Tag Archives: Spacecraft

Lockheed Martin has awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to supply an inertial measurement unit for the Lockheed-built LM 300 satellite bus. The Northrop-made LN-200S IMU is a small fiber optic-based navigational tool that works to provide vehicle control systems with angular motion and acceleration data, Northrop said Tuesday. The LN-200S IMU …

Boeing has received its second task order from NASA to transport crews and their cargo to the International Space Station under the company’s potential $4.2 billion Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract. The company secured the order after it completed internal design assessments and interim developmental milestones for its CST-100 Starliner space capsule, …

An Orbital ATK-built spacecraft lifted off Sunday onboard a United Launch Alliance-made Atlas V rocket to deliver over 7,000 pounds of crew supplies and scientific instruments to the International Space Station. NASA said Sunday the Cygnus OA-4 space vehicle’s launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station marks Orbital ATK’s fourth …

The U.S. Navy has moved forward in the process to take control of the Mobile User Objective System constellation’s fourth satellite after MUOS contractor Lockheed Martin completed a series of on-orbit tests Monday. MUOS-4 is scheduled for transition to its on-orbit operational slot in the spring of 2016 prior to the …

SpaceX has secured a task order from NASA to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station in 2017 under a potential $2.6 billion Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract. SpaceX has conducted the critical design evaluation phase on the Crew Dragon space vehicle and Falcon 9 rocket that comprise its crew …

A joint venture of Thales Group and Finmeccanica has delivered the test model of the Orion spacecraft’s European Service Module to NASA’s testing facility in Ohio for further structural design tests. Thales Alenia Space performed initial tests on the structural test model of ESM at its facility in Turin, Italy, …

Lockheed Martin’s space systems business has begun the environmental testing phase on NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer spacecraft at its facilities in Denver. NASA said Thursday it plans to launch the OSIRIS-REx space vehicle in September 2016 to collect samples of the Bennu asteroid for further research. Lockheed …

Aerojet Rocketdyne has completed the critical design review on the Orion spacecraft’s jettison motor and crew module reaction control system. Aerojet Rocketdyne will kick off the production of hardware for installation into the Orion spacecraft in preparation for the Exploration Mission-1, the company said Friday. “Astronaut safety is paramount and …

Lockheed Martin has completed renovation works on an electronics production facility in Littleton, Colorado. Lockheed said Tuesday the open of the newly-renovated manufacturing facility at the campus of Lockheed’s space systems company coincides with the celebration of the National Manufacturing Day on Friday. The company will use the 28,000-square-foot factory …

NASA has wrapped up a technical and programmatic assessment of the Orion spacecraft, which the agency is building with Lockheed Martin in a bid to send astronauts to an asteroid or Mars. The agency pledged $6.77 billion to fund Orion development efforts from October 2015 through the spacecraft’s initial crewed …

A team of NASA and Lockheed Martin engineers has fused two sections of an Orion crew module that the agency intends to send into a lunar distant retrograde orbit with the Boeing-built Space Launch System. The spacecraft’s tunnel and forward bulkhead were welded together on Saturday at NASA’s Michoud Assembly …

Lockheed Martin has received a suite of three cameras for installation with a NASA spacecraft for the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer mission. NASA said Tuesday Lockheed will integrate the PolyCam, MapCam and SamCam cameras with the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to collect images of the Bennu asteroid, investigate the presence of …

Aerojet Rocketdyne has concluded the duration test for the rocket engine designed to power NASA‘s Space Launch System. The company performed the test on the RS-25 rocket engine at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, Aerojet Rocketdyne said Thursday. “It is great to see this revered engine back in action and progressing full …

J.P. Donovan Construction has been awarded a potential $45.8 million contract to install land-based support systems onto the Mobile Launcher for NASA’s rockets and space vehicles at the Florida-based Kennedy Space Center. NASA said Wednesday the integration of the ground systems with the launcher intends to facilitate efforts to assemble …

Inmarsat is scheduled to launch a new satellite by the end of August, MarketWatch reported Thursday. CEO Rupert Pearce said the company’s latest network will then kick off commercial operation by the end of 2015, according to the report. “A successful launch of I-5 F3 in late August will enable us …