Government/Military

SolAero Technologies, a provider of  solar cells, solar panels, and composite structural products for satellite and aerospace applications, was awarded a contract by Maxar Technologies to power the Power and Propulsion Element of NASA‘s Gateway. Under the terms of the contract, SolAero will design and manufacture Solar Power Modules (SPMs) that will supply nearly 70 kilowatts...

Planet, Salo Sciences, and Vibrant Planet partnered to develop the California Forest Observatory (CFO) — a new platform that aims to dynamically map forest structure and fuel loads down to the tree level, statewide. Combining satellite imagery and artificial intelligence (AI), along with weather, climate, population, and infrastructure data, and supported through funding from the...

Speedcast International and the Australian Space Agency signed a statement of cooperation outlining Speedcast’s intentions to support the agency’s goal of tripling the nation’s space sector in size and creating 20,000 new jobs by 2030. Referring to the Australian Civil Space Strategy 2019-2028, the statement identities key fields in which Australia will concentrate on its development of the...

NASA selected two proposals to demonstrate small satellite technologies to improve science observations in deep space, which could help NASA develop better models to predict space weather events that can affect astronauts and spacecraft. Both proposals, funded at $400,000 for nine-month mission concept studies, were selected based on potential technology and science value and the feasibility...

The U.S. Air Force’s Rocket Systems Launch Program Office, part of the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Launch Enterprise, released a solicitation for the Orbital Services Program-4 (OSP-4) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract. OSP-4 is a follow-on to the OSP-3 contract that is set to expire in November. OSP-4 will allow for the rapid acquisition of...

PAR Technology revealed that its subsidiary, Rome Research Corporation (RRC), was awarded a five-year (base plus five options) firm-fixed-price contract with a potential and expected total value of $26.2 million. This contract provides support to operate and maintain the U.S. Navy Satellite Communications Facility (NAVSATCOMMFAC) Northwest, located in Chesapeake Virginia and a component activity of...

The Philippines will become more active in the space race following President Rodrigo Duterte’s enactment of a new law. Duterte on August 8 signed the Philippine Space Act, which creates the Philippines Space Agency (PhilSA) — an agency dedicated to the improvement of space science and technology. Read More at CNN Philippines >>

BAE Systems was awarded a Phase 2 contract to develop Machine Learning (ML) capabilities aimed to help the military gain better awareness of space scenarios for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The goal of DARPA’s Hallmark Tools, Capabilities, and Evaluation Methodology (Hallmark-TCEM) program is to not only develop and evaluate tools and capabilities...

Kratos Defense and Security Solutions was selected by the PSN Consortium, led by Indonesian satellite operator Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN) to deliver a unified ground station monitoring solution to support the first Very High-Throughput Satellite (VHTS) in the region. PSN will deploy and operate the highest broadband satellite in Asia on behalf of Indonesia’s Ministry of...

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched an Atlas V rocket today, carrying AEHF-5 — the fifth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) communications satellite for the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. The rocket was lifted off at about 6:13 a.m. EDT from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The payload is...