The Space Force’s Orbital Prime program for research studies on In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing is moving on to its next phase of possible commercialization of the technologies presented. The program had initially granted study contracts to more than 100 companies, which were shortlisted to 41 companies currently working under the program’s Phase 2 Small […]
The U.S. Space Systems Command has awarded Kratos Space & Missile Defense Systems, Aerojet Rocketdyne Coleman Aerospace and Corvid Technologies positions on the Sounding Rocket Program-4 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. The new contractors will have the chance to compete for suborbital launch and launch support service task orders at their facilities or government-operated locations. The three companies […]
The European Space Agency has added the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna to its mission lineup, with a launch expected in the mid-2030s. NASA will play a vital role in developing LISA, supplying several key components and engineering support. The U.S. space agency will provide devices that help reduce disturbances from electromagnetic charges. Three spacecraft will […]
The U.S. Space Force has awarded Lockheed Martin and Boeing a $66 million contract each to design satellite prototypes for the Mobile User Objective System program. MUOS satellites operate in the narrowband frequency to minimize negative effects brought about by weather and ensure that information is transmitted to receivers securely. The satellites were built to […]
The Space Development Agency has awarded General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems a contract to demonstrate its optical communication terminals for the agency. GA-EMS is working on two OCTs for space-to-space communications in degraded environments. The terminals, designed to meet SDA standards and requirements, support satellite networks, data and information sharing and collective on-orbit computing for various […]
Northrop Grumman’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station is scheduled for launch on Jan. 29 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying over 200 payloads under ISS National Laboratory sponsorship. According to the ISS NL’s launch announcement, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft, a mainstay in previous space station resupply […]
Lockheed Martin announced that it has shipped the last of four weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R network to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Named GOES-U, the next-generation spacecraft is undergoing preparations by Astrotech Space Operations ahead of a planned launch starting in April 2024, Lockheed said […]
White papers on potential lunar landing sites and the round-trip challenges of crewed Mars missions are among the updates in the 2023 Moon to Mars Architecture Concept Review that NASA released on Tuesday. The roadmap on the solar system exploration for mankind’s benefit contains inputs from U.S. industry, academia and other stakeholders that the agency […]
Freedom Space Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of ATLAS Space Operations, has announced that it secured a U.S. Space Systems Command contract to support the Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution System Command and Control effort. The company will provide software solutions that would bridge existing government architectures with a prototype architecture currently under development. The […]
Steve Lang, deputy assistant secretary of state, has warned that protecting U.S. satellite spectrum interests internationally will become more difficult in future negotiations. He spearheaded U.S. efforts at the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference, an event held by the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union every four years to discuss and amend radio spectrum allocation policy, including […]
