NASA will hold a virtual industry day on Oct. 12 to discuss the agency’s expectations for commercial space stations in low-Earth orbit. The event will take place ahead of the Nov. 17 deadline for responses to a notice soliciting industry feedback on NASA’s requirements for new commercial space destinations. NASA plans to shift to using […]
San Diego-based General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems has secured a $14.2 million Space Development Agency contract to deliver two optical communications terminals integrated into two half-ESPA GA-75 satellite buses. Scheduled to be delivered by December 2024, the spacecraft will be used to test satellite-to-satellite laser communications in degraded environments, SpaceNews reported Friday. GA-EMS won the contract […]
NASA announced that it has chosen four small explorer missions for concept studies on Sun- Earth relationships through investigations of solar phenomena, such as coronal mass ejections, auroras and solar wind. According to Nicky Fox, NASA associate science administrator, the four studies were selected because they complement the agency’s current mission fleet and offer the […]
SpaceX will use its Falcon 9 rocket to launch NASA’s Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance mission. The TRACERS mission will use a pair of small spinning satellites that will study magnetic reconnection in the Earth’s magnetopause region. The satellites will look at the implications of magnetic reconnection on space crew and sensitive satellites. Magnetic […]
The U.S. Space Force is looking into establishing a combatant unit in Japan, Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, said at a press conference in Tokyo Monday. A Space Force presence in Japan represents the next step in expanding the service’s Indo-Pacific footprint, said Saltzman at the start of his visit. In November 2022, […]
AFWERX has awarded two Orbital Prime contracts to Rogue Space Systems to continue the company’s development of a cubesat dispenser system and a contactless spacecraft manipulation solution. Rogue Space will build on its work on its previous Phase 1 Small Business Technology Transfer contracts under the Orbital Prime program. STTR contracts require awardees to partner […]
Mynaric announced that it has completed optical verification and phase 1 interoperability tests for the CONDOR Mk3 optical communications terminals, which will be integrated into Northrop Grumman-built satellites built for the Space Development Agency. During the optical verification tests, Mynaric confirmed CONDOR Mk3’s pointing, data acquisition and tracking abilities. Phase 1 interoperability tests focused on […]
The Space Systems Command has announced a $10 million contract award to the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab to check the software and cybersecurity of SSC’s Evolved Strategic SATCOM’s ground segment prototypes. SSC separately awarded in May a $30 million contract each to two combined vendor groups – Team Raytheon and Team Lockheed – […]
The U.S. Space Force’s Space Safari and the Defense Innovation Unit are gearing up for Victus Haze, a follow-on to the recently launched Victus Nox tactically responsive space mission. The DIU previously solicited proposals to prototype and demonstrate on-orbit tactically responsive space systems for Victus Haze, including the capability to deploy a satellite within 24 […]
Charity Weeden has assumed the role of associate administrator of NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy, which advises leadership on strategic planning and investments. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson swore Weeden in at the agency’s Washington headquarters on Monday. In a press release, he noted that Weeden is expected to continue OTPS’ delivery of strategic […]
