Space News

Charlie Precourt, vice president and general manager of propulsion at Northrop Grumman, has said contractors need to consider affordability, survivability and sustainability as they work on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket program, Ars Technica reported Monday. “We’ve got to make sure we’ve got our mindset on affordability, and I don’t think it’s too early for […] More

NASA’s Langley Research Center is seeking potential partners in the development of a proposal that will help meet the requirements for the Earth System Science Pathfinder Program’s Earth Venture initiative. A FedBizOpps notice posted Monday says the space agency will select firms that have experience in designing, manufacturing, testing and supporting small satellites. Potential partners […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne has concluded a test of a thruster system for NASA’s Orion spacecraft that will launch aboard the Space Launch System rocket as part of Exploration Mission-1. The company said Monday it conducted the qualification test at its Redmond, Wash.-based facility to demonstrate the reaction control system’s capability to withstand shock and vibration as […] More

Gen. Maryanne Miller, commander of the Air Mobility Command, has disclosed that the U.S. Air Force has met with SpaceX to discuss the possibility of conducting space-based cargo delivery operations, Defense News reported Saturday. The Air Force is considering using SpaceX’s Big Falcon Rocket reusable launch vehicle, which is still under development, for cargo services […] More

NASA has certified the use of a 180-pound parachute for its Mars 2020 mission after completing a series of tests under the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment program. Using mission planning, engineering and field operations services from Northrop Grumman, JPL tested two different parachutes and selected the one used for the third and final […] More

Northrop Grumman has announced that its automated cargo spacecraft slated to be deployed to the International Space Station will be named after former U.S. Navy officer and NASA astronaut John Young. The Cygnus spacecraft will be launched aboard Northrop’s Antares rocket on Nov. 15 from Pad-0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located at NASA’s Wallops Flight […] More

Maxar Technologies’ SSL subsidiary has delivered to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California two Earth observation satellites the company built for Planet. The SSL-made SkySat 14 and 15 will fly aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket as part of Spaceflight’s maiden Sun Synchronous rideshare mission for Planet’s constellation that works to provide 72-centimeter satellite imagery, Maxar said […] More

NASA seeks industry feedback on requirements for developing a module to deliver pressurized and unpressurized cargo to a future cislunar outpost for deep space missions, technology demonstrations and explorations around the moon. The space agency said Tuesday it looks to procure a logistics platform with guidance and navigation, power generation and propulsion systems for cargo spacecraft to […] More

Vector and the U.S. Air Force Space Command and Missile Systems Center will jointly engage in research and development on launch services under a new partnership. The company said Tuesday it will work to address the Air Force’s launch technology and mission needs under a new cooperative research and development agreement with SMC’s Space Superiority […] More

Seattle-based space industry leaders have urged Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., to help establish a space center in Washington in response to the state’s lag behind other states, including California and Texas, Geekwire reported Friday. Executives such as Aerospace Futures Alliance CEO Kelly Maloney and Aerojet Rocketdyne General Manager Ken Young voiced out their ideas as […] More

Tory Bruno, president and CEO of United Launch Alliance, told SpaceNews in an interview published Wednesday that he thinks the competition in the market for military space launches “is good for the country.” “We’re seeing a broadening of the lift industrial base,” he said. ULA is one of the three companies the U.S. Air Force selected […] More

Maxar Technologies‘ DigitalGlobe business has received a potential five-year, $7M contract from NASA to provide high-resolution commercial electro-optical and synthetic aperture radar satellite imagery for Earth observation studies. Under the blanket purchase agreement, the space agency will leverage DigitalGlobe’s 100-petabyte imagery library and Geospatial Big Data platform and satellite data from the WorldView constellation, Maxar said Wednesday. […] More