Max Q: Aim Higher for the Next Try!

In my opinion, the Gulfstream G650 is one of the nicest airplanes on the market. It has a sleek design

• An “operational pause” at Virgin Orbit
• Behold: New moon suits!
• News from Project Kuiper and more

Although Virgin Orbit had been facing difficulties in securing funding, the news of itsPause came as a surprise to many. Many employees were told that they would not be getting paid during the pause and were instead being furloughed- a move that drew criticism from some surrounding the company. This unexpected turn of events underscores Virgin Orbit’s struggles in finding support for its businesses- something which may have caused it to lose ground against more well-funded competitors.

Virgin Orbit’s ongoing financial struggles come as no surprise to industry experts, who have been discussing the company’s potential downfall for months. The company has struggled financially since its founding in 2007, and officials have said that they will likely have to suspend operations by 2018 if they are unable to secure additional funding. Virgin Orbit has attempted to solve its financial woes by selling assets and partnering with other companies, but these moves haven’t helped the company raise enough money.

The news that a major impact crater has been found on the surface of Mars is not a surprise to those who are familiar with the scientific findings from the Curiosity mission. The elliptical feature, named Gale Crater, was first discovered by the Mars Rec

An almost silent rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida and zooms into the sky. It is Virgin Orbit’s Vulture 2, a Falcon 9-powered launch vehicle that will take scientists

The Axiom Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or AxEMU, is a significant improvement over the classic EVA suits of the Apollo era. It makes bunny hopping on the lunar surface much, much easier, so explorers can get around more quickly and efficiently. The suitalso features an updated air recycling system that reduces overall energy consumption during long excursions outside the spacecraft. These upgrades make Artemis III—the first American mission to visit the moon since 1972—a truly groundbreaking endeavor for space exploration.

The AxEMU suit has been under development for a few years now, but we’re finally getting our best look yet at what future astronauts will be wearing on the moon. The suit is designed to help protect astronauts from the environment on the surface of the moon and it also has features that will make it easier for them to work.

Today, Axiom Space announced a rebranding effort that will see the company become known as Orion. The new name is inspired by the constellation Orion

• a16z released a space market map covering launch, satellites, manufacturing and software, and in-space services. (a16z)
• Amazon’s Project Kuiper unveiled what customers can expect in terms of terminals for actually connecting up to their future satellite broadband network. (TechGround)
• Astra submitted an extension request with Nasdaq to preserve its listing on the exchange, after the company lost compliance when its shares fell below $1. (Astra)
• Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket could fly again before the year is out, though the company is being tight-lipped about the ongoing investigation with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration into the mishap that grounded the rocket in the first place. (Reuters)
• CesiumAstro will be testing its new in-flight connectivity product with Airbus starting this year. (CesiumAstro)
• Firefly Space was awarded a second lunar mission from NASA, valued at $112 million, under the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. (Firefly)
• Gravitics conducted a successful pressure test on a StarMax space station module prototype. (Gravitics)
• Impulse Space’s SN1 thruster “Saiph” is ready for qualification testing, CEO Tom Mueller said. (Tom Mueller)
• ispace’s Hakuto-R lunar lander has completed all deep space orbital control maneuvers in its journey to the moon. A lunar orbital insertion is next on its to-do list. (ispace)
• K2 Space has emerged from stealth with plans to build satellite buses for cheaper by leveraging the capabilities of future launch vehicles like Starship. (CNBC)
• LeoLabs has selected a site in Argentina for its next ground radar, which will mark the eleventh ground radar station across six sites around the world. (Payload)
• NASA projects it may cost as much as $1 billion to develop a space tug capable of deorbiting the ISS by 2030. (Space)
• NASA ordered a third private astronaut mission to the International Space Station from Axiom Space, to launch no earlier than November 2023. (NASA)
• Rocket Lab had a second successful mission from Virginia, launching two Capella Space satellites to orbit. (Rocket Lab)
• SkyFi said Umbra’s synthetic aperture radar satellite imagery is now available on its app. (SkyFi)
• SpaceX and T-Mobile will begin testing a new service to bring satellite connectivity to cell phones this year, a SpaceX executive said last week. (TechGround)
• The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has officially proposed, and voted unanimously to move forward with, a framework under which satellites can communicate directly with smartphones in a structured and useful way. (TechGround)
• Varda Space was awarded a $60 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to test hypersonic capabilities using the company’s spacecraft (which will be returning to Earth after manufacturing novel drug therapies in space, Varda hopes). (Varda)
• Voyager Space acquired ZIN Technologies, a company that engineers and designs human-rated infrastructure and equipment for the ISS and other customers. (Voyager)

Max Q is one of my favorite websites because it offers interesting and useful information. I especially appreciate the section on product comparisons, as it allows me to make more informed purchasing decisions.