Eleven Army and four Navy units responsible for communications satellites are slated to be absorbed by the Space Force. The transfer is slated for Oct. 1 barring a continuing resolution that could delay the process, Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond said at the Air, Space & Cyber conference. According to Raymond, a 2021 […]
NASA will establish two new directorates to put the agency in the best possible position in the next two decades. According to an announcement by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, the move would create the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate and the Space Operations Mission Directorate. Both units will focus on lunar and Mars explorations. According […]
Leidos’ wholly-owned subsidiary Dynetics has been selected by NASA to enable crewed trips to the Moon’s surface as part of the Artemis program’s Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships Appendix N. Dynetics is one of the five companies chosen for a firm-fixed-price, milestone-based contract and will receive an initial award of $40.8 million. The funding […]
The U.S. Space Force has launched multiple efforts to modernize the military’s aging Satellite Control Network in preparation for the projected increase in space activities. There are currently seven SCN sites located in the U.S. and around the world, consisting of 15 large dish antennas that control more than 190 military and government satellites in […]
The U.S. Space Command wants more data and sensors to speed up its ability to detect and manage space objects in real time. Speaking at the Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies Conference, Col. Scott Brodeur, director of the USSPACEOM’s National Space Defense Center, said that observational data is needed within seconds but data […]
ABL Space Systems announced it has been awarded a contract to serve as the space launch provider for NASA’s Cryogenic Demonstration Mission. Scheduled for launch in 2023, the mission is aimed at demonstrating in-space transfer of cryogenic liquid hydrogen, the best-performing propellant for lunar and deep space exploration, ABL said Thursday. Dan Piemont, president of […]
Mitre has developed a software package designed to allow the U.S. Space Force to track satellites and space debris in near-real time. The Space Systems Command is currently performing tests on the software package that Mitre delivered in July following two years of operational prototyping, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday. Bob Carden, a senior systems analyst […]
Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt, vice commander of the Space Operations Command, endorsed the creation of commercial orbital debris removal systems, citing the threat posed by space junk in low Earth orbit to satellites. Relying on commercial solutions to clean up orbital debris is advantageous as it does not come with policy concerns tied to government-run […]
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is seeking ideas for low-Earth orbit-based optical inter-satellite links that will connect government and commercial space communications systems. DARPA will also host a virtual conference on Sept. 22 to discuss requirements with potential bidders. Proposals are due Oct. 4, SpaceNews reported Tuesday. According to a notice issued by the […]
NASA has awarded five fifteen-month contracts totaling $145.8 million for the development of human landing system concepts to ensure a long-term human presence on the Moon. The winning companies are Blue Origin Federation, Dynetics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and SpaceX. The contractors will have to factor in system performance, design, construction standards, mission assurance requirements, […]
