Posted on March 2, 2015, at 3:19 pm .
Founder and CEO Peter Beck displays Rocket Lab’s accumulated expertise in carbon composite launch vehicles. (Credit: Rocket Lab)
LOS ANGELES, March 2, 2015 (Rocket Lab PR) — Rocket Lab announced today that it has completed a Series B financing round, led by Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) with full participation from existing investors Khosla Ventures and K1W1 investment fund. In addition, Lockheed Martin will make a strategic investment in Rocket Lab to support the exploration of future aerospace technologies.
The company will use the funding to complete the Electron launch system and plans to begin operations as a commercial launch provider as early as 2016.
Continue reading ‘Rocket Lab Closes Series B Funding Round, Receives Lockheed Martin Investment’
Posted on March 2, 2015, at 9:54 am .
This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston:
1. Monday, March 2, 2015: 2-3:30 PM PST (5-6:30 PM EST; 4-5:30 PM CST): We welcome back Dr. James Dewar on nuclear propulsion. This program is co-hosted with Dr. John Jurist.
2. Tuesday, March 3,, 2015:,7-8:30 PM PST (10-11:30 PM EST, 9-10:30 PM CST): We welcome back Anatoly Zak for updates with the Russian space program.
3. Friday, March 6,, 2015; 9:30 -11 AM PST (12:30-2 PM EST; 11:30-1 PM CST): No show today. ..
4. Sunday, 8, 2015: 12-1:30 PM PST (3-4:30 PM EST, 2-3:30 PM CST): OPEN LINES. All space, STEM, and first time callers are welcome to call in. If you want to be a guest on The Space Show, call us.
Posted on March 2, 2015, at 8:14 am .
PHOENIX, March 2, 2015 (Honeywell PR) — Honeywell Aerospace (NYSE: HON) and OneWeb Ltd. have signed a memorandum of understanding under which Honeywell will provide aircraft equipment and airtime services to bring the benefits of OneWeb’s planned satellite constellation to business, commercial and military aircraft. OneWeb is building a constellation of more than 600 satellites, which will provide approximately 10 terabits per second of high-speed Internet access to billions of people around the world, even in the most remote areas.
Continue reading ‘OneWeb Partners With Honeywell on High-Speed Satellite Services’
Posted on March 2, 2015, at 7:53 am .
Eutelsat 115 West B satellite (Credit: Eutelsat)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Mar. 2, 2015 (Boeing PR) – Two Boeing [NYSE: BA] 702SP (small platform) satellites, the first all-electric propulsion satellites to launch, have sent initial signals from space, marking the first step toward ABS, based in Bermuda, and Eutelsat, based in Paris, being able to provide enhanced communication services to their customers. What’s more, the satellites were launched as a conjoined stack on a single SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, demonstrating a patented Boeing technology that promises to noticeably reduce launch costs.
Continue reading ‘Boeing Receives Signals From First All-Electric Satellites’
Posted on March 2, 2015, at 7:41 am .
Falcon 9 launch (Credit: SpaceX)
SpaceX successfully launched two all-electric communications satellites on Sunday night, marking the first time the company’s Falcon 9 rocket has launched a pair of primary payloads.
The Falcon 9 lifted off on time at 10:50 p.m. EST, lofting the ABS-3A and Eutelsat 115 West B satellites into orbit. The Boeing spacecraft feature lightweight, all-electric xenon-ion propulsion, a first for satellites.
Due to fuel limitations, the rocket’s first stage did not have legs to allow it to land on an off-shore barge.
This was the third Falcon 9 launch of 2015 in what promises to be a busy year for SpaceX.
Posted on March 2, 2015, at 6:14 am .
CubeSat
Paris, Washington D.C., Montreal, Yokohama (Euroconsult PR) – According to Euroconsult’s newly released research titled Prospects for the Small Satellite Market, a total of 510 small satellites, or smallsats (meaning nanosats, cubesats, microsats and minisats) are to be launched in the next five years, a two-third increase in the average number of smallsats per year versus that of the past decade. This total includes 14 constellations of different sizes and capabilities that represent a total of 140 satellites.
75% of the 510 satellites to be launched during the next five years will be for government civil and defense agencies. Growth in government demand will be stronger than in the commercial world where a total of 130 satellites are expected.
Continue reading ‘Euroconsult Sees Large Market for Smallsats’
Posted on March 2, 2015, at 5:00 am .
ESA’s Asteroid Impact Mission spacecraft will be humanity’s first mission to a binary system – the paired Didymos asteroids, which come a comparatively close 11 million km to Earth in 2022. (Credit: APL)
PARIS (ESA PR) – Think of it as the ultimate hitchhiking opportunity: ESA is offering CubeSats a ride to a pair of asteroids in deep space.
CubeSats are among the smallest types of satellites: formed in standard cubic units of 10 cm per side, they provide affordable access to space for small companies, research institutes and universities. One-, two- or three-unit CubeSats are already being flown.
Teams of researchers and companies from any ESA Member State are free to compete. The selected CubeSats will become Europe’s first to travel beyond Earth orbit once the Asteroid Impact Mission (AIM) is launched in October 2020.
Continue reading ‘ESA Launches Competition for Deep Space CubeSats’
Posted on March 2, 2015, at 2:57 am .
The new Alliance for Space Development (ASD) has set out an ambitious agenda for itself, with a set of objectives that include radically reducing the cost of getting to orbit and expanding NASA’s purpose to support the settlement of humanity off the Earth.
Continue reading ‘Space Development Alliance Lays Out Ambitious Agenda’
Posted on March 1, 2015, at 10:01 am .
HILO, Hawaii (PISCES PR) – In early February, the Pacific International Center for Space Exploration Systems (PISCES) submitted three legislative bills intended to further the Center’s project goals and development.
The first bill, SB 672, appropriates general funding for the Center to continue its planetary surface systems work enabling Hawaii to move to the forefront of the aerospace sector, as well as an additional appropriation for the acquisition of a central headquarters and testing facility.
SB 671 is a PISCES-led basalt rebar initiative requesting funds for an engineering study to determine how volcanic basalt can be used as an asset and potential new industry in the state of Hawaii. The study will assess if Hawaii’s basalt can be used as a material in manufacturing basalt rebar – a considerably lighter, and stronger alternative to steel rebar – while investigating the necessary energy support needed for production. The bill requests federal matching funds for the engineering study, to be conducted over a one-year period.
Special Fund bill SB 1158 proposes the establishment of a special fund for the operation, maintenance, and management of all PISCES projects, facilities, services, and publications. The bill also provides the ability for the Center to accept outside revenue.
The bills are currently being evaluated by legislative committees for further approval.
Posted on March 1, 2015, at 8:38 am .
Tapan Misra (Credit: ISRO)
Mr. Tapan Misra, Outstanding Scientist and Deputy Director, Microwave Remote Sensing Area of ISRO’s Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, has assumed the office of the Director, SAC.
Mr Tapan Misra graduated in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from Jadavpur University, Calcutta in 1984. He was awarded the prestigious Sir J C Bose National Talent Search (JBNSTS) Scholarship in 1981.
Continue reading ‘New Director of ISRO’s Space Applications Centre Named’
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