Posted: Sat, Mar 28 11:02 AM ET (1502 GMT)
The four Artemis 2 astronauts arrived in Florida Friday ahead of a launch scheduled for April 1. The arrival of the crew at the Kennedy Space Center came five days before the earliest launch opportunity for Artemis 2, a two-hour window that opens at 6:24 pm EDT (2224 GMT). NASA officials said recently they are not working on any major issues for the launch. Artemis 2 is the first crewed flight of SLS/Orion, a ten-day flight around the moon.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  CBS News article
•  AP article
•  Orlando Sentinel article
•  NASA press release

Posted: Sat, Mar 28 11:00 AM ET (1500 GMT)
Japanese company ispace is revamping its lunar lander plans while introducing a lunar satellite network. The company said Friday it was replacing an engine called VoidRunner that it has been jointly developing with Agile Space Industries for its landers in favor of a flight-proven engine from another, unnamed company. The company, which had separate lander designs from its Japanese and American business units, is combining them into a unified platform called Ultra. As a result of the change, it is delaying the first ispace U.S. lander, which it was building for Draper for a NASA mission, from 2027 to 2030. Japanese landers launching in 2028 and 2029 remain on schedule. ispace also announced it is developing Lunar Connect Service, a constellation of five satellites to provide communications, navigation and imaging services at the moon. The first satellite is scheduled to launch in 2027.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  Reuters article
•  ispace press release

Xona Space Systems raises $170 million
Posted: Sat, Mar 28 10:53 AM ET (1453 GMT)
Satellite navigation startup Xona Space Systems announced a $170 million Series C round Thursday. The round was led by Mohari Ventures Natural Capital, with participation...

Space Force revising launch plans with Vulcan grounding
Posted: Sat, Mar 28 10:50 AM ET (1450 GMT)
The Space Force says it will have to revise plans for upcoming missions because of the grounding of ULA's Vulcan Centaur. The rocket has...

NASA drops Gateway for lunar base in revised Artemis plan
Posted: Sat, Mar 28 10:49 AM ET (1449 GMT)
NASA rolled out a major revamp of its exploration plans Tuesday, including development of a lunar base. At a day-long event at NASA Headquarters,...