Civil
Europe awards study contract for disruptive satellite constellation ideas
A consortium of more than 20 European space companies said Dec. 8 it won a six-month contract to study disruptive ideas for Europe’s planned satellite broadband constellation.
Former JSC director Mark Geyer passes away
Mark Geyer, former head of the Johnson Space Center and manager of the Orion program, died Dec. 7 of cancer.
China’s SAR satellite surge continues with new constellation plan
A new Chinese constellation for disaster prevention, early warning and natural resource monitoring will bring yet more players into developing small synthetic aperture satellites in the country.
NASA announces new astronauts as safety panel recommends strategic planning for space exploration
NASA announced a new class of astronauts that will be eligible for missions to the moon on the same day the agency’s safety advisers called for strategic planning to ensure success in those exploration efforts.
The SpaceNews Awards 2021: Meet the nine winners
In such a remarkable year for commercial, civil and military space, picking winners wasn’t easy. In the end, SpaceNews editors, reporters and trusted advisers agreed on nine individuals, organizations and trends deserving recognition.
Arianespace expands Galileo constellation to 28 satellites
Arianespace successfully launched another two satellites for Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system Dec. 4, growing the constellation to 28 in orbit.
India’s Chandrayaan-2 maneuvered to avoid close approach to NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
India’s Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter maneuvered in October to avoid a close approach to NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft, a conjunction both agencies have acknowledged but have said little more about.
NASA to award SpaceX three more commercial crew flights
NASA announced Dec. 3 its intent to purchase three more commercial crew missions from SpaceX as a hedge against further delays in the certification of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner.
Northrop Grumman wins NASA contract for SLS booster production
NASA awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman Dec. 2 for the production of several pairs of Space Launch System solid rocket boosters as well as development of a new version of the booster.
NASA awards funding to three commercial space station concepts
NASA issued awards Dec. 2 valued at more than $400 million to three groups of companies to advance development of commercial space stations, keeping those efforts on track to succeed the International Space Station by the end of the decade despite skepticism from the agency’s inspector general.
Biden administration turns focus to space security
At the first meeting of the Biden administration’s National Space Council Dec. 1, Vice President Kamala Harris said a top concern is keeping space safe for military, civilian and commercial operations.
NASA inspector general warns of space station gap
Concerns about the long-term viability of some existing International Space Station modules and the potential of delays in development of commercial space stations heighten the risk of a gap in low Earth orbit destinations, a new report warns.
NASA postpones ISS spacewalk because of debris
NASA postponed a spacewalk outside the International Space Station by two astronauts just hours before it was scheduled to start after getting a warning that debris would pass close to the station.
Russian node module docks with ISS
A node module billed as the final Russian element of the International Space Station docked with the station Nov. 26.
JWST undamaged from payload processing incident
Launch preparations for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will resume after testing found no damage to the spacecraft from a payload processing incident earlier this month.
Falcon 9 launches DART
A SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launched a NASA mission that will deliberately collide with a near Earth asteroid to test a technique that could be used to deflect the trajectory of any future asteroid on a collision course with the Earth.
