A team of Thales Alenia Space and Orbital ATK has finished construction work on the first batch of communications satellites for Iridium‘s NEXT program, Spaceflight Now reported Wednesday. Stephen Clark writes the satellites are set for delivery to Vandenberg Air Force Base for fueling and mating with a SpaceX-built Falcon 9 rocket prior to the launch of initial  satellites on Sept. 11, […] More

The U.S. Air Force has unveiled its first fully built HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter under the Operational Loss Replacement program that works to bring the HH-60G fleet back to its authorized size and replace aircraft lost in previous combat operations. The Air Force said Tuesday 21 Sikorsky-built UH-60L Black Hawks will be integrated with modifications kits and additional equipment to build HH-60Gs under the OLR […] More

A China-built rocket designed to transport spacecraft and astronauts to the country’s proposed space station launched Saturday at 8 a.m. Eastern time from a launch pad on Hainan Island in the South China Sea, SpaceFlight Now reported Saturday. China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., the prime contractor on the Chinese space program, said the Long March 7 […] More

NASA has kicked off its hunt for a processor based on the ARM architecture for use aboard the space agency’s and U.S. Air Force’s future manned and unmanned spacecraft, Military & Aerospace Electronics reported Tuesday. John Keller writes NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center released a solicitation Monday in search of a radiation-hardened, multicore processor under the […] More

Blue Origin has received a spot on NASA‘s contract for suborbital reusable launch vehicle flight and payload integration services with a maximum combined value of $45 million. NASA said Friday Blue Origin will work to integrate payloads into its New Shepard suborbital rocket and fly the spacecraft near the boundary of space as part of NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program. […] More

NASA has started its solicitation of early-stage space technology proposals from universities to support the agency’s future space programs that include a human exploration of Mars. The agency said Thursday its space technology mission directorate plans to grant $500,000 each for 10 to 12 proposals from accredited U.S. universities. “We’d like to see Early Stage Innovations proposals that address our need for unique, disruptive […] More

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has partnered with the Naval Research Laboratory to build and evaluate payload technology for DARPA’s Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites initiative. NRL’s Naval Center for Space Technology will act as the lead payload developer for the RSGS program that aims to facilitate autonomous inspection, repositioning, repair and maintenance of satellites in orbit, the laboratory said Monday. A team of […] More

Erickson has landed a contract to look into the concept of operations for NASA‘s third-generation Mid-Air Retrieval Project. The aviation services company said Tuesday it will study the possible use of an S-64F Aircrane helicopter to retrieve NASA vessels in midair upon re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere. Erickson’s S-64F helicopter has a payload capacity of 25,000 pounds and has been employed for […] More

Iridium Communications has delayed the launch of its 66-satellite Iridium NEXT constellation from April to July after the launch provider notified of delays in obtaining government approvals for the launches, Iridium CEO Matt Desch told investors Thursday. SpaceX will launch 10 Iridium NEXT satellites in December on its Falcon 9 rocket and joint Russian-Ukrainian spaceflight company Kosmotros will subsequently launch two […] More

Steve Cook, director of corporate development and a vice president of Dynetics, has been named a fellow with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in recognition of his aerospace sector contributions. Cook was responsible for Dynetics’ launch programs, orbital spacecraft, analysis works, planetary exploration and nanotechnology research as the former director of space technologies, […] More

Raytheon has been selected by NASA to receive its contractor of the year award in the large business category for the company’s support to the agency and the Johnson Space Center. NASA recognized Raytheon’s collaboration with small businesses under a contract to help run JSC’s Space Vehicle Mockup Facility, Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory and Logistics and Mockup […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne has secured two contracts worth a combined $1.36 billion for the development of technologies to power the Space Launch System rocket and the CST-100 Starliner crew module that Boeing is building for NASA. NASA said Tuesday Aerojet Rocketdyne will build an expendable version of the company’s RS-25 engine for the SLS heavy-lift launch vehicle under a […] More