Terran Orbital’s Tyvak Nano Satellite Systems subsidiary will develop 42 satellites for the first tranche of the National Defense Space Architecture’s transport layer under a contract with Lockheed Martin. The Tranche 1 Transport Layer will deliver communications access and persistent regional encrypted connectivity and serve as the Joint All Domain Command and Control’s backbone to […] More

Lockheed Martin has awarded a contract to Terran Orbital for the delivery of three microsatellites, launch support and integration services to the defense company’s aeronautics business. Terran Orbital said Thursday it will build and support the specified satellite class as part of Lockheed’s product demonstration activities. “This contract award provides an exciting opportunity for the […] More

United Launch Alliance sent to space two U.S. Space Force situational awareness satellites using its Atlas V rocket on Friday. The USSF-8 mission lifted GSSAP-5 and GSSAP-6 satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to a near-geosynchronous orbit under the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program, ULA said the same day as the launch. The two […] More

BigBear.ai and Terran Orbital have signed a landmark software agreement in an effort to enhance satellite imaging capabilities of U.S. government customers. As part of the commercial agreement, the companies will leverage data collected from Terran Orbital’s planned NextGen Earth Observation constellation in tandem with BigBear.ai’s data analytics platform to deliver enhanced multi-source Earth imaging […] More

A spacecraft built by General Atomics‘ electromagnetic systems business has completed a NASA-sponsored in-orbit demonstration of miniature atomic clock technology. The company said Tuesday its Orbital Test Bed satellite hosted the Deep Space Atomic Clock to test the payload’s ability to consistently track time for long-duration space exploration. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory produced DSAC and […] More

Geospatial analytics company Orbital Insight has launched its Supply Chain Intelligence tool designed to unveil hidden risks, track upstream and downstream activities and detect movement patterns across specific areas over time. The platform uses artificial intelligence, multisource data and location analytics to help organizations and government agencies can uncover global migration connections, tourism and supply […] More

Astra Space has scheduled a launch window starting Aug. 27 for its pioneer commercial orbital demonstration, where the U.S. Space Force is set to liftoff a test payload for the Space Test Program. The company said Thursday the demonstration is slated to launch from its Kodiak Spaceport in Alaska and it will also conduct a […] More

SpaceX has submitted an application with the Federal Communications Commission seeking a special temporary authorization to support the first orbital flight test of its Starship launch system. The Starship test launch will be carried out at SpaceX’s Boca Chica test site in Texas to support the company's efforts to gather data to measure entry dynamics and gain more insights into what the launch vehicle experiences in a flight.

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Jacobs has partnered with NASA to develop orbital trajectory approaches for spacecraft in uncrewed and crewed missions including the agency's Artemis I mission to the moon. Jacobs said Monday the team will use the Copernicus tool that works to help establish spaceflight trajectory designs through computer coding techniques.

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Spaceflight has received a contract from NASA to perform launch services in support of a mission led by The Aerospace Corp. under the space agency's CubeSat Launch Initiative. Spaceflight said Monday it will use its Sherpa-LTC orbital test vehicle to propel two Low-Latitude Ionosphere/Thermosphere Enhancements in Density cubesats to low-Earth orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

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NASA has partnered with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to enable the space agency to use the latter's New Shepard suborbital vehicle for flights to study reduced gravity scenarios similar to the gravity on the moon. The new capability for lunar gravity testing is expected to be available in late 2022.

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General Atomics' electromagnetic systems business has secured a contract of an undisclosed sum from the U.S. Space Force through the Hosted Payload Solutions delivery order to launch a data collection payload aboard the Orbital Test Bed satellite.

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