Challenges | Solicitations | Resources
Student teams from accredited and Space Grant Consortium affiliated US-based colleges and universities are welcome to participate, supporting NASA’s efforts to rapidly mature innovative and high-impact capabilities and technologies for future missions. Entry Deadline: February 1, 2024.
For NASA's third TechLeap Prize, join NASA’s Flight Opportunities program to create a seamlessly adaptable payload interface system for diverse technology payloads and various host commercial flight vehicles. Entry Deadline: February 1, 2024.
Share best practices for supporting underrepresented and diverse space technology innovators, researchers, technologists and entrepreneurs. Win $25,000 for the most effective strategies and approaches. Register by February 8, 2024.
Register to submit your novel solution to NASA’s spacecraft ullage venting challenges in microgravity for extended space travel. Chosen concept designs will win a share of the $80,000 prize. Deadline: February 22, 2024.
NASA’s free on-demand streaming service and upgraded app provide live launch coverage, documentaries and the latest NASA news. Users can also stream from https://plus.nasa.gov.
Accelerate your space career with email alerts for key space industry insights and over 4000 space company jobs.
Space Talent is a resource for careers at the intersection of space and tech. They match employers with top talent while providing insights and resources to grow your career.
NASA's Software Catalog offers hundreds of software programs, free to use in a wide variety of technical applications. Releases include a wing-design algorithm and an AR/VR toolkit for spacecraft design and mission telemetry.
Resources for sending your technology demonstration or science experiment to the space station, including In Space Production Applications (InSPA) awards to help companies toward development of sustainable demand for services and products in low Earth orbit.
Upcoming Events
Geospatial intelligence community discussion on cybersecurity concerns, enhancing space situational awareness, and safeguarding intellectual property. Free to $599. Springfield, VA. November 28-29, 2023.
The annual workshop, organized by the Satellite Industry Association (SIA) in partnership with U.S. Space Command, brings together leaders from various DoD agencies to discuss policy and operational issues related to commercial and military satellite communications. Arlington, Virginia. December 12-14, 2023.
Conference to discuss UK space domain strategic thinking and space sector innovation. Keynote session with Air Vice-Marshal Paul Godfrey, Commander of UK Space Command. £249 + VAT. London and online. December 12, 2023.
Commercial space entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors will convene at Space for Inspiration 2024 to learn about discoveries and groundbreaking ventures in the LEO and lunar economies. January 18-19, 2024.
The GSA summit focuses on the future needs of spaceports and the initiatives to enable commerce. Free - $625. Orlando, FL. January 29, 2024.
Three conference programs including Global Spaceport Alliance's Spaceport Summit, 50th Space Congress, and Space Mobility Congress. Orlando, FL. January 29 - February 1, 2024.
Three-day conference focusing on the business and technical aspects of the smallsat ecosystem. $595 - $1695. Mountain View, CA and virtual. February 6-8, 2024.
SSSIF 2024 is an international workshop for small satellite designers, technicians, developers, and launchers. €100 - €400. Málaga (Spain). February 20-22, 2024.
Add your event or campaign. Contact us for details.
Space Ecosystem | Startups | Deals
San Diego-based Shield AI develops systems to transform drones and aircraft into autonomous systems and enable drone swarming capability. The round was co-led by U.S. Innovation Technology Fund (USIT) and Riot Ventures with participation from Disruptive, Snowpoint and ARK Invest.
India's Skyroot Aerospace, which launched India's first private rocket in 2022, raised $27.5 million led by Singapore's Temasek. The round came days after rival Agnikul Cosmos raised a similar amount.
China’s Beijing Tianbing Technology, or Space Pioneer raise funding for its Falcon 9-class rocket Chinese commercial launch firm Space Pioneer has announced a new round of funding for development of the Tianlong-3 rocket comparable to the SpaceX Falcon 9.
Kuva Space (formerly Reaktor Space Lab), a hyperspectral imagery startup founded in Finland, has closed a €16.6 million ($17.6 million) Series A funding round. The round was led by existing investors Voima Ventures and Nordic Foodtech VC.
Chris Kemp and Adam London, chief executive and chief technology officer of Astra Space, have offered to take the launch vehicle and spacecraft propulsion company private for $1.50 a share, valuing the company at nearly $30 million. The company previously defaulted on a loan at the end of October.
Space Exploration | Development
SpaceX Starship. Image Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX said its Starship heavy lift rocket might launch as early as November 17. After Starship's first failed attempt on April 20, the launch still needs sign-off from the US Fish and Wildlife Service to receive the required FAA license.
Sources say three buyers for the Colorado-based launch company include a private equity fund, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, and an unnamed aerospace firm. ULA's Vulcan heavy lift rocket first launch is scheduled for December 24. It's unclear whether a potential sale will be delayed until after this launch.
The US and China are planning permanently crewed bases on the lunar surface. Billions of dollars in contracts are being spent as companies are launching ambitious new support projects, from growing food in space to a new lunar internet.
Astronomy | Astrophysics | Astrobiology | Cosmology
NASA extended the OSIRIS mission to study Apophis, a 340 meter wide near-Earth asteroid which will pass one-tenth the distance to the moon in 2029. Initially feared to potentially impact Earth, Apophis is not considered a risk for at least another hundred years based on current modeling.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft surprised astronomers by revealing that Dinkinesh is not a single asteroid but rather a binary pair. The 12-year NASA mission is studying early solar system "Trojan" asteroids that share the same orbit as Jupiter.