Boeing has received initial signals from its first all-electric propulsion satellites that were launched into space over the weekend. The two 702SP satellites took off as a conjoined stack onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Boeing said Monday. Mark Spiwak, president of Boeing Satellite Systems International Inc., said the paired, lightweight satellite system model is intended to […] More

The U.S. Air Force‘s Space and Missile Systems Center may open competition this spring for 28 commercial launches of military and intelligence satellites to bolster the use of U.S.-made rocket engines, Reuters reported Saturday. Andrea Shalal writes that both the government and private sector will fund the potential program, which aims to launch the first satellite by 2022. The effort […] More

Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch, a senior vice president at Inmarsat, oversees direction and policy functions for the British satellite services provider’s U.S. government business unit. The nearly three-decade aerospace and defense veteran is also a former member of the Senior Executive Service and served as a program executive officer at the Defense Information Systems Agency before she entered the private […] More

A subsidiary of ManTech International has finished the shape testing of the first sunshield membrane layer of NASA‘s James Webb Space Telescope as a subcontractor to Northrop Grumman. NeXolve assembled and tested the layer’s three-dimensional shape with laser beams to confirm if it meets shape specifications, ManTech said Thursday. “We are now proceeding with the remaining layers and will test each […] More

NASA and its industry partners Blue Origin, Boeing, Sierra Nevada Corp. and SpaceX together passed 23 milestones in the Commercial Crew Program in 2014 as they seek to develop crew space transportation systems. NASA said Monday the program also included technical review sessions to ensure the reliability and safety of those systems, which would carry astronauts to and from the […] More

Boeing has completed a certification baseline review of NASA‘s human space transportation systems as part of a series of preparations for crewed missions to the International Space Station. NASA approved the review to validate the baseline design of the Crew Space Transportation-100 spacecraft, United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and related components, NASA said Dec. 1. “It’s important for us to […] More

Boeing, Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada Corp. and SpaceX have reported their current statuses on their respective agreements with NASA under the Commercial Crew Program for space transportation systems. “Our partners’ detailed progress on launch and spaceflight capabilities expands domestic access to space,” Kathy Lueders, manager of the Commercial Crew Program, said Friday. NASA said these industry partners are working with […] More

A United Technologies Corp. subsidiary will produce materials for the environmental control and life support system of a crew capsule Boeing is building under a $4.2 billion contract with NASA. UTC Aerospace Systems will design, build and manufacture ECLSS components for Boeing’s CST-100 spacecraft and is scheduled to deliver the hardware in 2016, UTC Aerospace […] More

Boeing has concluded the development and testing phase of a commercial crew transportation system the company built for NASA. The testing represents the final milestone for the the CST-100 spacecraft and Atlas V rocket under Boeing’s four-year agreement with NASA, the space agency said Friday. NASA intends for the spacecraft to transport crew members to the International Space Station […] More

NASA has released a second request for proposals through its commercial space program for more companies to launch logistical and research payloads and help send supplies to the International Space Station. The Commercial Resupply Services 2 program includes at least six flights to and from ISS for each potential contract through 2020 and an option for additional flights through 2024, NASA said Friday. “To […] More

NASA launched a SpaceX cargo ship on Sunday to deliver approximately 5,000 pounds of science experiments, technology and crew supplies to the International Space Station. The SpaceX Dragon capsule launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard a Falcon 9 rocket at 1:52 a.m. Eastern Time, NASA said Sunday. Dragon’s cargo package includes […] More

NASA will deploy an ocean winds sensor technology in space with the goal of helping scientists predict storms as well as study changes in the weather. The agency expects to send the ISS-RapidScat instrument aboard a SpaceX capsule from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida no earlier than Sept. 19, NASA said Monday. ISS-RapidScat […] More