SpaceNews

1 day ago | spacenews.com | Jeff Foust

WASHINGTON — German startup Atmos Space Cargo says it considers the first flight of its reentry vehicle a success despite limited data on how it performed during reentry. Atmos Space Cargo flew its first Phoenix vehicle as one of the payloads on SpaceX’s Bandwagon-3 rideshare mission April 21.

1 day ago | spacenews.com | Jason Rainbow

TAMPA, Fla. — Iridium is ramping up tariff countermeasures to shield the U.S.-based satellite operator from import tax hikes as global trade tensions escalate.

2 days ago | spacenews.com | Jeff Foust

WASHINGTON — SpaceX launched the third in its series of mid-inclination dedicated rideshare missions April 21, but with very few rideshare payloads on board. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 8:48 p.m. Eastern on the Bandwagon-3 mission. The booster, on its third flight, touched down back at Cape Canaveral, landing on a pad adjacent to one where the booster from the SpX-32 cargo resupply mission launch had landed earlier the same day.

3 days ago | spacenews.com | Jeff Foust

WASHINGTON — DARPA is seeking proposals for a small lunar orbiter that could be used to test operations in very low orbits while prospecting for water ice. DARPA issued a program solicitation April 14 for a mission concept called Lunar Assay via Small Satellite Orbiter (LASSO). The agency is seeking proposals for design studies that could lead to construction of a spacecraft. In its solicitation, DARPA said its interest in LASSO is two-fold.

3 days ago | spacenews.com | Jeff Foust

WASHINGTON — SpaceX launched a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station April 21 whose cargo includes more crew supplies and fewer science experiments than usual. A Falcon 9 lifted off at 4:15 a.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, deploying the SpX-32 cargo spacecraft into low Earth orbit nearly 10 minutes later. The Dragon is scheduled to dock with the station at about 8:20 a.m. Eastern April 22.