#WASHINGTON — Lunar rover developer #Astrolab announced eight customers have signed contracts worth more than $160 million for its first mission to the moon in 2026.

The company, formally known as Venturi Astrolab Inc., announced Nov. 21 that it signed the customers to fly payloads on Mission 1, a flight of the company’s Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) rover slated for as soon as mid-2026. Astrolab announced a contract with SpaceX in March to launch FLEX on that mission on a Starship commercial lander.

“Our entire Astrolab team is excited to welcome these businesses to Mission 1,” Jaret Matthews, chief executive and founder of Astrolab, said in a statement. “Together, they represent a cross-section of the emerging lunar economy.”

#BERLIN — As #SpaceX prepares for its next Starship test flight, a #NASA official said that the use of that vehicle for Artemis lunar landings will require “in the high teens” of launches, a much higher number than what the company’s leadership has previously claimed.

In a presentation at a meeting of the NASA Advisory Council’s human exploration and operations committee Nov. 17, Lakiesha Hawkins, assistant deputy associate administrator in NASA’s Moon to Mars Program Office, said the company will have to perform Starship launches from both its current pad in Texas and one it is constructing at the Kennedy Space Center in order send a lander to the moon for Artemis 3.

SpaceX’s concept of operations for the Starship lunar lander it is developing for the Human Landing System (HLS) program requires multiple launches of the Starship/Super Heavy system. One launch will place a propellant depot into orbit, followed by multiple other launches of tanker versions of Starship, transferring methane and liquid oxygen propellants into the depot. That will be followed by the lander version of Starship, which will rendezvous with the depot and fill its tanks before going to the #moon.

#BERLIN — A year after the launch of the Artemis 1 mission, #NASA is continuing to study the performance of the heat shield on the Orion spacecraft, a review that may take several more months to complete.

Jim Free, #NASA associate administrator for exploration systems development, said at a Nov. 17 meeting of the #NASA Advisory Council’s human exploration and operations committee that #Artemis 2 remained on schedule for launch on the Orion spacecraft’s first crewed mission late next year, but that #NASA would not proceed until it was sure it understood the problem and made any changes. #spacenews

#BREMEN, Germany — #SpireGlobal, a space-based data and services firm, has launched a web-based app designed to simplify satellite constellation operations for its customers.

The #Constellation Management Platform, unveiled at Space Tech Expo Europe here in Bremen, Nov. 14, will provide customers with a simplified and user-friendly interface for managing #satellite operations, according to the company.

The mission operation-as-a-service platform is presented as an innovation in Space Services, Spire’s offering of end-to-end solutions to customers. Space Services allows customers to build, launch and operate their own satellite constellation for a flat monthly fee.

The new #Constellation Management Platform service supports a range of use cases. These include Earth observation, connectivity, radio frequency intelligence, and space domain awareness. Spire says the service will enhance overall flexibility and make satellite management more accessible.

“Satellites never sleep. You build and launch a satellite once, but then you have to operate it and communicate with it thousands of times over its lifetime,” said Frank Frulio, general manager of Space Services at Spire, in a press statement

Quantum Space reveals plan for Scout-1 #satellite and Sentry mission.
#SANFRANCISCO – Quantum Space plans to launch Scout-1, the space infrastructure and services company’s first #satellite, no earlier than March 2024 on a SpaceX Transporter rideshare flight.

From sun synchronous low-Earth orbit, the Scout-1 #satellite will test a sensor Quantum Space plans to send to deep space as part of QuantumNet, a constellation to provide customers with communications, navigation and space situational awareness services in geostationary and cislunar space.

Sue Hall, Quantum Space vice president programs, called the Scout-1 Sentry mission a “stepping stone” toward QuantumNet