Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS) recently completed a successful series of flights with two production XQ-58A Valkyrie aircraft for the Skyborg Program. The program team includes the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Fighters and Advanced Aircraft Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), USAF 40th Flight Test Squadron (FLTS), USAF 46th Test Squadron, and […]
Military
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has added Optix platform capabilities into the firm’s Optix platform
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has integrated the Optix platform (screenshot below) into its System for Tasking And Real-Time Exploitation (STARE) system. Optix delivers cloud-based, big data processing and analytics to STARE, providing operators with a common operating picture by integrating and displaying wide area surveillance information gathered by GA-ASI Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) […]
Scramjet-powered HAWC achieves a successful 2nd flight test by Raytheon + Northrop Grumman
Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX) business, in partnership with Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), successfully completed their second flight test of the scramjet-powered Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept, or HAWC, for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the U.S. Air Force. The Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept, or HAWC, team completed a second […]
Blue Canyon’s multiple spacecraft and components on Virgin Orbit launch
Slingshot 1 is the first-ever Blue Canyon 12U CubeSat bus carrying 19 payloads to low Earth orbit. Small satellite manufacturer and mission services provider Blue Canyon Technologies LLC (“BCT” or “Blue Canyon”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, announced the launch of Slingshot 1, MISR-B, and a government customer satellite, aboard Virgin Orbit on July […]
UPDATE 2: Space Development Agency contracts for 28 satellite builds for the Tranche 1 Tracking Layer — L3Harris statement — Northrop Grumman statement
The Space Development Agency (SDA) has awarded two prototype agreements with a total potential value over $1.3 billion for the establishment of the Tranche 1 (T1) Tracking Layer, providing the initial missile warning/missile tracking warfighting capability of the National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA) — these satellites will start to launch in April of 2025. The […]
Airbus’ SKYNET 6A satellite passes Critical Design Review
We are building SKYNET 6A with its unique military communications payload entirely in the UK and we currently have more than 45 small to medium sized enterprises and subcontractors helping to make sure we remain on target for launch in 2025.” Airbus has achieved a key milestone with the successful completion of the Critical Design […]
U.S. Space Systems Command awards Lockheed Martin Space Systems a million$$$ GPS contract
Space Systems Command awarded Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company the contract to deliver operations and sustainment support services for the Global Positioning System IIR/IIR-M/III/IIIF. The support contract provides specialized sustainment services to maintain the GPS IIR/IIR-M/III/IIIF space vehicles and signal in space and meet evolving requirements for a resilient system for the joint warfighters and […]
UPDATE 1: Rocket Lab launches the 1st of two Responsive Space Missions for NRO
Rocket Lab USA, Inc (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”) has successfully launched the first of two responsive space missions for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Following lift-off of NROL-162 (“Wise One Looks Ahead”) from Pad A at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 at 06:30, UTC, July 13, 2022, Electron successfully delivered the NRO’s […]
Significant milestone reached by Rocket Lab for the DARPA + SDA Mandrake-II mission
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”) has supported a significant milestone for DARPA and the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Mandrake-2 mission. In June, the two Mandrake-2 spacecraft, Able and Baker, successfully demonstrated closing and maintaining an optical communications link for the full test duration of 40 minutes at a range […]
Space Systems Command’s next Industry Day to highlight Space Domain Awareness (SDA)
Space Systems Command (SSC) officials and other agencies involved in Space Domain Awareness (SDA) will meet with traditional and non-traditional space industry professionals July 28th in Colorado Springs to exchange ideas and methods to execute SDA missions at the next SSC Industry Day. To register, visit the SSC Front Door webpage. The unclassified event will […]