Tag: Northrop Grumman
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This is the world’s most advanced robotic servicing satellite—that we know about
A spacecraft fitted with two flexible robotic arms is on the way to geosynchronous orbit after launching earlier this week on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, kicking off a planned decade-long mission to open new frontiers in satellite servicing. The Mission Robotic Vehicle, owned and built by Northrop Grumman, rocketed into orbit from Cape Canaveral…
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Northrop Grumman Launches Robotic Servicing Vehicle Toward Geosynchronous Orbit
The Mission Robotic Vehicle carries the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites payload, a pair of robotic arms with an array of tool attachments developed at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory with financial backing from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Following deployment, the vehicle and its pods will spend a year traveling out to geosynchronous…
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South Korea Commits 40B Won to OTV Race Already Underway
Is South Korea Too Late to the Orbital Transfer Vehicle Market? South Korea’s government is committing 40 billion won to develop and demonstrate a flight-model orbital transfer vehicle by 2029 — entering a space logistics race that Impulse Space, D-Orbit, and Rocket Lab USA have been running for years. The Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) is…
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Katalyst LINK Launches to Reboost NASA Swift Observatory
Is NASA’s Swift Observatory About to Be Saved by a $30M On-Orbit Servicing Mission? Katalyst Space’s LINK on-orbit servicing spacecraft lifted off at 4:26 a.m. EDT on July 4, 2026, aboard Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL rocket, targeting NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory with a mandate to push the aging gamma-ray telescope into a higher, stable…
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NASA’s $30M Swift Rescue Launches on Pegasus XL’s Final Flight
Can NASA’s $30M LINK Satellite Really Save the Swift Observatory? At 4:36 a.m. EDT on July 3, 2026, a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket completed its 45th — and final — mission, air-launching Katalyst Space Technologies’ LINK satellite from the L-1011 Stargazer carrier aircraft above the Marshall Islands. The target: NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory,…
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Pegasus Rocket to Launch Mission to Extend NASA Swift Observatory’s Orbit
A Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket is scheduled to launch a robotic servicing spacecraft this weekend on a mission to extend the operational life of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory by boosting it into a higher orbit. The mission will carry Katalyst Space’s LINK servicing spacecraft, which is designed to rendezvous with the Swift Observatory…
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Katalyst Space Raises $12 Million to Advance GEO Satellite Servicing Vehicle
Katalyst Space has secured $12 million in new funding to support the development of its first geostationary orbit (GEO)-capable robotic servicing spacecraft, NEXUS, which is scheduled to launch aboard an Arianespace Ariane 6 rocket in 2027. The funding round was led by Geodesic Capital, with participation from Fortitude Ventures and several undisclosed investors. The capital…
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Apex Space Raises $200 Million at $2.3 Billion Valuation to Expand Satellite Manufacturing
Satellite manufacturer Apex Space has secured $200 million in new funding at a valuation of $2.3 billion, as the company accelerates plans to expand production capacity and strengthen its position in the growing space infrastructure market. The funding round was led by Glade Brook Capital Partners, with participation from Washington Harbour Partners and a mix…
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Artemis III’s remaining solid rocket booster segments shipped from Utah to Florida
While there is some uncertainty regarding timelines and landers, the Artemis III mission — currently scheduled for the summer of 2027 — is being prepared for launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Northrop Grumman began shipping all eight remaining solid rocket booster segments for the mission’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from Utah…
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U.S. Space Force Awards Viasat and Intelsat $437.7 Million for Protected Satellite Communications Program
The United States Space Force has awarded a combined $437.7 million contract to Viasat and Intelsat for the procurement of satellites under the Protected Tactical Satellite Communications-Global (PTS-G) program, according to a government contract notice released on Friday. The Space Force said it obligated $150 million in fiscal year 2026 research, development, test and evaluation…