Space – Page 2 of 84

Blue Origin spacefliers in suborbital New Shepard capsule

Blue Origin will work with NASA on orbital transportation system for astronauts

by Alan Boyle on June 15, 2023June 16, 2023 at 9:54 am

NASA says it will collaborate with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture on the development of new space transportation capabilities that will provide high-frequency access to low Earth orbit for… Read More

Former Spaceflight CEO Curt Blake joins law firm to focus on new space ventures

by Alan Boyle on June 15, 2023June 15, 2023 at 5:43 pm

Spaceflight Inc.’s former CEO, Curt Blake, is joining the Seattle office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati at a time when the California-based law firm is launching an industry group… Read More

Illustration: Cutaway view of Enceladus with water spewing from surface

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Scientists trace phosphates to Enceladus, boosting outlook for life on Saturn’s moon

by Alan Boyle on June 14, 2023June 14, 2023 at 8:59 am

Phosphorus, an essential ingredient for life as we know it, has been detected for the first time in water samples that can be traced back to Enceladus, an ice-covered moon… Read More

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SpaceX launch gives a big sendoff to Starfish Space’s satellite docking craft

by Alan Boyle on June 12, 2023June 12, 2023 at 4:38 pm

A well-traveled SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket today launched dozens of satellites, including an experimental docking craft created by a Seattle-area startup called Starfish Space. Starfish Space’s Otter Pup spacecraft was… Read More

Sherpa orbital transfer vehicle in clean room

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Firefly Aerospace acquires Spaceflight Inc. to boost capabilities for on-orbit services

by Alan Boyle on June 8, 2023June 8, 2023 at 4:40 pm

Texas-based Firefly Aerospace says it has acquired Bellevue, Wash.-based Spaceflight Inc. and will shift the operation’s focus from satellite rideshare logistics to its line of orbital transfer vehicles. Firefly says… Read More

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LeoStella’s CEO works on the next phase of evolution for the satellite revolution

by Alan Boyle on June 6, 2023June 6, 2023 at 9:37 am

TUKWILA, Wash. — Will LeoStella go beyond LEO? It’s been four years since LeoStella, a joint venture created by BlackSky and Thales Alenia Space, opened the doors of its Tukwila… Read More

Illustration: Lunar power beaming system

NASA awards millions to boost technology innovations created by small businesses

by Alan Boyle on June 5, 2023June 5, 2023 at 3:43 pm

NASA’s latest round of small-business grants will support aerospace-related technologies ranging from a new kind of spacecraft docking mechanism to a power beaming system suitable for use on the moon.… Read More

Axiom Space crew on International Space Station

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Axiom crew splashes down in a SpaceX capsule after doing space station science

by Alan Boyle on May 30, 2023May 30, 2023 at 11:49 pm

The second crew to be sent into space as a profit-making proposition for Texas-based Axiom Space came back to Earth tonight in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule after spending nine… Read More

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LIGO starts its fourth round of searching for gravitational waves and black holes

by Alan Boyle on May 24, 2023May 24, 2023 at 7:25 pm

After three years of upgrading and waiting, due in part to the coronavirus pandemic, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory has officially resumed its hunt for the signatures of crashing black… Read More

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SpaceX sends Axiom’s crew, including two Saudis, to do research on space station

by Alan Boyle on May 21, 2023May 21, 2023 at 3:58 pm

SpaceX and Axiom Space teamed up today to send four spacefliers — including the first Saudi woman in orbit — to the International Space Station for a 10-day trip focusing… Read More

Blue Origin-led team wins $3.4B contract for NASA’s second lunar landing system

by Alan Boyle on May 19, 2023May 19, 2023 at 11:48 pm

An industry team led by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture has won a $3.4 billion NASA contract to provide a second type of landing system for crewed as well… Read More

Human IPS cells imaged by spinning-disk confocal microscope.

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Allen Institute takes on a supporting role in experiment to grow stem cells in space

by Alan Boyle on May 18, 2023May 18, 2023 at 9:53 am

Space: The final frontier … for stem cells? Seattle’s Allen Institute for Cell Science says cells from its collection are going into space for the first time on a private… Read More

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Blue Origin participates in a new round of collaborations with NASA on space tech

by Alan Boyle on April 25, 2023April 25, 2023 at 5:44 pm

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is among 12 companies chosen to collaborate with NASA on new technologies that could become part of future missions to the moon… Read More

Illustration: Orion engine firing during lunar flyby

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Aerojet Rocketdyne wins $67M contract for Orion thrusters built in Seattle area

by Alan Boyle on April 19, 2023April 19, 2023 at 5:11 pm

Aerojet Rocketdyne says it’s received a $67 million contract award from Lockheed Martin to provide propulsion systems for the Orion spacecraft that’ll carry astronauts to the moon during three missions… Read More

Illustration: Three spacecraft planned by companies in AWS Space Accelerator program

Amazon Web Services gets set to ignite space accelerator program’s third stage

by Alan Boyle on April 18, 2023April 18, 2023 at 8:33 am

The 14 startups selected for Amazon Web Services’ third annual AWS Space Accelerator program include a company that’s building 3D-printed space capsules, a company that’s developing a fleet of space… Read More

