Solar System bodies make deep space exploration more fuel efficient! Today’s video shows the Psyche spacecraft gaining speed and changing its trajectory with minimal fuel spent due to a gravity assist from Mars in May 2026. Mars has an average orbital speed of almost 87,000 km/h (54,000 mph) around the Sun. Its orbital motion and its gravity allowed Mars to pull Psyche along with it, increasing the spacecraft’s speed. Gravity assists have been used since 1959’s Luna 3 mission to allow for spacecraft (the Voyagers, Cassini) to reach farther than they could with fuel alone. This assist helped the Psyche spacecraft on its journey to the Psyche asteroid, which it will reach in 2029. While passing Mars, the spacecraft tested instruments that will analyze the asteroid’s composition and magnetic field. This is the first mission to an asteroid thought to be largely made of metal, an essential building block for planets, rather than rock or ice. Find dark skies and look up this August to witness the Perseid meteor shower uninhibited by the Moon!
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All Points Logistics is the third company selected under a Commercial Solutions Opening to add facilities where satellites can be inspected, tested, fueled and prepared for integration with launch vehicles The post Space Force awards All Points $250 million to expand satellite processing at Vandenberg appeared first on SpaceNews.
PERTH, Western Australia — LatConnect 60 (LC60) is executing on a multi-geography industrial plan to accelerate its SWIRSAT constellation, anchoring core technology development and payload manufacturing in Western Australia while […] The post LatConnect 60 Accelerates SWIRSAT Constellation Growth Anchored in Western Australia with Expansion into Malaysia and UAE appeared first on SpaceNews.
SAN FRANCISCO – Fortastra, a Los Angeles startup focused on defending on-orbit infrastructure, is working with manufacturing specialist Hadrian to explore ways to apply precision machining and additive manufacturing to […] The post Fortastra and Hadrian join forces to streamline satellite production appeared first on SpaceNews.
Japanese lunar lander developer ispace has selected the H3 rocket to launch its next mission in 2028, creating what the companies called Japan’s first private lunar transportation system. The post H3 to launch next ispace lunar lander mission appeared first on SpaceNews.
Boeing is still working with NASA to determine when to fly its CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle on a cargo mission to the International Space Station. The post Boeing still working with NASA to schedule next Starliner flight appeared first on SpaceNews.
SINGAPORE — A Beijing-based startup has secured around $14 million to build a satellite constellation for tracking orbital objects, adding to China’s growing SSA sector. Xingchen Daohe, also known as […] The post Chinese startup raises funds for space situational awareness constellation, joining commercial SSA rush appeared first on SpaceNews.