Author: starpathwp-production
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We’ve flown a radiation-blocking vest to the Moon and back, and it worked
Solar storms, like the one in August 1972 that hit during the gap between the Apollo 16 and Apollo 17 missions, throw bursts of protons intense enough to raise an astronaut’s cancer risk or even cause radiation sickness. Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field absorb this radiation, but crews heading to the Moon or Mars won’t…
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Space Kinetic Wins $50M Space Force Award to Develop Whirlwind Maneuvering System
The company describes a thesis rooted in applying drone economics to orbit, where payloads are cheap, responsive, and potentially disposable. Space Kinetic says it has spent years working with government partners to confirm the underlying physics before maturing the hardware. In November, it received a multimillion dollar DARPA contract to accelerate its architecture for asymmetric…
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Virgin Galactic wants your help naming its new Delta class spaceship
As Virgin Galactic nears christening the first of its next-generation spaceship designed to launch customers on suborbital flights, it still is missing a key component—a name. The self-described “commercial spaceline,” which was founded by British tycoon Richard Branson, has turned to the public to vote on what to call the new vehicle. The spaceplane will…
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Exclusive: Space Kinetic Awarded $50M for Space Maneuverability
Cheap, swarming, and potentially disposable—all words used in drone economics and now one startup wants to apply them to space. On Thursday, Space Kinetic announced a $50M OTA award from the Space Force to develop Whirlwind—its space maneuverability and deployment system. It’s the largest award yet for the company, which raised a $12M seed round…
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Planet Labs to Support Government, Public Services in Rwanda
The Rwanda Government is looking to tap more into the benefits of satellite technology. It is teaming up with Planet Labs as it plans to launch a new national program to provide Planet’s data to governmental agencies, public universities, selected startups, and strategic development partners supporting national development initiatives throughout the country. This deal marks…
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PlanetiQ Completes Testing of Next-Generation GNOMES Satellites Ahead of Launch
PlanetiQ has announced that its next-generation GNOMES satellites have completed a development milestone and are progressing through final preparations ahead of launch later this year. Satellite manufacturing and testing have been completed, marking a step toward deployment of the company’s next-generation satellites and their advanced GNSS radio occultation (GNSS-RO) sensing capabilities. The spacecraft are expected…
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Why Inter-Satellite Laser Communications Have Become a Strategic Battleground for Satellite Internet
In the traditional satellite-to-Earth transmission model, satellites serve only as relay nodes: they forward information but do not process it directly, while ground gateways and terrestrial networks perform the core functions. With inter-satellite links, by contrast, satellites can transmit and exchange information directly without routing every connection through a ground station. Each spacecraft acts as…
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Optus Completes First Part of Project Aurora
Optus, an Australian based telco and satellite player, has achieved a key milestone in the area of satellite life extension. It has completed the first phase of Project Aurora, with the successful undocking of the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) from the Optus D3 satellite. Phase two is now underway, Optus is on track to extend…
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Redwire and Kanematsu Collaborates to Deliver Next-Gen Space Solutions for Japan
Redwire Corporation, a global leader in aerospace and defense technology solutions, announced that it has signed a teaming agreement with Kanematsu Corporation. The collaboration combines Redwire’s advanced space technologies with Kanematsu’s extensive market expertise to support the growth of Japan’s space industry. Under the terms of the agreement, Kanematsu will serve as Redwire’s strategic commercial…
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IonQ’s Space Division Secures NRO Radar Augmentation Contract
IonQ, the world’s leading quantum platform company, announced that Capella, an IonQ company, has been awarded a contract under the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) Radar Commercial Augmentation (RCA) program. Under the contract, the company will provide commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery and data services in support of U.S. national security missions. The award strengthens…