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 …
Read More »Inmarsat to Launch Satellite in August; Rupert Pearce Comments
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 …
Read More »Lockheed Tests Orion Fairing Separation System Changes; Mike Hawes Comments
Lockheed Martin has evaluated the changes in the Orion spacecraft’s fairing separation system design. Engineers performed the tests on Orion’s new push-off springs, crew module structural attachments, star trackers and pyrotechnic variances, and higher load cases in preparation for the first exploration mission, Lockheed said Thursday. “The fairing separation is …
Read More »Aerojet Rocketdyne Completes PowerTrain Propulsion System Testing; Julie Van Kleeck Comments
Aerojet Rocketdyne has completed testing of a propulsion system prototype that intends to improve the delivery of solar array-derived power to the electric propulsion thruster components on board a spacecraft. The company said Thursday the PowerTrain Solar Electric Propulsion platform has a power tracking tool and power conditioning breadboard components …
Read More »MDA Lands Ground Station Support, Training Contract with Malaysian Agency
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. has been selected to build a satellite ground station and perform training services for Malaysia’s national remote sensing agency. The company will also supply information for the RADARSAT-2 satellite in preparation for the spacecraft’s operation scheduled in 2016, MDA said Tuesday. The ground station is …
Read More »Ball Aerospace-Built Camera to Photograph Pluto From NASA Spacecraft; Jim Oschmann Comments
A NASA spacecraft with a Ball Aerospace & Technologies-built camera is scheduled to arrive at Pluto on July 14. Ball Aerospace said Wednesday the 23-pound Ralph camera will work to gather images of the planet as the New Horizons spacecraft performs flybys within 7,000 miles of Pluto. “We know so little about Pluto …
Read More »Aitech to Build Boeing CST-100 Space Capsule’s Computing Boards, Subsystem
Aitech Defense Systems will develop computing boards and subsystem for the Crew Space Transportation-100 spacecraft that Boeing is building for NASA under the space agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The CST-100 capsule is being designed to transport up to seven crew members to the International Space Station and other low-Earth orbit locations by 2017, Aitech …
Read More »Lockheed Begins Environmental Tests on NASA’s Mars Lander; Stu Spath Comments
Lockheed Martin has kicked off environmental tests on NASA’s InSight Mars spacecraft after the company completed system assembly work. InSight Mars will be subjected to a thermal vacuum test in the spacecraft’s cruise configuration, reverberant acoustic, separation and deployment shock, and electromagnetic interference and compatibility testing at Lockheed’s facilities near Denver, …
Read More »NASA Seeks New Tech for Future Space Missions; Steve Jurczyk Comments
NASA has launched two solicitations worth nearly $50 million combined for new space technologies intended to advance science and human exploration missions. The space agency said Friday it plans to form a public-private partnership to develop and market commercial space systems under the tipping point technologies solicitation. Under this program …
Read More »Boeing Awards Subcontract to D-J Engineering for NASA’s Space Capsule; Ryan Hernandez Comments
D-J Engineering has secured a subcontract from Boeing to help manufacture machine parts for a space capsule under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, Spaceflight Insider reported Sunday. Collin Skocik writes D-J Engineering will manufacture hatch frame and frangible joints for the CST-100 spacecraft that is meant to bring astronauts to the …
Read More »Lockheed Completes Orion Crew Module, Adapter Mockup
Lockheed Martin has finished the construction of an Orion crew module and crew module adapter mockup at the company’s Littleton, Colorado-based facility. Engineers at the Orion test laboratory will next configure the mockup with harnessing, electrical power, sensors, avionics and flight software, Lockheed said Wednesday. The crew module and adapter mockup …
Read More »NASA Offers Grant Support for Small Business-Led Space Tech R&D Projects
NASA plans to award up to $47.7 million in contracts to fund aerospace technology projects led by teams of small technology companies and research institutes. The agency said Friday it chose a total of 381 proposals for the development of new systems to support its future missions to Mars and …
Read More »Raytheon Picks SES to Host FAA Payload
SES Government Solutions will host a Federal Aviation Administration payload on the company’s satellite under a 14-year contract with Raytheon. SES will construct the wide area augmentation systems payload, launch the SES-15 satellite and operate the spacecraft for 11 years in orbit, SES said Wednesday. The SES-15 satellite is scheduled …
Read More »Lockheed Starts Asteroid Research Spacecraft Assembly; Rich Kuhns Comments
Lockheed Martin has moved into the assembly, test and launch operations phase of spacecraft the company is building for a NASA asteroid research mission. NASA aims to launch the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer to collect samples from the Bennu asteroid, Lockheed said Tuesday. “We’re installing the …
Read More »Boeing Receives First Signals from Ninth GPS IIF Satellite; Dan Hart Comments
Boeing Co. has received the first signals of its ninth global positioning system IIF satellite from space. Boeing said the GPS IIF took off Wednesday aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and reached the orbit after more than three hours. Aerojet …
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