Satellite solutions provider Terran Orbital has delivered its Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator 3 satellite to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of the SpaceX Transporter-5 mission. PTD-3 is a 12-kilogram 6U cube satellite that hosts and supports on-orbit operations of the TeraByte InfraRed Delivery payload, which was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory […]
NASA announced that its chief flight director, Holly Ridings, will serve as the deputy program manager for the Gateway Program, an effort to establish a human space station around the moon. According to NASA’s website, Gateway is a key part of its Artemis program and will provide essential support for long-term human presence on the […]
Aerospace company Boeing launched the CST-100 Starliner crew transport spacecraft on May 19. The mission is part of Orbital Flight Test-2, which is designed to test the spacecraft’s end-to-end capabilities as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. CST-100 was loaded atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space […]
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Friday said that the giant rocket that will carry astronauts to the moon, the Space Launch System, is being readied for another practice countdown. This will be the fourth attempt at a “wet dress rehearsal” after three previous attempts were terminated prematurely due to problems with the rocket, […]
CACI International announced that it has completed a demonstration of a space-to-space optical communications capability in low-Earth orbit for the Department of Defense. The test was a part of the Mandrake II program, which is aimed at building the algorithms needed to maintain high-speed communication links between future military satellites. Mandrake II is a technology […]
NASA has selected Ball Aerospace and Raytheon Intelligence & Space to work on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geostationary Extended Observations Atmospheric Composition instrument Phase A Study. For Phase A, Raytheon and Ball Technologies will develop the ACX concept and mature necessary technologies. The study phase will also help define the instrument’s performance, risks, […]
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is asking the public for its input on which exploration objectives it should devote its resources to in the next 20 years. Specifically, the space agency wants stakeholders to share their views on 50 high-level exploration objectives it recently listed, SpaceNews reported Thursday. On Tuesday, NASA published on its […]
NASA has awarded Peraton a $339.1 million contract to continue operating its Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas. CSBF provides NASA centers and universities worldwide with launch services for unmanned high-altitude research balloons, according to its website. Peraton will provide operations and maintenance services to CSBF under the new seven-year NASA Balloon Operations Contract […]
NASA is seeking input from the industry, academia, international community and other stakeholders for the space agency’s Moon to Mars objectives under the Artemis set of missions. In a draft set of high-level objectives released on May 17, NASA said it is looking for information on four categories: transportation and habitation, lunar and Martian infrastructure, […]
The Defense Innovation Unit has awarded two prototype other transaction authority contracts to test new approaches for testing nuclear propulsion and power delivery for spacecraft. The contracts were awarded to Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. and Avalanche Energy. The companies will test solutions that will give small spacecraft the ability to maneuver in cislunar space and […]
