| Today marks the end of the 38th annual Small Satellite Conference, held for the final time in Logan, Utah, before it relocates to Salt Lake City next year. Read on to see the latest news from the event, "best-of" highlights from the past week, and our reporting on how the conference's relocation will impact the city of Logan. For full coverage from the past week, visit SpaceNews.com. | | | By Dan Robitzski, August 8, 2024
In the wake of SmallSat Conference Chair Pat Patterson's surprise announcement that the conference is relocating to Salt Lake City next year, community leaders and business owners from Logan, Utah, share their disappointment to see the conference leave — and their excitement over the conference's growth.
Bracing For Impact: Before SmallSat 2024, conference organizers shared revenue projections to the tune of $6.4 million expected to come to the local Logan area, $4.4 million of which was projected for lodging and dining.
Continued Investments: Despite the bittersweet news that SmallSat has outgrown Logan, the city will still be home to the conference organizers at Utah State University, who expect to continue investing in local Logan businesses to provide merchandise, printing and other services for future conferences.
"Enormous Hole"
"We are so sad to see SmallSat go," said Terrill. "I'm not going to say [it's] devastating, but it is going to reflect an enormous hole for that first week in August. So obviously, financially, it's so sad, and it's also sad for us to not be able to proudly boast that we are home of this really impressive international conference."
Read the full story on SpaceNews.com | |  | | By Jeff Foust, August 8, 2024
Christine Joseph, policy advisor in the Office of Space Commerce, said phase 1.0 of the Traffic Coordination System for Space, or TraCSS, will be turned on in September, maintaining a schedule that the office outlined more than a year ago. That initial version of TraCSS will be open to a limited number of beta testers, who will use it through the existing Space-Track.org system operated by the U.S. Space Force. Those beta users will get conjunction data messages, or CDMs, generated by TraCSS every four hours through Space-Track. Meanwhile, Joseph said, the Department of Commerce will continue to develop and add new features to TraCSS. | | Best of the Week As SmallSat 2024 comes to a close, look back on these highlights from the past four days. | | | By Jeff Foust, August 6, 2024 Impulse Space announced Tuesday that it, in partnership with Exolaunch, will in the coming years offer a new GEO Rideshare Program using its Helios tug and an upgraded version of its Mira vehicle that is still under development.
"Impulse's introduction of the GEO Rideshare Program marks a transformative milestone for the satellite industry, making cost-effective and timely access to GEO a reality," Kier Fortier, vice president of global business development at Exolaunch, said in a statement. | | | By Jeff Foust, August 7, 2024
L3Harris has signed a contract for up to 20 Firefly Alpha launches over a five year period. The deal includes two to four launches annually from 2027 through 2031, in addition to three Alpha launches already scheduled for 2026. The companies didn't disclose what satellites L3Harris would be launching. | | By Jason Rainbow, August 7, 2024
| After decades of dormancy, the Diamant site at Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana may soon see launch activity, with PLD Space announcing plans to use the site for its Miura 5 rocket. The Spanish company said it plans to begin construction on a new launch facility at the Diamant site this October. The company announced a 10 million euro ($11 million) investment in the site, and is joining Isar Aerospace and other European companies to convert Diamant into a multi-use facility. | | | | By Debra Werner, August 5, 2024 Interstellar Technologies, previously known for development of the Zero rocket, is expanding into satellite communications thanks to government contracts and private investment. The Japanese company's Satellite Communications 3.0 promises "high-speed, high-capacity communications," Keiji Atsuta, Interstellar business development general manager, told SpaceNews. Investors contributing to the Series E investment round announced today include SBI Group, Japanese mobile phone network operator NTT Docomo and Resona Bank. | | | By Debra Werner, August 6, 2024
Toronto-based Perceptive Space promises "space weather predictions that are more accurate and have better lead times than what NOAA and other government agencies provide today," founder and CEO Padmashri Suresh told SpaceNews. The company said it will use its pre-seed funding to introduce its space weather platform in the United States and allied countries while hiring more engineers and scientists. | | | | |
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