BAE Systems has announced the launch of the Weather System Follow-on Microwave satellite that its newly acquired company, Ball Aerospace, earlier delivered to the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command. Sent into orbit via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday, the satellite will provide environmental monitoring data […]
NASA and Japan have significantly advanced their space partnership through a comprehensive new agreement focused on lunar exploration. The agreement signing, which took place at NASA Headquarters, was attended by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Masahito Moriyama and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency President Hiroshi Yamakawa, NASA said. […]
The U.S. Space Force has received a higher spending budget for fiscal year 2024 amid cost-cutting measures across the federal government. Steve Jordan Tomaszewski, senior director of national security space at the Aerospace Industries Association, said the Space Force budget reflects the government’s better understanding of the importance of space in protecting national security. For […]
Rocket Lab USA has secured a $14.49 million task order from the U.S. Space Force to launch the Space Test Program-30 mission from its Launch Complex 2. The Electron mission is part of the Space Systems Command’s Orbital Services Program-4 and will deliver various research experiments and technology demonstrations into orbit for the Department of […]
The Office of Space Commerce is planning to collaborate with other countries to establish a global, coordinated system of space situational awareness providers and regional hubs that deliver SSA information to spacecraft operators. According to Global Space Situational Awareness Coordination, a document distributed at the 39th Space Symposium, networks of international partnerships, including the commercial […]
NASA has selected 14 university teams as finalists for the 2024 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage competition. The long-running competition challenges students to develop innovative concepts for exploration and operations on the Moon, Mars and beyond, NASA said. The finalist teams include Clarkson University, Stanford University, University of Texas at Austin, Virginia […]
John Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy, has emphasized the need to boost collaboration with the private sector to stay abreast with the space-related advancements of the United States’ adversaries. Speaking at a Defense Writers Group breakfast meeting, Plumb said that the Department of Defense’s approach to developing, implementing and upgrading space capabilities […]
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded Phase Four a $14.9 million contract to develop an air-breathing electric propulsion system for satellites in very low Earth orbit. The contract is part of DARPA’s Otter program, which seeks to integrate air-breathing electric propulsion that uses ambient low-density air as propellant, providing satellites with an onboard […]
Commercial satellite communication equipment, bandwidth and service packages are being distributed to several overseas U.S. Army units with regional world coverage to pilot test the service branch’s Satellite Communications as a Managed Service. The SaaMS pilot program seeks to determine the feasibility of the Army leasing satellite communication capabilities at the time of need instead […]
NASA will work with several companies to develop advanced capabilities for a lunar terrain vehicle for the Artemis mission. The LTV will feature advanced technologies for autonomous driving, power management and state-of-the-art communications and navigation systems. It is also capable of operating in extreme conditions experienced in the moon’s south pole. Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost […]
