NASA’s Lunar Space Station Is a Great/Terrible IdeaFOR THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDERExplore by topicFOR THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDERIEEE Spectrum is the flagship publication of the IEEE — the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and applied sciences. Our articles, podcasts, and infographics inform our readers about developments in technology, engineering, and science.© Copyright 2022 IEEE — All rights reserved. A not-for-profit organization, IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.IEEE...…NASA’s Lunar Space Station Is a Great/Terrible IdeaFOR THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDERExplore by topicFOR THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDERIEEE Spectrum is the flagship publication of the IEEE — the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and applied sciences. Our articles, podcasts, and infographics inform our readers about developments in technology, engineering, and science.© Copyright 2022 IEEE — All rights reserved. A not-for-profit organization, IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.IEEE...WW…

SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics Compete to Build the Next Moon LanderFOR THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDERExplore by topicFOR THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDERIEEE Spectrum is the flagship publication of the IEEE — the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and applied sciences. Our articles, podcasts, and infographics inform our readers about developments in technology, engineering, and science.© Copyright 2022 IEEE — All rights reserved. A not-for-profit organization, IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of...…SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics Compete to Build the Next Moon LanderFOR THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDERExplore by topicFOR THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDERIEEE Spectrum is the flagship publication of the IEEE — the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and applied sciences. Our articles, podcasts, and infographics inform our readers about developments in technology, engineering, and science.© Copyright 2022 IEEE — All rights reserved. A not-for-profit organization, IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of...WW…

WASHINGTON — Six months after including it on the team that won a NASA technology contract, Lockheed Martin has quietly dropped in-space transportation company Momentus from that project.Lockheed was one of 14 companies that to demonstrate key technologies needed for sustainable lunar exploration. Lockheed’s award was the largest single contract, valued at $89.7 million, to test liquid hydrogen storage technologies on a small satellite.In its own statement about the contract, Lockheed Martin said it was working with several companies to develop and fly the mission. Those partners included...…WASHINGTON — Six months after including it on the team that won a NASA technology contract, Lockheed Martin has quietly dropped in-space transportation company Momentus from that project.Lockheed was one of 14 companies that to demonstrate key technologies needed for sustainable lunar exploration. Lockheed’s award was the largest single contract, valued at $89.7 million, to test liquid hydrogen storage technologies on a small satellite.In its own statement about the contract, Lockheed Martin said it was working with several companies to develop and fly the mission. Those partners included...WW…

WASHINGTON — SpaceX has added more than $300 million to a fundraising round announced earlier this year to support continued work on its Starship launch system and Starlink satellite constellation.In , the company revised a filing in February . The company says it has now raised $1.164 billion.The company didn’t provide details on the source of the additional $314 million. The filing stated that 99 investors participated in the round, compared to 69 in its February filing about the round. The filing also didn’t disclose terms of the financing, although reports in February indicated that new...…WASHINGTON — SpaceX has added more than $300 million to a fundraising round announced earlier this year to support continued work on its Starship launch system and Starlink satellite constellation.In , the company revised a filing in February . The company says it has now raised $1.164 billion.The company didn’t provide details on the source of the additional $314 million. The filing stated that 99 investors participated in the round, compared to 69 in its February filing about the round. The filing also didn’t disclose terms of the financing, although reports in February indicated that new...WW…

WASHINGTON — Astrobotic has signed a contract with SpaceX for the launch of its Griffin lunar lander, carrying a NASA lunar rover, on a Falcon Heavy in 2023.Astrobotic announced April 13 that it selected SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy for its Griffin Mission 1 lunar lander mission, which will deliver the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) spacecraft to the south pole of the moon in late 2023. Astrobotic won a NASA competition through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program last year to transport VIPER on its Griffin lunar lander.“Getting to the moon isn’t just about...…WASHINGTON — Astrobotic has signed a contract with SpaceX for the launch of its Griffin lunar lander, carrying a NASA lunar rover, on a Falcon Heavy in 2023.Astrobotic announced April 13 that it selected SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy for its Griffin Mission 1 lunar lander mission, which will deliver the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) spacecraft to the south pole of the moon in late 2023. Astrobotic won a NASA competition through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program last year to transport VIPER on its Griffin lunar lander.“Getting to the moon isn’t just about...WW…

