The National Reconnaissance Office recently published its first solicitation for commercial space radar imagery as part of a larger effort to tap private-sector sources of space data. NRO Director Christopher Scolese said the request for bids represents a more agile approach to the acquisition of emerging remote sensing phenomenologies, such as commercial radar, hyperspectral imagery […]
NASA engineers are investigating issues with the Lucy spacecraft after the agency noticed that one of the two circular solar arrays failed to lock in place after launch on Saturday. NASA noted that apart from the issues with the solar panels, the Lockheed Martin-manufactured spacecraft is in healthy condition. According to a NASA statement issued […]
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has requested Congress to introduce an amendment into the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act to hasten the appointment of the first space acquisition executive. Kendal, a three-time Wash100 winner, wishes that the new assistant secretary take office earlier than October 2022, as prescribed by the NDAA for fiscal 2020, SpaceNews […]
Los Angeles-based Embedded Ventures on Wednesday announced that it has signed a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Space Force to “collaboratively investigate the potential benefits of leveraging venture capital investment practices to accelerate the pace of change and innovation.” This marks the Space Force’s first cooperative agreement with a VC firm. Under the Cooperative Research […]
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has awarded space-based refueling solutions provider Orbit Fab a cooperative research and development agreement to provide more information about the company’s space refueling port. Under the CRADA, Orbit Fab will share details about its Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface while the Air Force will advise on requirements and designs […]
Zero Gravity, a space entertainment and tourism company, has been selected to serve as NASA’s first commercially operated parabolic flight provider. Work will be done under the terms of a $7.5 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a five-year period of performance, ZERO-G said Wednesday. Michelle Peters, ZERO-G’s director for research and education, said the company is […]
The U.S. Space Force Space Operations Command has awarded U.K.-based company Serco a potential $33 million contract for Space Fence system support services. The contract has a five-month base performance period and five one-year option years. As the prime contractor, Serco will perform space domain awareness-related operations, logistics and organizational level maintenance. Work will also […]
The Space Development Agency on Friday issued a draft request for proposals informing manufacturers that it needs 18 satellites for carrying experimental payloads. The new space vehicles will be added to the envisioned 126 satellite constellation that the SDA has already bid out to prospective vendors under the Transport Layer Tranche 1 project. The agency’s […]
Maxar Technologies filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office, seeking fairness in the Space Development Agency’s procurement of the 126 initial satellites for Transport Layer Tranche 1. A spokesperson for Maxar said the space tech company “wants to ensure that the government is following its own rules in connection with the procurement” and that […]
LMI announced it will help NASA understand the future state and requirements of the Upper Class E airspace. The Federal Aviation Administration defines Upper Class E airspace operations as those that take place over 60,000 feet above mean sea level in the National Airspace System. Through the Air Traffic Management-eXploration project, NASA wants to conduct […]
