Loren Grush on three small companies attempting to place a lander on the moon in the next two years
What’s next in the commercial space transportation market
Dallas Bienhoff on the near term future of launch and cis-lunar infrastructure
Orbital debris removal experiment scheduled for launch in 2020
One barrier to establishing a vibrant space based economy in low earth orbit and beyond is solving the increasingly alarming orbital debris problem. Tethers Unlimited, partnering with TriSept Corp., Millennium Space Systems and Rocket Lab plans to test a new technology to increase the drag of a test satellite when compared to a control payload in lower earth orbit early next year
NASA announces partnerships with industry on technologies needed to settle space
Of particular interest is work with SpaceX to study on-orbit refueling and rocket plume interaction with lunar regolith: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-announces-us-industry-partnerships-to-advance-moon-mars-technology
NASA publishes plan for commercial LEO development
The plan, entitled NASA’s Plan for Commercial LEO Development addresses supply and demand, as well as the steps that will be taken in the near-term, mid-term, and long-term: https://www.nasa.gov/leo-economy/vision-for-low-earth-orbit-economy
Made in Space to demo 3D-printing components in space
The California based company scored a $73.7 million NASA contract to demonstrate how its Archinaut One spacecraft will manufacture and assemble parts while in low-Earth orbit: https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/nasa-3d-print-spacecraft-parts-in-orbit/
Two near-term research projects for mining the moon and asteroids
Skylight uses high-resolution images to create 3D models of craters to enable mapping and prospecting for resources.
Mini Bee is a proof-of-concept platform for optically focusing sunlight on asteroids to ablate surface material toward collection of water and minerals
https://www.space.com/nasa-moon-asteroid-mining-concepts-niac-2019.html
Space debris removal company Astroscale secures $30 million
The Japanese company announced the new tranche of funding this week at the 35 Space Symposium
https://spacenews.com/astroscale-raises-30-million-opens-u-s-office-in-denver/