The U.S. Air Force has moved its plans to launch two Lockheed Martin-built military satellites from late 2017 to 2018 due to different circumstances, Spaceflight Now reported Wednesday. The Air Force told the publication it postponed the Oct. 11 launch of the fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite because of a technical issue with a […] More

 NASA has enlisted commercial space company Techshot and kitchenware provider Tupperware Brands to help the agency optimize a plant growth system on board the International Space Station. Techshot said Tuesday it will work with Tupperware to further develop NASA’s Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System, a design concept meant to replace the component of ISS’ Vegetable Production System […] More

NASA has posted a request for information on power and propulsion concepts that can help the agency meet deep space exploration objectives. The space agency said Tuesday seeks information on conceptual designs; current industry capabilities and development methods; and potential commercial applications of deep space power and solar electric propulsion technologies. “Through the RFI, we hope to better understand […] More

Iridium Communications CEO Matt Desch has said the Iridium NEXT satellite constellation works to help track the location of commercial aircraft across trans-oceanic routes in support of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Next Generation Air Transportation System program, NASASpaceflight.com reported Friday. Desch said the company has equipped its Iridium NEXT satellites with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast receivers designed to enable planes to communicate […] More

SpaceX‘s Dragon spacecraft has splashed down in the Pacific Ocean approximately 260 miles southwest of the California coast after it completed a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station, Space.com reported Monday. The reused cargo spacecraft launched June 3 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket and returned from its flight to ISS on Monday at 8:14 […] More

A joint venture of Geocent and Plasma Processes has received a six-month contract from NASA to develop multifunctional radiation shielding composites for potential use in space crew vehicles, habitats and other applications. Geoplasma aims to produce materials that can help shield space exploration vehicles and habitats against galactic cosmic rays as part of the Phase I Small Business Innovation Research program, […] More

Rick Weiss, a spokesperson for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has said Cape Canaveral in Florida will serve as the site for flight tests and launch operations for a hypersonic aircraft to be developed under DARPA’s Experimental Spaceplane program, Spaceflight Now reported Tuesday. DARPA partnered with Boeing in May to build an unmanned reusable spaceplane – […] More

The U.S. Air Force plans to launch a Boeing-built X-37B spaceplane aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in August, Spaceflight Now reported Tuesday. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson announced Tuesday the fifth mission of the spaceplane, also called the Orbital Test Vehicle, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. The announcement came a month after one […] More

Bob Genter, senior vice president and general manager of the federal civilian customer group at Science Applications International Corp., has said the company will support current and future applied engineering technology programs at NASA‘s Goddard Space Flight Center under a potential five-year, $620 million contract. The company will also carry out support for the components, subsystems, systems and instruments of […] More

Iridium Communications CEO Matt Desch has said eight of the first 10 Iridium NEXT satellites that took off in January began to provide data and voice transmission service between March and mid-April, Spaceflight Now reported Friday. Stephen Clark writes Desch said at a quarterly earnings call Thursday that engineers have begun to reposition the two other satellites […] More

United Launch Alliance has wrapped up the final testing phase on an emergency egress platform for the Boeing-built Starliner crew capsule designed to fly aboard the ULA-built Atlas V rocket for crewed missions to the International Space Station. ULA collaborated with zip line maker Terra-Nova to develop the Emergency Egress System in support of NASA’s Commercial […] More

Boeing has launched a parachute system of its crew capsule at Spaceport America‘s purpose-built commercial spaceport in New Mexico to verify the inflation characteristics and landing system performance of the platform during touchdown. Spaceport America said Friday the CST-100 Starliner Parachute System Test Launch utilized a giant helium-filled balloon that carried a flight-sized boilerplate spacecraft 40,000 feet above the San Andres Mountains and […] More