Thales Alenia Space has signed an agreement with Italian startup MIPRONS to develop an innovative propulsion system for satellites that uses water as a fuel. Based on MIPRONS’ proprietary technology, with the Italian patent being extended to 49 other countries, this miniaturized, high-thrust thruster will use a green, cost-effective propellant — water. An electrolysis process […]
SmallSats
Startical’s European air traffic management to space project supported by European Union
Startical, created by Indra and ENAIRE, proposes to launch a constellation of smallsats to improve air traffic management (ATM) and has received significant backing from the European Commission, which will support the development of a key demonstrator to speed up the deployment of the solution. The Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), through the […]
Thales Alenia Space + QinetiQ to pave the way for multi-mission smallsats in VLEO
Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), and QinetiQ have signed a study contract with the European Space Agency to pave the way for multi-mission smallsats to operate in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). The Phase A/B1 study will advance the design of Skimsat demonstrator, a VLEO multi-mission (<300 km.) […]
Airbus + Australian Space + partners all sign a strategic agreement with the Australian Department of Defence
Airbus, with its team of Australian Space industry and academia, has signed a multi-year, strategic partnership agreement to support the Australian Department of Defence’s research program — Resilient Multi-mission Space (RMS) STaR Shot. Under the agreement, the team will advance the development and maturation of leap-ahead technologies in support of the Australian Defence Force. It […]
Thales Alenia Space and QinetiQ introduce small multi-mission satellites in Very Low Earth Orbit
A<300km) satellite that aims to significantly reduce the cost of Earth observation while increasing performance by operating at substantially lower altitudes. Thales Alenia Space and QinetiQ have signed a study contract with the European Space Agency to pave the way for small multi-mission satellites to operate in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). The Phase A/B1 […]
Significant milestone reached by Rocket Lab for the DARPA + SDA Mandrake-II mission
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”) has supported a significant milestone for DARPA and the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Mandrake-2 mission. In June, the two Mandrake-2 spacecraft, Able and Baker, successfully demonstrated closing and maintaining an optical communications link for the full test duration of 40 minutes at a range […]
Topping off the new Vega-C rocket on its maiden flight is a freshly-designed fairing developed by Beyond Gravity
On Wednesday, July 13th, the new, medium-lift, European Vega-C rocket lifted off from the European spaceport in Kourou for its inaugural flight. The rocket launched the “LARES 2” Laser Relativity satellite, built by OHB Italia for the Italian space agency [ASI]. The spherical satellite enables research into geodynamics and general relativity. The top of the […]
Carnegie Mellon Engineering’s orbital edge computing work to improve smallsat capabilities
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering are setting out on a mission to reimagine the capabilities of nanosatellites (smallsats) in LEO. Backed by a $7 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) Frontiers Program, the CMU initiative will transform constellations of smallsats into sophisticated, distributed, computing platforms, building the […]
D-Orbit signs launch + deployment contract with Kepler Communications
D-Orbit has signed a launch and deployment contract with Kepler Communications that covers the launch of two, 6U, telecommunications smallsats. The satellites will be boarded inside the ION Satellite Carrier (ION), D-Orbit’s proprietary, versatile, and cost-effective, orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) designed to precisely deploy satellites and perform technology demonstrations of third-party payloads on-orbit. After launch, […]
Plasmos to build a reusable space tug
A space tug that is fully reusable as well as a delivery system that addresses the last mile is being developed by Plasmos Inc., using the company’s developed propulsion capability Ali Baghchehsara, the CEO of Plasmos, stated that he has been considering starting a space tug company for a while, but that he was not […]