The CRISTAL satellite will feature, for the first-time, a dual-frequency Ku/Ka-band radar altimeter to measure and monitor sea-ice thickness and overlying snow depth. Thales Alenia Space, the joint company between Thales and Leonardo, signed an amendment to the CRISTAL contract with Airbus Defence and Space, prime contractor for the satellite. The amendment provides for the […]
Mission
Tyvak International completes the CDR of the deep space bound Milani smallsat in support of the ESA’s Hera mission
Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP), has announced that the firm’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Tyvak International SRL, and partners have achieved full, Critical Design Review (CDR) of the Milani spacecraft. A critical component of the Hera planetary defense mission, Milani will be the European Space Agency’s (ESA) first, deep-space smallsat. Milani will also be the first smallsat […]
AAC Clyde Space garners million€ avionics contract from Space IL
AAC Clyde Space has won a 0.56 million euros contract for the company’s Sirius avionics for SpaceIL‘s moon mission, Beresheet 2, with the AAC Clyde Space avionics to be delivered during Q1 of 2024. SpaceIL’s previous mission, Beresheet 1, was the first private spacecraft to the Moon. Beresheet 2 is planned to launch in the […]
NanoAvionics to build two smallsats for New Zealand’s Te Pūnaha Ātea Space Institute
Te Pūnaha Ātea Space Institute (TPA-SI) at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, has tasked NanoAvionics to build two nanosatellite platforms, designed in partnership to support educational and technology demonstration missions. These two smallsats are the first commercial contract for NanoAvionics in New Zealand. With a payload mass of up to 3 kg., developed by […]
The main body of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft is completed
The agency’s mission to explore Jupiter’s icy moon takes a big step forward as engineers deliver a major component of the spacecraft. The main body of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft has been delivered to the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Over the next two years there, engineers and technicians will finish assembling the […]
The Airbus Copernicus CRISTAL Mission Satellite Built For The ESA Successfully Passes The PDR
The Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimetry mission CRISTAL is clearly on track. Following an intensive review process, the European Space Agency (ESA) has confirmed that the preliminary design of the satellite meets all system requirements. CRISTAL will carry an advanced, multi-frequency altimeter that will measure sea ice thickness and ice sheet elevations – […]
ESA Contracts Airbus For Further Development Of The Agency’s LISA Mission
Airbus has been awarded a contract by the European Space Agency (ESA) to further develop the implementation of LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), one of the most ambitious science missions ESA has planned to date. With Phase B1 now underway, the detailed mission design and final technology development activities for the gravitational wave observatory are […]
Astroscale’s ELSA-d Mission Successfully Completes Complex Rendezvous Operation
Astroscale Holdings Inc. (“Astroscale”) has announced that, despite several unexpected setbacks, the company’s End-of-Life Services by Astroscale-demonstration (ELSA-d) mission successfully completed further controlled close-approach rendezvous operations between its two spacecraft in orbit. The technologies proven in this demonstration include tracking of an object from a great distance, rendezvous with an uncontrolled object, and handover from […]
NASA Selects The Investigation Teams That Will Join The Geospace Dynamics Mission
NASA has selected three investigation teams to join the agency’s Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) mission science team in studying Earth’s upper atmosphere, as well as five additional investigations that will be under consideration for inclusion in the mission. GDC is a coordinated group of satellites that will provide the first direct global measurements of the […]
Spaceflight’s 50th Mission All Groomed + Set For A Rocket Lab Electron Launch
Spaceflight Inc. is preparing for their 50th mission, which will launch aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket no earlier than April 22. The RL-9 mission, called “There and Back Again,” is scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. Following this launch, Spaceflight will have successfully launched 448 spacecraft across 50 […]