French aerospace and defense company Safran and Terran Orbital have partnered to look into the potential of producing electric propulsion systems for satellites in the U.S. Terra Orbital said Friday the memorandum of agreement with Safran Spacecraft Propulsion will seek to explore the feasibility of using the latter’s PPSX00 plasma thruster as basis for new satellite electric […] More

Virgin Orbit‘s national systems division has begun final preparations with Space Systems Command to launch a pair of research and development satellites for the U.S. Space Force from Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay, U.K.  The Space Test Program-27VPD mission will liftoff to orbit onboard Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket to perform R&D experiments to demonstrate the capability […] More

NASA will provide research grants to three university teams over a 12-month period to examine the orbital environment and explore how the government can develop policies to tackle the problem of space junk. An expert panel chose the winning proposals that are in line with the agency’s goal to address the risks of defunct manmade […] More

A SpaceX-built Dragon spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 rocket took off Thursday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to deliver over 5,800 pounds of crew supplies, science experiments and other cargo to the International Space Station as part of the company’s 25th resupply services mission to the ISS. The spacecraft is expected to arrive […] More

The Boeing-built CST-100 Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth Wednesday by landing at the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, marking the completion of the vehicle’s unmanned Orbital Flight Test-2 mission to the International Space Station with NASA. “With the completion of OFT-2, we will incorporate lessons learned and continue working to prepare […] More

The Boeing-built CST-100 Starliner spacecraft completed its docking to the International Space Station Friday as part of the Orbital Flight Test-2 mission under a partnership with NASA. The reusable spacecraft reached the ISS a day after it launched atop a United Launch Alliance-made Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, Boeing […] More

A Boeing-built reusable spacecraft carrying more than 800 pounds of crew supplies and cargo lifted off Thursday as part of the Orbital Flight Test-2 mission to the International Space Station under a partnership with NASA. The CST-100 Starliner spacecraft launched aboard a United Launch Alliance-made Atlas V rocket from a space launch complex at Cape […] More

NASA will liftoff five small research satellites aboard a SpaceX spacecraft to the International Space Station for the latest Educational Launch of Nanosatellites mission. As part of SpaceX’s 25th Commercial Resupply Services mission, the ELaNa 45 will launch to orbit on June 7 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the space agency […] More

BigBear.ai and Terran Orbital have signed a landmark software agreement in an effort to enhance satellite imaging capabilities of U.S. government customers. As part of the commercial agreement, the companies will leverage data collected from Terran Orbital’s planned NextGen Earth Observation constellation in tandem with BigBear.ai’s data analytics platform to deliver enhanced multi-source Earth imaging […] More

The Federal Communications Commission has authorized Boeing to build and deploy a satellite constellation in non-geostationary orbit to offer communications and broadband services. The company’s future constellation will globally provide connectivity for government, commercial, professional, institutional and residential applications, FCC said Wednesday. The fixed-satellite service system will operate with frequencies and inter-satellite links in parts […] More

BigBear.ai, an artificial intelligence and machine learning company, has entered into a commercial software agreement with Virgin Orbit to support and strengthen the launch services company’s capability with AI-powered, space-based data insights in support of the U.S. government, commercial clients and international defense. BigBear.ai said Friday it has already begun utilizing its Decision Dominance platform […] More

A Northrop Grumman cargo resupply spacecraft departed the International Space Station on Tuesday after a four-month stay to deploy five miniature satellites for the vehicle’s secondary mission. The company said Tuesday it expects the NG-15 Cygnus, nicknamed S.S. Katherine Johnson, to perform cubesat deployments while in orbit over a three-day period before the spacecraft returns […] More