Each month we round up some of the top stories in space, entrepreneurship, innovation, finance and technology.
Here’s our round-up for July:
Virgin Orbit carries out successful LauncherOne drop test
Virgin Orbit performed a key test of its LauncherOne air launch system July 10, dropping an inert vehicle from its carrier aircraft in one of the last milestones before the vehicle’s first orbital launch attempt. Read more in this article by SpaceNews.
In-space shuttle service, Momentus, raises $25.5 million as investments climb for ‘new space’ tech
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.
How NASA Tracked Apollo 11 to the Moon and Back with 1960s Tech
NASA relied on the U.S. State Department to implement an extensive global network of antennas to collect radio signals from the Apollo missions, including the first moon landing, which occurred 50 years ago. Read more at Space.com.
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.
