Northrop Grumman’s and L3Harris’ satellite designs were selected from a field of four competitors. WASHINGTON — Northrop Grumman and L3Harris were selected by the Defense Department’s Missile Defense Agency to each build a prototype sensor satellite capable of tracking hypersonic and ballistic missiles. The Missile Defense Agency awarded Northrop Grumman a $155 million contract Jan.
Science
HELSINKI — French startup ThrustMe has performed the first on-orbit tests of an innovative iodine-fueled electric propulsion system, proving its ability to change a CubeSat’s orbit. ThrustMe’s NPT30-I2-1U, the first iodine electric propulsion system sent into space, is aboard the Beihangkongshi-1, a 12U CubeSat developed by Chinese commercial satellite maker Spacety. A Long March 6
WASHINGTON — Google announced Jan. 21 it is shutting down Loon, a venture to provide wireless connectivity by balloon that has been seen as both complementary to and competitive with satellite networks. In a blog post, Astro Teller, head of X, the advanced projects or “moonshot factory” division of Google parent company Alphabet, announced that
WASHINGTON — The European Commission announced Jan. 20 it will award contracts to Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space to build an initial set of next-generation Galileo navigation satellites, shutting out incumbent manufacturer OHB. Airbus and Thales will each build six of the second-generation Galileo satellites under contracts that will be formally signed
As Joe Biden begins the first year of his presidency, there is still much we don’t know about where he and his vice president, Kamala Harris, stand on major issues in civil and national security space. The pandemic and economic recovery are sure to drive Biden’s initial agenda. There are, nonetheless, several key space issues
WASHINGTON — Earth observation company Satellogic announced Jan. 19 it signed a contract with SpaceX covering several rideshare launches of its satellites through next year. The multiple launch services agreement makes SpaceX Satellogic’s preferred provider for launching its constellation of microsatellites, after previously relying on Chinese, European and Russian vehicles, including a launch of 10
WASHINGTON — SpaceX launched its latest set of Starlink satellites Jan. 20, bringing the total number of spacecraft launched so far for that broadband constellation to more than 1,000. The Falcon 9 lifted off at 8:02 a.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The rocket’s upper stage deployed the payload of
Austin: “If confirmed, I will ensure the space domain is carefully considered across the range of upcoming strategic reviews.” WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for defense secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers Jan. 19 that China is the United States’ “most concerning competitor” and in written testimony identified space as a growing national security concern.
Wilson currently is president of the University of Texas El Paso. WASHINGTON — Former secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson has joined the board of directors of Maxar Technologies, the company announced Jan. 19. Wilson currently is president of the University of Texas El Paso. She was the Air Force’s top civilian from May
HELSINKI — Chinese private rocket firm iSpace is planning an IPO while also making progress on technology for a reusable launch vehicle. Beijing-based iSpace is planning to file an initial public offering on the Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR Market), a market established in 2019 to support tech companies. STAR Market announced the move
WASHINGTON — NASA officials expressed confidence that a key test of the Space Launch System scheduled for Jan. 16 will go well, keeping open the chances that the vehicle will make its long-delayed debut before the end of the year. NASA has scheduled a full-duration static-fire test of the SLS core stage at the Stennis
WASHINGTON — Broadband satellite company OneWeb announced Jan. 15 it has raised $400 million from SoftBank and Hughes Network Systems, allowing the company to continue deployment of its constellation. The new round includes $350 million from SoftBank, who was the biggest shareholder in OneWeb before it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2020. The
Updated 7:20 p.m. Eastern with post-launch comments from Virgin Orbit. COVINGTON, La. — Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket reached orbit on its second flight Jan. 17, demonstrating the performance of the air-launch system after years of development. The company’s Boeing 747 aircraft, called Cosmic Girl, took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California
The U.S. Capitol is seen in this Maxar Technologies satellite image the day after a pro-Trump mob breached the building Jan. 6 to disrupt the formal certification of President Trump’s election loss. One of the central tenets of space politics for decades is that the issue is bipartisan. Debates about NASA programs and funding levels
Updated 11:30 p.m. Eastern after post-test briefing. BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. — NASA performed a hotfire test of the core stage of the Space Launch System Jan. 16, but the stage’s four main engines shut down a little more than a minute into a test designed to last eight minutes. The core stage ignited its
Space Policy Directive-7 highlights the United States’ ever growing dependence on space-based positioning, navigation and timing. WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Jan. 15 issued a policy memo focused on the United States’ dependence on the Global Positioning System and the need to prepare for a day when GPS might not be available. A constellation
WASHINGTON — After nearly two years of struggles, NASA has abandoned efforts to deploy a heat flow probe on its InSight lander into the surface of Mars. In a Jan. 14 statement, NASA said that a final effort to hammer the “mole” into the surface of Mars Jan. 9 failed to make any progress. The
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Federal Communication Commission’s C-band auction of 280 megahertz of C-band has raised nearly $81 billion and it’s not quite over. Still to come is the assignment phase, where companies awarded spectrum blocks bid for frequency-specific licenses. Prior to the auction, companies struggled to put a price tag on the bandwidth.
