U.S. Air Force and Space Force leaders will launch AFWERX 3.0 on Dec. 14 with a live broadcast that will inform stakeholders about the program’s objectives. The virtual event will include an “ask me anything” session and a fireside chat. AFWERX 3.0 will provide increased funding opportunities and ensure innovative ideas will have the government’s […]
The Air Force Research Laboratory kicked off construction of the $4.5 million Facility for Radiation Tolerance Research on Electronics for Space and Strategic Systems in a Nov. 16 groundbreaking ceremony. Situated next to the Space Vehicles Directorate Deployable Structures Laboratory, the FORTRESS facility is intended to be a venue for developing resilient electronic components for […]
Blue Origin has signed a cooperative research and development agreement with the Space Systems Command’s Assured Access to Space directorate, allowing the company to submit a launch service proposal for the third phase of the National Security Space Launch competition. Under the CRADA, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, which is still under development, will resume […]
NASA has announced additional opportunities for its Japanese counterpart under the Artemis mission. Under the Gateway Implementing Arrangement, NASA will give the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency an opportunity to send one of its astronauts as a Gateway crew member. The announcement marks the first commitment by the U.S. to send a Japanese astronaut aboard the […]
An uncrewed Orion exploration spacecraft is now heading to the moon after its launch atop NASA’s Space Launch System from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday. The flight is part of the first Artemis mission, which aims to gather data and ensure that the systems are secure and reliable to safely bring astronauts to […]
The White House has released the National Cislunar Science and Technology Strategy, a new government-wide plan to develop scientific and economic activities in the area between Earth’s geosynchronous orbit and the moon. The document lays out four goals for research conducted in cislunar space, namely facilitating long-term growth, expanding international cooperation, extending situational awareness and […]
SpaceX has secured a $1.2 billion contract modification from NASA to conduct a second crewed landing demonstration in 2027 using the Starship human landing system. The space agency exercised an option that tasks SpaceX with meeting Artemis IV mission requirements such as a Gateway docking capability, room for four additional crew members and the capacity […]
The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment cube satellite entered its final orbit on Monday. According to NASA, CAPSTONE completed a 16-minute maneuver to position itself into a near-rectilinear halo orbit around the moon. Jim Free, associate administrator for exploration systems development at NASA, said the CubeSat’s six-month mission will allow the […]
The U.S. Space Command has established the Combined Joint Task Force-Space Operations, a new organization tasked to streamline space operations and provide satellite-based services to military forces on the ground. CJTF-SO will ensure the efforts of the Joint Task Force-Space Defense and the Combined Force Space Component Command are coordinated to enable an agile response […]
Advanced Space will build an experimental spacecraft for tracking objects around the moon under a $72 million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate. Contract work supports the lab’s Oracle spacecraft program, which aims to develop advanced techniques to detect previously unknown objects and study spacecraft positioning and navigation in the region […]
