SpaceX has begun processing the fourth batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites at its west coast launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in preparation for the Dec. 22 launch aboard a pre-flown Falcon 9 rocket as part of its launch campaign with Iridium Communications. Iridium said Tuesday the company and SpaceX are set […] More

Sierra Nevada Corp. has conducted a free flight test of a spacecraft designed to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract. The Dream Chaser test spacecraft was air-lifted by a Columbia 234-UT Chinook helicopter before the space vehicle performed a pre-planned flight and autonomous landing operation […] More

Iridium Communications plans to launch on Dec. 22 the fourth batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites aboard a SpaceX-built Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The planned launch would bring the total number of Iridium NEXT satellites in space to 40 as part of a potential $3 billion program to replace an existing constellation of communications satellites, […] More

Iridium Comxmunications has rescheduled to Oct. 4 the launch of a third batch of 10 NEXT communications satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, aboard a SpaceX-built Falcon 9 rocket. The company said Wednesday it began pre-launch processing activities on the satellites and the Falcon 9 rocket stages and components. The third Irdium NEXT launch was originally slated […] More

Chris Long, vice president of Orbital ATK‘s national security system segment, has said that the U.S. Air Force should consider training forces for space combat in case a war starts in space, Defense Systems said Wednesday. Long noted that the current space training is focused on the operation of satellites in orbit. Long and Lars […] More

A. West Enterprise has won a two-year, $15 million contract to construct an underground power distribution system and update airfield lighting at the Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas. The company said Friday it will design and build airlighting for the base’s four major runways, remove overhead electrical wires and repair circuit 1 system controls as the […] More

A Sierra Nevada Corp-built spacecraft has been subjected to a captive carry test at NASA‘s Armstrong Flight Research Center under the second phase of flight tests designed to prepare the vehicle for a future orbital flight. SNC said Wednesday Dream Chaser tests are part of a Space Act Agreement the company and the space agency signed through the Commercial […] More

Iridium Communications has begun to replace old satellites with Iridium NEXT satellites through its Leesburg, Virginia-based facility that works to automate the process of moving the new satellites into their positions, Space News reported Monday. The personnel at the company’s satellite network operations center in Virginia have written new commands to automate “slot swaps” in […] More

Iridium Communications plans to launch the third batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites on Sept. 30 aboard a SpaceX-built Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The scheduled launch would bring the total number of Iridium NEXT satellites in space to 30 as part of a potential $3 billion program to replace an existing constellation with 75 new communications satellites […] More

 NASA has enlisted commercial space company Techshot and kitchenware provider Tupperware Brands to help the agency optimize a plant growth system on board the International Space Station. Techshot said Tuesday it will work with Tupperware to further develop NASA’s Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System, a design concept meant to replace the component of ISS’ Vegetable Production System […] More

Sierra Nevada Corp. has chosen United Launch Alliance‘s Atlas V rocket to launch spacecraft SNC has built to supply cargo to the International Space Station as part of the Cargo Resupply Services 2 contract with NASA. ULA said Wednesday it will provide launch support to the Dream Chaser spacecraft for SNC’s first two cargo resupply missions that are […] More

Iridium Communications CEO Matt Desch has said the Iridium NEXT satellite constellation works to help track the location of commercial aircraft across trans-oceanic routes in support of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Next Generation Air Transportation System program, NASASpaceflight.com reported Friday. Desch said the company has equipped its Iridium NEXT satellites with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast receivers designed to enable planes to communicate […] More