The Space and Missile Systems Center delayed the award to further evaluate a court judgment against NSTXL. WASHINGTON — National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL) on Jan. 15 received a contract to manage the U.S. Space Force’s Space Enterprise Consortium for the next 10 years. The Space and Missile Systems Center intended to award the contract
WASHINGTON — Blue Origin flew a new model of its New Shepard suborbital vehicle Jan. 14, a flight the company says brings it “really close” to finally flying people. The New Shepard vehicle lifted off from Blue Origin’s West Texas test site at 12:17 p.m. Eastern. The vehicle’s crew capsule, separating from its booster about
“The DoD space industrial base remains a niche market with very specialized and capital-intensive requirements.” WASHINGTON — U.S. military satellites and missiles continue to rely on customized hardware and niche components that are no longer manufactured domestically, the Pentagon said in a report to Congress released Jan. 14. These programs need to invest in new
CASC announces successful tests of a range of liquid and solid rocket engines for future projects, commercial actors look to reusability HELSINKI — China’s space contractor has announced progress on rocket engines designed for major space missions, including a new engine for future lunar missions. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced Jan.
WASHINGTON — SpaceX secured contracts Jan. 13 for the launches of a commercial lunar lander mission backed by NASA as well as a privately funded satellite to track methane emissions. Intuitive Machines announced that it selected SpaceX for the launch of its IM-2 lunar lander mission on a Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than 2022.
The future headquarters will have approximately 1,400 military and civilian personnel. WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army’s Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, was picked as the future location of U.S. Space Command’s headquarters. Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett announced the decision Jan. 13. The selection of Redstone Arsenal is a huge win for Huntsville, nicknamed “Rocket
WASHINGTON — NASA and the Japanese government have completed an agreement outlining Japan’s contributions to the lunar Gateway as NASA works to wrap up international contributions to the outpost. NASA announced Jan. 12 it signed an agreement with the Japanese government governing Japan’s contributions to the Gateway. They include components for the European-led International Habitation,
The NGA and NRO are stepping up research to better understand the emerging commercial geospatial intelligence market. WASHINGTON — The private sector is coming out with new geospatial intelligence products and services faster than the government can figure out how to buy them. That means analysts need ways to procure commercial geoint “at a moment’s
WASHINGTON — Less than a month after issuing a policy directive on space nuclear power, the White House released an executive order Jan. 12 seeking to promote the development of small nuclear reactors for space and defense applications. The executive order, “Promoting Small Modular Reactors for National Defense and Space Exploration,” includes separate directions for
SAN FRANCISCO – Iceye is preparing to send three Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites into orbit on the SpaceX Falcon 9 small satellite rideshare mission scheduled for launch Jan. 21. With the upcoming launch, Iceye seeks to expand its constellation to include six SAR satellites. “We are excited to start 2021 with the launch of
SAN FRANCISCO – NOAA’s National Satellite, Data and Information Service is recommending flying three satellites over the United States in the satellite constellation that will follow the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R Series (GOES-R). In addition, to operating satellites in orbits similar to those of the current GOES East and GOES West satellites, NOAA recommends
WASHINGTON — Intelsat has ordered two geostationary communications satellites from Airbus Defence and Space that will support the satellite operator’s aviation connectivity business. The companies announced Jan. 8 the order of two spacecraft from Airbus’ OneSat family of fully reconfigurable geostationary satellites. The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal beyond starting the