Chris Thompson, former chief engineer of advanced projects at Astra, was named chief technology officer of Phantom Space, where he will lead the development of launch vehicles and satellites and oversee related efforts. The Tucson, Arizona-based space transportation technology development and manufacturing company said Thursday Thompson brings to his new role decades-long experience in the […] More

Michele Flournoy, a former Department of Defense official, has been appointed to the board of directors at launch services provider Astra Space and she will serve on the nominating and corporate governance committee. Flournoy is a managing partner of WestExec Advisors, a Washington, D.C. consulting firm she established with several other government veterans, and a […] More

Stratos Davlos, former executive at IBM‘s Watson business, will lead a software team at Astra as part of his appointment as the space services provider’s senior vice president of software. The 20-year veteran in artificial intelligence and machine learning will oversee the intelligent operating system that supports Astra’s space platform and operations, the California-based company […] More

NASA has selected Astra Space, Relativity Space and Firefly Black to launch different types of small satellites under contracts with a combined value of $16.7M. The companies will send to space nanosatellites, CubeSats and other types of small satellites under the Venture Class Launch Services Demonstration 2 effort, the space agency said Saturday.

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The Catalyst Space Accelerator has chosen eight small businesses to take part in its sixth accelerator program.

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Atmospheric & Space Technology Research Associates has built an information system as part of a National Science Foundation-backed project that aims to increase the resiliency of power grid infrastructure to the effects of space weather.

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Atmospheric & Space Technology Research Associates has received a six-month contract of an undisclosed value to design a small, low-Earth orbit satellite architecture to support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's weather forecasting mission.

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Peter Beck, founder and CEO of small satellite launch firm Rocket Lab, said the Department of Defense and other agencies could help the small launch sector by funding space programs that will drive demand for launch services, SpaceNews reported Monday.

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Northrop Grumman has announced that its automated cargo spacecraft slated to be deployed to the International Space Station will be named after former U.S. Navy officer and NASA astronaut John Young. The Cygnus spacecraft will be launched aboard Northrop’s Antares rocket on Nov. 15 from Pad-0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located at NASA’s Wallops Flight […] More

BAE Systems will invest $508 million to revive an industry-led effort to establish regulations and technology for the integration of unmanned air vehicles into the U.K. national airspace, FlightGlobal reported Tuesday. Beth Stevenson writes the U.K. government’s business department previously funded the Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation and Assessment program before it cancelled the effort to […] More

An Orbital Sciences cargo spacecraft launched from NASA‘s Wallop’s Flight Facility in Virginia Thursday to carry supplies to the International Space Station. An Antares rocket lifted off from Wallops and will transport 2,780 pounds of load including science experiments, crew supplies and spare parts to the ISS, NASA said Thursday. The mission is Orbital’s first contracted cargo delivery […] More

Natilus has secured $6 billion in advance commitments to deliver over 440 autonomous cargo aircraft to major airlines and integrators. The purchase commitments for Natilus’ unmanned aerial vehicles were from Volatus Aerospace, Flexport, Dymond, Astral Aviation and Aurora International, Natilus said Wednesday. “In parallel with the development of our family of autonomous aircraft, we are […] More