WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force is kicking off a major procurement of next-generation communications satellites critical to the nation’s nuclear command, control and communications network.
Gravitics to develop ‘tactically responsive’ orbital platforms for the Space Force
Space station module developer Gravitics scored a $1.7 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to develop orbital platforms to enable responsive space missions.
NASA planning September launch of Mars smallsat mission on first New Glenn
WASHINGTON — A NASA Mars smallsat mission is slated to launch in late September on the first flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, assuming the vehicle is ready in time.
Missile Defense Agency’s new long-range radar steps toward full deployment
“The LRDR completed a Space Domain Awareness (SDA) data collect event in January 2024 that proved the SDA capability, and the U.S. Space Force and MDA are in the process of formally declaring LRDR ready for SDA early use in April 2024,” according to MDA Director Lt. Gen. Heath Collins.
Companies offer proposals for Apophis asteroid missions
WASHINGTON — Companies ranging from Blue Origin to a startup are proposing concepts for missions to visit an asteroid before it makes a very close flyby of Earth in five years.
NASA is giving the moon its own time zone. Why the clock is ticking.
It’s going to start getting crowded on the moon, and we’ll soon need a precise lunar timekeeping system, a shared clock, to coordinate missions and prevent disasters. Time moves a bit faster on the moon than on Earth because the moon’s mass is smaller than that of Earth and its gravity is weaker. That means the moon is going to get its own time zone.
Space Force’s Saltzman: New readiness model ‘fundamentally alters’ space combat prep
WASHINGTON — In his latest missive to Guardians, Space Force chief Gen. Chance Saltzman urges service leaders to urgently implement the service’s new readiness model — a rotating training-to-operations process he says represents the “most drastic change accompanying the establishment of the Space Force.”
Space takes center stage at south by southwest 2024
Aerospace harnessed Austin’s creative and collaborative platform at South By Southwest this year to connect its government partners with industry leaders engaging together, shaping the future of space.
University of florida scientist to fly on blue origin suborbital mission
University of Florida Distinguished Professor Rob Ferl will be the first NASA-funded academic researcher to conduct an experiment as part of a commercial space crew on an upcoming mission of Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.
Space Threat Assessment 2024
Welcome to the seventh edition of Space Threat Assessment by the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). For the last six years, CSIS has used open-source information to produce an annual assessment of threats to U.S. national security space systems posed by foreign government capabilities.