Space News

Northrop Grumman plans to launch no earlier than Nov. 15 its Cygnus spacecraft to bring scientific experiments, equipment and supplies to the International Space Station. Cygnus will take off aboard Northrop’s Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia as part of the company’s 10th cargo resupply services mission, the space agency said Thursday. Some of […] More

Lockheed Martin received in-orbit signals from the U.S. Air Force’s fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency spacecraft just hours after the communications satellite launched Wednesday atop United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V 551 rocket. AEHF-4 that took off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida completes a geostationary satellite constellation that will deliver tactical military communications coverage to […] More

NASA seeks information on vendors that can provide equipment and services necessary to administer the Space Weather Follow-On program for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A FedBizOpps notice posted Monday says NASA seeks concepts for a SWFO-L1 mission instrument that can produce observational products for solar wind plasma velocity, density, temperature observation, suprathermal ion […] More

The U.S. Air Force is considering using a rapid acquisition pathway to buy military communications satellites that would succeed the Advanced Extremely High Frequency system, National Defense Magazine reported Tuesday. Col. David Ashley, program manager of the Air Force’s AEHF system, said the service branch will seek approval from its senior acquisition executive in December to use […] More

Modern Technology Solutions Inc. and NASA have agreed to team up to build a framework that could be used to secure certification from the Federal Aviation Administration for autonomous aircraft systems. MTSI said Monday it will work with the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center on NASA’s Traveler Project under the two-year Space Act Agreement. “MTSI has partnered […] More

Northrop Grumman has completed development and testing work on the OmegA rocket’s first and second stage components. The company said Friday it also concluded the rocket’s cryostage design and developmental testing phase as well as the preliminary design of the launch system. Northrop reported the recent milestones days after it secured a potential $791.6M other-transaction […] More

Iridium will continue to provide satellite communications services to the Defense Information Systems Agency under a six-month, $44M contract modification. The Defense Department said Friday that DISA will obligate fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds for work slated to occur through April 21 of next year. The company was awarded a $400M contract in 2013 to […] More

United Launch Alliance has begun final preparations to launch a Lockheed Martin-built military communications satellite for the U.S. Air Force on Wednesday at Cape Canaveral AF Station in Florida. ULA said Friday its Atlas V 551 rocket will carry the fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency spacecraft designed to help command and tactical forces transmit data. Lockheed delivered AEHF-4 to Cape […] More

NASA has asked industry to provide feedback on the space agency’s initiative to partner with companies to develop technology platforms that can support government and commercial space missions. In a FedBizOpps notice posted Thursday, NASA’s space technology mission directorate seeks input on what additional topics the agency should consider for inclusion in “Industry-Developed Tipping Point Technologies” solicitations. […] More

Draper has teamed up with three other companies to bid for a project to build small exploration vehicles and scientific instruments to help NASA explore the moon’s surface. Cambridge, Mass.-based Draper said Tuesday it will lead an industry team composed of General Atomics’ electromagnetic systems group, ispace and Spaceflight Industries to pursue the space agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract. NASA asked industry […] More

Lockheed Martin has teamed up with NanoRacks to seek concepts of commercial payloads that could fly on upcoming missions of NASA’s Orion spacecraft. Lockheed said Friday the market assessment marks the initial step toward its vision to deliver commercial opportunities to deep space. Mike Hawes, Orion program manager and vice president of human space exploration […] More

Northrop Grumman plans to launch on Oct. 26 the Ionospheric Connection Explorer spacecraft aboard the Pegasus rocket, NASASpaceflight.com reported Friday. The rocket will launch from the Stargazer L-1011 aircraft that will take off from Cape Canaveral in Florida. ICON was originally scheduled to launch in June, but Northrop postponed the take-off after Pegasus sent off-nominal data […] More