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

NASA will immerse 15 new potential space technologies in low-gravity simulating experiments using commercial aircraft, high-altitude balloons and suborbital rockets as part of the Flight Opportunities program. The space agency said Wednesday the effort will help mature the selected technologies for future space operations. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine noted that the organization will work to […] More

ExecutiveBiz talked with Matt Desch, chief executive officer, and a four-time Wash100 winner, about Iridium’s May 22nd satellite launch, their partnership with SpaceX and where he sees the company’s path ahead. “Over the years, we’ve gone public and renewed ourselves to the point that we’re not just surviving anymore; we’re thriving.” ExecutiveBiz: You’ve been chief […] More

Hawthorne, Calif.-based firm SpaceX has launched five satellites for Iridium Communications along with two Earth observation spacecraft from NASA and the German Research Center for Geosciences as part of a ride-share agreement. Iridium said Tuesday the launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base is the sixth out of eight Iridium NEXT deployment missions that SpaceX agreed […] More

NASA will help mature six space technologies through the agency’s Flight Opportunities program that will facilitate low-gravity simulation tests onboard aircraft and suborbital rockets. The space agency said Thursday it will award funds to cover the integration and flight, and limited payload development costs for the selected demonstrations that will validate the technology’s feasibility to reduce technical risks. […] More

Iridium Comxmunications has rescheduled to Oct. 4 the launch of a third batch of 10 NEXT communications satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, aboard a SpaceX-built Falcon 9 rocket. The company said Wednesday it began pre-launch processing activities on the satellites and the Falcon 9 rocket stages and components. The third Irdium NEXT launch was originally slated […] More

Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium Communications, has cited internet of things as a growing business area for the Virginia-based satellite company during a panel discussion at the Summit for Satellite Financing that, Via Satellite reported Monday. He told audience at the Euroconsult-hosted forum that Iridium is focused on business cases instead of satellite frequency bands and that […] More

Iridium Communications has moved from June 29 to June 25 the launch of the second batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites aboard a SpaceX-built Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The new target date will advance the launch of the satellites by four days, Iridium said Thursday. “Satellites have already started to arrive at the launch […] More

Boeing has launched a parachute system of its crew capsule at Spaceport America‘s purpose-built commercial spaceport in New Mexico to verify the inflation characteristics and landing system performance of the platform during touchdown. Spaceport America said Friday the CST-100 Starliner Parachute System Test Launch utilized a giant helium-filled balloon that carried a flight-sized boilerplate spacecraft 40,000 feet above the San Andres Mountains and […] More

SpaceX, Boeing and OneWeb have announced plans to launch satellite constellations that will work to operate in low-Earth orbit and offer high-speed broadband service worldwide, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. Samantha Masunaga writes the $224.6-billion broadband industry dominated by cable and telecommunications firms is likely to face a challenge with the potential launch of such […] More

A new Wise Guy Reports analysis predicts the global military satellite market will reach a compound annual growth rate of 5.6 percent from 2016 through 2020, buoyed by growing military demand worldwide for robust C4ISR systems. Wise Guy Reports said Monday it expects the C4ISR systems to also grow in light of the rising demands […] More

NASA has conducted a series of tests with Orbital ATK, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne to evaluate the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System rocket that the agency plans to launch in 2018 as part of an unmanned space exploration mission. Lockheed’s engineering teams have completed proof pressure tests on the Orion crew […] More