Category: Commercial Space

NASA Selects Axiom Space for Fifth Private Mission to Space Station

NASA and Axiom Space have signed an order for the fifth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, targeted to launch no earlier than January 2027 from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “The award of our fifth private astronaut mission shows that commercial space is not a distant promise, but a present […]

NASA Selects Participants to Track Artemis II Mission

NASA has selected 34 global volunteers to track the Orion spacecraft during the crewed Artemis II mission’s journey around the Moon. The Artemis II test flight will launch NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, carrying the Orion spacecraft and a crew of four astronauts, on a mission into deep space. The agency’s second mission in […]

NASA’s Push Toward Commercial Space Communications Gains Momentum 

NASA’s commercial partners are actively demonstrating next-generation satellite relay capabilities for spaceflight missions, marking a significant step toward retiring the agency’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) system and adopting commercial services. The demonstrations – ranging from real-time spacecraft tracking during launch to transmitting mission commands and scientific data – are part of NASA’s Communications […]

NASA Ignites New Golden Age of Exploration, Innovation in 2025

With a second Trump Administration at the helm in 2025, NASA marked significant progress toward the Artemis II test flight early next year, which is the first crewed mission around the Moon in more than 50 years, as well as built upon its momentum toward a human return to the lunar surface in preparation to […]

NASA Seeks Industry Input on Next Phase of Commercial Space Stations

NASA is requesting feedback from American companies on the next phase of its commercial space stations strategy to ensure a seamless transition of activities in low Earth orbit from the International Space Station. The agency released a draft Phase 2 Announcement for Partnership Proposals (AFPP) Friday, asking for feedback from industry partners by 1 p.m. […]

NASA Seeks Volunteers to Track Artemis II Mission

NASA seeks volunteers to passively track the Artemis II Orion spacecraft as the crewed mission travels to the Moon and back to Earth. The Artemis II test flight, a launch of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA […]

Human Rating and NASA-STD-3001

Human-rating is a critical certification process that validates the safety, reliability, and suitability of space systems—including orbiters, launch vehicles, rovers, spacesuits, habitats, and other crewed elements—for human use and interaction. This process ensures that systems are designed not only to protect human life but also to accommodate human needs and effectively integrate human capabilities. Human-rating requires […]

U.S. Transportation Secretary & Acting NASA Administrator Sean P. Duffy Joins President Trump Executive Order Signing to Boost U.S. Space Competitiveness

U.S. Transportation Secretary and acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy joined President Donald J. Trump at the White House Wednesday for the historic signing of the Executive Order (EO), “Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry.” “People think the Department of Transportation (DOT) is just planes, trains, and automobiles – but we have a critical role […]

NASA Selects Six Companies to Provide Orbital Transfer Vehicle Studies

NASA has selected six companies to produce studies focused on lower-cost ways to launch and deliver spacecraft of various sizes and forms to multiple, difficult-to-reach orbits. The firm-fixed-price awards comprise nine studies with a maximum total value of approximately $1.4 million. The awardees are: “With the increasing maturity of commercial space delivery capabilities, we’re asking […]