#ORLANDO, Fla. — As rumors of a potential sale of United Launch Alliance reach a crescendo, the company’s chief executive argues the successful inaugural launch of its Vulcan rocket is a vindication of both the company’s technology and its transformation.

Speaking at the SpaceCom conference here Jan. 31, #ULA Chief Executive Tory Bruno said the long-delayed first flight of its Vulcan Centaur rocket Jan. 8 went exceedingly well, with no issues reported during the countdown or after liftoff.

“That was a perfect mission,” he said of the launch, which placed #Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander on a highly elliptical lunar transfer orbit. “Dead nominal flight throughout, and a bullseye insertion in the end.”

#WASHINGTON — A private astronaut mission that will feature the first #spacewalk from a #Crew #Dragon #spacecraft has suffered another delay, this time to at least the middle of this year.

The #Polaris #Program, a series of private astronaut missions backed by billionaire Jared Isaacman, announced Feb. 8 that its Polaris Dawn mission was now scheduled for no earlier than the summer. The program had previously announced an April launch date.

#TAMPA, Fla. — A group of #satellite operators have joined forces to push the fledgling direct-to-smartphone market to adopt services using their #radiowaves, rather than spectrum derived from terrestrial mobile network operators.

Viasat, Terrestar Solutions, Ligado Networks, Omnispace, and Yahsat announced the creation of the Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA) Feb. 9, a non-profit aiming to harmonize Mobile Satellite Services for integrating with standardized devices.

Together, they hold more than 100 megahertz of L- and S-band spectrum that they say could help extend terrestrial cellular networks worldwide.

#HELSINKI — Beijing’s municipal government has released an action plan to foster an innovative commercial space ecosystem in the city over the next five years.

The Beijing Action Plan for Accelerating the Innovation and Development of the Commercial Space Industry (2024-2028) includes 18 policy measures.

The action plan focuses on mapping the commercial aerospace industry chain and supporting cutting-edge research and development. It includes enhancing development guarantees, and fostering a high-quality industrial #ecosystem.

#WASHINGTON — Collins #Aerospace, one of the companies with a #NASA award to develop a new generation of #spacesuits, has completed a series of tests of that design in a microgravity environment on an #aircraft.

The company, which won an Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services, or xEVAS, contract from NASA in 2022, said last week it completed tests called the Crew Capability Assessment. Those tests examined how well a person wearing the suit could perform tasks that an astronaut on a spacewalk outside the International Space Station might do.

#TAMPA, Fla. — #Europe has given Luxembourg’s OQ Technology a contract to study ways to connect unmodified smartphones from its low Earth orbit constellation, which currently provides narrowband connectivity for remote Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Luxembourg’s government is providing an undisclosed amount of funding for the six-month feasibility contract, OQ Technology CEO Omar Qaise said Feb. 7. Such contracts are typically below $1 million in value.

The project officially kicked off Jan. 24 and will study upgrades the company’s payload and software would need to reach phones already out in the market.

#MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – The pace of innovation in the space sector is picking up thanks in part to artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Amazon #Web Services customers, for example, are designing spacecraft parts with generative AI. The parts are then 3D-printed and run through a battery of tests.

The process leads to rapid iteration of designs that are “very intuitive and very innovative at the same time,” Alistair McLean, AWS #Satellite Solutions principal architect, said Feb. 7 at the SmallSat Symposium here.

#MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Small launch vehicle developers are working to carve out niches in a market for smallsat launches that is increasingly dominated by SpaceX’s Transporter rideshare missions.

The Transporter missions, which fill a Falcon 9 often with more than 100 smallsats, offer per-kilogram prices significantly below dedicated small launch vehicles. SpaceX has seen high demand for those missions and announced plans last year for a related line of missions called Bandwagon that will go to mid-inclination orbits.

“The Transporter program was created a few years ago with, in my opinion, the sole purpose of trying to kill new entrants like us,” said Sandy Tirtey, director of global commercial launch services at Rocket Lab, during a panel at the #SmallSat Symposium here Feb. 7. “Yet, we are still flying because we offer something unique.”

#WASHINGTON — BlackSky, an Earth observation and data analytics firm, will provide satellite imagery services and imaging spacecraft to the Republic of Indonesia under a $50 million deal announced Feb. 8.

BlackSky will work with Thales Alenia Space to establish the building blocks of a sovereign Earth imaging satellite network tailored to Indonesia’s national security needs.

Thales Alenia Space was selected in December to deliver a dedicated Earth observation constellation to the #Indonesian Ministry of Defense, combining both radar and optical sensors