Author: starpathwp-production
-
Terran Orbital Receives Rivada Payment
Terran Orbital has started the year by announcing two significant financial updates regarding its cash balance as well as an update on its contract with Rivada Space Networks. The company received a milestone payment from Rivada on its constellation contract. Terran Orbital said the amount was for the completion of a program milestone. As a…
-
SpaceX’s first Falcon 9 launch of 2024 features first 6 direct-to-cell Starlink satellites
SpaceX launches its first orbital mission of 2024. The Starlink 7-9 mission featured the first six direct-to-cell satellites. Image: SpaceX Update 9:31 p.m. EST: SpaceX adjusted the presumed liftoff time. SpaceX is wasting no time in kicking off what it plans to be a historically busy year for orbital launches. The company launched its workhorse…
-
US Air Force Contracts Viasat for Five-Year Satellite Tech Overhaul
The U.S. Air Force awarded an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to satellite operator Viasat to provide integrated, multi-domain capabilities for the USAF Life Cycle Management Center (USAF LCMC). Viasat announced the award on Dec. 28. The contract, named LCMC XA IDIQ by the Pentagon, has a five-year term with a ceiling value of $900…
-
Starship: 2023 rocket of the year as voted by you
At the beginning of this week I chose 10 rockets that either debuted, retired, or continue operating in 2023 for your vote. Here is the list of each rocket and their percentage of the vote: Starship – 50% Falcon 9 – 38.16% Falcon Heavy – 5.26% Ariane 5 – 2.63% Electron – 2.63% Alpha –…
-
SpaceX closes out record-breaking 2023, prepares for more records in 2024
SpaceX has closed out its most successful and record-breaking year yet. Its Falcon program broke several records for booster and fairing reuse, launch cadence, and tonnage to orbit. Alongside the Falcon program, the Dragon program sent more cargo and more people to orbit and it saw capsules pushing Dragon’s reusability records. The company also debuted…
-
India kicks off 2024 orbital launch year with X-ray observatory mission
The fourth PSLV-DL rocket to date launched the morning of Jan. 1, 2024, kicking off the orbital launch year. Image: ISRO The orbital launch calendar began just hours into the first day of 2024 based on Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). At 0340 UTC (9:10 a.m. IST or 10:40 p.m. EST on Dec. 31), a rocket…
-
A cat video highlighted a big year for lasers in space
It’s been quite a year for laser communications in space. In October and November, NASA launched two pioneering demonstrations to test high-bandwidth optical communication links, and these tech demos are now showing some initial results. On December 11, a laser communications terminal aboard NASA’s Psyche spacecraft on the way to an asteroid linked up with…
-
SpaceX rounds out 2023 with 98 total launches
Last night SpaceX set a record for the quickest turnaround between launches yet with the USSF-52 mission and Starlink Group 6-36 lifting off less than three hours apart. For once, you could have sat out on the Cocoa Beach and saw two launches without moving, maybe only have a short snack in-between. The USSF-52 mission…
-
SpaceX launches two rockets—three hours apart—to close out a record year
It seems like SpaceX did everything this year but launch 100 times. On Thursday night, the launch company sent two more rockets into orbit from Florida. One was a Falcon Heavy, the world’s most powerful rocket in commercial service, carrying the US military’s X-37B spaceplane from a launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at…
-
JAXA Announces Launch Schedule of Second H3 Launch Vehicle
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announced the launch schedule of the second H3 Launch Vehicle (H3TF2: Test Flight No.2. The H3TF2 will carry the Vehicle Evaluation Payload-4 (VEP-4) to conduct the flight demonstration. In addition, we will capitalize on the excess launch capability of the H3TF2 by providing launch and orbit insertion opportunities…