By the time you read this, we will be less than 24 hours away from the release of the first images. This issue was published.
CAPSTONE loses, then reestablishes, communication with Earth
Rocket Lab offers next-day shipping to space
News from Virgin Galactic, SpaceX and more
CAPSTONE is “happy and healthy,” which is how I will always refer to CubeSats performing nominally from now on
After being out of touch with the ground for 24 hours, NASA's CAPSTONE CubeSat is happy and healthy.
One day after the deployment of CAPSTONE, there was a loss of communication. After detaching from Photon, CAPSTONE was able to communicate with a Deep Space Network ground station in Madrid, Spain, as well as deploy its solar array. NASA operates an international series of massive radio antennas.
While the team attempted to access diagnostic data to investigate the issue further, they sent an improper formatted command that caused CAPSTONE's radio to fail to work. There was a fault in the flight software that caused the radio to not restart. The flight software cleared the fault and allowed CAPSTONE to reestablish communication.
The first in a series of maneuvers the CubeSat must conduct to ensure it stays on the correct track for its final test around the moon was successfully completed by CAPSTONE.
The image is from NASA.
Rocket Lab wants to do for space services what Amazon Prime did for retail
Satellite customers will be able to turn up with their equipment and have it in the air in as little as 24 hours.
The Responsive Space program is more structured. A company couldn't just show up with a check and a satellite. It means that companies that are part of the program can work with Rocket Lab on their specific needs.
The company said that from that point on, Rocket Lab remained in a state of readiness with rockets and satellites on stand-by. It can be done in as little as 24 hours.
The image is from Sam Toms and Simon Moffatt.
More news from TC
…and beyond
Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace will be acquiring a majority stake in smallsat maker NanoAvionics, in a deal that values the latter company at around $68 million. The stake is being sold by AST SpaceMobile, which is expected to net around $28 million in gross proceeds from the transaction.
L3Harris is investing around €11.2 million ($11.4 million) in Mynaric, a company that builds laser communications for space applications.
Nanoracks demonstrated a new way to take out trash generated aboard the International Space Station, and performed the first open-close cycle of the Nanoracks Bishop Airlock.
NASA shared a list of cosmic targets that will be included in the first batch of images from James Webb Space Telescope, which will be released on July 12. Mark your calendars!
Promus Ventures released a July update on the performance of “New Space” companies, including Planet, Momentus and BlackSky, comparing earnings data, stock price and revenue.
Rocket Lab‘s next two launches will be for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The two satellite launches, the first of which is scheduled for no earlier than July 12, will take off from New Zealand within 10 days of each other.
SpaceX launched another 53 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral in Florida. This marks the 13th mission for that first-stage booster.
SpaceX received major pushback from Dish over its claim that allowing greater usage of the 12 GHz band would make Starlink service unusable. The conflict is being fought out in front of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
Stellar Ventures is launching a new fund to invest $23 million in early-stage space startups.
Vandenberg Space Force Base saw a test missile explode 11 seconds after launch. No one was injured and a investigative review board was assembled to identify the cause of the explosion.
Photo of the week
This photo was taken by the Mars Perseverance Rover. The robot has been taking pictures of the red planet. It is worth checking out the raw image archive if you have never done so before.
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