RFA first stage destroyed in static-fire test
20 Aug
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RFA first stage destroyed in static-fire test

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Top Stories Tamfitronics Rocket Factory Augsburg, which performed a four-engine static-fire test at SaxaVord Spaceport in May, had planned additional tests ahead of its first launch there. Credit: RFAORLANDO, Fla. The first stage of the inaugural Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) rocket was destroyed in a static-fire test Aug. 19, dealing a setback to the German company just as it was nearing its first launch.RFA confirmed in a statement posted on social media that the first stage of their RFA ONE rocket was destroyed in a test-firing at SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands. No personnel affiliated with either RFA or the spaceport were injured.A BBC video of the test shows what appears to be an explosion, perhaps of one of the Helix engines in the base of the stage, with flames soon shooting out...
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German cubesat to test quantum key distribution
20 Aug
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German cubesat to test quantum key distribution

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Top Stories Tamfitronics The Qube research satellite to test quantum key distribution launched Aug. 16 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare. Credit: Center for Telematics, WurzburgSAN FRANCISCO – Qube, a German cubesat is preparing to test quantum key generation and distribution via optical link.Mission operators in Germany made contact with the 3.53-kilogram Qube approximately two hours after it launched Aug. 16 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare. Now, they are moving quickly through the launch and early operations phase (LEOP) of the mission.“We have a planned LEOP of 3 months, but currently we seem to progress much faster than this conservative estimate for commissioning,” Klaus Schilling, president of the Center for Telematics at the University of Wurzburg, told SpaceNews by email.“This is truly a milestone,” Harald Weinfurter, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich professor of...
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Polaris Dawn private astronaut mission ready for launch
20 Aug
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Polaris Dawn private astronaut mission ready for launch

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Top Stories Tamfitronics KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — A private astronaut mission that will attempt the first commercial spacewalk on a is ready for launch in a week on a SpaceX Crew Dragon.The four-person crew of the Polaris Dawn mission arrived here Aug. 19 for final preparations for their launch, scheduled for the early morning hours of Aug. 26 on a Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A.The mission, designed to last five days, will take the spacecraft to altitudes as high as 1,400 kilometers, the highest for a crewed mission since Apollo 17 went to the moon in 1972. The mission will also test laser intersatellite links with SpaceX Starlink spacecraft and perform 40 experiments.However, the highlight of the mission will be a spacewalk, the first conducted on a private mission and the first done...
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Planet signs deal with NATO to supply satellite imagery
20 Aug
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Planet signs deal with NATO to supply satellite imagery

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Top Stories Tamfitronics Planet SkySat image of Falmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom obtained on March 5, 2024. Credit: Planet SkySatWASHINGTON — Earth imaging company Planet announced Aug. 19 it has inked a deal with NATO to supply satellite imagery. The contract, signed with NATO’s Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), is set to provide the alliance with high-resolution data from Planet’s SkySat fleet as part of the Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space (APSS) program.Planet said it could not disclose the contract’s financial details.The APSS program, launched in 2023, is a NATO initiative designed to create a “virtual constellation” by pooling together national and commercial satellite networks. With 17 member nations committing over $1 billion over the next five years, this program is being touted as the largest multinational investment in space-based capabilities in NATO’s history. The goal...
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