ispace wants to stake its claim to the moon with November launch

Tokyo-based startup ispace's lunar ambitions will soon be put to the test, as the company gears up for its first launch at the end of this month. The startup will attempt to send its “Hakuto-R” lander to the moon's surface, kicking off an ambitious lunar exploration program of the same

Max Q: Halloween special

Hello and welcome back to Max Q. Happy Halloween folks. Hope you’re having a very spooky day. By the way… We are counting down to TC’s Space event in December! Learn more here. In this issue: The satellite bus bottleneck Starlink for GPS? News from BryceTech, Quantum Space and mo

Watch SpaceX launch a Falcon Heavy for the first time in three years

Thousands will be gathering on Florida's Space Coast tomorrow to watch SpaceX launch the massive Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time since 2019. The launch is scheduled for no earlier than 9:44 AM EST on November 1. For the mission, SpaceX will attempt to directly inject two U.S. Space Force

NASA's Psyche mission to a metal-rich asteroid is back on the books for October 2023

NASA said Friday that its Psyche mission (named after the asteroid the mission is targeting) has been rescheduled to October next year. The news comes just a few months after the agency announced that it would definitively miss its planned 2022 launch attempt. The delayed schedule is due to late de

Starlink signals could work as GPS alternative, whether SpaceX likes it or not

With some 3,000 satellites in orbit, the Starlink constellation is easily the largest in history and of course presents an immense opportunity for global connectivity. But its signals could also be analyzed and used as an alternative to traditional GPS, a new paper claims, with or without SpaceX

Max Q: The ghost in the machine

Hello and welcome back to Max Q. Disrupt is finally behind us, which can only mean one thing: We are officially counting down to TC’s Space event in December! Learn more here. In this issue: Kayhan Space presents at Disrupt Report: Investment in space battered by high interest rates, inflati

Flights to offer drinks, snacks and now Starlink

Having barely expanded Starlink onto the seas and looking at the Ukraine war as a business opportunity, Elon Musk has expanded Starlink through a commercial- and private jet-focused sub-brand, Starlink Aviation. The idea of having Wi-Fi up in the sky isn't new, but your service is typically lim

Investment in space continues to drop, but some sectors more resilient than others, report finds

Private investment in space continues to be battered by larger macro-economic trends, like high interest rates and inflation, but not all sectors of the space industry are affected equally, a new report from New York-based VC firm Space Capital found. While broader market conditions are disproporti

UK launch startup Orbex closes fresh funding in push to first orbital launch next year

The United Kingdom is known for many things, but rocket launches are not one of them. Spaceflight startup Orbex is part of a slew of U.K.-based companies hoping to change that by bringing vertical launch to U.K. soil for the first time. Orbex is aiming to conduct its first orbital rocket launch as

Max Q: Any way you spice it

Hello and welcome back to Max Q. Last week was one of those weeks where your head spins with the sheer amount of news/announcements/launches in the space sector. It’s a crazy time to be alive, folks! In this issue: A busy November for… the moon! Launch companies expanding to new contin

SpaceX no longer seeking Pentagon funding for Starlink in Ukraine, Musk says

SpaceX has withdrawn its request to the Pentagon that it fund the ongoing use of Starlink internet terminals in Ukraine, CEO Elon Musk said Monday. His statement (made on Twitter — where else?) comes just hours after it was reported that the Pentagon was considering footing the bill using a fund

Starlink isn’t a charity, but the Ukraine war isn’t a business opportunity

What appeared earlier this year to be a selfless act of technotopianism, the widespread deployment of Starlink terminals in Ukraine, has soured as SpaceX and governments disagree on who ultimately should foot the bill of this unprecedented aid campaign. Some expect Elon Musk — one of the richest

Virgin Orbit and Rocket Lab gear up for launches on new continents

Virgin Orbit and Rocket Lab are expanding their launch capacities as each company gears up for inaugural missions from countries that they have never flown from. For Rocket Lab, that's the United States; for Virgin, that's the United Kingdom (which has never seen an orbital launch, ever). R

Moon set for November traffic jam as both ispace and NASA target launches

If all goes to plan, Florida's Space Coast could see two separate lunar missions take off in November. Japanese startup ispace said Wednesday it is targeting a launch window of November 9-15 for its first lunar lander mission. Separately, NASA set a trio of possible November launch dates for Ar