NASA plans to launch an instrument designed to measure Earth’s ozone as part of SpaceX‘s 10th cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The agency said Saturday the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III on ISS  payload will launch with the SpaceX-built Dragon spacecraft this month from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SAGE III will be attached to […] More

NASA has restarted vibration tests on the James Webb Space Telescope after demonstrations shut down early on Dec. 3, 2016, due to sensor readings that went beyond predicted levels. The space agency said Wednesday an investigation revealed that the incident was caused by small motions of launch restraint mechanisms that keep one of JWST’s mirror wings folded-up. “Now […] More

A new Wise Guy Reports analysis predicts the global military satellite market will reach a compound annual growth rate of 5.6 percent from 2016 through 2020, buoyed by growing military demand worldwide for robust C4ISR systems. Wise Guy Reports said Monday it expects the C4ISR systems to also grow in light of the rising demands […] More

Engineers have completed the first “Center of Curvature” test on the primary mirror of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in order to measure the shape of the mirror before the telescope goes through a series of launch environment tests. NASA engineers collaborated with technicians from Ball Aerospace & Technologies and the Space Telescope Science Institute to conduct […] More

The U.S. Air Force plans to launch a space surveillance mission in 2021 to monitor the geosynchronous orbital belt that houses the service branch’s satellites, Space News reported Monday. Mike Gruss writes Congress appropriated $27 million for space situational awareness systems related activities such as the Space Based Space Surveillance to be launched in 2021. AnnMarie Annicelli, an Air Force […] More

A team of contractors led by an L-3 Communications division will deliver warfighter readiness and training research services to the U.S. Air Force under a seven-year, $200 million contract awarded in April. L-3 Link Simulation and Training will collaborate with Cubic‘s global defense unit, Ball Aerospace and Leidos to develop technology that will work to create wide-spectrum readiness features, Cubic said Monday. “As part […] More

NASA has performed a cryogenic test on the cameras and spectrographs of the James Webb Space Telescope in order to determine if the systems could withstand extremely cold temperatures inside a space environment simulator. The Webb telescope’s scientific instruments have been removed from a cylindrical  simulation chamber at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland following completion of […] More

NASA and industry partner Harris Corp. have completed their work to install the Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.-built primary mirrors for the James Webb Space Telescope ahead of its scheduled launch in 2018. The space agency said Thursday Harris installed Webb’s 18 mirrors with the final one in place Wednesday and will also lead integration work and tests […] More

Harris Corp. has installed the ninth flight mirror onto NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope structure at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The installation marks the progress of the telescope’s segmented primary mirror halfway to completion, which is scheduled for 2016, NASA said Tuesday. The engineering team used a robotic arm to lift and lower the […] More

Harris Corp. has begun the installation of the mirrors built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies for Northrop Grumman‘s optical technology on NASA‘s James Webb Space Telescope. The space agency said Wednesday the team used a robotic system to integrate the first of 18 flight mirrors onto the telescope at the Goddard Space Flight Center. “This installation not […] More

A Forecast International study estimates the production value of remote sensing satellites will reach $27.2 billion by 2024 due to an increasing demand for Earth imagery products in both government and commercial sectors. Manufacturers are projected to build more than 200 satellites equipped with remote sensing technology over the next decade, the research firm said […] More

A DigitalGlobe commercial Earth-observing satellite was sent into space Wednesday aboard an Atlas V rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. WorldView-3 is built to capture images at a multispectral resolution of 0.31 meters and has multiple shortwave infrared bands that will work to spot objects in the presence of fog, smoke, dust and […] More