Satellite News

Xplore Inc., a commercial space company providing Space as a Service, announced it has received a US$2 million contract from National Security Innovation Capital (NSIC) within the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). This funding will accelerate the development of the Xcraft spacecraft platform, culminating with launch in 2023.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a contract with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) for communications services from Lunar Pathfinder, due to launch in 2024.

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The U.S Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Blackjack programme has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation a contract for Phase 2 development of an advanced, software-defined positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) payload, with options to build units destined for space flight.

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Spaceflight Inc. announced a cislunar rideshare mission: “GEO Pathfinder.” As a secondary payload on board Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 South Pole Mission, Spaceflight will execute rideshare deployments in trans-lunar orbit, low-lunar orbit and beyond to geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO).

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MDA Ltd. announced that it has been awarded the full contract from MELCO (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation) in Japan to provide a Laser Rangefinder (LRF) altimeter for the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission.

Exotrail recently signed a contract with US-based aerospace company York Space Systems for the delivery of one ExoMG – cluster2, a product configuration from Exotrail high thrust and flexible electric propulsion product family, for delivery by Q2 2022.

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The Fengyun 3E weather satellite has captured its first test pictures of the Sun, offering improved assistance in predicting solar activities and their impact on Earth and space weather.

India’s Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft has completed more than 9,000 orbits around the Moon, and imaging and scientific instruments onboard have been providing excellent data, officials said.

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