Michael Browne, former SA Photonics executive, will serve as president of Vision Products, a spinoff company focusing on visualization systems for military customers and commercial clients. Vision Products said Wednesday it originally functioned as an SA Photonics division founded by Browne in 2009 and was spun off by the latter company in December. He held […] More

CACI International will deliver 40 optical communications terminals for inter-satellite links to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under a $16.3 million contract awarded to SA Photonics, which was acquired by the Reston, Virginia-based defense contractor in December, Space News reported Saturday. The terminals are envisioned to facilitate data transfer for the Department of Defense’s […] More

Blue Canyon and SA Photonics have received contracts worth $30.4M combined to build payloads and platforms for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Blackjack program, Space News reported Wednesday.

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A Raytheon Technologies subsidiary has demonstrated optical communications on two satellites launched as part of the Blackjack small surveillance satellite constellation program of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Seakr Engineering-made Mandrake 2 satellites were able to send more than 280 gigabits of data over a 40-minute period and at a distance of 114 km, […] More

Software company Ansys has secured a potential five-year, $39.1 million contract from NASA to deliver a range of modeling and simulation technologies to the space agency’s centers across the U.S. NASA said Thursday the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract allows it to procure the company’s simulation capabilities in electromagnetics, orbit determination, photonics, semiconductors, thermal, structures and other engineering […] More

Executive Mosaic is pleased to announce Todd Probert, president of National Security and Innovative Solutions at CACI International, as a 2022 Wash100 Award recipient for leading NSIS’ growth efforts in the national security sector through defense contract awards and technology innovation. This marks the second consecutive year that Probert has won the award. His first Wash100 was […] More

CACI International has sent its free-space optical modem to a Department of Defense-funded research and development center in preparation for a NASA-led demonstration of high-bandwidth laser communications from a low-Earth orbit. The modem will be integrated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory and will be part of the Integrated Laser Communications Relay Demonstration […] More

Seven startups each won $90,000 in awards to develop technologies that can support small satellite science missions for NASA. The space agency said Saturday it held a two-round competition to select the winners from a pool of 44 participants in the Entrepreneur’s Challenge. The competition sought sensors, electronic systems and autonomous detection technologies for smallsats; […] More

QinetiQ Inc. has been awarded a design-phase contract from Hypersat for the next generation hyperspectral satellites. The award will help Hypersat actualize its plans to launch six low Earth orbit satellites capable of producing better information about the material properties on Earth than any satellite currently in orbit, QinetiQ said Wednesday.

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Nick Bucci, vice president for program development at General Atomics, said that adaptive optics will enable Laser Interconnect and Networking Communication System-enabled satellites to rapidly transmit more data to ground stations, Breaking Defense reported Monday.

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A Raytheon Technologies business has received a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to commence Phase 3 activities under the Blackjack program and supply an additional set of satellites.

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Small satellite maker Blue Canyon Technologies has wrapped up a critical design review of its X-SAT Saturn-class satellite bus for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Blackjack program.

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