Virgin Orbit, the small satellite launch venture spun out of commercial space company Virgin Galactic, has secured a contract to demonstrate its air-launched rocket technology through the Defense Department‘s Space Test Program, TechCrunch reported Thursday. The report said Long Beach, California-based Virgin Orbit expects the LauncherOne prototype flight to take place as early as January 2019. LauncherOne […] More

Virgin Galactic launched its SpaceShipTwo spacecraft on Friday carrying four NASA-supported research payloads into suborbital space. NASA said Saturday the payloads aboard the second test flight are the Microgravity Multi-Phase Flow Experiment for Suborbital Testing from the agency’s Johnson Space Center; Vibration Isolation Platform from Controlled Dynamics; Collisions into Dust Experiment from the University of Central Florida in Orlando; and Electromagnetic Field Measurements from Johns Hopkins University.

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Virgin Galactic has completed a flight test of a company-built manned space vehicle carrying four NASA technology experiments to suborbital space. The agency said Thursday SpaceShipTwo‘s payloads were designed to examine the behavior of dust particles on planetary surfaces, the effects of microgravity on life support systems and plant growth, and vibration during launch, re-entry […] More

Virgin Galactic and Italy’s space agency have signed a letter of intent to perform suborbital flight on the company’s SpaceShipTwo spaceplane. The Italian space agency will conduct scientific research and suborbital experiments during the planned mission, which is scheduled to occur in 2019 at Spaceport America in New Mexico, Virgin Galactic said Monday. The partnership will also include on-site […] More

Tucson, Arizona-based nanosatellite launch firm Vector will perform three orbital launches from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island in Virginia over the next two years under an agreement with the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority. The deal with Virginia Space includes an option for Vector to conduct five additional orbital launches at MARS, Virginia […] More

Orbital ATK has unveiled new large tactical motor manufacturing facilities at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in Rocket Center, West Virginia as part of the company’s efforts to fulfill demand for insensitive munitions rocket motors. The company said Wednesday the new facilities will help create a production line for Orbital ATK’s family of propulsion systems that support defense programs. Orbital ATK […] More

Orbital ATK has announced plans to procure parts of the Defense Department’s Cold War-era intercontinental ballistic missiles and use them for commercial satellite launches, The Washington Post reported Monday. Christian Davenport writes the company’s plan comes ahead of the Tuesday hearing in Congress on a two-decade ban on the sale of DoD’s stockpile of ICBMs for commercial use. “It’s […] More

BWX Technologies has partnered with Lockheed Martin and Space Nuclear Power Corporation to contribute to an Air Force Research Laboratory program focused on advancing technologies for spacecraft employing nuclear electric power systems. Under the collaboration, the company said Wednesday it will produce and test nuclear fuels and components as well as support design and system integration at its facilities in Lynchburg, Virginia, in support of the Joint Emergent Technology Supplying On-Orbit Nuclear program.

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Iridium Communications has sent five spare satellites to orbit as part of its 10-year constellation resilience plan and in an effort to ensure continued delivery of critical network services to end users. The company announced Saturday that it launched additional spare satellites on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, bringing its on-orbit spacecraft to 14. In […] More

Rocket Lab USA has unveiled a suborbital testbed launch vehicle it developed based on its flagship Electron reusable small rocket. The Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron, or HASTE, is scheduled for an inaugural flight from a launch site at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia in the first half of this year, the company said […] More

Spire Global used its  nanosatellite to deploy a U.S-developed novel Lithium-ion battery for in-orbit space testing as part of a U.S. Space Force Small Business Innovation Research Phase II program. The Vienna, Virginia-headquartered space company said Thursday it is currently conducting power system discharge tests on EnerSys’ ZeroVolt 18650 battery cells to gather operational performance […] More

SpaceLink is increasing its presence in Northern Virginia with its expansion in Fairfax County amid the satellite communications company’s ongoing efforts to advance space commerce, exploration and security as well as environmental awareness. David Bettinger, CEO of SpaceLink, said in a statement published Thursday the region is the “natural choice” considering its pool of technology […] More