Max Q - SpaceX flies a new cargo Dragon for the first time

Monday, December 07, 2020 • By Darrell Etherington

SpaceX flew its new Dragon and landed a heap of federal cash, a new launch startup entered the fray, and China’s lunar lander nailed the landing. All that and more in this week’s space news.

Also, our TC Sessions: Space event is right around the corner – next week! Tickets are still available, so go ahead and grab yours here.

SpaceX launches new cargo Dragon

SpaceX’s redesigned cargo Dragon spacecraft took its first trip to the International Space Station on Sunday, arriving on Monday afternoon Eastern time. This one was carrying 6,400 lbs of supplies and equipment for the astronauts on board the station, making full use of its expanded, 20% larger cargo carrying capacity. SpaceX created this cargo dragon by modifying its Crew Dragon design, and as a result it can dock fully autonomously with the ISS – a first for a cargo vehicle.

Image Credits: SpaceX

SpaceX awarded $885 million from FCC for rural broadband

SpaceX is the fourth-largest winner when it comes to the FCC’s rural broadband auction, securing $885 million in commitments on the strength of its Starlink satellite broadband plan. The two companies that fared better were Charter, LTD Broadband and Rural Electric Cooperate Consortium – making SpaceX the only satellite provider to garner a significant amount. To actually land its $885 million award, SpaceX will need to demonstrate that it can offers solid service in the areas where it has claimed it could.

NASA has tapped four companies to collect Moon rocks on its behalf

NASA issued a call for applicants interested in gathering Moon soil samples for it, and it chose four of those based on the strength of their applications. NASA was basically looking for 1) low cost and 2) technical feasibility, and it picked four very cheap providers, with bids ranging from $1 (yes) to $15,000 – peanuts in space terms. There’s a reason the bids were low: All entrants were going to the Moon anyway, and this is basically a foot in the door to establish a precedent that private companies can collect extraterrestrial material, own it, and then transfer said ownership to another party in exchange for money.

NASA has tapped four companies to collect Moon rocks on its behalf image

Image Credits: Masten Space Systems

This startup is using drones to do autonomous orbital launches

A fast, efficient orbital payload launch without any humans directly involved and quick turnaround time? That’s a dream many have been chasing – particularly in national defense. Aevum is a new startup that claims to already have all the technology developed and ready to make it happen, with their Ravn-X large UAV. It isn’t large relative to something like SpaceX’s Falcon 9, but it can carry small satellites, which is all most space transpiration vehicles need to do these days.

This startup is using drones to do autonomous orbital launches image

Image Credits: Aevum

Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit plan space flights for this month

Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit could both be reaching space with their launch vehicles this month. Both the commercial human transportation company (Galactic) and the small satellite launcher (Orbit) are looking to fly in December, with Galactic set to take off potentially sometime this week, and Orbit set to try again to reach orbit after their first botched attempt later on December 19.

China's Chang'e-5 lunar lander made it to the Moon

China’s lunar lander mission to the Moon appears to have gone as planned so far, with a touchdown reported on December 1, and a successful ascent back from the surface with a lunar sample on board, along with a successful docking in lunar orbit with its ride home.