Tag: Spaceflight
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Spaceflight buys a whole rocket from SpaceX for small satellites
A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off in April, sending cargo to the International Space Station. The payloads included Planetary Resources’ A3R satellite, which was flown under an arrangement with Seattle-based Spaceflight. (Credit: SpaceX) In the first deal of its kind, Seattle-based Spaceflight says it’s buying a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will be set aside…
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Asteroids loom as the new Klondike for Seattle region’s space industry
An artist’s conception shows an asteroid-hunting telescope in Earth orbit. (Credit: NASA) Seattle could profit from the rush for resources in outer space much as it did during the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s: by selling goods and services to the fortune-seekers. At least that’s the vision laid out by entrepreneurs who are laying the…
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Six small steps that could add up to giant leaps for spaceships
An artist’s conception shows a Magbeam station emitting a plasma beam to propel a target spacecraft beyond Jupiter. (Credit: UW Advanced Propulsion Lab) SPOKANE, Wash. — Is there a better way to power a spaceship? The basic tools of the rocket trade have been refined over the course of nearly nine decades, but there’s only so far…
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Spaceflight Industries inks partnerships to improve its ‘cellphone network for space’
Spaceflight Industries announced a partnership today with Spire Global to expand its network of ground stations for its Spaceflight Networks “cellphone network for space.” The company also announced partnerships with Tethers Unlimited, BitBeam and Syrlinks to produce spacecraft radios. Spaceflight Networks’ expected ground station coverage map for 2017 Under the partnership with Spire, Spaceflight Networks will expand its ground…
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This startup is launching 60 satellites in space to take real-time photos of Earth
BlackSky’s Pathfinder spacecraft will provide real-time images of the Earth. A new Seattle-area startup wants to launch the largest satellite-imaging constellation ever deployed to help take pictures and videos of the Earth. BlackSky Global today announced plans to send satellites into mid-latitude orbits — six in 2016, 60 by 2019 — and provide customers in a variety of industries with images…
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USAF Kestrel Eye 1 spacecraft to ride on Falcon 9 in 2013
The US Air Force’s Kestrel Eye 1 Tactical Imaging Spacecraft spacecraft will head uphill in 2013 as a secondary payload on a commercial Falcon 9 launch. Technically classed as a nanosatellite, the spacecraft will be hosted on the Spaceflight Secondary Payload System (SSPS), as part of SpaceX and Spaceflight’s Launch Services Agreement (LSA). Kestrel Hitching…
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SpaceX deal boosts Falcon 9’s secondary payload manifest
SpaceX and Spaceflight Inc. have agreed to a Launch Services Agreement (LSA) framework that will allow for a multitude of secondary payloads to hitch a ride uphill with future Falcon 9 launches. Attached to the Spaceflight Secondary Payload System (SSPS), numerous small satellites will be lofted into space on the Falcon 9’s Upper Stage. Hitching…