Lockheed Martin's space business conducted a demonstration of its wideband electronically steerable antenna payload that is capable of performing missions on orbit faster than traditional sensors. The Tantrum payload demonstrator is expected to be onboard Firefly Aerospace's Alpha launch vehicle when it lifts off in December, Lockheed announced Monday.

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Boeing's Millennium Space Systems subsidiary reached operational readiness of its Victus Nox space vehicle 11 hours ahead of schedule. The space vehicle completed checkout and achieved full mission operability 37 hours after it was launched on Sept. 14 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. More

Northrop Grumman‘s Antares rocket launched to space for the company’s 19th commercial resupply service mission to the International Space Station, Space.com reported Tuesday. Antares lifted off Tuesday from Pad-0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, carrying the space agency’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft to bring hardware, science experiments and crew supplies to ISS. Dubbed the […] More

Robert Cardillo, former director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, has been appointed to the board of directors of software company Synthetaic. He brings to Synthetaic’s board nearly four decades of experience within the U.S. Intelligence Community and expertise in the field of GEOINT, the company said Monday. Synthetaic develops software that helps organizations accelerate the […] More

Robert Cardillo, former director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and a four-time Wash100 awardee, said the U.S. should support its space-based infrastructure with a responsive launch capability to help deter adversaries and improve national security. He wrote in a commentary published Friday on Defense News that the Department of Defense should come up with resources […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne has wrapped up the construction of an oxygen-rich staged combustion kerosene engine funded by the U.S. Air Force, and is now looking to test its first rocket motor, SpaceNews reported Tuesday.

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NASA has selected Astra Space, Relativity Space and Firefly Black to launch different types of small satellites under contracts with a combined value of $16.7M. The companies will send to space nanosatellites, CubeSats and other types of small satellites under the Venture Class Launch Services Demonstration 2 effort, the space agency said Saturday.

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Some companies are hoping to offer services via the General Services Administration's Schedule contract vehicle to help government agencies deploy small satellites, SpaceNews reported Wednesday.

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Ensco and PositiveID will collaborate to produce a biothreat detection system for the Department of Homeland Security under the second phase of DHS’ SenseNet Program. PositiveID said Monday it will provide the company’s Firefly Dx automated threat detector while Ensco will perform system integration and decision support services under the program. The Interior Department awarded the Phase II contract to the team on behalf of DHS. William […] 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

Biological detection technology maker PositiveID will offer a handheld diagnostics system and airborne threat detector to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency as a partner with Leidos under a potential 10-year, $4 billion research-and-development contract. The companies signed a teaming agreement in 2012 to work together on projects involving systems engineering and integration, and biological detection and diagnostics, PositiveID said Wednesday. Leidos […] More