Tag: Launch
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Rocket Report: Lightning strikes in China; Starship launch on deck
Welcome to Edition 9.04 of the Rocket Report! We’ve had to wait an extra week for SpaceX to get its 13th Starship test flight off the ground. A last-second abort on July 16 led engineers to roll the booster back to its hangar in South Texas to swap out engines. Starship is now back on…
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Kuva Space Expands Hyperspectral Earth Observation with Hyperfield Satellite Constellation
Kuva Space is advancing Earth observation through the constellation of hyperspectral microsatellites, designed to deliver scientific-grade data and near real-time intelligence for a wide range of commercial, government and environmental applications. By combining hyperspectral imaging, artificial intelligence (AI) and in-orbit data acquisition, the company is building a space-based infrastructure that enables more detailed analysis of…
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SpaceX Targets July 23 for Second Flight of Moon-Bound Starship V3
The 90-minute launch window opens at 6:45 p.m. EDT from Starbase, Texas. During the July 16 attempt, four of the Super Heavy booster’s 33 Raptor 3 engines failed to ignite as the countdown reached zero, triggering an automatic abort seconds before liftoff. Flight 13 will repeat most of the objectives of Flight 12 while adding…
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L3Harris Technologies Delivers SLS Core Stage Engines for Artemis III Mission
L3Harris Technologies has delivered the four RS-25 engines to power the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket as part of the agency’s next Artemis mission set for launch in 2027. “This is a major milestone in our effort to return astronauts to the lunar surface,” said Kristin Houston, President, Space Propulsion & Power…
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NASA Awards Intuitive Machines $148.3 Million Lunar Lander Contract
Intuitive Machines, Inc., a space technology, infrastructure, and services company, has announced it has received a firm-fixed-price contract from NASA valued at up to $148.3 million to deliver a production-line-qualified Nova-C lander to the Moon no later than 2028. The award supports NASA’s lunar surface delivery schedule and supports Moon Base operational sites in support…
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Muon Space Launches First Three Operational FireSat Satellites for Earth Fire Alliance
Muon Space, the Mission Foundry for high-performance satellite constellations, announced the successful launch of the first three operational satellites for Earth Fire Alliance’s (EFA) FireSat constellation. The satellites established contact with ground operators within 120 minutes after deployment and are healthy as they begin commissioning. The launch marks FireSat’s transition from a single demonstration spacecraft…
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ispace-U.S. Provides Update on Draper CLPS CP-12 Contract
ispace technologies U.S., an American lunar exploration company and subsidiary of ispace, and Draper, a non-profit research, development and manufacturing company, announced that Draper has mutually agreed with NASA to end the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) task order CP-12. Since July 2022, ispace-U.S served as a subcontractor to Draper to provide a lunar lander…
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IHI and Kuva Space Collaborate to Add Hyperspectral Sensors to Earth Observation Constellation
IHI Corporation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kuva Space, a Finnish space-technology company developing hyperspectral Earth-observation satellites and AI-powered intelligence solutions, to explore the development and use of hyperspectral satellite capabilities as part of IHI’s planned multi-sensor constellation. The collaboration will support IHI’s ambition to strengthen Japan’s sovereign Earth-observation and intelligence capabilities,…
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Interlune Demonstrates 99% Pure Helium-3 Production With New Cold Capture Technology
The Seattle-based startup announced that its proprietary Cold Capture™ technology successfully extracted and purified helium-3 from Grade A helium. Rather than waiting until the 2030s for material from the Moon, the company says the system can immediately expand Earth’s supply of one of the world’s rarest industrial gases while validating the same core technology it…
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Slingshot Aerospace Develops AI Space Solutions for Space Ops and Domain Awareness
Slingshot Aerospace is developing a portfolio of AI-powered space solutions designed to help government agencies, commercial satellite operators, manufacturers, research organizations and defence users manage increasingly complex orbital operations. Through the Space Operations Intelligence & Autonomy (SOIA) architecture, the company combines sensing, data fusion, simulation, analytics and AI-driven decision support within a unified operational environment,…