Business and community leader Steve Soboroff has been selected by the California Science Center Foundation as senior advisor for its project to transport and permanently exhibit the Space Shuttle Orbiter Endeavour in Los Angeles.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has completed building the primary structure of NASA's MAVEN spacecraft at its Space Systems Company facility near Denver. The Mars Atmosphere And Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft is scheduled to launch in November 2013 and will be the first mission devoted to understanding the Martian upper atmosphere.

The BSAT-3c/JCSAT-110R broadcasting satellite, designed and built by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) for the Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) and SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, is now ready for service following successful on-orbit deployment and checkout of all spacecraft systems.  The satellite is located at orbital location 110 degrees east and will provide service for Japanese companies B-SAT and SKY Perfect JSAT, which jointly procured the satellite.

The ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7 satellite of Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) has been successfully delivered into orbit by a Zenit-3SL rocket operated by Sea Launch AG from the ocean-based Odyssey Launch Platform in international waters of the Pacific Ocean.

NASA this week completed the first in a series of flight-like parachute tests for the agency's Orion spacecraft. The drop tests at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona support the design and development of the Orion parachute assembly.

NASA is releasing the initial version of a Global Exploration Roadmap (GER) developed by the International Space Exploration Coordination Group. This roadmap is the culmination of work by 12 space agencies, including NASA, during the past year to advance coordinated space exploration.

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) announces that its ATLANTIC BIRD(TM) 7 satellite is set for launch on Saturday September 24. The satellite will be delivered into orbit by a Zenit-3SL rocket operated by Sea Launch AG from the ocean-based Odyssey Launch Platform in international waters of the Pacific Ocean. Lift-off is planned for 13:18 pm Pacific Daylight Time (20:18 GMT, 22:18 CET), at the opening of a 74-minute launch window.

NASA is accepting applications from teams of U.S. and international undergraduate and graduate students for the third annual Lunabotics Mining Competition. The event will be at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, May 21-26, 2012.

The Space Data Association (SDA), established by commercial satellite operators to improve the safety and efficiency of space operations, today announced that the Full Operational Capability (FOC) analysis system in the SDA's Space Data Center has successfully met SDA objectives to become operational on 15 September 2011. The FOC, developed by the SDA's main technical adviser and systems developer Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI), implements a highly-available, secure and automated Space Situational Awareness (SSA) analysis system. This system provides SDA members with full Conjunction Assessment (CA) capability (assessing the physical proximity of objects in space) and will support data sharing in support of radio frequency interference (RFI) mitigation.

Magnolia Solar Corporation ("Magnolia Solar") announces that its wholly owned subsidiary, Magnolia Solar, Inc., has updated the scientific community on its progress to develop high-efficiency, thin-film solar cells as part of a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Dr. Roger E. Welser, Magnolia's Chief Technical Officer, will summarize the latest technical results at the 22^nd Space Photovoltaic Research and Technology (SPRAT) Conference, sponsored by the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, OH, on September 22, 2011. The presentation, titled "Thin-Film Quantum Well Waveguide Solar Cells," is part of a session focused on Advanced Concepts for Solar Power Devices. The work presented at the SPRAT conference was done in collaboration with colleagues at Kopin Corporation in Taunton, MA, and MicroLink Devices in Niles, IL.

Teachers from 14 NASA Explorer Schools (NES) have been selected for the 2011 School Recognition Award for their contributions to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

NASA is announcing the International Space Apps Competition to support the Open Government Partnership (OGP), which President Barack Obama announced Tuesday. The challenge will culminate with a two-day event next year that will provide an opportunity for government to use the expertise and entrepreneurial spirit of citizen explorers to help address global challenges.

Astronomers using NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have captured rare data of a flaring black hole, revealing new details about these powerful objects and their blazing jets.

NASA has selected The Boeing Company of Huntington Beach, Calif., for the Composite Cryotank Technologies Demonstration effort. Under the contract, Boeing will design, manufacture and test two lightweight composite cryogenic propellant tanks. The demonstration effort will use advanced composite materials to develop new technologies that could be applied to multiple future NASA missions, including human space exploration beyond low Earth orbit.

Observations from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission indicate the family of asteroids some believed was responsible for the demise of the dinosaurs is not likely the culprit, keeping the case open on one of Earth's greatest mysteries.

QinetiQ North America announced today the results of another successful experiment completed on board the final flight of the space shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) in July 2011. The experiment, the first of its kind in microgravity, tested the novel application in space of a technology modeled on a biological process used by cells on Earth to recover water from their environment. Already engineered for use in applications ranging from desalination plants to treating non-potable water for backpackers, forward osmosis is the natural diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane. The membrane permits small polar molecules like water to pass through while blocking most other molecules like salts, sugars, starches, or proteins, and stopping all microorganisms like protozoan parasites, bacteria, and viruses. On earth, the process converts undrinkable water to a potable fluid in a few hours; how the process would work in reduced gravity was unknown prior to this experiment.

During this historic time of change within the space industry, the Coalition for Space Exploration (Coalition) wants to hear from the American public about what they envision for the future of space exploration. The Coalition is launching a contest based on a simple question, "What's Next?" Participants are encouraged to share their ideas for the future direction of America's space program in a video. The creator of the winning video entry wins an iPad2.

NASA has selected two game-changing space technology projects for development. The selections are part of the agency's efforts to pursue revolutionary technology required for future missions, while proving the capabilities and lowering the cost of government and commercial space activities.

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), the world's leading provider of commercial satellites, today announced that the high throughput broadband satellite that it built for ViaSat Inc., arrived today at the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan, where it will be launched aboard an ILS Proton Breeze M vehicle provided by International Launch Services (ILS). The all Ka-band satellite uses multiple spot beams and frequency reuse to maximize capacity for broadband service in North America.

