Each month we round up some of the top stories in space, entrepreneurship, innovation, finance and technology.
Here’s our round-up for June:
Meet Ariane 6 and Vega C: Europe’s New ‘Rideshare’ Rockets
Europe is taking advantage of the small-satellite trend by building two rockets that act as a rideshare, taking several spacecraft up at the same time. Two new videos show what to expect with the new boosters, which are called Ariane 6 and Vega C. Read more in this article by Space.com.
Companies express varying interest in NASA’s ISS commercialization plan
NASA’s announcement of a new low Earth orbit commercialization strategy has prompted varying degrees of interest from companies, but even the most ardent supporters caution that the “devil is in the details.” Read more at Space News.
SpaceX’s Starlink Launch and the Race for Global Internet Coverage
There’s a mini-constellation of new satellites in the sky. SpaceX has launched the first wave of its planned Starlink fleet into low earth orbit. The sixty satellites, weighing 13.6 tons in total, were deposited 400km above the Earth’s surface by a Falcon 9 rocket. They joined two early experimental Starlink satellites that were launched in 2018—and an increasingly crowded region of space. Read more at the Singularity Hub.
UK Space Agency Selects Spaceport Cornwall and Virgin Orbit to Bring Horizontal Space Launch to the UK
For a while now, Virgin Orbit have been working with Spaceport Cornwall on the prospect of using LauncherOne to bring launch back to Britain. This month that project took a massive step forward, as the U.K. Space Agency announced it aims to invest £7.8m (~$10 million) into the development of Spaceport Cornwall as a key operating hub for horizontal launch system, working towards a first launch from British soil in the early 2020’s. Read the announcement here.
