Maxar Technologies‘ SSL subsidiary will collaborate with a team at NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Michigan to carry out a space mission to study the sun. SSL said Monday the Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment aims to launch a small satellite constellation designed to explore how solar energetic particles are …
Read More »NASA JPL Opens Solicitation for ‘Europa’ Lander Camera Tech
NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has issued a request for proposals on the development of camera technology for a proposed lander mission on Jupiter’s moon Europa. A FedBizOpps solicitation notice posted Oct. 26 says the agency seeks a Europa lander descent camera that would comply with Planetary Protection requirements and work to capture images for …
Read More »NASA to Launch GRACE Satellite Replacements Aboard SpaceX Rocket in Early 2018
NASA will launch the Airbus-built replacement satellites for the U.S.-German Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellite duo aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the first quarter of 2018, Space Flight Now reported Tuesday. The space agency inked a shared launch agreement with Iridium and the Helmholtz Center-Potsdam German Research Center for Geosciences …
Read More »Stu Spath: Lockheed Resumes Testing, Integration Work on NASA’s ‘InSight’ Mars Lander
Lockheed Martin has resumed testing and assembly work on a spacecraft at its Denver, Colorado-based facility in preparation for NASA’s upcoming Mars mission that seeks to explore the red planet’s deep interior. The Lockheed-built Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport lander is scheduled to launch on May …
Read More »NASA Issues Europa Mission Lidar Sensor RFP
NASA has begun to solicit proposals for a light detection and ranging sensor system that will support the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s lander mission to Jupiter’s Europa moon. The agency said Friday in a FedBizOpps notice the LIDAR sensor should feature altimetry and hazard mapping functions to help the spacecraft perform …
Read More »AWS Eyes GovCloud East Region Launch in 2018
Amazon Web Services plans to launch in 2018 a second region for its cloud platform designed to host regulated data workloads and sensitive information. The AWS GovCloud (US-East) Region will work to provide government clients with additional disaster recovery options and help them comply with several regulatory requirements, the company said …
Read More »NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft With Northrop’s Navigation Tool Travels Through Gap Between Saturn, Rings
A Northrop Grumman-built navigation platform has worked to provide attitude control capabilities for NASA’s Cassini space vehicle in support of the Saturn exploration mission. The spacecraft with Northrop’s Space Inertial Reference Unit maneuvered through a 1,500-mile gap between the planet and its rings on April 26, the company said Thursday. Northrop’s …
Read More »Paul Wooster: SpaceX, NASA Identify 4 Potential Mars Landing Sites for Red Dragon
SpaceX has started to collaborate with NASA to determine potential landing sites for the firm’s Red Dragon space vehicle and future manned missions on Mars, Space News reported Monday. Jeff Foust writes Paul Wooster, spacecraft guidance, navigation and control systems manager at SpaceX, said at a symposium held Saturday in …
Read More »Parsons Awarded NASA JPL Office Upgrade Support Contract; Carey Smith Comments
Parsons has secured a contract of an undisclosed value to provide program management services for an office upgrade project at NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The company said Thursday it will also provide architectural design and construction management support at JPL, which the California Institute of Technology.manages for the space agency. Carey Smith, Parsons …
Read More »Space News: NASA Delays Contract Awards for Asteroid Redirect Mission Amid Budget Uncertainty
NASA has pushed back a contract award and other grants for the Asteroid Redirect Mission due to budget uncertainty, Space News reported Thursday. Jeff Foust writes ARM Program Director Michele Gates told a NASA Small Bodies Assessment Group meeting the agency will award a contract for the spacecraft bus of ARM’s robotic …
Read More »AT&T to Help NASA Update Deep Space Network’s Comms Capacity Through VPN; Mike Leff Comments
AT&T has been selected by NASA to provide a high-speed virtual private network intended to connect the radio antennas of a scientific telecommunications system that supports the agency’s interplanetary spacecraft missions. The company said Wednesday its VPN technology will work to increase the Deep Space Network‘s data transmission capacity up to three times faster than its current bandwidth without …
Read More »NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab Releases Asteroid Redirect Mission Spacecraft RFP
NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has released a request for proposals in search of potential industry partners to design, develop and build robotic spacecraft to capture a multi-ton asteroid boulder. NASA said in Sept. 21 it plans to award an ARM spacecraft build-and-delivery contract in 2017 as part of the space agency’s Asteroid Redirect …
Read More »NASA Tests Mars Rover Navigation System Aboard Masten Space Systems-Built Rocket
NASA has tested the future Mars rover’s camera-based navigation system aboard a rocket-powered test platform built by Masten Space Systems. The agency said Tuesday Xombie carried a prototype of the Mars 2020 rover’s Lander Vision System 1,066 feet into the air to perform a precise landing at a predesignated target. LVS works to direct a spacecraft to …
Read More »NASA OKs May 2018 Launch Date for Lockheed-Built InSight Mars Lander
NASA‘s science mission directorate has cleared the space agency’s new plan to launch a Lockheed Martin-built robotic spacecraft May 5, 2018 as part of efforts to investigate the deep interior of Mars. The agency said Friday it expects the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport lander to reach the Red Planet by Nov. 26, …
Read More »Harris Delivers Comms, Connectivity Services to Support NASA Juno Mission on Jupiter
Harris has provided communications and monitoring connectivity to support the NASA mission to insert the Lockheed Martin-built Juno spacecraft into an elliptical polar orbit around Jupiter. Harris said Tuesday a team of more than 100 employees supported operations, maintenance and engineering work for the space agency and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Deep Space Network. “Harris …
Read More »