San Francisco-based Orbit Fab, a startup aiming to build a network of orbital gas stations, announced its plans to launch the first propellant tanker to geostationary orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 lunar lander mission scheduled between late 2022 and early 2023. The tanker will be able to store more...
> “Few have come before, and many are about to follow. The door’s open now and it’s pretty incredible,” - Inspiration4 commander Jared Isaacman on the SpaceX livestream, close to 10 minutes after liftoff. SpaceX launched its Inspiration4 mission on Wednesday evening, successfully bringing an all-civilian crew into orbit...
SpaceX is acquiring a satellite connectivity startup called Swarm Technologies, which marks the first outside acquisition of the company in its 19-year history. The financial details or terms of the deal have not been revealed in the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) filings, but the deal will see Swarm transferring control...
SpaceX is partnering with a Canadian tech startup, Geometric Energy Corporation (GEC), to launch a digital billboard into orbit. The satellites will have a screen on one side on which companies and people will bid to have their logos and advertisements displayed. The CubeSat, released in early 2022, will come...
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has changed the rules of the Commercial Space Flight program for the first time since its introduction in 2004 in a way that no longer qualifies Jeff Bezos or Richard Branson as astronauts. The new rule required space travelers to demonstrate “activities during flight that...
A government-funded study from China has found that using 23 of the country’s Long March 5 rockets (the largest in its fleet) to simultaneously hit a large asteroid would cause it to deflect by a distance of 1.4 times the Earth’s radius, saving the planet from a...