Updated 12:50 p.m. Eastern with NASA statement.WASHINGTON — The White House released a first look at its budget proposal for fiscal year 2022 that includes an increase in funding for NASA, particularly Earth science and space technology programs.The , released April 9, outlines the Biden administration discretionary spending priorities. It provides only high-level details, though, with a full budget proposal expected later in the spring.For NASA, the White House is proposing an overall budget of approximately $24.7 billion in fiscal year 2022, an increase of about 6.3% from the $23.271...…Updated 12:50 p.m. Eastern with NASA statement.WASHINGTON — The White House released a first look at its budget proposal for fiscal year 2022 that includes an increase in funding for NASA, particularly Earth science and space technology programs.The , released April 9, outlines the Biden administration discretionary spending priorities. It provides only high-level details, though, with a full budget proposal expected later in the spring.For NASA, the White House is proposing an overall budget of approximately $24.7 billion in fiscal year 2022, an increase of about 6.3% from the $23.271...WW…

WASHINGTON — SpaceX has agreed to maneuver any of its Starlink satellites that come close to the International Space Station or other NASA spacecraft in low Earth orbit as part of an agreement between the agency and the company.NASA announced March 18 it had signed regarding coordination of operations of the ISS and other NASA spacecraft with SpaceX’s growing fleet of Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit. The agreement, NASA said in a statement, is intended to “formalize both parties’ strong interest in the sharing of information to maintain and improve space safety.”“With commercial...…WASHINGTON — SpaceX has agreed to maneuver any of its Starlink satellites that come close to the International Space Station or other NASA spacecraft in low Earth orbit as part of an agreement between the agency and the company.NASA announced March 18 it had signed regarding coordination of operations of the ISS and other NASA spacecraft with SpaceX’s growing fleet of Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit. The agreement, NASA said in a statement, is intended to “formalize both parties’ strong interest in the sharing of information to maintain and improve space safety.”“With commercial...WW…

WASHINGTON — A NASA astronaut flying to the International Space Station in April could spend up to a year on the station, an extended stay that he said he was “enthusiastic” about.NASA announced March 9 that , launching April 9. He will fly with Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov.In a typical mission scenario, the three would stay on the station for about six months, returning after the next crew arrives on Soyuz MS-19 in October. However, Roscosmos officials have discussed filming a movie on the station in October, sending up director Klim Shipenko and an actress to be...…WASHINGTON — A NASA astronaut flying to the International Space Station in April could spend up to a year on the station, an extended stay that he said he was “enthusiastic” about.NASA announced March 9 that , launching April 9. He will fly with Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov.In a typical mission scenario, the three would stay on the station for about six months, returning after the next crew arrives on Soyuz MS-19 in October. However, Roscosmos officials have discussed filming a movie on the station in October, sending up director Klim Shipenko and an actress to be...WW…

WASHINGTON — A NASA competition to launch a cluster of cubesats attracted a bid from SpaceX, who appeared to offer a vehicle other than its current Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy.NASA released March 11 from the competition to launch the Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) mission, a group of six cubesats to be launched into three orbital planes in 2022 to study tropical weather systems. , valued at $7.95 million.The agency said in the statement that it received five proposals last August for the mission. Besides...…WASHINGTON — A NASA competition to launch a cluster of cubesats attracted a bid from SpaceX, who appeared to offer a vehicle other than its current Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy.NASA released March 11 from the competition to launch the Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) mission, a group of six cubesats to be launched into three orbital planes in 2022 to study tropical weather systems. , valued at $7.95 million.The agency said in the statement that it received five proposals last August for the mission. Besides...WW…

Skip to contentWASHINGTON — SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk says it will be about a year before the company’s new Starship vehicle will be ready to start launching satellites.Musk, speaking virtually at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 5, said he felt that the vehicle would be able to start launching SpaceX’s advanced Starlink satellites even before the company had demonstrated the ability to safely recover both stages of the vehicle.“There’s a good chance we start deploying Starlink V3 satellites next year, in roughly a year from now,” he said. The...…Skip to contentWASHINGTON — SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk says it will be about a year before the company’s new Starship vehicle will be ready to start launching satellites.Musk, speaking virtually at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 5, said he felt that the vehicle would be able to start launching SpaceX’s advanced Starlink satellites even before the company had demonstrated the ability to safely recover both stages of the vehicle.“There’s a good chance we start deploying Starlink V3 satellites next year, in roughly a year from now,” he said. The...WW…