SpaceRef

FAA Launches Human Spaceflight Rulemaking Committee

Image credit: Federal Aviation Administration. Today (July 27), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched a 25-member rulemaking committee composed of government and industry officials to ...
SpaceRef

China’s Answer To Starlink Gets A Call from the Central Government

If I may start with a tired, but extremely true pun: covering the Chinese space industry inevitably involves a lot of reading of tea leaves. Speeches and press releases are full of party jargon. The ...
SpaceRef

SPACE2 Tackles In-Space and Off-World Farming

Yufeng Ge, left, and Santosh Pitla inspect the Flexible Robot, or Flex-Ro, which is outfitted with sensors that collect data and help the vehicle avoid obstacles. Image credit: UNL. For humans to ...
SpaceRef

Sierra Space Working with NASA on Crewed Dream Chaser

Dream Chaser shuttle during taxi tests at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Test Center in California. Image credit: Sierra Space. Sierra Space is working with NASA to develop a crewed version of its Dream ...
SpaceRef

NASA Plan to Shoot and Ship Samples of the Red Planet on Hold

NASA Perseverance rover is now on Mars and busily collecting samples, storing the specimens in tubes, then depositing those tubes on the surface for later pick-up. Image credit: NASA. NASA’s ...
SpaceRef

Astroforge Closer to Asteroid Mining with Successful Propulsion Test

Space mining startup AstroForge just got a little bit closer to achieving their goal of mining asteroids for precious metals, after announcing in a press release shared with SpaceRef on Wednesday, ...
SpaceRef

Emposat’s Funding Round Highlights Growth Areas for Telemetry, Tracking, and Command

Emposat’s Global TT&C Network. Image credit: Emposat. Oftentimes when people think of the emerging commercial space sector, two things come to mind: rockets and satellites. This is not surprising, as ...
SpaceRef

Ariane 5’s Final Flight – A Look Back as Ariane 6’s Costly Succession Looms

Update: unacceptable winds forced a launch delay on Tuesday, July 4. The launch occurred at 6:00 PM EDT on Wednesday July 5. Following a two-week delay caused by faulty pyrotechnical transmission ...
SpaceRef

SpeQtral-1 will serve as a pathfinder commercial demonstrator for future quantum key distribution services

SpeQtral, a leading quantum communication technology company, has chosen Kongsberg NanoAvionics (NanoAvionics) as the satellite bus provider for its upcoming SpeQtral-1 mission. The second partner in ...
SpaceRef

The UK Civil Aviation Authority is Streamlining its Space Launch Licensing Process, Following Complaints

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is taking steps to streamline its licensing procedures, following complaints about it delaying launches from Great Britain. The issue of CAA delays was cited in ...
SpaceRef

How a Team From Italy Won the First Hack-a-Sat Satellite Hacking Contest

Members of mHACKeroni accept their prize for winning Hack-a-Sat. Image credit: Sarah McNulty, Space Systems Command. Lots of strange and disconcerting things have been hacked at the annual DEF CON ...
SpaceRef

National In-Space Servicing, Assembly, And Manufacturing Implementation Plan

The development of In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) capabilities represents the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to scientific and technological innovation, economic ...