Tag

Spacecraft Development

All articles tagged with #spacecraft development

AstroForge Secures FCC License for Historic Deep-Space Mining Mission
space1 year ago

AstroForge Secures FCC License for Historic Deep-Space Mining Mission

AstroForge has received the first-ever commercial license from the FCC for a deep-space mission, allowing it to communicate with its Odin spacecraft, which is set to launch in early 2025 to rendezvous with a near-Earth asteroid. The mission aims to demonstrate key stages of asteroid mining, although no actual mining will occur. Odin will orbit and image the asteroid, paving the way for the Vestri mission, which will attempt to land on the asteroid. The original Odin spacecraft was abandoned due to manufacturing issues, prompting a rapid development of a new spacecraft.

ESA Launches Own Commercial Space Cargo Program
space-exploration1 year ago

ESA Launches Own Commercial Space Cargo Program

The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded initial contracts worth 25 million euros each to The Exploration Company and Thales Alenia Space to develop spacecraft for ferrying cargo to and from low-Earth orbit space stations. These contracts, running until June 2026, will focus on refining concepts and maturing technologies, with demonstration flights to the ISS planned for 2027 and 2028. ESA aims to adopt a more commercial model for space services, seeking additional funding at its next budget meeting to support the program through its demonstration phase.