Ball Aerospace has selected launch and space systems company Rocket Lab to provide the solar array panel for NASA’s Global Lyman-Alpha Imager of Dynamic Exosphere mission spacecraft. Rocket Lab will use its Z4J solar cells, which are four-junction, radiation-hardened, germanium-based components. The solar cells will be laid down on carbon composite facesheet panels. Germanium is […]
Houston-headquartered Oceaneering International announced that its aerospace and defense business unit, Oceaneering Space Systems, has been selected to join a Collins Aerospace-led team to develop next-generation extravehicular spacesuits for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Astronauts will require spacesuits with a range of new technologies for missions as early as 2025 through 2034, Oceaneering said […]
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration‘s chief data officer revealed plans to expand data-sharing programs with commercial and government partners to increase the use of data as a strategic asset. Ron Thompson said he has already met with counterparts at the Space Force to discuss prospects for better operational data-sharing and other potential areas of […]
The Department of Defense has selected Northrop Grumman and engineering consultancy firm Aeronix to create a mesh networking prototype that would enable a secure and connected battlespace for its vision of the joint force. The companies will develop a Space End Cryptographic Unit prototype that will connect platforms and weapons in low-Earth orbit. The Space […]
Virginia-headquartered Booz Allen Hamilton announced that it has been awarded a contract to provide a complete range of cybersecurity solutions and services for the Office of the Chief Information Officer of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The hybrid indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity single-award contract has a total potential value of $622.5 million if all options are exercised, […]
Space technology companies Redwire and MDA separately announced Tuesday that they have each been awarded contracts to produce tactical communications antennas for satellites in low Earth orbit. The antennas being procured will be installed on satellites that will be part of the Link-16 tactical data network for the United States military, SpaceNews reported Tuesday. Florida-headquartered […]
Clare Grason, chief of the Space Force’s Commercial Satellite Communications Office, said that despite the current policy towards sourcing satellite services commercially, many military customers still distrust private sector solutions as a replacement for government-developed systems. She added that efforts are underway to build customer confidence in the products currently available in the market, SpaceNews […]
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced that its engineers fired a two-foot-diameter, subscale solid rocket booster in tests that took place on Wednesday at the Marshall Space Flight Center. During the test conducted at the center’s East Test Area, the new rocket managed to produce 92,000 pounds of thrust, NASA said Saturday. In a […]
The Government Accountability Office said there are lapses with the U.S. Air Force‘s process for selecting the headquarters for the U.S. Space Command. The federal oversight body compared the Air Force’s selection methods against 21 best practices for analyzing alternatives. According to a GAO report, the military branch had shortfalls in transparency and credibility. In […]
NASA has selected new instrument suites that will help experts explore the moon under the Artemis program. The Lunar Vulkan Imaging and Spectroscopy Explorer will explore the summit of one of the Gruithuisen Domes, whose formation involved a kind of silica-rich magma, unlike on Earth, where the evolution of similar structures would have involved plate […]
