The Department of Defense and the director of national intelligence are working to comply with provisions in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act that direct them to publish an unclassified version of an on-orbit satellite protection strategy. Congressional defense and intelligence committees want a public version of the document that can help justify higher space […]
The U.S. Space Force has awarded Astranis Space Technologies a potential two-year, Small Business Innovation Research Phase 3 contract. Under the deal, Astranis will incorporate the Protected Tactical Waveform on a commercial communications payload. The contract includes a $4.5 million base award and options worth $6 million for an on-orbit demonstration, SpaceNews reported Tuesday. Astranis […]
NASA has announced the crew who will fly to the International Space Station as part of the second Axiom Space private astronaut mission. Peggy Whitson, Axiom Space’s director of human spaceflight and a former NASA astronaut, was selected as the Axiom Mission 2 commander. Joining Whitson on the mission are John Shoffner of Knoxville, Tennessee, […]
The U.S. Space Force is looking to adjust the delivery schedule for the Next-Generation Operational Control Segment, a replacement for the ground systems that operate GPS satellites. Raytheon Technologies is responsible for building OCX, which is to be deployed in three increments. OCX Block 0, which features cybersecurity enhancements and a capability to support GPS […]
Modern Technology Solutions Inc. has secured an $87 million prime contract with the Space Systems Command to support the Mobile User Objective System and narrowband satellite communications program office. MTSI will lead a team responsible for the engineering and logistics needs of the Military Communications and Positioning, Navigation and Timing program executive office in space research, […]
Blue Origin has secured a task order to launch NASA’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers mission. Blue Origin will launch ESCAPADE on its New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. New Glenn, named after the late astronaut and Marine Corps aviator John Herschel Glenn, is a reusable orbital launch […]
NASA has awarded Autonomic Integra a cost-plus-fixed-fee completion contract to provide specialized scientific support services to the Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The potential $20.87 million contract has one base year and four one-year option periods. Autonomic Integra’s work will focus on supporting scientific programming and analysis, systems programming analysis and computer facility operations. The […]
The Space Systems Command is heading U.S. Space Force efforts to liaise with government agencies and the private sector on the establishment of a commercial augmentation space reserve, a fleet of backup spacecraft for military use during crises and conflicts. According to Chirag Parikh, the National Space Council’s executive secretary, the Ukraine conflict revealed the usefulness and […]
Hanscom Air Force Base’s 66th Logistics Readiness Squadron has overseen the delivery of the first two Quasi-Zenith Satellite System-Hosted Payloads to Japan. The QZSS-HP was delivered to the 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo. Members of the 66th LRS Air Transportation Function worked with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory, […]
The Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory has completed critical space environment tests for NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment instrument. The laboratory exposed the AWE instrument to various forces and scenarios, such as electromagnetic interference and compatibility, vibrations, thermal vacuum and full-system calibrations. The tests were designed to simulate the ionosphere-thermosphere-mesosphere system, where the instrument will […]
