Science

General Atomics’ Christina Back: Nuclear thermal propulsion “will enable spacecraft to travel immense distances quickly” WASHINGTON — The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded a $22 million contract to General Atomics to design a small nuclear reactor for space propulsion, the agency announced April 9. General Atomics, based in San Diego, California, was selected for

Morf3D won Boeing HorizonX Ventures backing in 2018 and 2019 SEOUL, South Korea — Japanese camera maker Nikon has acquired a controlling stake in U.S. startup Morf3D, an aerospace supplier that has produced 3D-printed metallic flight hardware for Boeing satellites and helicopters. The deal gives Tokyo-based Nikon a foothold in the flourishing satellite industry. “Morf3D

Updated 12:50 p.m. Eastern with NASA statement. WASHINGTON — The White House released a first look at its budget proposal for fiscal year 2022 that includes an increase in funding for NASA, particularly Earth science and space technology programs. The 58-page budget document, released April 9, outlines the Biden administration discretionary spending priorities. It provides

WASHINGTON — A Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Russian cosmonauts and one American astronaut arrived at the International Space Station April 9, a few hours after its launch from Kazakhstan. A Soyuz-2.1a rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 3:42 a.m. Eastern, placing the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft into orbit. That spacecraft docked with the station’s

WASHINGTON — The new chief executive of OneWeb says the company is still pursuing some kind of navigation capability for its broadband satellite constellation, although a full-fledged service may have to wait until a second-generation system. Neil Masterson, a former executive with Thomson Reuters who was named chief executive of OneWeb when it emerged from

Lieu: “Space is one of those areas where the U.S. is simply going to have to invest more because our competitors are gaining in space.” WASHINGTON — Congressman Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) hailed the April 8 announcement that Los Angeles Air Force Base will be the permanent home of the U.S. Space Force procurement command.  “I’m

WASHINGTON — SpaceX continued the rollout of its Starlink broadband constellation with another launch of 60 satellites April 7, edging closer to providing continuous global service. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 12:34 p.m. Eastern. The rocket’s upper stage deployed its payload of 60

ULA is still betting on long-endurance upper stages and believes the technology has a bright future.  WASHINGTON — When United Launch Alliance started to develop its new Vulcan rocket, it envisioned using a new upper stage called ACES, short for advanced cryogenic evolved stage. ULA’s president and CEO Tory Bruno described it in 2018 as

The key is developing a 10-ton lander The triumphant landing of the Perseverance rover has inspired all Americans, and indeed much of the world. President Biden should follow it up by launching the program to send humans to Mars. While robotic rovers are wonderful, they cannot resolve the fundamental scientific questions that Mars poses to

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft announced plans April 6 to move automated satellite image processing technology developed by Thales Alenia Space into its Azure Orbital platform. With Thales Alenia’s DeeperVision software, “images downlinked by Earth observation satellites can be immediately and systematically analyzed as soon as they are produced,” according to a Thales Alenia news release.

TAMPA, Fla. — CAES, the former electronics unit of British defense and aerospace contractor Cobham, has forged an alliance to bring Swiss 3D printed satellite RF technology to the U.S. market. Arlington, Virginia-based CAES (formerly known as Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions) is partnering with Switzerland-based additive manufacturing specialist Swissto12 to target U.S. government and commercial

WASHINGTON — SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said an engine on the company’s latest Starship prototype suffered a “hard start” that caused the vehicle to explode when attempting to land on a test flight last week. The Starship SN11 vehicle lifted off in dense fog March 30 from SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas, test site, flying

As former U.S. lawmaker Bill Nelson awaits Senate confirmation of his nomination to lead NASA, it is perhaps time to recall a policy he voted for some 30 years ago.  As chairman of a House space subcommittee, Nelson presided over consideration of the Space Settlement Act of 1988, which was added as a provision to

Numerica won a $750,000 Small Business Innovation Research award and later received an additional $2.25 million to mature the technology WASHINGTON — Numerica, a company that operates a network of ground-based telescopes to track objects in deep space, is deploying new sensors that can observe orbiting satellites in broad daylight. The telescopes were funded with

WASHINGTON — The Russian space agency Roscosmos anticipates additional negotiations with China at a conference in June, building upon an agreement on lunar exploration announced in February. The February agreement, in the form of a memorandum of understanding, announced the intent of China and Russia to develop an “International Lunar Research Station,” likely at the

