General

Kelle Wendling, president of the space systems sector at L3Harris Technologies, said the Melbourne, Florida-based aerospace and defense contractor is in discussions with satellite bus suppliers that could serve as potential partners as it competes for new government contracts. More

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has started soliciting concepts that could be developed into new technologies to enable warfighters to defend and protect space systems from adversaries as part of the space superiority topic of DARPA’s Bringing Classified Innovation to Defense and Government Systems program. More

CACI has finished the Optical Communication Terminal Interoperability Testing for its CrossBeam OCT as part of the Space Development Agency's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture program. Now, CrossBeam OCT's evaluation is able to progress with optical payloads to further demonstrate its interoperability. More

The U.S. Navy has commissioned the USS Marinette, a Freedom-class littoral combat ship constructed by Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri's Marinette Marine shipyard. The vessel, which was named after a city in Wisconsin, was delivered to the Navy in February and inaugurated on Saturday in Menominee, Michigan. More

Secure collaboration platform provider Mattermost has expanded its partner network to increase support for Microsoft and Atlassian tools and drive the adoption of artificial intelligence, DevSecOps and zero trust architecture across the Department of Defense and the federal government. SOS International partnered with Mattermost to serve as the primary interface for reviewing analysis results for Exovera's exoINSIGHT AI-powered tool that uses open-source data to support machine learning operations. More

Finding ways to combine the benefits of low-Earth orbit and geostationary orbit satellites to provide commercial users around the world with seamless services is one of the areas of opportunity in the satellite industry, said Dave Wajsgras, CEO of Intelsat. Intelsat is investing in virtualization and 5G and software-defined networks to meet the demand for communications in the battlefield, rural areas and other emerging markets, he went on to explain in an interview. More

SpaceX has completed a set of tests for a company-built engine intended to power the landing platform for NASA's Artemis III and Artemis IV lunar missions. The spacecraft manufacturer had conducted a Starship Human Landing System test last month that demonstrated the Raptor engine's performance in extreme cold conditions. More

Chris Inglis, a distinguished U.S. military and government official and a previous Wash100 awardee, has been appointed to the strategic advisory board at identity system security solutions provider Semperis. Inglis had served as the first U.S. national cyber director, in which capacity he helped formulate the National Cybersecurity Strategy of the Biden administration. More

Parsons has secured a seven-year, $150 million contract to provide program and construction management services for the Southern Nevada Water Authority. Under the contract, the company will deliver PM/CM services for major capital projects and project labor agreement services in support of SNWA's 2020 Major Construction and Capital Plan. More

L3Harris Technologies will deliver radios and communications systems to the U.S. Air Force under a five-year, $83.5 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. To support the Counter-Narcotics and Global Threats program, the contractor will also provide equipment, parts and spares, maintenance and training support as well as engineering services. More

Judith Pryor, first vice president and vice chair of the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank of the U.S., said the export credit agency is reviewing approximately $5.3 billion in financing proposals from the satellite industry. More

A Millennium Space Systems-built satellite took off Thursday aboard Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket from a launch pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as part of a Space Systems Command-led Tactically Responsive Space mission, called Victus Nox. More