Varied impact craters, valleys, canyons and mountains among the highest in the Solar System – the 3D images and videos of the asteroid Vesta created by scientists at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) reveal a most unusual celestial body. The US Dawn spacecraft, carrying a German camera system on board, has been orbiting the asteroid since July 2011. "Vesta has totally surprised us," says Ralf Jaumann, Head of the Planetary Geology Department at the DLR Institute of Planetary Research in Berlin-Adlershof. The topographical maps are necessary to study the asteroid, whose orbit lies between those of Mars and Jupiter.

Three International Space Station crew members safely returned to Earth Friday, Sept. 16, wrapping up a six-month mission of research and exploration.

The existence of a world with a double sunset, as portrayed in the film Star Wars more than 30 years ago, is now scientific fact. NASA's Kepler mission has made the first unambiguous detection of a circumbinary planet -- a planet orbiting two stars -- 200 light-years from Earth.

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) and the RSCC (Russian Satellite Communications Company) today announced they have extended the agreement under which RSCC provides key services to control Eutelsat's satellites. RSCC manages satellite control activities for Eutelsat from its Dubna Satellite Communications Center (SCC) near Moscow.

NASA has selected the design of a new Space Launch System that will take the agency's astronauts farther into space than ever before, create high-quality jobs here at home, and provide the cornerstone for America's future human space exploration efforts.

Hughes Communications, Inc. (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, today announced that Euroconsult has awarded Hughes the Broadband Satellite System Award for 2011 for its outstanding performance throughout 2010 and strong prospects for the future. Bahram Pourmand, executive vice president, International Division, Hughes, accepted the award on behalf of Hughes CEO, Pradman Kaul earlier today at a luncheon ceremony during the 15th World Summit for Satellite Financing, held at the Hotel Westin in Paris, France.

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has delivered Wavefront Sensing & Control (WFS&C) software for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to prime contractor Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.  The WFS&C software contains the sophisticated mathematical algorithms that will be used to align and phase the telescope's eighteen 1.3 meter hexagonal primary mirror segments to perform as a single monolithic mirror.

NASA has selected five companies to develop concepts for demonstrating solar electric propulsion in space. These capabilities are important for the agency's future human exploration missions to deep space.

NASA and Alliant Techsystems (ATK) of Salt Lake City have agreed to collaborate on the development of the company's Liberty Launch System as part of the agency's Commercial Crew Development Round 2 activities.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has reached a major milestone in its development. The mirrors that will fly aboard the telescope have completed the coating process at Quantum Coating Inc. in Moorestown, N.J.

NASA is offering undergraduate students the opportunity to test an experiment in microgravity as part of the agency's Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program. The program is accepting proposals for two different flight experiences in 2012.

Moon Express, a Google Lunar X PRIZE contender, announced today that it has established the "Moon Express Robotics Lab for Innovation" (MERLIN) and has hired a team of the nations' brightest engineering students who became international superstars through the FIRST Robotics Competition. MERLIN will develop robotic technology supporting the company's lunar exploration missions under the leadership of Marco Chacin, a graduate of the International Space University who holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering and developed robotic solutions for the JAXA/ISAS "Hayabusa" asteroid sample return missions.

Construction began this week on the first new NASA spacecraft built to take humans to orbit since space shuttle Endeavour left the factory in 1991, and marked a significant milestone in carrying out the ambitious exploration vision President Obama and Congress have laid out for the nation.

NASA is funding nine proposals from eight states to investigate space radiation's effect on human explorers. The proposals from researchers in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Texas have a total value of approximately $12 million.

NASA has finalized a cooperative agreement with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) to manage the portion of the International Space Station that operates as a U.S. national laboratory.

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. is one of four companies that will study the storage and transfer of cryogenic propellants in space under a contract to NASA. Each company was awarded up to $600K to accomplish this half-year effort.

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), the leading provider of commercial satellites, today announced that it has been awarded a contract to provide two high-power satellites to Intelsat for Direct-to-Home (DTH) television service in Latin America. The two satellites will be operated by Intelsat, which will provide them to DIRECTV Latin America, a leading DTH digital television services operator in Latin America.

ATK (NYSE: ATK) today conducted a third successful ground test of the next-generation solid rocket motor. The successful test, known as Development Motor (DM-3), is an important milestone in further validating the rocket's potential use in heavy lift and commercial launch vehicles.

The W Foundation (TWF) will be opening a new space exploration museum in the San Francisco Bay Area. The emphasis will be on the history of space exploration, and how discoveries in science and technology allowed the U.S. to be the leader in space travel.

Virgin Galactic is pleased to announce the appointment of former NASA, White House and Department of Energy official Steven J. Isakowitz as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.

Optimal Satcom has been awarded a multi-year contract by Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) to provide its industry leading, enterprise satellite capacity system to help manage ABS' growing commercial satellite business.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, has provided scientists new information about solar flares indicating an increase in strength and longevity that is more than previously thought.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been engaged in collecting and categorizing particles in the sampler container (*1), which was brought back by the instrumental module of the asteroid exploration spacecraft "HAYABUSA" from asteroid "Itokawa."

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured the sharpest images ever taken from space of the Apollo 12, 14 and 17 landing sites. Images show the twists and turns of the paths made when the astronauts explored the lunar surface.

GS Yuasa Lithium Power, Inc. (GYLP) announced today that it has shipped the batteries that will be used by Orbital Sciences Corporation's Cygnus™ vehicle on its maiden Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission to the International Space Station.  GYLP has already delivered a set of flight batteries in support of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) vehicle development and demonstration program.  The batteries use GS Yuasa's space qualified LSE190 lithium ion cells and were assembled by GYLP at its Roswell facility.