Hughes Network Systems’ Rick Lober has said the backlog of launches faced by space launch service providers has raised concerns among commercial satellite operators that work to provide global communications support to military clients, National Defense reported Wednesday. “There are more [satellites] going up so that is fueling demand and there have been a few […] More

NASA’s Raven technology with a Space Systems Loral-built two-axis gimbal equipment has reached the International Space Station following the Feb. 19 launch of SpaceX’s 10th ISS cargo resupply mission. NASA’s satellite servicing projects division developed the Raven system designed to test components of a spacecraft navigation system that aims to facilitate satellite servicing, asteroid exploration and […] More

Iridium Communications aims to launch the second batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites to low Earth orbit in mid-June aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The satellite communications company said Wednesday the original schedule for the second mission moved from mid-April due to a backlog in the SpaceX launch manifest. “Even with this eight-week shift, SpaceX’s targeted schedule completes our […] More

Mike Basla joined the former L-3 National Security Solutions business as a senior vice president in March 2015 after a 35-year U.S. Air Force career, then transitioned to CACI International one year later upon that company’s acquisition of NSS. Now at CACI, the retired lieutenant general and former Air Force chief information officer holds an SVP […] More

Alan Stern, chairman of the board of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, has said CSF supports development work and potential use of NASA’s Space Launch System for commercial spaceflight missions, Space News reported Wednesday. Jeff Foust writes Stern made the remarks in a speech Tuesday at the 20th Annual Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington. “There […] More

NASA plans to launch an instrument designed to measure Earth’s ozone as part of SpaceX‘s 10th cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The agency said Saturday the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III on ISS  payload will launch with the SpaceX-built Dragon spacecraft this month from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SAGE III will be attached to […] More

Boeing has introduced a spacesuit to be worn by passengers on spacecraft the company has built to support NASA‘s manned missions to the International Space Station and other low-Earth orbit destinations. The Boeing Blue spacesuit future CST-100 Starliner crew is designed to increase pressurized mobility and weighs nearly 40 percent lighter than previously used spacesuits, the company said Wednesday. “Spacesuits have […] More

Iridium Communications‘ long-awaited next-generation satellite constellation will start to take form Sunday night when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. An initial 10 NEXT satellites will enter space then to kick off a seven-launch campaign to deploy 10 space vehicles at a time in a process to replace each […] 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

Thales Alenia Space’s ELiTeBUS 1000 satellite system has been added by the rapid spacecraft development office to the Rapid III catalog managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The satellite platform’s inclusion in the catalog would allow the joint venture of Thales and Leonardo-Finmeccanica to respond to future request for proposals for platforms and services under […] More

United Launch Alliance has agreed to become a sponsor for the Air Force Association’s StellarXplorers science, technology, engineering, and mathematics program. The joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing ULA will sponsor the dinner for the national finalists and also cover travel expenses and funding for the StellarXplorers III winners, the Air Force Association said Monday. “We are […] More

Iridium Communications has scheduled the launch of its next-generation global satellite constellation Iridium NEXT for Dec. 16 aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will carry 10 Iridium NEXT satellites to low-Earth orbit to replace an existing commercial satellite network in space, Iridium said Thursday. The planned launch announcement follows […] More