Tag: Satellite
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Starfish Space wins $1.8M to keep working on satellite guidance system for Air Force
A stylized illustration shows one satellite closing in to rendezvous with another satellite, with the aid of Starfish Space’s Cephalopod guidance software. (Starfish Space Illustration) Kent, Wash.-based Starfish Space says it’s been awarded $1.8 million by AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force, to support continued development of the company’s Cephalopod…
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LeoStella Showcases New LS-300 Advanced Small Satellite Platform
LeoStella, a U.S.-based satellite design and manufacturing company, announced its third-generation small satellite bus product line, the LS-300. The LS-300 introduces significant payload accommodation and other enhanced capabilities. The LS-300 builds upon LeoStella’s successful reputation and accounts for the evolving expectations of government and commercial satellite customers. To date, LeoStella has 19 satellites in orbit,…
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NanoAvionics, RIKEN and Mitsui Bussan Aerospace Collaborate on X-ray Observatory Launch
RIKEN, Japan’s largest comprehensive research institution, Mitsui Bussan Aerospace, and mission integrator Kongsberg NanoAvionics have announced their collaboration on the astronomical NinjaSat1 X-ray observatory mission. The aim of this two-year mission in a low Earth orbit (LEO) is to observe X-ray photons from bright X-ray objects in the universe. The NinjaSat team aims to observe…
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Benchmark Introduces First-Ever Autopilot For Satellites at SmallSat 2023
With operational small satellite constellations scaling fast, and regulatory controls for sustainability quickly emerging, Benchmark Space Systems has announced the commercial launch of the first-ever driver-assist control system capable of managing highly precise satellite maneuvers and travel through increasingly congested space. The category-defining propulsion solution called SmartAIM (Smart Advanced In-Space Mobility) features an onboard software…
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Phase Four Announces its New Maxwell Block 3 Plasma Propulsion Thruster
Phase Four, the creator of the radio-frequency thruster for satellite propulsion, announced its highly anticipated Maxwell Block 3 turn-key plasma propulsion thruster. The Maxwell Block 3 offers satellite manufacturers performance that exceeds Hall Effect Thrusters when operated with krypton, a first for any electrodeless thruster. Maxwell Block 3’s innovative architecture builds on the flight heritage…
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Plans for launch of prototype satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper revised … again
An artist’s conception shows an Atlas V rocket launching Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites. (ULA / Amazon) Amazon’s plans to launch the first prototype satellites for its Project Kuiper broadband internet constellation have changed for the second time in a year — and once again, rocket development snags are the reason. The revised plans call for…
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Sierra Space Hosts Third Official Dream Chaser Training for NASA Astronauts
Sierra Space, a pureplay commercial space company building the first end-to-end business and technology platform in space, announced that it hosted its third official training of NASA astronauts to learn the inner workings of Dream Chaser, the world’s first commercial spaceplane. The three astronauts – Mike Barratt, Matt Dominick, and Jeanette Epps – are members…
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Lockheed Martin Opens State of the Art Facility for Small Satellites Development
Lockheed Martin has opened a new facility that streamlines small satellite (smallsat) processing to enable high-rate delivery. The multi-million dollar facility aims to house the company’s Space Development Agency (SDA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer satellites, among other smallsat programs and technology demonstrators. The 20,000-square-foot low bay clean room, located on the company’s Waterton campus, will…
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NASA’s Trio of Mini Rovers to Demonstrate New Autonomous Robotic Technology
NASA is sending a trio of miniature rovers to the Moon to see how well they can cooperate with one another without direct input from mission controllers back on Earth. A teamwork-minded experiment to demonstrate new technology, the CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration) project marks another step the agency is taking toward developing robots…
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NASA Selects Advanced Space for Two SBIR Phase I Awards
Advanced Space, a space tech solutions company, has announced that NASA has selected two of their new Phase I concepts under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Flight Dynamics and Navigation Technologies The first project won under the Flight Dynamics and Navigation Technologies subtopic will support NASA’s future efforts to design spacecraft trajectories for…