WASHINGTON — Michael Brown, a veteran tech industry executive who has led the Pentagon’s commercial outreach office since 2018, is President Biden’s pick for the Defense Department’s top procurement job, the White House announced April 2. Brown was nominated to serve as undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. He is currently the director of

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission will take up a long-awaited proposal at its next meeting to set aside a spectrum band for commercial launches. Jessica Rosenworcel, acting chairwoman of the FCC, said in a March 31 statement that the commission would include on the agenda of its next open meeting April 21 a proposed

Space Command: “This arrangement codifies the relationship by placing a Japanese liaison officer directly into the conversations we are having on space operations.” WASHINGTON — U.S. Space Command announced April 1 it has signed an agreement with Japan that will increase collaboration on space security. Under the agreement, an officer from the Japan Air Self-Defense

TAMPA, Fla. — AST & Science, which is developing a cellphone-compatible satellite broadband constellation, will start trading on the Nasdaq next week after getting shareholder approval April 1. New Providence Acquisition Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that already trades on the exchange under ticker NPA, said its stockholders have approved a plan to merge

Investment in space exploration and development has become a significant global phenomenon in recent years. NASA’s budget has seen several years of healthy back-to-back increases. Silicon Valley and Wall Street are pouring billions into space startups. This largesse has prompted several notable thinkers to raise important questions about investing public and private money into aspirational

LeoStella can produce 40 satellites a year but designed its factory so it can increase capacity to 200 a year WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s space agency is taking an unusual approach to buying satellites. Rather than select a manufacturer to build the entire constellation, the Space Development Agency plans to buy batches of satellites from

WASHINGTON — NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will make one final close approach to the asteroid it collected samples from next week before heading back to Earth. On April 7, the spacecraft will pass 3.7 kilometers above the location on the asteroid Bennu called Nightingale where, in October, the spacecraft briefly touched down and collected as much

The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency started the accelerator program last year to strengthen ties with entrepreneurs WASHINGTON — A technology accelerator program funded by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency has selected eight startups that will receive $100,000 grants, mentoring and coaching from government officials and venture investors.  The program organizers, the venture investment firm Capital

TAMPA, Fla. — Jim Bridenstine has joined satellite operator Viasat’s board of directors in his second corporate role since stepping down as NASA’s administrator. U.S.-based Viasat is enlarging its board to eight members to add Bridenstine, who became a senior advisor for private equity firm Acorn Growth Companies soon after resigning from NASA Jan. 20

WASHINGTON — A NASA audit concluded that costs imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on the agency could reach $3 billion, with several major science and exploration programs accounting for much of that cost. A March 31 report by the NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) stated that the agency expects that the pandemic’s effects on

TAMPA, Fla. — Intelsat reported a 7% drop in revenue for 2020 after declines in multiple business units, underlining the importance of C-band clearing proceeds for the satellite operator’s recovery efforts. The company recorded $1.91 billion in 2020 revenue, compared with $2.06 billion for 2019, as COVID-19 hammered mobility and other markets. Adjusted EBITDA, or

HELSINKI — China successfully launched the Gaofen-12 (02) satellite Tuesday, marking latest in a line of high resolution satellites to boost the country’s Earth observation capabilities. A Long March 4C rocket lifted off from Jiuquan, northwest China at 6:45 p.m. Eastern Tuesday.  The first indication of the upcoming launch came from airspace closure notices, with

WASHINGTON — The private venture that purchased a SpaceX Crew Dragon flight to low Earth orbit has finalized the crew for that mission, scheduled to launch as soon as September. The Inspiration4 mission, which describes itself as the “world’s first all-civilian mission to space,” revealed the crew that will accompany its sponsor, entrepreneur Jared Isaacman,

SEOUL, South Korea — Hanwha Systems, the South Korean conglomerate that added a bankrupt phased-array antenna maker to its growing portfolio last year, is planning to build and deploy a constellation of 2,000 satellites in low Earth orbit by 2030 to provide connectivity to urban cargo-delivery drones and passenger airplanes.   To that end, the defense

WASHINGTON — As SpaceX gears up for another test flight of a Starship prototype, the Federal Aviation Administration is facing new scrutiny from Congress for how it handled SpaceX’s violation of its launch license on an earlier test flight. SpaceX had planned to launch its SN11 Starship vehicle March 29 from its Boca Chica, Texas,