The Department of the Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration have signed an agreement to facilitate commercial rocket launches at two Space Force ranges. The memorandum, signed June 15, eliminates red tape, including duplicative processes and approvals, that hinder commercial space activities at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Vandenberg Space Force Base, C4ISRNET […]
The Space Development Agency is scheduled to launch five satellites on June 25. The satellites will launch on SpaceX’s Transporter-2 rideshare mission, which is expected to carry up to 88 small satellites from commercial and government customers. Of the five SDA satellites, two pairs will demonstrate laser communication links. One of the demonstrations is called […]
Kymeta has announced that the Army will use its flat-panel satellite antennas to test the technology’s viability for future communication networks. The company will provide eight u8 terminals that will be integrated and tested on various Armored Brigade Combat Team vehicles. General Dynamics Mission Systems was chosen to lead the Army’s ABCT pilot program, which […]
Rocket Lab has been chosen to support the University of California Berkeley’s scientific mission to Mars. Under the terms of a subcontract, Rocket Lab will design two Photon spacecraft for the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers mission, which is led by a researcher at UCB Space Sciences Laboratory. “Our Photon spacecraft for ESCAPADE […]
NASA reported that the Hubble Space Telescope stopped working on June 13 due to a problem in its payload computer. Engineers speculated that a degrading memory module is to blame for the computer’s malfunction. The space agency initially proposed replacing the faulty component with a backup memory module before restarting the telescope’s science instruments and […]
The Space Development Agency has awarded Capella Space a $3 million research contract in support of the National Defense Space Architecture. The SDA selected the San Francisco, California-based radar satellite imagery startup through a broad agency announcement seeking proposals on a wide range of solutions for space architecture systems, technologies and emerging capabilities. Currently, Capella […]
Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond turned down the idea of establishing a new service academy dedicated to the Space Force. Raymond, a 2021 Wash100 winner, was asked about his thoughts on the proposition during a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. He said building such an institution is unnecessary, noting that the Air […]
The head of the Space Force has confirmed that the U.S. military is developing directed energy capabilities, including ones that can be used for space dominance. During a congressional hearing, Chief of Space Operations John Raymond, a two-time Wash100 winner, told lawmakers that directed energy systems can serve as a defensive tool for U.S. satellites, […]
The Senate has confirmed the nominations of Pamela Melroy as deputy administrator of NASA and Richard Spinrad as administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Melroy and Spinrad were confirmed on June 17, one day after the Senate Commerce Committee advanced their nominations to the full Senate on voice votes without having any debate, […]
The National Reconnaissance Office has launched three classified satellites via a Northrop Grumman Minotaur I rocket from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The satellites are part of the NROL-111 mission and were launched to support the agency’s overhead surveillance operations, C4ISRNET reported. “NROL-111 is the 16th payload we put on orbit in 18 […]
