Author: starpathwp-production
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Lumen Orbit, a Seattle-area startup that wants to put data centers in space, raises $11M
Lumen Orbit’s co-founders are, from left, CEO Philip Johnston, chief technology officer Ezra Feilden and chief engineer Adi Oltean. (Lumen Orbit Photo) Bellevue, Wash.-based Lumen Orbit, a startup founded earlier this year, raised $11 million to fuel plans to put data centers in space that power technology and AI services back down on Earth. The seed…
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Astroscale ADRAS-J Mission Gets Within 15 Meters of Space Debris
Astroscale’s ADRAS-J mission completed its final approach of an abandoned rocket upper stage in space, approaching the large piece of debris at an approximately 15-meter distance. Astroscale did not reach the intended final distance, but claims that this is the closest a commercial mission has ever approached a piece of space debris through rendezvous and…
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Commercial Space for National Security is Likely to Accelerate Under Trump, Report Says
The incoming administration of President-elect Trump is likely to propose a ramping up of commercial space to serve national security needs, according to a new paper from the National Security Space Association’s Moorman Center for Space Studies. “One can confidently predict that rapid fielding of innovative and agile space solutions, including by leveraging commercial space…
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New Glenn approaches hot fire ahead of debut launch
Blue Origin’s heavy-lift New Glenn rocket is just a few milestones from its maiden launch. Earlier this month the 98-meter-tall, seven-meter-wide launch vehicle was rolled out to the launch pad at the company’s Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) ahead of hot fire testing. This test should be the final major event before the rocket is ready…
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Lockheed Martin’s TacSat Ready for Launch on Firefly Alpha Rocket
Lockheed Martin’s newest technology demonstration, called the Tactical Satellite (TacSat), is complete and ready for launch in 2025 aboard a Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket. TacSat is an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance spacecraft whose mission is to prove specialized sensing and communications capabilities in orbit. Next year, the satellite will participate in exercises that highlight cross-domain…
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Blue Origin’s New Glenn Prepares for Inaugural Launch with Blue Ring Pathfinder
Blue Origin’s payload for New Glenn’s first mission, NG-1, is ready for launch this year. NG-1 will carry the company’s Blue Ring Pathfinder and mark the rocket’s first National Security Space Launch certification flight. The encapsulated payload will be integrated onto the launch vehicle following the hotfire. New Glenn will lift off from Blue Origin’s…
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Southwest Research Institute Secures Contract to Develop NOAA’s Space Weather Magnetometer
NASA, on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has selected Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio to build the Next-Generation Space Weather Magnetometer for the Lagrange 1 Series project as a part of NOAA’s Space Weather Next program. This cost-plus-fixed-fee contract is valued at approximately $26.1 million and includes the development of…
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Redwire Secures $45M AFRL Contract to Enhance Space-Based Defense Technologies
Redwire Corporation, a leading company in space infrastructure for the next generation space economy, was awarded a $45,469,600, five-year cost-plus-fixed-fee contract that will be incrementally funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate for the design, development, and testing of prototype software and hardware for mission critical technologies. The contract will support…
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New Partnership Allows Maxar to Task Satellogic Satellites
A new agreement between Maxar Intelligence and Satellogic allows Maxar to task Satellogic’s constellation to support national security missions for the U.S. government and select U.S. partners internationally. The companies said in a Dec. 11 announcement that bringing together Satellogic’s high frequency revisit capability with Maxar’s high resolution imaging and AI technologies “creates a differentiated…
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Space Policy Needs to Take Priority for Asia-Pacific Regional Cooperation, Experts Say
PERTH, Western Australia — Space policy needs to take center stage in Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific regional co-operation to help address shared issues the region faces, regional leaders said at the Indo-Pacific Space and Earth Conference (IPSEC) in Perth, Western Australia in late November. The Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific regions are at a “pivotal moment” with the…