NASA has selected six companies to demonstrate their prototype robotic systems designed to navigate through the lunar south pole. The six companies were chosen through NASA’s Break the Ice Lunar Challenge, conceived in 2020 to identify novel solutions that can collect samples from the lunar south pole for further studies. The six, all from the […]
The Space Development Agency’s goal onward from September 2024 is to send 161 satellites into space in less than a year, SDA Director Derek Tournear said at the National Security Space Association’s online SpaceTime Series on Thursday. The target starting that month is “an 11-launch campaign over 11 months, one launch a month,” Tournear disclosed. […]
El Segundo, California-based Pacific Defense has announced a 39-month, $9.4 million Phase II contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Control Technology Branch to finish work on the Moonraker system. Intended for a cislunar space situational awareness mission, Moonraker is a low size, weight and power sensor built with a modular open systems approach, […]
Gilat Satellite Networks announced that its Wavestream subsidiary has secured a $20 million contract to extend its work on a U.S. Army program to sustain ubiquitous satellite connectivity. The Army initiative aims to deliver a communications-on-the-pause solution worldwide using satellite transportable terminals integrated with Wavestream’s ruggedized solid state amplifier, Gilat said Monday. Bob Huffman, general manager […]
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has selected 14 companies to study the possibilities and implications of setting up a commercial lunar civilization. Under the 10-Year Lunar Architecture Capability Study, the companies will look at rapid technology development concepts for shareable and scalable systems that the United States and other countries can use on the […]
Karman Space & Defense has detailed its part in NASA’s OSIRIS-Rex launch and the first-ever retrieval of asteroid samples from space that the mission delivered in September. Hailing the mission’s success in a press statement Tuesday, Karman disclosed that its contribution included the parachute mortar system that was used for the controlled landing of the […]
The U.S., UK and Australian governments are partnering for a new initiative to provide resilient space-based radar capabilities. According to John Plumb, U.S. assistant secretary of defense for space policy, the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability program will allow the countries to track, identify and characterize space objects and support space domain awareness and responsible […]
The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command has announced that Canada is the first partner nation to access an ultra-high-frequency satellite communications system for connecting joint warfighters worldwide through adverse environmental conditions. The Mobile User Objective System features stronger performance and reduced signal interference over older systems, SSC said Thursday. Under the Tactical Narrowband SATCOM […]
Aly Mendoza-Hill, head of the Rideshare Office in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said the agency’s rideshare policy is being updated for better alignment with current developments and challenges in deploying science missions in space. NASA will provide other rideshare options, including its Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare contract system and Artemis missions, Mendoza-Hill disclosed […]
The University of Texas at El Paso will lead a study on Unresolved Resident Space Objects under a five-year, $5 million grant from the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research’s Space University Research Initiative. The research team will study URSOs using spectroscopy and integrate methods like remote sensing and laboratory experiments with telescope observations. According […]
