NASA has sent and received data at a distance of nearly 10 million miles, marking the first time the agency transmitted lasers beyond the moon. Under the two-year Deep Space Optical Communications experiment, NASA scientists beamed a near-infrared laser from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Optical Communications Telescope Lab to the Psyche spacecraft. The DSOC payload […]
Rep. Frank Lucas, chairman of the House Science Committee, has put off a vote on a commercial space bill until after Thanksgiving due to the White House’s release of a related legislative proposal. Co-introduced by Lucas earlier in November, the Commercial Space Act of 2023 would establish a mission authorization system at the Department of […]
Jim Free, associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, has been promoted to associate administrator of the agency, succeeding Robert Cabana, who is retiring at the end of 2023 after serving two years at the post. Catherine Koerner, deputy associate administrator for exploration systems development, will succeed Free and assume responsibility for developing the Moon to […]
Northrop Grumman has concluded a critical design review for satellites that will be used for the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 1 Tracking Layer, allowing the company to start producing the T1TRK satellites. Candace Givens, vice president of overhead persistent infrared and geospatial systems at Northrop, said the milestone puts the company closer to delivering missile defense […]
Karl Mathias, the Department of Health and Human Services’ chief information officer, has announced that he will step down on Dec. 1 to assume an undisclosed role at NASA. HHS Deputy CIO Jennifer Wendel will serve as acting CIO when Mathias exits, Federal News Network reported. Meanwhile, La Monte Yarborough, the department’s chief information security […]
Budget uncertainties for 2024 have prompted NASA to slow down its Mars Sample Return work, an official said Monday. Speaking at a Planetary Science Advisory Committee meeting, Sandra Connelly, deputy associate administrator for science at NASA, said the agency ordered three MSR field centers to reduce their activities. MSR currently operates on an $822.3 million […]
Denton Gibson has taken on the position of launch director for the Launch Services Program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Alongside senior Launch Director Tim Dunn, Gibson will oversee the execution of science and robotic missions and lead a team that handles NASA-managed launch vehicle services, NASA said Monday. Dunn and Gibson are expected to […]
The U.S. Space Command is seeking to improve its relationship with the academic community to address problems plaguing the country’s space community. Gen. James Dickinson, commander of the Space Command, said the academia is composed of the most brilliant minds that could help USSPACECOM address its challenges. To foster collaboration with leading researchers and educational […]
Australia-based space flight technology provider Saber Astronautics has secured a 15-month, $1.2 million Small Business Technology Transfer Phase 2 contract from the U.S. Space Force for data visualization software development. The contractor will work with Purdue University to develop Space Cockpit, a visualization platform the company started working on in 2019. Under the contract, Saber […]
Bulgaria has become the 32nd country to sign a set of principles to guide international cooperation on space exploration. Established in 2020, the Artemis Accords advance obligations in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and strengthen the commitments of participating nations to various agreements and best practices, NASA said Thursday. In a recent signing ceremony, officials […]
