Author: starpathwp-production
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Northrop Grumman Receives $235 Million Contract for Next Gen OPIR Polar Satellites
The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command has awarded Northrop Grumman a $235 million contract for the Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next Gen OPIR) polar satellites 1 and 2 — a contract that brings the total value awarded thus far to more than $2.1 billion. “Work will be performed at Redondo Beach, California, and is…
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Rocket Report: NASA to test new RS-25 engines; Russia’s phantom rockets
Welcome to Edition 6.14 of the Rocket Report! The big news this week is that Stoke Space, which is seeking to build a fully reusable rocket, has secured a significant amount of funding that should help it get closer to a debut launch within a couple of years. I also like the name they’ve chosen…
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Rocket Report: NASA to test new RS-25 engines; Russia’s phantom rockets
Welcome to Edition 6.14 of the Rocket Report! The big news this week is that Stoke Space, which is seeking to build a fully reusable rocket, has secured a significant amount of funding that should help it get closer to a debut launch within a couple of years. I also like the name they’ve chosen…
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Spire Global Selected for IDIQ Contract by NASA to Provide Earth Observation Data
Spire Global, a global provider of space-based data, analytics, and space services, has been selected for a Multiple-Award, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract by NASA to provide Earth observation data for the agency’s Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program. The contract will be effective for five years with the opportunity to compete for task…
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CesiumAstro, SES, and Hughes Team Up to Showcase Scalable Ka-Band SATCOM Terminal
CesiumAstro, SES, and Hughes announced the successful over-the-air (OTA) demonstration of a scalable Ka-band active phased array terminal for satellite communications (SATCOM). Conducted by CesiumAstro throughout the months of June and July in Austin, Texas, the demonstration paired the company’s medium form factor terminal with the Hughes HM400 software-defined modem connecting through SES’s geosynchronous orbit…
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Arianespace’s Vega launches 12 satellites on VV23 mission
Arianespace’s lightweight Vega rocket launched on its penultimate flight Sunday, carrying the THEOS-2 Earth-observation satellite for Thailand, Taiwan’s Triton (FORMOSAT-7R) weather satellite, and ten small satellites. Lifoff from the Centre Spatial Guyanais in Kourou, French Guiana came after a scrub 48 hours previously. The launch was only Arianespace’s third mission of 2023. Following the retirement…
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Momentus Signs Contract with C3S for Transportation and Orbital Delivery Services
Momentus, a U.S. commercial space company that offers satellite buses, transportation, and other in-space infrastructure services, has signed a contract with C3S for transportation and orbital delivery services in 2025. C3S is a repeat customer for Momentus. The C3S VIREO payload was transported to orbit on the Vigoride-6 mission that launched in April 2023. “With…
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Axiom Space Collaborates with Prada to Design NASA’s Next-Gen Lunar Spacesuits
In the first groundbreaking partnership between an Italian luxury fashion house and a commercial space company, Axiom Space, industry leader and architect of the world’s first commercial space station, announced a collaboration with Prada on NASA’s lunar spacesuits for the Artemis III mission. As the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in December 1972,…
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mmTron Introduces Highest Efficiency GaN Power Amplifier MMIC for LEO Satellite Downlinks
mmTron has developed the highest efficiency class AB GaN power amplifier (PA) MMIC for the 17.3 to 21.2 GHz satellite downlink band: The TMC261 covers the band with a margin and provides 1.1 watts of output power with 35 percent power-added efficiency (PAE) at a noise power ratio (NPR) of 13 dB. “High data rate…
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ULA Launches the First 2 Kuiper Prototype Satellites for Amazon
United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched the first two prototype satellites for Project Kuiper on Friday, putting the first assets in space for Amazon’s Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation. The Atlas V 501 rocket lifted off at 2:06 p.m. ET on Friday, launching from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The satellites…