OrbitalHub

Wikipedia dicit:

The SpaceX Starship is a fully reusable second stage and space vehicle being privately developed by SpaceX. It is being designed to be a long-duration cargo- and passenger-carrying spacecraft. While currently it is tested on its own, it will be used on orbital launches with an additional booster stage, the Super Heavy, where Starship would serve as the second stage on a two-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle. The combination of spacecraft and booster is called Starship as well. Beginning in mid-2019, prototype versions are being flown with Starship as an independent rocket in its own right—without any launch vehicle booster stage at all—as part of an extensive suborbital flight testing program to get launch and landing working and iterate on a variety of design details, particularly with respect to atmospheric reentry of the vehicle.

Integrated system testing of Starship began in March 2019 with the addition of a single Raptor rocket engine to the first flight-capable propellant structure, Starhopper. Starhopper was used through August 2019 for static testing and low-altitude, low-velocity flight testing of vertical launches and landings in July/August. Two additional test articles, Starship orbital prototypes, are being built by competing teams in Texas and in Florida. They are planned to be used for high-altitude, high-velocity testing beginning in late 2019. All test articles have a 9-meter (30 ft)-diameter stainless steel hull.

Video Credit: SpaceX

Wikipedia dicit:

The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (Orion MPCV) is a US-European spacecraft intended to carry a crew of four astronauts to destinations at or beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). As of August 2019, it is under development by NASA and the ESA for launch on the Space Launch System (SLS), Orion is intended to be the main crew vehicle of the Artemis lunar exploration program and other missions not far beyond lunar space. Artemis 1 is planned to be the first flight of Orion on SLS, Artemis 2 the first crewed flight, and Artemis 3 the first lunar landing via the Lunar Gateway.

The Orion MPCV uses the same basic configuration as the Apollo command and service module (CSM) that first took astronauts to the Moon, but with an increased diameter, updated thermal protection system, and a host of other modern technologies. Orion will support long-duration deep space missions with up to 21 days active crew time plus 6 months quiescent spacecraft life. During the quiescent period crew life support would be provided by another module, such as the proposed Deep Space Habitat. The spacecraft’s life support, propulsion, thermal protection, and avionics systems can be upgraded as new technologies become available. The Orion spacecraft includes both crew and service modules, and a spacecraft adapter. The Orion’s crew module is larger than Apollo’s and can support more crew members for short or long-duration missions. The European service module propels and powers the spacecraft as well as storing oxygen and water for astronauts.

Video Credit: Lockheed Martin

Northrop Grumman dicit:

SpaceLogistics LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, provides cooperative in-orbit satellite servicing to geosynchronous satellite operators using its fleet of commercial servicing vehicles. Our initial servicing vehicle, the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV)™ docks with customers’ existing satellites providing the propulsion and attitude control needed to extend their lives. We have now introduced our next generation system, Mission Extension Pods (MEPs)™, which is a smaller and less expensive life extension service that only performs orbit control. The MEPs are installed by a robotic servicing vehicle called the Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV)™ which can perform all the functions of an MEV while adding new robotic capabilities for additional services.

Our life extension services are compatible with virtually all geosynchronous satellites with minimal interruption to operations. They enable satellite operators to significantly extend satellite mission life, activate new markets, drive asset value and protect their franchises. SpaceLogistics delivers life extension services that are flexible, scalable, capital-efficient and low-risk. Our breakthrough innovations provide satellite operators unprecedented flexibility in asset deployment, enabling game-changing advances in financial and operating flexibility, and risk mitigation.

Video Credit: Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman dicit:

Our Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV-1), the first of its kind spacecraft to extend another satellite’s life, is now in orbit. MEV is designed to rendezvous and dock with satellites running low on fuel.

Video Credit: Northrop Grumman

Wikipedia dicit:

European Organisation of Telecommunications by Satellite S.A. (EUTELSAT) is a European satellite operator. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, it is the world’s third largest satellite operator in terms of revenues. Eutelsat’s satellites are used for broadcasting nearly 7,000 television stations, of which 1,400 are in HD, and 1,100 radio stations to over 274 million cable and satellite homes. They also serve requirements for TV contribution services, corporate networks, mobile communications, Internet backbone connectivity and broadband access for terrestrial, maritime and in-flight applications.

The Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) is a spacecraft concept proposed by ViviSat. ViviSat was a 50/50 joint venture of aerospace firms U.S. Space and ATK created in 2010 for the purpose of designing, producing and operating the MEV-program. The purpose of the MEV-spacecraft is to operate as a small-scale in-space satellite-refueling spacecraft. Since the original conception of the MEV-program by the ViviSat-company, the Vivisat-venture has been shut down and the company dissolved by ATK (one of the partners in Vivisat) in April of 2016. The MEV-program has continued as a solo-project of ATK. ATK has been since purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2018, and is now Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. The MEV-program continues under Northrop Grumman.

Video Credit: Roscosmos

NASA dicit:

As humans plan expeditions to places such as the Moon and Mars, biomining could offer a way to obtain needed materials on other planetary bodies rather than bringing them from Earth. However, microbes and rocks interact differently outside of Earth’s gravity, potentially affecting output from extraterrestrial biomining. A new investigation on the International Space Station is studying how microbes grow on and alter planetary rocks in microgravity and simulated Martian gravity.

Video Credit: NASA Johnson