Tag: satellites
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Pension fund’s lawsuit questions Amazon’s decisions on Kuiper satellite launch deal
Amazon plans to have satellites sent into orbit by (from left) United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan-Centaur rockets, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rockets and Arianespace’s Ariane rockets. ULA’s Atlas V rockets are also in the mix — but not SpaceX’s rockets, at least for now. (Amazon Illustration) An Ohio-based pension fund has filed a lawsuit alleging that…
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Spin control: Starfish Space makes use of magnetism to stop satellite’s death spiral
An artist’s conception shows Starfish Space’s Otter Pup satellite docking craft. (Starfish Space Illustration) Two and a half months after Starfish Space’s first orbital mission teetered on the edge of failure because its Otter Pup satellite docking system took a wild tumble, the Kent, Wash.-based startup says that it has stopped the spin and is…
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Starfish Space wins $1.8M to keep working on satellite guidance system for Air Force
A stylized illustration shows one satellite closing in to rendezvous with another satellite, with the aid of Starfish Space’s Cephalopod guidance software. (Starfish Space Illustration) Kent, Wash.-based Starfish Space says it’s been awarded $1.8 million by AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force, to support continued development of the company’s Cephalopod…
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Plans for launch of prototype satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper revised … again
An artist’s conception shows an Atlas V rocket launching Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites. (ULA / Amazon) Amazon’s plans to launch the first prototype satellites for its Project Kuiper broadband internet constellation have changed for the second time in a year — and once again, rocket development snags are the reason. The revised plans call for…
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LeoStella super-sizes its platform for small satellites as it takes aim at new markets
An artist’s conception shows a satellite based on LeoStella’s LS-300 bus. (LeoStella Illustration) Tukwila, Wash.-based LeoStella is unveiling its latest, greatest platform for small satellites, which should hit a sweet spot for future manufacturing contracts. LeoStella, which is a joint venture co-owned by European satellite manufacturer Thales Alenia Space and a geospatial data analysis company…
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Spinning spacecraft adds unwelcome twist to Starfish Space’s docking test mission
In this clean-room photo, Starfish Space’s Otter Pup docking spacecraft is attached to the top of Launcher’s Orbiter SN3 space tug. (Launcher / Starfish Space Photo) Starfish Space’s ambitious mission to test its on-orbit satellite docking system has taken an unfortunate turn — or, more precisely, an unfortunate spin. The Kent, Wash.-based startup’s Otter Pup…
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Satellites keep photobombing space images. Astronomers need a fix
Throngs of satellites are streaking across the Hubble Space Telescope’s field of view, leaving what look like scratch marks on space photos and hindering scientists’ work. Teeming swarms of these satellites, which reflect sunlight and mimic astronomical objects, threaten to gradually transform the night sky and affect how astronomy can be done. “We see these…
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SpaceX launch gives a big sendoff to Starfish Space’s satellite docking craft
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from California, sending 72 payloads into space. (SpaceX via YouTube) A well-traveled SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket today launched dozens of satellites, including an experimental docking craft created by a Seattle-area startup called Starfish Space. Starfish Space’s Otter Pup spacecraft was one of 72 payloads that were deployed into…
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LeoStella’s CEO works on the next phase of evolution for the satellite revolution
Former Boeing engineer Tim Kienberger became LeoStella’s CEO in January. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) TUKWILA, Wash. — Will LeoStella go beyond LEO? It’s been four years since LeoStella, a joint venture created by BlackSky and Thales Alenia Space, opened the doors of its Tukwila factory and began building Earth observation satellites that BlackSky could…
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How power is blazing a trail for America’s space effort — and for nuclear startups
An artist’s conception shows a nuclear thermal propulsion system at work in orbit (USNC-Tech Illustration) As more and more hardware goes into Earth orbit, and eventually to the moon and Mars, where will the power to run all those machines come from? That’s one of the questions under consideration at a State of the Space…