Geographic information system software provider Esri has signed a Space Act agreement with NASA. The agreement grants NASA access to Esri’s geospatial intelligence content for research and exploration purposes. The company’s data sets include atmospheric health, land-based phenomena and oceanic information gathered by nearly 100 spaceborne sensors. The deal would add information to the ArcGIS […]
L3Harris Technologies has delivered the Navigation Technology Satellite-3 to an Air Force Research Laboratory facility at Kirtland Air Force Base for integration and testing prior to its launch onboard the USSF 106 launch mission later in 2023. NTS-3 will be sent to a geostationary orbit to augment the positioning, navigation and timing services of GPS […]
Nine organizations have received the green light to perform commercial flight tests for NASA. The nine, consisting of five academic institutions and four private entities, were selected in line with the 2022 TechFlights solicitations. Under the NASA deal, they will develop orbital commercial payload-hosting platforms and suborbital vehicles, such as high-altitude balloons, rocket-powered systems and […]
The Janus project is on hold while authorities look for new rideshare opportunities to deploy its pair of small satellites as well as methods to address newly publicized issues with its propulsion system. Janus was originally intended to launch aboard the rocket for Psyche, an asteroid study mission that was postponed to October 2023 due […]
The Department of Commerce has issued a draft plan for a free space traffic management service for commercial and civil space operators. According to the draft request for information from the Commerce Department, the space situational awareness safety service, dubbed the Traffic Coordination System for Space, would free the U.S. Space Command of the job […]
Rocket Lab’s Electron space vehicle flew on Tuesday from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, equipped with the NASA Autonomous Flight Termination Unit to ensure public safety during the launch. While mounted on a rocket, the NAFTU command-and-control system can autonomously make flight termination decisions in real time, providing benefits such as a wider launch […]
Frank Calvelli, the assistant secretary for space acquisitions and integration at the Department of the Air Force, said at a recent National Security Space Association event that the U.S. Space Force needs to concentrate on the deployment and enhancement of satellites supporting military operations. He also called for the prioritization of core mission areas such […]
Viasat has won a U.S. Marine Corps contract for end-to-end satellite communications-as-a-managed-service support meant to provide the service with scalable and rapidly deployable beyond-line-of-sight connectivity. The I Marine Expeditionary Force already uses Viasat’s SaaMS offering to support tactical edge soldiers with command and control in support of various exercises and multidomain operations. I MEF carried […]
NASA will establish a new office that will receive the first Mars samples that a space vehicle will return to Earth in 2033 and distribute them to laboratories worldwide for study. The Mars Sample Receiving Project office will be part of the Johnson Space Center’s Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science division. Its other responsibilities will […]
NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will work together to demonstrate a nuclear thermal rocket engine to be used for future Mars missions. The Demonstrator Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations program is a non-reimbursable agreement where both NASA and DARPA would outline roles, responsibilities and processes for speeding up the rocket’s development. According […]
