SpaceRef

China’s Answer To Starlink Gets A Call from the Central Government

If I may start with a tired, but extremely true pun: covering the Chinese space industry inevitably involves a lot of reading of tea leaves. Speeches and press releases are full of party jargon. The ...
SpaceRef

Memorandum of Understanding Between The National Aeronautics And Space Administration and The United States Space Force

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United States Space Force (USSF), through this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), affirm a strong interest in continuing their ...
SpaceRef

NASA OIG: Review of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate Portfolio

With a fiscal year (FY) 2022 budget of $1.1 billion and approximately 2,500 projects under its management, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) oversees a portfolio of space technology ...
SpaceRef

NASA Letter To FCC Regarding SpaceX Starlink Gen 2 System

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) submits this letter in response to the amendment (SAT-AMD-20210818-00105) filed by Space Exploration Holdings, LLC (SpaceX) for a ...
SpaceRef

Using Karst Caves As A Terrestrial Simulation Of Human Bases In Lunar Lava Tubes

If human beings want to survive on the other planets for a long time, they must first find or set up a safe, stable, and long-term shelter. Lunar lava tubes are geological structures of the moon ...
SpaceRef

Emposat’s Funding Round Highlights Growth Areas for Telemetry, Tracking, and Command

Emposat’s Global TT&C Network. Image credit: Emposat. Oftentimes when people think of the emerging commercial space sector, two things come to mind: rockets and satellites. This is not surprising, as ...
SpaceRef

Like a G60 — What’s China Planning with its Other NGSO?

Rendering of “G60 Starlink” Industrial Base. Image credit: ChinaNews.com / Yangtse. For some time, we have been hearing public statements from Chinese decision-makers regarding the country’s LEO ...
SpaceRef

Economic Opportunity Created Through Sustained Lunar Habitation by 2040

NASA illustration of a future lunar outpost. Image credit: NASA. The concept of lunar habitation holds profound implications for scientific exploration, resource utilization, and the expansion of ...
SpaceRef

FAA Proposes Changes To Astronaut Classifications And Other Regulations

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken familiarize themselves with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, the spacecraft that will transport them to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial ...
SpaceRef

NASA Requests Funding for $1 Billion ‘Space Tug’ to Deorbit the ISS

The ISS is too large to entirely burn up in the atmosphere. Image credit: NASA. NASA is developing a plan to deorbit the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of its lifetime, currently ...
SpaceRef

Firefly Aerospace and Xtenti Collaborate to Conduct Responsive Space Demonstration in Support of the NRO

Firefly Aerospace, Inc., an end-to-end space transportation company, today announced a new agreement with Xtenti, LLC, an innovative space logistics company, to conduct a responsive space mission with ...
SpaceRef

Ad Astra Rocket Company Wins Two NASA Contracts For VASIMR Technology Development

Ad Astra Rocket Company (Ad Astra) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have signed two separate contracts to continue the maturation of the VASIMR® rocket technology. The ...