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 […]
The Department of Defense has released its 2024 Commercial Space Integration Strategy, which outlines a plan to incorporate commercial space solutions effectively into national security space architectures, Defense .gov reported. The strategy includes four primary goals: ensuring access to commercial solutions throughout conflict, pre-crisis integration, establishing security for commercial solutions and supporting the development of […]
A Rocket Lab mission will soon send the NEONSAT-1, a Korean Earth observation satellite designed for disaster monitoring, and NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, a technology demonstration for a solar sail propulsion system, into space. Using the Electron launch vehicle, the “Beginning of the Swarm” mission satellites will be sent into separate orbits from […]
BAE Systems has integrated an ultraviolet spectrometer into a satellite bus that it will provide to NASA to study how the exosphere interacts with space weather caused by the sun. NASA selected the company to develop the satellite bus, which will carry all scientific instruments for the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory mission, previously called the Global […]
U.S. Space Force officials are calling for greater investment in artificial intelligence and machine learning to ensure the United States remains a leader in space. Speaking at the Mitchell Institute’s Spacepower Security Forum on Wednesday, Space Forces-Space Commander Lt. Gen. Doug Schiess said that while some units have completed integrating the technology, AI could be […]
Twelve university team finalists are set to compete in the Human Lander Challenge, a competition that focuses on finding solutions to the dust cloud problem besetting spacecraft during landings, NASA said. The finalists include teams from the Colorado School of Mines, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Texas A&M University, Ohio Northern University, Texas State University, the College […]
NASA has awarded Science Applications International Corporation an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide safety and mission assurance engineering support to the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. Set to start June 1, the contract has a five-year base period and two one-year options, with a total maximum value […]
SpaceWERX and AFWERX AFVentures, the Department of the Air Force’s commercial investment arm, have launched the Strategic Funding Increase and Tactical Funding Increase programs for 2024. According to a notice of opportunity issued by the organizations, the program helps bridge the transition between the SBIR/STTR Phase II efforts and the Phase III scaling initiative, allowing […]
