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Paragon trims workforce as Gateway project ends
12 days ago•Source: SpaceNews
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15.715 min•21 days ago
Crew Dragon's remaining flights could shape the next era of commercial spaceflight
SpaceX says its Crew Dragon fleet has significant life left as it transitions toward Starship; with Crew-13 Grace set for an ISS flight no earlier than Sept. 12, NASA plans additional Dragon missions and ESA/private operators are eyeing Dragon for ISS and future commercial stations, while Starship is expected to overlap in service and push the industry toward end-to-end commercial offerings.
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Axiom Eyes 2027 Spacewalk Suit Test on ISS or Artemis 3
Axiom Space plans to flight-test its AxEMU spacesuit in 2027, possibility on the International Space Station or as part of Artemis 3, as the company nears the critical design review and begins assembling a qualification suit for in-space tests. The program includes vibration and thermal-vacuum testing to simulate spaceflight, with NASA weighing test options and ongoing interface coordination with SpaceX and Blue Origin for potential lander integration.
SSTL to supply flight platform for privately funded Lazuli telescope
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) will provide the spacecraft platform for Lazuli, a privately funded space telescope led by Schmidt Sciences. The platform will handle attitude control, propulsion and communications for a 3‑meter primary mirror telescope slated to launch by mid‑2028 as part of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Observatory System, which includes three ground‑based observatories. Lazuli will use off‑the‑shelf components with heritage spaceflight tech and final assembly near a Florida launch site. The project’s overall cost is expected in the hundreds of millions, about one‑tenth the cost of a NASA flagship astrophysics mission.
Blue Origin pauses New Shepard flights to focus on lunar exploration
Blue Origin announced on Jan. 30 that it will halt all New Shepard suborbital flights for at least two years to devote resources to its lunar program, including the Blue Moon lander for NASA's Human Landing System. The pause follows NS-38 and comes with a remaining backlog of customers, though the company did not specify how resources or staffing will be redirected. NASA is pressing acceleration of lunar lander development to meet an Artemis 3 launch target by 2028, a context that underpins Blue Origin's shift toward lunar exploration.