Tag: Propulsion Systems
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Sierra Space’s Shooting Star Module Commences Testing at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility
Sierra Space, a pureplay commercial space company building the first end-to-end business and technology platform in space, announced the commencement of a comprehensive testing campaign for the Shooting Star cargo module at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. This pivotal phase of testing aims to validate the spacecraft’s resilience to the demands of…
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Ursa Major Raises $138 Million for Launching Solid Rocket Motor Line
Ursa Major, one of America’s leading privately funded companies focused solely on rocket propulsion, announced that it closed $138 million in its Series D and D-1 funding rounds. The investments were led by Explorer 1 Fund and Eclipse, and include RTX Ventures, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Exor Ventures, Mack & Co., LLC, XN,…
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NASA Advances Toward Using Plutonium-238 for Fueling Space Missions
The recent shipment of heat source plutonium-238 from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory to its Los Alamos National Laboratory is a critical step toward fueling planned NASA missions with radioisotope power systems. This shipment of 0.5 kilograms (a little over 1 pound) of new heat source plutonium oxide is the…
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Ursa Major Introduces New Innovative Solution for Solid Rocket Motor Design and Manufacturing
Ursa Major is proud to introduce Lynx, a new approach to designing and manufacturing solid rocket motors (SRM). Lynx redefines a market plagued by a broken supply chain and an overextended industrial base. With Lynx, Ursa Major offers a revolutionary solution to America’s SRM shortage with a faster, more affordable process, leveraging 3D printing to…
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Amazon’s Project Kuiper Protoflight Mission Achieves 100% Success Rate
Amazon started Project Kuiper with the goal of providing fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world. Within 30 days of sending two prototype satellites into space, Project Kuiper has achieved a 100% success rate for its Protoflight mission, validating key technologies that underpin the network and moving the program another step…
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NASA’s DSOC Experiment Aboard Psyche Transmits First Laser Encoded Test Data
NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment has beamed a near-infrared laser encoded with test data from nearly 10 million miles (16 million kilometers) away – about 40 times farther than the Moon is from Earth – to the Hale Telescope at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California. This is the farthest-ever demonstration…
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Rogue Space Systems Announces Hosted Payload Demonstration Program with RocketStar
Rogue Space Systems Corporation, one of the leaders in the development of in-space services, has announced a new hosted payload demonstration with RocketStar that has the potential to take space propulsion to the next level. This hosting is set to launch RocketStar’s innovative water-based propulsion system into orbit aboard the next-generation Rogue Orbot. “This will…
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Dawn Aerospace Announces the Formation of New Subsidiary Expanding Operations to France
Dawn Aerospace, a space transportation company with offices in the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the USA, announced the formation of a new subsidiary, Dawn Aerospace France SAS, based in Toulouse. This marks another milestone in the company’s expansion, creating a permanent presence in one of the world’s most renowned aerospace hubs. “We are excited to…
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Rogue Space Systems’ Orbital Service Vehicle Successfully Launched on SpaceX Transporter-9
Rogue Space Systems, creator of Orbots, autonomous AI robots that provide in-space infrastructure and services, has announced the successful launch and deployment of its first spacecraft, Barry-1. The satellite was launched on SpaceX’s Transporter-9 mission via Exolaunch on November 11, 2023. Once operational in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Barry-1 will test Rogue’s Scalable Compute Platform…
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Momentus Advances Testing of New Type of Solar Array and Sustainable Spacecraft Thruster
Momentus, a U.S. commercial space company that offers satellite buses, transportation, and other in-space infrastructure services, continues to advance in-space testing of its Microwave Electrothermal Thruster (MET) and recently completed initial in-space testing of its Tape Spring Solar Array (TASSA). MET Testing Continues with Dual-Thruster Firings The MET is the Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicle’s (OSV)…