ABL Space Systems has received a $15 million contract from the Space Systems Command to execute a responsive space launch demonstration. The SSC said Friday that its Assured Access to Space office awarded the contract under the Small Business Innovative Research Strategic Funding Initiative program in support of its Tactically Responsive Space initiatives. Under the contract, […] More

ABL Space Systems has received a $15 million contract from the Space Systems Command to execute a responsive space launch demonstration. SSC's Assured Access to Space office awarded the contract under the Small Business Innovative Research Strategic Funding Initiative program in support of its Tactically Responsive Space initiatives. More

ABL Space Systems has completed the first round of demonstrations aimed at showcasing a capability for the military to prepare and launch missions to space within a day. Airmen at various military installations trained on cryogenic propellant handling and rapid launch operations using the company’s GS0 deployable ground platform and RS1 small rocket, the U.S. […] More

ABL Space Systems has raised $170 million in a round of Series B financing led by accounts and funds advised by global investment management firm T. Rowe Price Associates. Existing investors, Fidelity Management and Research and an unnamed global investment management firm participated in the new funding round that values ABL at $1.3 billion.

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ABL Space Systems has partnered with Air Force Research Laboratory to develop rocket propulsion components for launch vehicles.

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SpaceX has announced its intent to update its fleet of space vehicles into reusable platforms by 2022 to support national security missions, SpaceNews reported Thursday.

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The U.S. Space Force and the Defense Innovation Unit have awarded contracts to Rocket Lab’s national security business and True Anomaly to support a mission under the Tactically Responsive Space program. The Victus Haze mission under the TacRS program intends to harness commercial capabilities to rapidly address on-orbit threats, Space Systems Command said Thursday.

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Rocket Lab USA will launch an Electron vehicle to support the Space Test Program-S30 mission under a task order awarded by the U.S. Space Force. STP-S30 will deploy to orbit technology demonstrations and research experiments for the Department of Defense and support future development of space systems, Rocket Lab said Monday.

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Neeraj Gupta, former senior vice president and general manager for space destinations at Sierra Space, has joined Voyager Space to serve as chief strategy officer. He will be responsible for driving Voyager Space's strategy development and execution aimed at pursuing market expansion, technology innovation and sustainable growth, the Denver, Colorado-based aviation and aerospace company said Monday.

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Robert Lightfoot, president of Lockheed Martin Space, said the company is looking to partner with more space businesses that are working on small satellites and intelligence, surveillance and communications payloads to meet the increasing demand within the government market for resilient space-based capabilities. “We’re looking for strategic partners," Lightfoot, a three-time Wash100 awardee, told the publication at a conference on Tuesday. "We're interested in talking with anyone who has an advantage in those areas from a space perspective."

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The space systems business of Maxar Technologies is gearing up to deploy the satellites it built to bolster the constellation capacity of Maxar Intelligence. Maxar said Monday two WorldView Legion satellites will launch as early as April from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

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Viasat has selected Rocket Lab to build and deliver a satellite bus for a flight communications demonstration mission that would showcase the ability of the former's multi-band space-relay capabilities to support low Earth orbit missions. Rocket Lab's spacecraft bus will provide communications, propulsion and attitude control for the flight demonstration scheduled for launch in 2026 as part of Viasat's two contracts under NASA's Communications Services Project worth $80 million in total, Viasat said Thursday.

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