Missions
ESA selects Arianespace for Euclid dark universe probe launch
Arianespace and ESA announced the signing of a contract Tuesday for launch of the Euclid dark universe exploration mission.
Viasat selected to develop military Link 16 communications satellite in low Earth orbit
Viasat will build a small satellite equipped with a Link 16 radio that will serve as a network relay.
Op-ed | Accelerating the U.S. space program requires measured risks
America must continue to be a leader, willing to invest real and intellectual capital, to develop a balanced space exploration program.
Foust Forward | Selling a fuzzy vision of going back to the moon
It’s been nearly six weeks since Vice President Mike Pence charged NASA with landing humans on the moon by 2024. Since then, the space industry, as well as members of Congress, have been seeking answers to two questions: how will NASA carry this out, and for how much?
Boeing receives $605 million Air Force contract for WGS-11 communications satellite
The WGS-11 satellite is being funded with money that Congress inserted into the fiscal year 2018 budget.
Moon 2024: A new sense of urgency
With one sentence, Vice President Mike Pence was directing NASA to accelerate its lunar landing plans by four years, with few details about how it would be accomplished, or for how much.
Op-ed | Lunar Gateway or Moon Direct?
NASA has proposed to build a lunar orbiting space station, called the lunar Gateway, to use as a base for lunar exploration. This plan is severely defective.
Air Force experiment NTS-3 could point the way to the next generation of GPS
The Air Force Research Laboratory in 2022 will launch an experimental PNT satellite called NTS-3, short for Navigation Technology Satellite 3.
SSL cancels DARPA satellite servicer agreement
The company said it backed out the servicer program in order to focus on "other capital priorities, such as WorldView Legion.”
IAI to partner with OHB on lunar delivery services
The Israeli company that built a privately funded lunar lander scheduled for launch next month is partnering with a German firm to offer similar landers for future European Space Agency missions.
NASA making renewed efforts to contact Mars rover Opportunity
NASA is making a new, and perhaps final, attempt to restore contact with the Mars rover Opportunity, which has not communicated with the Earth for more than six months.
Copernicus budget gets budget boost from European Commission
The European Commission allocated another 96 million euros ($109 million) for the European Space Agency to spend on the Copernicus Earth-observation program in the next two years.
NASA changes crew for Boeing commercial crew test flight
NASA announced Jan. 22 that it is replacing an astronaut who was scheduled to fly on a commercial crew test flight later this year because of a medical issue.
ArianeGroup and PTScientists to study lunar lander mission for ESA
ESA has awarded a contract to a group that includes Europe’s largest launch services provider and a former Google Lunar X Prize competitor to study a concept for a mission to mine lunar regolith.
House spending bill fires warning shot at JWST
A new appropriations bill the House plans to vote on next week would provide $21.5 billion for NASA in 2019 but warns that any further problems with the James Webb Space Telescope could lead to its cancellation.
JPL is still at work, for now
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory may have to consider furloughing employees if the government shutdown lasts much longer.
