NASA has delivered a retroreflector array to ESA that will allow the Lunar Pathfinder mission to be pinpointed by laser ranging stations back on Earth as it orbits the Moon. Such centimetre level laser measurements will serve as an independent check on the spacecraft as it fixes its position using Galleo and GPS signals from an unprecedented 400 000 km away from Earth – proving the concept of lunar satnav while also relaying telecommunications ahead of ESA’s dedicated Moonlight initiative.

NASA will continue a lunar smallsat mission for launch in mid-2023 despite exceeding its cost cap by 30%.

The post NASA to continue Lunar Trailblazer despite cost overrun appeared first on SpaceNews.

Washington DC (UPI) Nov 9, 2021
California-based rocket company Astra will lay off 16% of its workforce, it announced with its quarterly financial report Tuesday. The company reported a net loss of $199.1 million in the third quarter, including $133 million in impairment charges, and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $41.4 million. Its revenue was $2.8 million. Reducing the workforce will help Astra save funds, a port

Boulder CO (SPX) Nov 10, 2022
For the first time in its eight years orbiting Mars, NASA's MAVEN mission witnessed two different types of ultraviolet aurorae simultaneously, the result of solar storms that began on Aug. 27. MAVEN - the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission - is the only asset at Mars able to observe the Sun's activity and the response of the thin Martian atmosphere at the same time. Real-time a

Washington DC (UPI) Nov 9, 2021
NASA has decided to re-schedule its Artemis 1 mission launch to Nov. 16, "pending safe conditions for employees to return to work." The space agency is monitoring Tropical Storm Nicole Wednesday morning as it approaches the eastern coast of Florida. "Adjusting the target launch date will allow the workforce to tend to the needs of their families and homes, and provide sufficient

Wallops Island VA (SPX) Nov 10, 2022
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has announced it plans to launch its first Electron mission from Virginia during a launch window opening December 7 EST. The mission, named "Virginia is for Launch Lovers," will deploy satellites for leading radio frequency geospatial analytics provider HawkEye 360. It will be Rocket Lab's first lift-off from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space's Mid-Atla

Washington (AFP) Nov 10, 2022
Tropical Storm Nicole slowed after making landfall in the US state of Florida, meteorologists said Thursday, with high winds raising concerns that a long-delayed NASA rocket launch could be disrupted. The storm, a rare occurrence this late in the year, sparked mandatory evacuation orders just weeks after Florida was battered by Hurricane Ian. But just an hour after Nicole made landfall a

Adelaide, Australia (SPX) Nov 10, 2022
SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre, has announced a project agreement to further develop new Search and Rescue (SAR) beacon technologies with partner NASA. Australia and the United States, as leaders in the field, have a long history of cooperation in Search and Rescue. In 2020 NASA and SmartSat announced a collaboration to advance satellite-based emergency communications and Search and

Luxembourg (SPX) Nov 10, 2022
A leading African mining company based in the DRC will be enjoying high-speed satellite-based connectivity services as part of a new agreement between Shevon and SES, the two companies announced today. The two-year agreement will see Shevon provide for the first time SES's O3b Medium earth Orbit (MEO) high-throughput and low-latency connectivity services, enabling the DRC mining company to

Herndon VA (SPX) Nov 10, 2022
HawkEye 360 Inc., the world's leading commercial provider of space-based radio frequency (RF) data and analytics, today announced its Cluster 6 next-generation satellites is scheduled to launch during a 13-day window that opens on December 7 aboard the inaugural Rocket Lab Electron flight at Virginia Space's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. The satellites wi