Government/Military

Seraphim Capital has launched the United Kingdom’s first dedicated accelerator program for best-of-breed space startups, supported both by U.K. and European government agencies and a slew of corporate partners. According to Seraphim Capital, collaborators for the Space Camp Accelerator include Airbus, Surrey Satellite Technology, SES and Telespazio. The nine-week program will run twice per year,...

U.K. Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson said he is “deeply disappointed” by Europe’s plans to exclude U.K. businesses from bidding on the Galileo satellite program. The U.K. military would also be barred from using the GPS-like system. Despite the U.K.’s previous investment in Galileo, the European Union (EU) believes the system’s security would be compromised due...

NASA announced another delay for its $8.8 billion James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project pushing back the potential launch date to May 2020 following continued integration and testing issues. Problems with the massive telescope’s propulsion system and sunshield capabilities have forced NASA program officials to increase oversight of prime contractor Northrop Grumman integration and testing efforts moving...

MDA has recently signed multiple geospatial-related contracts based on data from the Radarsat 2 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite. According to MDA, the contracts have a combined value of approximately CA$16 million ($12.4 million). The first contract extends provision of Radarsat 2 information to EarthStar up to Dec. 31, 2024. EarthStar uses the information for...

Iceye has announced a partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) to mutually explore opportunities provided by Iceye’s technology. The cooperation encompasses activities that focus on the design of Iceye’s microsatellite and its X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instrument, as well as identifying the most promising applications for the data collected by such a microsatellite...

The U.S. House Science, Space and Technology Committee has approved two bills aimed at supporting the rocket propulsion and space support industries. One bill, proposed by Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., would designate NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama as the agency’s lead center for rocket propulsion, including the development of new technology. Such a...

After some hemming and hawing, President Donald Trump signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill on Friday that will fund most government functions through the end of September. While the bill satisfied some (not all) priorities for both Republicans and Democrats, two clear winners were NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which received...

Radiant Solutions has signed a follow-on contract with the Army Geospatial Center (AGC) valued at $2.6 million for its Remote Ground Terminal (RGT) program. AGC exercised an option extending Radiant Solutions’ provision of systems engineering and software development to enhance the RGT program, which mission is to provide timely access to high resolution commercial imagery...

The African Regional Data Cube has been launched at the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data’s inaugural Data for Development Festival in the United Kingdom. This new tool harnesses the latest Earth observation and satellite technology to help Kenya, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Tanzania address food security as well as issues relating to agriculture,...

Comtech EF Data received a $1.6 million order for satellite modems from a major U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) contractor. The order specified the DMD2050E MIL-STD-188-165A/STANAG 4486 Edition 3 Compliant Universal Satellite Modem, which will be used to support the U.S. Army Project Manager (PM) Tactical Network. is designed to comply with a range of...