Darrell Etherington
Writer
The Latest from Darrell Etherington
Virgin Orbit teams with ISI on rapid response satellite launch services for intelligence customers
Small satellite launch company Virgin Orbit is teaming up with Israel’s ImageSat International (ISI) to develop a launch services that would be able to deliver small satellite-based Earth observ
Kepler will build its small satellites at a new manufacturing facility in Toronto
Satellite communications startup Kepler will manufacture its small satellites going forward at a new 5,000-square-foot facility in Toronto, Ontario, Canada . The company is working with partners, incl
NASA taps startup Axiom Space for the first habitable commercial module for the Space Station
NASA has selected Houston-based Axiom Space, a startup founded in 2016, to build the first commercial habitat module for the International Space Station (ISS). This module will be used as a destinatio
NASA’s advanced vision system for its supersonic test jet is undergoing a key stress test
NASA is keeping things moving with its X-59 program — the one where it’s developing a modern supersonic aircraft that proves the viability of lessening the traditional supersonic “bo
Max Q: Lego Space Stations and robot astronauts
Max Q is a new weekly newsletter all about space. Sign up here to receive it weekly on Sundays in your inbox. This week saw a huge funding round for a new space startup that’s working on the pro
Watch SpaceX launch another batch of its Starlink satellites live (Update: scrubbed due to weather)
UPDATE (6:15 PM EST): SpaceX has updated their schedule to target Wednesday, January 29 at 9:06 AM EST for the launch in order to hopefully optimize for weather conditions in the area of the ocean whe
Original Content podcast: Apple’s ‘Little America’ chooses uplift over anger
“Little America,” a new anthology series on Apple TV+, has been widely described as the best show on the fledging streaming service. Here on the Original Content podcast, we aren’t r
Relativity Space could change the economics of private space launches
The private launch market is an area of a lot of focus in the emerging space startup industry, not least because it unlocks the true potential of most of the rest of the market. But so far, we can cou
Firefly Aerospace investigating a fire that resulted from a test of its Alpha rocket’s engines
Space launch startup Firefly Aerospace encountered a setback as it kicked off the first “hot” tests of its Alpha launch vehicle’s engines — a fire resulted from its first test-
India’s space agency will fly a half-humanoid robot to prepare for its first human spaceflight missions
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is getting ready to begin its human spaceflight program, which aims to carry its first astronauts starting in 2022. In advance of that milestone, however,
NASA reveals the payloads for the first commercial Moon cargo deliveries
NASA has finalized the payloads for its first cargo deliveries scheduled to be carried by commercial lunar landers, vehicles created by companies the agency selected to take part in its Commercial Lun
Boeing partners with Tactical Robotics to develop VTOL tech
Boeing has signed a new agreement with Israel-based Tactical Robotics, an exploratory deal that will see the two companies work together jointly on “developing, producing and marketing” ai
Boom Supersonic partners with Flight Research to test its XB-1 supersonic aircraft
Supersonic aviation startup Boom is making progress on its XB-1 demonstrator aircraft, the airplane that will prove out its tech and pave the way for construction of its future production commercial s
Skylo raises $103 million to affordably connect the Internet of Things to satellite networks
One of the biggest opportunities in the new space economy lies in taking the connectivity made possible by ever-growing communications satellite constellations and making that useful for things and co
Lego made an International Space Station kit, including Space Shuttle and robotic arm
Lego is releasing an official International Space Station kit, which includes a scale model of the orbital platform, along with a miniature dockable Space Shuttle, a deployable satellite and two astro
Capella Space reveals new satellite design for real-time control of high-resolution Earth imaging
Satellite and Earth observation startup Capella Space has unveiled a new design for its satellite technology, which improves upon its existing testbed hardware platform to deliver high-resolution imag
Rocket Lab’s first launch of 2020 is a mission for the National Reconnaissance Office
Rocket Lab has announced its first mission for 2020 — a dedicated rocket launch on behalf of the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), with a launch window that opens on January 31. The Ele
Soft Robotics raises $23 million from investors including industrial robot giant FANUC
Robotics startup company Soft Robotics has closed its Series B round of funding, raising $23 million led by Calibrate Ventures and Material Impact, and including participation from exiting investors i
Max Q: SpaceX succeeds with a spectacular Crew Dragon test launch
Max Q is a new weekly newsletter all about space. Sign up here to receive it weekly on Sundays in your inbox. We’re off and running with good milestones achieved for NASA’s commercial crew
SpaceX could catch future Crew Dragons with astronauts onboard using ships at sea
SpaceX demonstrated a safety system that will protect astronauts in the case of any unfortunate unforeseen accidents in future Crew Dragon flights, which included the spacecraft splashing down in the