Expedition Space: Space Launch, Events, News

by Debra Werner SAN FRANCISCO – Iceye unveiled a new product May 10, wide-area Scan imaging focused on areas as large as 10,000 square kilometers. Since Iceye flew the first small synthetic-aperture radar satellites in 2018 , the company has developed a variety of products to help customers zoom in on specific areas or detect changes over time . The new wide-area Scan mode extends the area customers can view in a single scene. “We realized some time ago that with our flat-panel, phased-array radars we can scan really big areas,” Steve Young, Iceye vice president for business development and sales, told SpaceNews . “Once we managed to make it work and get the ground processing working, we thought we would release that as a commercial product.” The new wide-area Scan mode is likely to appeal to maritime customers, Young said. “It’s very good at spotting ships in very large areas of ocean and along coastlines,” he added. When testing the wide-area Scan mode, Iceye captured SAR ima...

by Jeff Foust WASHINGTON — Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is taking a novel approach to publicizing the spinoff of its space business: buying ads linked to Elon Musk’s appearance on the television show “Saturday Night Live.” SNC will run “pre-roll” ads on clips from Musk’s appearance on the show May 8 on YouTube. The ads won’t appear on the live television broadcast itself but instead be shown before videos of individual segments of the 90-minute show available on YouTube starting May 9 for one week. The company produced two ads, one 15 seconds long and the other 30 seconds , promoting its new Sierra Space spinoff. The ads show videos and animations of its Dream Chaser vehicle and proposed commercial space station made of inflatable modules. The ads feature a soundtrack but no narration. The ads include the Sierra Space logo and the line “Launched by Sierra Nevada Corporation June 2021.” A company spokesperson told SpaceNews that date is when the spinoff of Sierra Nevada’s spac...

by Brian Berger S pace is vital to the mission and spirit of Earth Day. One might even say that Space is really all about Earth. From Space, we monitor forests, deserts and regions under stress in order to better protect them. Space provides precision navigation of long distances to reduce fossil fuel consumption, Space greatly enhances agriculture, reducing hunger. And, Space exploration helps us better understand our place in the Universe. The Environmental Movement, of which Earth Day is a centerpiece, was sparked into existence by a single photograph. In 1968, an Apollo 8 astronaut snapped a simple picture of the Earth over the Moon’s limb and dubbed it “Earthrise.” This image of our fragile, blue, jewel-like home amidst the vast emptiness of black space, altered the perception of millions of people, leading to an awareness of humankind’s vulnerability and stewardship of our precious planet. While not the original mission of Apollo, this unexpected societal revelation only happ...

by Debra Werner SAN FRANCISCO – Iceye has established a satellite manufacturing facility, research and development laboratory, and mission operations center for U.S.-licensed spacecraft at its new Iceye U.S. headquarters in Irvine, California. “A huge part of our nation’s space industrial base and centers for innovation are located here in Southern California,” Jerry Welsh, Iceye U.S. CEO told SpaceNews. “In addition, there’s an amazing pool of talent and we have tight collaboration with some of the other space companies in the area.” Finland-based Iceye established Iceye U.S. in early 2020. The company announced plans April 15 to expand its U.S. organization in response to rising government and commercial demand for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery and data, Welsh said. “U.S. customers, particularly U.S. government customers, have a preference towards working with U.S. entities,” Welsh said. “There are also certain security operations that make it much easier to work here...