Government/Military

Oneweb has appealed to the [U.K.] Government for a rescue loan as the bankrupt satellite business hunts for a lifeline after a planned investment from Japanese giant SoftBank collapsed. The British satellite company, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in the US, has held talks on whether a state-backed loan could provide urgent funding needed...

Lockheed Martin committed another $50 million in advances to its supply chain on April 9, marking the third advance, for a total of $156 million, to keep its supply chain strong during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Chairman, President, and CEO Marillyn Hewson said that because the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has changed its...

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Persistent Systems, LLC a $25 million contract for its Wave Relay Tactical Assault Kit (WaRTAK) program. The WaRTAK program, which began in 2016, provides Air Force convoys driving in austere environments with reliable multi-domain communications and situational awareness, tying in radio, GPS, cellular, and satellite internet connections.  This four-year...

The third GPS III satellite launch will take place in late June at the earliest, two months later than scheduled, to minimize the potential of COVID-19 exposure to personnel, the U.S. Space Force said April 7. The service had originally scheduled the launch for late April 2020, but the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC)...

PathFinder Digital announced on April 7 that it’s receive-only terminal, BAT- GBS-85, has completed Army Strategic Command (ARSTRAT) Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) testing and is now certified for operation on the WGS network.  In May 2019, PathFinder Digital was awarded a contract by prime contractor General Dynamics Mission Systems for the delivery of MVSAT terminals...

The U.S. Army has awarded DataPath, Inc., a Responsive Strategic Sourcing for Services (RS3) task order. Under this contract, DataPath will provide Sustainment Maintenance (Reset), Repair, Replace and Support (SMRRS) services and support. This includes restoring the WIN-T Increment 2 (INC 2) Satellite Transportable Terminals (STTs) to their original functional capability in accordance with the...

Boeing has agreed to repeat the test flight of its Starliner space capsule, a decision that sets its crewed space ambitions back by months and makes it likely SpaceX will win the race to return NASA’s astronauts to space from United States soil. The announcement comes after the initial flight late last year was marred by...

Serco Inc. has received a new, $57 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to manage, operate and maintain the Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) system. The contract has an eight-month base period and six one-year option years.  The GEODDS system supports the U.S. Strategic Command and theater war fighters’ requirements through the detection...

Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) has recently been issued three U.S. patents for inventions used in researching cold atoms, a factor in precise space-based timing. SDL said its Elemental Alkali-Metal Dispenser, and two types of Grating Magneto Optical Traps will enable scientists and engineers to design and build atomic clocks with hyper-accuracy. Atomic clocks measure electromagnetic...

The U.S. Air Force plans to transfer 23 space-related missions to the U.S. Space Force, which will cover over 1,800 billets, the service said March 31. The Space Force, the U.S. military’s newest service, has had personnel assigned to it since its formal establishment last December, and those personnel were comprised primarily of units that...