The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said Congress is more likely to heed its call to shut down the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy after the 2021 decadal survey endorsed the program’s termination. SOFIA, a Boeing 747 with a 2.7-meter infrared telescope mounted in its fuselage, has been exacting a heavy financial burden on the […]
The Space Force officials revealed that the service is asking Congress for some $3.7 billion over the next five years to extend the life of the Mobile User Objective System constellation of satellites. The budget request also includes money to pay for the launch of two additional satellites to beef up the constellation, Defense News […]
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced that it is seeking proposals for Phases 2 and 3 of the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations program for the design, development, fabrication and assembly of a nuclear thermal rocket engine. The aim is to have an in-space flight demonstration of nuclear thermal propulsion by the fiscal […]
NASA and aerospace company Boeing said they are ready for another test flight attempt for the CST-100 Starliner after fixing an issue that delayed the mission. On Aug. 3, 2021, Starliner was supposed to launch for the Orbital Flight Test 2 mission but the launch was scrubbed because of problems with a propellant valve in […]
The Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has hired satellite industry leader Richard DalBello to lead the agency’s space commerce policy activities. DalBello will begin serving as the director of NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce on May 9. The key responsibilities of his office include promoting growth in the U.S. commercial space sector […]
The U.S. Space Force has awarded telecommunications infrastructure and network mobility solutions provider NIC4 an other transaction agreement contract to create a prototype Service Provider Registry. SPR is a component of the Satellite Communications Enterprise Management and Control that will support the planning and provisioning of Department of Defense terminals for mission operations. It will […]
Telesat Government Solutions announced that it has been selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to serve as a partner in its Communications Services Project under a $30.65 million Funded Space Act Agreement. The effort seeks to evaluate commercial satellite communications services to replace those provided by NASA’s aging Tracking and Data Relay Satellite […]
The U.S. Space Force is open to having more than two companies launch its military and intelligence satellites when current space delivery contracts expire and a recompete is opened in 2024, Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond revealed. Presently, only United Launch Alliance and SpaceX are providing launch capabilities for the service, SpaceNews reported […]
Raytheon Technologies subsidiary Blue Canyon Technologies has helped deploy a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory cube satellite spacecraft bus to geostationary orbit. BCT provided the 12u CubeSat bus, avionics, flight software, guidance navigation, radio frequency communication hardware and other components for the Ascent mission. The company was also on-site during the spacecraft commissioning and ensured […]
A top U.S. Space Force officer revealed that the service will seek funding for new space-based capabilities for tracking objects in space in addition to the more traditional role of tracking objects on Earth’s surface. Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, the deputy chief of space operations, said the budget request will be included in the USSF’s […]
