Palantir Technologies will provide its data as a service platform under a $32.5 million U.S. Air Force contract to support initiatives at the Department of the Air Force as well as the National Space Defense Center and the Combined Space Operations Center.

The U.S. Navy has commenced the second phase of a challenge focused on utilizing autonomous technology for small unit maneuver missions. Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division, the NavalX Midwest Tech Bridge and the Office of Naval Research selected eight teams to compete for the $250,000 prize as part of the  Artificial Intelligence for Small Unit Maneuvers Prize Challenge, NSWC Crane said Monday.

Jim Simpson, a board member at Virgin Orbit since May 2019, has been named chief strategy officer of the small satellite launch services provider. Virgin Orbit said Monday Simpson's space industry career will help the company stay focused on addressing customer requirements in the government and commercial launch sectors.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded contracts to five research and industry entities to develop manned and unmanned aerial combat maneuvering concepts as part of the agency’s Air Fight Evolution initiative.

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory will live-stream an online event from Aug. 18 to 20 for the third and final round of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency competition that will showcase artificial intelligence algorithms in a simulated aerial combat environment.

Virgin Orbit aims to help NASA bring 11 small satellites to space later this year as part of the second launch demonstration of an air-launched rocket.

Virgin Orbit has demonstrated prelaunch and flight procedures for a rocket the company designed to help customers bring small satellites into orbit. LauncherOne's booster engine lighted on cue after the vehicle launched from a Cosmic Girl carrier aircraft during the initial demonstration off the California coast above the Pacific Ocean.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has postponed the final test of an automated aircraft operations program due to COVID-19-related restrictions.

Virgin Orbit’s VOX Space subsidiary has received a $35M contract under the U.S. Space Force’s Orbital Services Program-4 contract vehicle to launch three smallsat missions in support of a Department of Defense program.

Susan Mashiko, a retired U.S. Air Force major general and former deputy director at the National Reconnaissance Office. has joined the board of directors of Virgin Orbit's VOX Space subsidiary.

Virgin Orbit and ImageSat International, an Israel-based firm, have partnered to globally deliver fast-paced services in support of Earth observation imagery, TechCrunch reported Wednesday.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency used autonomous robots in order to conduct a test to assess swarm autonomy tactics and technologies.