Tag Archives: Spacecraft

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Exelis has delivered the cross-track infrared sounder to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for installation in the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 spacecraft. The sounder is designed to produce atmospheric temperature and moisture data for weather and climate prediction, Exelis said Friday. “This advanced hyperspectral technology is providing improvements to …

Lockheed Martin has launched an optical payload into space aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spacecraft to capture a single-view image of the Earth’s sunlit side. The Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera instrument is designed to help scientists monitor clouds and atmospheric particles in hemispheres in order to develop models for …