NASA welcomed 2024 with another round of tests for the Space Launch System rocket in support of future Artemis missions. On Wednesday, the U.S. space agency conducted a critical test series to obtain data that will help in producing new RS-25 engines by Aerojet Rocketdyne, a L3Harris Technologies subsidiary. The January 2024 test comes after […]
The Space Development Agency is planning to buy 20 satellites that will be used for the Tranche 2 Transport Layer Gamma military communications network. According to the SDA’s draft solicitation, the satellites will carry Warlock, a new type of communications node that would transmit targeting information and “close future kill chains.” T2TL Gamma is designed […]
NASA and 11 companies and one university will be working to ensure seamless operations at the International Space Station. The space agency announced that it had selected the companies to work on the $478 million Research, Engineering and Mission Integration Services-2 contract. Under the deal, the contractors will provide several support services, including ground hardware, […]
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has announced the appointment of Kurt Vogel as associate administrator of the Space Technology Mission Directorate, effective immediately. Vogel will handle executive leadership, strategic planning and management of all space technology programs financed by the unit’s $1.2 billion budget, NASA said. James Reuter, the previous STMD head, retired in 2023. Prasun […]
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency plans to use commercially available Earth observation data for its Luno program. According to an NGA request for proposals, the program aims to use commercial satellite imagery and data analytics to improve the agency’s global monitoring capabilities. NGA also shared that under Luno, it intends to procure products, data and services […]
Kathleen Hicks, deputy secretary of defense, said the United States remains committed to preventing any conflict in space or anywhere else, highlighting to its adversaries that conflict does not provide any benefit. Speaking at an event in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Wednesday, Hicks said the Department of Defense has launched a growing constellation of small, […]
NASA has announced a new agreement with the Department of Commerce to improve minority and underserved business participation in space acquisition and development projects. Under a three-year memorandum of agreement signed in late December, the Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency will work with a network of business centers and programs to promote relevant acquisition […]
Astrobotic announced that its Peregrine lunar lander experienced an anomaly with its propulsion system hours after launch on Monday. The company said the Peregrine spacecraft was operating as expected shortly after the United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur’s upper stage deployed and was communicating with NASA’s Deep Space Network. However, an anomaly occurred when Peregrine attempted […]
NASA has postponed the Artemis 2 and 3 lunar missions to resolve technical problems that could pose safety risks to their crews. According to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Artemis 2 and its four astronauts’ orbital moon mission had been reset from its end-2024 schedule to no earlier than September 2025. Nelson also said that the […]
Low-Earth orbit satellite constellation company Muon Space has announced a Small Business Innovation Research Phase I contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory’s AFWERX directorate to support weather intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance activities. AFWERX requires a feasibility study on the benefit of modifying a multispectral electro-optical/infrared instrument for cloud characterization observation, which the U.S. Air […]
