SPACE reports a part of Canadarm2 robotic arm on the ISS broke in May, requiring repairs by spacewalking astronauts no earlier than June 30. A spare is already on the…
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Tag: Astronautics
Space Force Advances Plans for New Vandenberg Launch Pad
Spaceflight Now reports, “The U.S. Space Force is seeking potential users of a new launch site at Vandenberg Space Force Base reserved for smaller rockets. The Space Force released a request for information June 8 seeking interest from launch vehicle operators in Space Launch Complex (SLC) 9, a proposed launch site at Vandenberg that would be used for small- and medium-class launch vehicles. Responses to the RFI are due July 8.”
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LeoLabs Deploys First Mobile Space Tracking Radar
Via Satellite reports, “LeoLabs has debuted a new mobile space domain awareness (SDA) tracking radar housed in a shipping container, deploying the first radar in the Asia-Pacific region.”
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Growing Launch Demand Revives Interest in Offshore Rocket Operations
Space News reports, “Concerns that America’s launch infrastructure may not keep pace with rising demand are reviving interest in an unconventional workaround: sea-based rocket launch. Long viewed as a technically difficult niche with a history of commercial failure, companies and defense officials are giving offshore launch a second look as they search for ways to expand United States launch capacity.”
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Low Earth Orbit Emerges as a New Frontier for Pharmaceutical Innovation
CNBC reports, “The highly anticipated SpaceX mega-IPO is part of a space frenzy that is moving beyond satellite connectivity, launch vehicles, and aerospace defense to the pharmaceutical sector. A growing number of companies are heading to lower Earth orbit to make medicines in microgravity.”
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Users, Not Hardware, Will Drive Growth for the Next Era of Space Healthcare
FROM THE INSTITUTE
The center of gravity in the space economy is shifting from hardware to users. That was the message from Voyager Technologies’ Manwei Chan during a recent ASCEND 2026 panel exploring the strategic pillars for in-space R&D expansion.
SpaceX Sets New Reusability Record with Falcon 9 Booster’s 35th Flight
Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX continued to push its Falcon 9 rocket fleet to the next level by flying its flight leader, tail number B1067, on a record-breaking 35th flight Monday morning. It launched SpaceX’s latest batch of Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station shortly before sunrise.”
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Video
VideoFromSpace; YouTube
SpaceX launches on booster’s record-breaking 35th flight (Launch at 00:13 mark)
China’s Qianfan Constellation Reaches 200 Satellites in Orbit
Space News reports, “Construction of the Shanghai-led Qianfan constellation continued to accelerate this week with a pair of Long March launches, following on from two recent experimental flights. China launched Long March 6A and Long March 8 rockets Thursday and Friday respectively, adding 36 satellites to the project led by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST), or Spacesail.”
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Podcast: Space Competition: AIAA’s Clay Mowry on What The Commercial Sector Wants
The Downlink Podcast reports, “Citing China’s possible mission to send Taikonauts around the moon, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told AIAA’s ASCEND conference attendees that the launch cadence to the moon must increase. Laura Winter speaks with Clay Mowry, CEO of AIAA and immediate past president of IAF.”
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NASA Retires MAVEN After More Than a Decade Studying Mars’ Atmosphere
The New York Times reports, “On Wednesday, NASA announced the end of a more than 11-year mission aimed at solving a key mystery about Mars: What happened to the air that once made the planet habitable? The NASA spacecraft MAVEN, short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, had been orbiting around the Red Planet since 2014. NASA last received a signal from MAVEN on Dec. 6, shortly before the spacecraft passed behind Mars.”
Full Story (New York Times – subscription publication)