Challenges | Campaigns | Solicitations
J-CanSat is a picosatellite STEM kit created to promote access to space technologies to students, researchers, and space enthusiasts. Kits range from $170-$323. Closing date: July 13, 2022. [Forward]
Design a wind tunnel facility with one or more test sections that can be efficiently reconfigured by multiple test teams. $7,000 in total prizes. Closes July 18, 2022. [Forward]
Create assets and scenarios for the new Mars XR Operations Support System (XOSS) environment, using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5. $70,000 in total prizes. Close date: July 26, 2022. [Forward]
The Society presents several awards and prizes to support scientists in astronomy and geophysics. Anyone can submit a nomination. Deadline for nominations is July 31, 2022. [Forward]
Four teams will be awarded $5,000 to build their data recovery prototypes and conduct a test drop of their system in New Mexico in 2023. Deadline: September 15, 2022. [Forward]
Invest in a NanoSat constellation that takes 3D wind measurements to provide accurate weather/early hurricane forecasts. US investors: $100 minimum. CAD, UK investors: $250 minimum. Closes September 30, 2022. [Forward]
Becoming Off-Wordly is a community of future astronaut hopefuls preparing their paths to spaceflight through guidance and networking. $5-$10/month or $100/year. [Forward]
Launch to space on the New Shepard rocket. Flights are 11 minutes, and passengers pass the Kármán Line reaching 3x the speed of sound. [Forward]
Virgin Galactic is taking reservations for suborbital flights ($450,000 total ticket price, $150,000 deposit). They expect to begin commercial human suborbital missions before the end of 2022. [Forward]
Book your six-hour voyage on Spaceship Neptune now for 2025 and see Earth from space. Book an individual seat or a full 8 person capsule. $125,000 per space explorer. [Forward]
XPRIZE Carbon Removal is aimed at tackling climate change and advancing space exploration. Teams will create and demonstrate solutions that can pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere or oceans. [Forward]
Upcoming Events
NASA scientist Naomi Rowe-Gurney will explore the big science questions the Webb telescope could answer in this online event. Pay what you can. July 12, 2022. [Forward]
Global leaders in Air and Space Power will discuss retaining operational advantage. Virtual and in-person tickets: £150+VAT to £799+VAT. IET, Savoy Place, London, England. July 13-14, 2022. [Forward]
Physicist Will Kinney builds on the Big Bang theory to explain the age of the cosmos and the origin of the universe. Early bird tickets: £13.00. July 14, 2022. [Forward]
COSPAR’s mission is to assemble a worldwide community of scientists who are dedicated to international cooperation in space research. Athens, Greece. July 16-24, 2022. [Forward]
Specific discussion topics include power and propulsion, communications, space traffic and debris, ISAM, and more. Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. In-person or online. Tickets: $50-$700. July 18-20, 2022. [Forward]
Observational astronomers, theorists, and experimentalists will shed light on the lifecycle of cosmic PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons.) Aarhus University, Denmark. Early-bird registration closes July 1. September 5-9, 2022. [Forward]
Online or in-person registration options are available. In-person grants access to the summit in Paris, including all official social events. Online: €540. In-person: €2,100 - €3,480. September 12-16, 2022. [Forward]
// FYI
Space Ecosystem | Startups | Deals
Sony Space Communications (SSC) plans to develop, build, and supply devices that enable small satellites to use laser beams instead of radio frequencies to communicate with ground stations. [Forward]
The crew included selections by Space for Humanity and Crypto Space Agency, which selected a buyer of its NFTs. MoonDAO, which also sells NFTs, has seats on an upcoming flight. [Forward]
Image Credit: Stratolaunch
Stratolaunch, founded by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, was acquired by private equity firm Cerberus in 2019. Stratolaunch’s 385-foot-wide Roc carrier airplane is the world’s largest aircraft by wingspan. [Forward]
Bellatrix is developing an orbital transfer vehicle based on its in-space propulsion technologies. Investors included StartupXseed, Pavestone and Mankind Pharma family office. [Forward]
AstroForge plans to use existing commercial space technology to mine platinum on asteroids. AstroForge closed a $13 million round of "seed plus" funding, which was led by Initialized Capital. [Forward]
Space Exploration | Development
SpaceX is attempting to reach orbit with Starship for the first time. It needs to fulfill more than 75 FAA mandated actions before applying for a required launch license. [Forward]
The companies plan to produce an array of moon-roving vehicles for commercial space missions and services powered by the automaker’s electric vehicle battery technology. [Forward]
Two main issues are holding Vulcan back from its debut: the readiness of its main engines and the payload it will carry. Neither appear likely to support a 2022 launch. [Forward]
China is planning solar power generation and transmission tests at different orbital altitudes over the next decade as part of a phased development of a space-based solar power station. [Forward]
NASA plans to reexamine past SBSP concepts for collecting solar energy in space and transmitting it to the ground for conversion to electricity. [Forward]
Astronomy | Astrophysics | Cosmology
One of the telescope's primary mirror segments suffered an impact from a micrometeoroid, which are usually smaller than a grain of sand. Webb is expected to continue to function normally. [Forward]
Five planets will line up in the dawn sky in June in their proper order from the Sun for the first time in over 17 years. [Forward]
NASA’s report will uncover what data they either already have or could gather on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs). NASA wants to transform the data-poor field into a data-rich one. [Forward]