Astroscale's U.S. business has secured a $25.5 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to build a small satellite capable of conducting uninterrupted refueling missions in geostationary orbit. The Astroscale Prototype Servicer for Refueling will be designed to carry and transfer hydrazine directly to client spacecraft, Astroscale U.S. said Wednesday.

The Potomac Officers Club's 2024 Space Summit will offer an in-depth look at how U.S. space experts, government leaders and industry executives are tackling the most urgent issues while forging a path forward in space. Register now.

More

NASA announced on Sept. 29 that it had selected SpaceX to launch the Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites mission. The pair of small satellites will study space weather and how the sun’s energy affects Earth’s magnetosphere, the space agency said. The TRACERS launch task order was awarded to SpaceX under the Venture-Class Acquisition of […] More

NASA has selected four companies and one university research organization to conduct phase A study on developing a solar coronagraph instrument for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s space weather forecasting mission. EO Vista, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Raytheon Technologies‘ intelligence and space business, Southwest Research Institute and the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space […] More

France- and Italy-based businesses of Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales and Leonardo, have landed spots on a potential $6 billion NASA contract vehicle covering spacecraft systems and support services through an on-ramp solicitation process. The agency issued the first RAPID IV on-ramp award nearly eight months after its original selection of five aerospace companies to participate in the program.

More

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has completed initial tests on a field-deployable system that combines technologies from the Southwest Research Institute and PyroGenesis Canada to neutralize chemical warfare agents. DARPA said Friday it tested SwRI’s soil-scrubbing technology alongside PyroGenesis’ Tactical Plasma Arc Chemical Warfare Agents Destruction System that works to collect and convert toxic CWA decomposition products into non-hazardous salts. The platform […] More

A team led by the Southwest Research Institute has received a $5 million contract to develop tools and methods for NASA to explore the solar system through the space agency’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute. The Project for Exploration Science Pathfinder Research for Enhancing Solar System Observations consortium will focus on pathfinding research, techniques and technologies to support missions on airless bodies […] More

The U.S. Air Force has awarded a $6.7 million contract to a team comprised of Boeing, Southwest Research Institute and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining to help the military branch develop software and technology for a multi-process robotic system. SwRI said Wednesday the team aims to build and demonstrate a mobile robotic platform that will […] More

Southwest Research Institute has received potential five-year, $39 million contract to help the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division build tactical and non-tactical systems. SwRI said Tuesday it will provide research, development, testing and support services intended to help NSWCDD address technical challenges. The nonprofit aims to help fulfill the center’s system requirements for homeland security, counterterrorism, mission assurance, force protection, unmanned systems […] More

The U.S. Air Force civil engineer center’s environmental restoration division has awarded an LMI-led team a one-year, $500,000 task order to provide systems engineering and other services to address program requirements. The consulting firm said Monday it will utilize its previous experience with similar U.S. Army environmental restoration programs, as well as the company’s environmental remediation services […] More

Blue Origin and Sierra Space will jointly create a new space station that will operate in low Earth orbit to foster development and human space exploration. The Orbital Reef station is envisioned to support research, industrial, international and commercial pursuits to expand the scope of markets applicable to space, Blue Origin said Monday. The future […] More

Virgin Orbit and the Southwest Research Institute have partnered to look into combining the former’s LauncherOne rocket and the latter’s space mission development expertise to potentially pursue specialized mission opportunities. The partnership is exploring opportunities in joint SwRI platform manufacturing and services delivery to Virgin Orbit clients, and considering stewardship programs focused on the use […] More

Alan Stern, associate vice president of the space science and engineering division at Southwest Research Institute, has been selected to join a scientific team that will fly aboard a Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo vehicle to carry out NASA-backed experiments.

More