NASA has formed public-private partnerships with 19 companies for 22 research projects under two solicitations that seek to advance the development of new space platforms intended for human and robotic exploration missions. “These awards enable us to continue to foster partnerships with the commercial space sector that not only leverage capabilities to meet NASA’s strategic […] More

NASA has awarded approximately $17.1 million in contracts to Firefly Space Systems, Rocket Lab USA and Virgin Galactic to launch small satellites — or CubeSats — to low-Earth orbit. Jim Norman, director of launch services at NASA, said Oct. 14 the space agency’s launch services program aims to help transport smaller payloads into orbit through commercial […] More

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Masten Space Systems around $19.5 million in contract funds to continue building prototype robotic spaceplanes, Space.com reported Friday. Mike Wall writes the three companies moved into phase 1B of the agency’s Experimental Spaceplane-1 development initiative. Boeing and Northrop received $4 million each […] More

Jim Reagan, chief financial officer at Vencore, brings nearly two decades of financial leadership to his role at the technology services contractor and oversees the company’s fiscal support functions. Vencore, formerly known as The SI Organization, closed its potential $165 million purchase of QinetiQ’s U.S. services and solutions group in May and announced the new name of “Vencore” […] More

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory has announced the launch of a research project to collect electromagnetic field data on suborbital spaceflights. APL will gather the information by using an instrument that will fly onboard a Virgin Galactic space plane as part of a NASA-funded science mission with a launch date still to be […] More