sights on space resources, with Seattle as launch pad
Luxembourg’s Princess Stephanie and Prince Guillaume bend down to get a good look at Planetary Resources’ Arkyd 6 mini-satellites during a visit to the clean room at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Wash. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) Luxembourg’s royal heir and its top economic official got the grand tour of the Seattle area today,…