Freedom Space’s ground network software selected for U.S. Space Force program
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-25 09:06
Freedom Space Technologies is partnering with defense contractor Omni Federal. Omni Federal was one of four companies that won $9.7 million contracts from the U.S. Space Force. FORGE C2 aims to overhaul the Space Force’s legacy missile-warning satellites’ command and control systems.
ESA sees strong interest in commercial cargo program
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-25 03:41
ESA released a call for proposals Dec. 20 for its LEO Cargo Return Service program. The program is patterned on NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services. The long-term goal of the program is to have commercial cargo vehicles in service by 2028. Proposals for the first phase of the program are due to ESA at the end of February.
Europe weeks away from finalizing sovereign broadband proposal
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-24 18:01
European space giants are putting the final touches on a proposal for a sovereign broadband constellation. Executives from Airbus Defence and Space, Thales Alenia Space, and Arianespace discussed the project. IRIS2 is slated to provide global coverage by 2027 and may include the launch of up to 170 LEO satellites.
Eyes in the sky: The increasing importance of very low Earth orbit (VLEO) for national security
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-24 15:30
Satellites flying at half the altitude of legacy low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites are twice as close to the action on the ground, and therefore better able to observe it. The ability to position satellites closer to Earth has unlocked new possibilities for military and intelligence operations.
Blue Origin gets U.S. Space Force funding for New Glenn ‘integration studies’
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-24 14:39
Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, has secured a contract with the U.S. Space Force. The agreement marks a significant step in Blue Origin’s potential participation in the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 program. Launch services contracts are expected to be awarded later this year for missions to be flown starting in late 2025.
ESA and EU collaborate on launch initiative
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-24 13:25
European Space Agency and European Commission select five launch companies. Effort is intended to stimulate demand for European launch services. Four of the companies selected are startups working on small launch vehicles. Arianespace will offer rideshare launches on its Vega C and Ariane 6 rockets.
Orbit Fab and ClearSpace to develop in-space refueling service
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-24 12:00
Orbit Fab and in-space servicing specialist ClearSpace announce partnership. Initially, the companies will work together to pair an Orbit Fab fuel depot with a ClearSpace shuttle. Orbit Fab has not ruled out the possibility of building its own fuel shuttles. ClearSpace has operations in the U.K. And U.S.
NASA ready for Monday’s Northrop Grumman cargo space station mission – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-25 00:00
NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX are targeting 12:29 p.m. EST on Monday, January 29, for the next launch to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. Live launch coverage will begin at 12:15 p.m. And air on NASA+. NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and on the agency’s website. Filled with more than 8,200 pounds of supplies, the Cygnus cargo spacecraft will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Lockheed Martin sends NOAA’s newest weather satellite to Florida for launch preparations – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-24 00:00
The next-generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-U has successfully arrived at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, to begin preparing for its spring launch. This is the final of four satellites all built by Lockheed Martin in Littleton, Colorado, in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s GOES-R weather satellite series. GOES-U will enable the constellation to continue saving lives and property by ensuring forecasters have access to better-than-ever weather data.
NASA welcomes Belgium as the newest Artemis Accords signatory – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-24 00:00
Belgium is the 34th country to sign the Artemis Accords. Accords establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation. Accords reinforce and implement key obligations in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. More countries are expected to sign the accords in the months and years ahead.
Moog successfully steers ULA’s Vulcan during the rocket’s inaugural launch – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-24 00:00
Moog Inc. (NYSE: MOG.A and MOG.B) announced the successful first flight of the company’s new hydraulic actuators that steered United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan rocket. Vulcan’s inaugural flight lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on January 8, 2024, at 2:18 a.m. ET. Moog designed and manufactured new hydraulic actuators for the thrust vector control system first stage main engines.
Hubble Spies Side-by-Side Galaxies
Lenticular galaxies and barred spiral galaxies have different structures. In barred spiral galaxies, a bar of stars runs through the central bulge of the galaxy. Lenticular galaxies have large central bulges and flattened disk-like spirals, but no spiral arms. They don’t have much gas and dust and are made up primarily of old stars.
NOAA’s GOES-U Arrives in Florida for Processing Ahead of Launch
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-23 17:23
NOAA’s Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellite-U (GOES-U) is offloaded from a C-5M Super Galaxy transport aircraft onto the flatbed of a heavy-lift truck at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. GOES-U is scheduled to launch no earlier than Tuesday, April 30, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Data from the environmental monitoring satellite constellation enables forecasters to predict, observe, and track local weather events.
NASA System Predicts Impact of a Very Small Asteroid Over Germany
A small asteroid about 3 feet (1 meter) in size disintegrated harmlessly over Germany on Sunday, Jan. 21, at 1:32 a.m. Local time (CET) The asteroid’s impact produced a bright fireball, or bolide, which was seen from as far away as the Czech Republic and may have scattered small meteorites on the ground. The asteroid was later designated 2024 BX1.