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  • Northrop Launches Cygnus Spacecraft for 10th ISS Cargo Mission - top government contractors - best government contracting event
    in News, Space News

    Northrop Launches Cygnus Spacecraft for 10th ISS Cargo Mission

    Northrop Grumman on Saturday launched the Cygnus cargo spacecraft on a mission to deliver 7,400 pounds of NASA‘s scientific equipment and crew supplies to the  International Space Station. The company said Saturday its vehicle, nicknamed S.S. John Young, lifted off at 4:01 a.m. Eastern time from the Wallops Flight Facility’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A  in Virginia aboard the medium-class Antares rocket. […] More

  • Lockheed Begins Construction Work on X-59 Supersonic Aircraft - top government contractors - best government contracting event
    in Government Technology, News

    Lockheed Begins Construction Work on X-59 Supersonic Aircraft

    Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works division has started to build a supersonic demonstrator aircraft at its facility in Palmdale, Calif., under a potential $247.5M contract that NASA awarded in April. The X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology aircraft is designed to travel at a speed of approximately 940 miles per hour at 55K feet and reduce sonic boom noise […] More

  • NASA Releases Satellite Payload Switch Tech RFI - top government contractors - best government contracting event
    in News, Space News

    NASA Releases Satellite Payload Switch Tech RFI

    NASA has issued a request for information on potential switch designs for a communication payload network as part of the agency’s Laser Optical Near-Earth Satellite System project. In a FedBizOpps notice posted Friday, the agency encourages both large and small businesses to submit capability statements describing their abilities to address the LOCNESS switch requirement. The […] More

  • Lockheed Tests NASA Space Probe's Robotic Sampling Arm - top government contractors - best government contracting event
    in News, Space News

    Lockheed Tests NASA Space Probe’s Robotic Sampling Arm

    A team of Lockheed Martin engineers has commanded NASA‘s OSIRIS-REx space probe to move a robotic sampling arm designed to collect a sample from the asteroid Bennu. Lockheed said Friday its engineering team tested movements of the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism to determine the TAGSAM device’s readiness for upcoming asteroid surface material collection. OSIRIX-REx, which lifted off in September 2016 aboard an Atlas V […] More

  • Dan Jablonsky: DigitalGlobe-NRO Imagery Contract Extension Reflects Gov't Customer Continuity - top government contractors - best government contracting event
    in Industry News, News

    Dan Jablonsky: DigitalGlobe-NRO Imagery Contract Extension Reflects Gov’t Customer Continuity

    Dan Jablonsky, president of DigitalGlobe, has said the National Reconnaissance Office‘s move to extend a satellite imagery services contract with the company can serve as evidence that the government favors “continuity” amid an influx of entrants into the industry, SpaceNews reported Wednesday. DigitalGlobe, a Maxar Technologies business, received a potential $900M contract extension to provide commercial imagery to […] More

  • NASA, Autodesk Partner to Seek Rapid Space Lander Design-Build Process - top government contractors - best government contracting event
    in News, Space News

    NASA, Autodesk Partner to Seek Rapid Space Lander Design-Build Process

    Multinational software company Autodesk has launched a multiyear research project with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to explore new ways to design and build a spacecraft for long-duration space travel beyond Mars. The company said Tuesday it is utilizing generative design technology and its Fusion 360 cloud-based platform to help the agency build a new interplanetary […] More

  • Northrop Targets Nov. 16 Launch for 10th ISS Cargo Resupply Mission - top government contractors - best government contracting event
    in News, Space News

    Northrop Targets Nov. 16 Launch for 10th ISS Cargo Resupply Mission

    Northrop Grumman intends to launch on Friday, Nov. 16 its Cygnus spacecraft to deliver approximately 7.4K pounds of scientific equipment and crew supplies to the International Space Station. The scheduled liftoff of Cygnus from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia atop Northrop’s Antares rocket will mark the company’s 10th cargo resupply mission to ISS, the firm said Wednesday. […] More

  • Northrop Preps Antares Rocket for ISS Resupply Mission - top government contractors - best government contracting event
    in Industry News, News

    Northrop Preps Antares Rocket for ISS Resupply Mission

    A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket is now positioned at the launch pad at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia for a scheduled launch Thursday, Spaceflight Now reported Tuesday. The launch vehicle will carry the company’s Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station for a resupply mission. Cygnus will deliver food supplies, crew provisions and multiple payloads to […] More

  • Richard Aboulafia: Supersonic Passenger Jets for Rescue Missions May Pique DoD’s Interest - top government contractors - best government contracting event
    in Government Technology, News

    Richard Aboulafia: Supersonic Passenger Jets for Rescue Missions May Pique DoD’s Interest

    Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at Teal Group, has said the Defense Department might use supersonic transport aircraft to immediately bring search-and-rescue teams and senior officials to the battlefield to carry out missions, Defense One reported Tuesday. “Very few people realize that hostage rescue and other high-value assets need to be deployed at the same […] More

  • Ball Aerospace Recognized for Contribution to NASA Kepler's Continued Use - top government contractors - best government contracting event
    in News, Space News

    Ball Aerospace Recognized for Contribution to NASA Kepler’s Continued Use

    NASA‘s Ames Research Center has given the Group Achievement Award to Ball Aerospace in recognition of the company’s solar pressure approach that helped the Kepler Space Telescope continue operating. The company said Wednesday it developed an approach that directed Kepler observatory spacecraft to use solar pressure and thrusters for control as alternatives to one of […] More

  • NASA Seeks Industry Support for Urban Air Mobility Integration - top government contractors - best government contracting event
    in Industry News, News

    NASA Seeks Industry Support for Urban Air Mobility Integration

    NASA is calling for aerospace manufacturers and researchers to submit market information on technologies and approaches that would contribute to the safe implementation of urban air mobility. The space agency is studying methods to safely integrate manned and unmanned aircraft into the urban airspace and to manage associated air traffic, NASA said Friday in a […] More

  • SpaceX Receives NASA Category 3 Certification for Falcon 9; Gwynne Shotwell Quoted - top government contractors - best government contracting event
    in News, Space News

    SpaceX Receives NASA Category 3 Certification for Falcon 9; Gwynne Shotwell Quoted

    SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has been certified by NASA to launch high-priority science missions for the space agency under the Launch Services Program, SpaceNews reported Friday. “LSP Category 3 certification is a major achievement for the Falcon 9 team and represents another key milestone in our close partnership with NASA,” Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, […] More