Iridium Communications has rescheduled the launch of the first pair of Iridium NEXT satellites to April to provide an additional four months to address an issue with the satellite’s communications payload, Spaceflight Now reported Tuesday. Stephen Clark writes Iridium CEO Matt Desch said Oct. 29 that prime contractor Thales Alenia Space found an issue inside the payload’s Ka-band […] More

Ball Aerospace & Technologies has completed the integration of an Aerojet Rocketdyne-built propulsion subsystem into a small satellite Ball is building for NASA‘s Green Propellant Infusion Mission. NASA aims to launch the Ball Commercial Platform-100 spacecraft equipped with Aerojet Rocketdyne’s Green Propellant Propulsion System into orbit next year, Ball Aerospace said Monday. Aerojet Rocketdyne delivered […] More

A United Launch Alliance-built rocket launched early Friday morning to mark the 100th mission carried out by the joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, NASASpaceflight.com reported Friday. An Atlas V rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to carry the Morelos-3 communications satellite into space, William Graham writes. The Atlas V contains an RL10 engine-powered Centaur upper stage, […] More

A joint venture of Thales Group and Finmeccanica has secured a potential $103 million contract from Airbus to build thermomechanical platforms for the Orion spacecraft’s European Service Module. Thales Alenia Space will supply thermal control, consumable storage components, micrometeoroid and structure protection systems for the space capsule’s ESM, Thales Group said Thursday. ESM will work to provide thermal control, […] More

The launch of a new Lockheed Martin-built Mobile User Objective System satellite has been moved to Wednesday due to tropical storm Erika, SpaceFlight Insider reported Monday. Lockheed said Friday MUOS-4 will join the other three satellites in the U.S. Navy’s communications satellite network that works to provide video, data and voice capabilities for mobile uniformed personnel through an Internet protocol-based platform. […] More

Harkins Contracting has been awarded a $5.6 million contract to construct a single-story mission launch command center at NASA‘s Wallops Island, Virginia-based flight facility. NASA said Thursday it would use the center to manage and interface with rockets, payloads, launch pad support systems when the agency conducts spaceflight missions from the Wallops Flight Facility. The […] More

Lockheed Martin and StemRad have started to study the potential application of StemRad’s radiation shielding technology to deep-space operations. The goal is to modify StemRad 360 Gamma into a radiation protection system that is intended to help protect astronauts during missions, Lockheed said Monday. Randy Sweet, business development director for civil space at Lockheed Martin, said the company […] More

Orbital ATK will produce the launch abort motor for the Orion spaceflight capsule’s launch abort system under a $98 million subcontract from Lockheed Martin. The company will design, develop and test the launch abort motor at three facilities in Utah, Orbital ATK said Tuesday. “The benefit of using a solid launch abort motor is being able to […] More

DRS Technologies and NASA have jointly developed a photon-counting mid-infrared detector that works to support remote-sensing applications in spaceflight and have been integrated into two new aircraft instruments. The space agency said Tuesday Goddard Space Flight Center scientist Xiaoli Sun worked with DRS to develop what NASA calls a “first-of-its-kind” detector, which is made of the mercury cadmium telluride alloy or HgCdTe. […] More

Lockheed Martin and Wyle Laboratories have submitted research proposals for a new program that seeks to examine potential health issues that astronauts may encounter during deep-space missions. The companies’ submissions are among 24 research projects that will receive $12.9 million in total funds from NASA and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, NSBRI said Thursday. […] More

D-J Engineering has secured a subcontract from Boeing to help manufacture machine parts for a space capsule under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, Spaceflight Insider reported Sunday. Collin Skocik writes D-J Engineering will manufacture hatch frame and frangible joints for the CST-100 spacecraft that is meant to bring astronauts to the International Space Station and Bigelow […] More

Orbital ATK will provide Lockheed Martin the attitude control motor for the Orion spacecraft’s Launch Abort System under a $90 million subcontract to support NASA‘s future deep-space missions. The attitude control motor works to provide the LAS steering controls to maneuver Orion away from the launch vehicle in case of emergency, Orbital ATK said Tuesday. “Orbital ATK’s […] More