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Microsoft Azure enlists generative AI to help Pentagon look for satellite imagery

by Alan Boyle on April 11, 2023April 11, 2023 at 6:39 am

Can a chatbot help Pentagon planners find the satellite data they need to understand what’s happening in a global hotspot? Microsoft Azure Space recently showed the U.S. military how an… Read More

Illustration: Nyx radioisotope-powered propulsion system

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USNC-Tech wins NASA funding to flesh out proposal for nuclear deep-space probe

by Alan Boyle on April 6, 2023April 6, 2023 at 2:08 pm

Seattle-based USNC-Tech has gotten the green light from NASA to continue development of a rapid-response spacecraft that would use a nuclear-powered propulsion system for deep-space exploration. The company’s proposed Nyx… Read More

Illustration: Nuclear thermal propulsion system

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How power is blazing a trail for America’s space effort — and for nuclear startups

by Alan Boyle on April 5, 2023April 5, 2023 at 9:00 am

As more and more hardware goes into Earth orbit, and eventually to the moon and Mars, where will the power to run all those machines come from? That’s one of… Read More

SpaceX employees cheering at Redmond satellite facility

‘Redmond Space District’ celebrates the Northwest’s hotspot for satellite industry

by Alan Boyle on March 30, 2023March 31, 2023 at 8:46 pm

REDMOND, Wash. — This Seattle-area suburb has played a role in the space industry for more than a half-century, but the city of Redmond is shining brighter than ever on… Read More

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Blue Origin traces launch failure to engine nozzle and says flights will resume ‘soon’

by Alan Boyle on March 24, 2023March 24, 2023 at 12:22 pm

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture says a launch anomaly that forced the suspension of its suborbital spaceflights last September was caused by a structural failure of the rocket engine’s… Read More

Flames from liftoff of Relativity Space's Terran 1 rocket

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Relativity Space launches 3D-printed Terran 1 rocket but falls short of orbit

by Alan Boyle on March 22, 2023March 23, 2023 at 1:31 pm

More than seven years after it was founded in a Seattle co-working space, Relativity Space launched its first 3D-printed rocket on a test mission that began with a triumphant glow… Read More

NRO awards contracts to Xplore and five other hyperspectral imaging companies

by Alan Boyle on March 22, 2023March 22, 2023 at 8:22 pm

The National Reconnaissance Office awarded study contracts to six companies offering — or planning to offer — satellite images of Earth in multiple wavelengths, including Redmond, Wash.-based Xplore. Other companies… Read More

Illustration: Lynk Global satellite coverage footprint for Mongolia demostration

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FCC plans to set up a new framework for connecting satellites with smartphones

by Alan Boyle on March 16, 2023March 17, 2023 at 10:02 am

The Federal Communications Commission plans to set up a new regulatory framework to facilitate hookups between satellite operators and wireless companies, with the objective of connecting smartphone users in remote… Read More

Amazon's Dave Limp with Kindle and Kuiper antenna

‘Open for business’: Amazon shows off antennas for its Kuiper satellite network

by Alan Boyle on March 14, 2023March 14, 2023 at 10:26 am

After years of development, Amazon is showing off the antennas it plans to use for its Project Kuiper satellite broadband network — and says it plans to begin offering beta… Read More

Kymeta team with flat-panel antennas for OneWeb

Satellite plans move ahead for Kymeta and OneWeb — and for SpaceX and T-Mobile

by Alan Boyle on March 13, 2023March 13, 2023 at 8:02 pm

Redmond, Wash.-based Kymeta Corp. says it has completed its first shipment of electronically steered flat-panel antennas to OneWeb for that company’s satellite-based data network. In a news release timed to… Read More

NASA’s economic impact report card for Washington state highlights Blue Origin

by Alan Boyle on March 10, 2023March 10, 2023 at 7:56 pm

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture leads the list of NASA’s Washington state contractors in a newly released analysis of the agency’s economic impact. The analysis came out today when… Read More

Illustration: Otter servicing vehicle docked to larger satellite in orbit

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Starfish Space raises $14M to advance development of satellite servicing vehicles

by Alan Boyle on March 8, 2023March 8, 2023 at 10:32 am

Starfish Space, a Seattle-area startup founded by two veterans of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture, has raised $14 million in funding to support its plans to develop spacecraft capable… Read More

Illustration: Stoke Space second stage in orbit

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Godspeed, Stoke Space! Rocket startup gets John Glenn’s launch pad at the Cape

by Alan Boyle on March 8, 2023March 9, 2023 at 10:03 am

Kent, Wash.-based Stoke Space says it’s won the go-ahead to take over the Florida launch complex where John Glenn began the trip that made him the first American in orbit… Read More

"Critical Mass" book cover illustration showing space station beyond moon

Fictional plans for building a space station beyond the moon reflect Jeff Bezos’ vision

by Alan Boyle on March 7, 2023April 10, 2023 at 12:41 am

If Jeff Bezos needs a blueprint for building a space station beyond the moon with ore from an asteroid, he just might want to start with “Critical Mass,” a newly published sci-fi… Read More

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Study highlights concerns over satellite interference with Hubble observations

by Alan Boyle on March 2, 2023March 3, 2023 at 8:00 pm

An analysis of more than 100,000 images from the Hubble Space Telescope, conducted with the aid of artificial intelligence and hundreds of human volunteers, confirms that satellites including SpaceX’s Starlink… Read More