Defense

Trump’s ‘Iron Dome for America’ plan would put weapons in space, at a big cost

It’s a Cold War concept for a mission whose threats and tools have long since changed.

Emerging Tech

Trump, Musk set sights on Mars

NASA is still developing technologies necessary to send humans to Mars.

Cybersecurity

Space companies say cyber threat intelligence is often overclassified, unactionable

Space and aerospace industry feedback from a series of government-run workshops noted that such threat intelligence is difficult to translate into actionable cyber efforts.

Emerging Tech

Global space economy tracking toward $944B by 2033: report

Emerging tech, government investment to fuel space spending.

Emerging Tech

NOAA awards key contract for space situational awareness system

Slingshot Aerospace, Inc. nabbed a contract worth up to $13.3 million to provide a “presentation layer” for the Traffic Coordination System for Space.

Emerging Tech

MetTel becomes first authorized Starlink partner to offer satellite SD-WAN services

The news makes MetTel the first Starlink authorized reseller for both commercial and government organizations.

Emerging Tech

Who tells satellites where to take pictures? Increasingly, it’ll be robots, Maxar says

Automated scans of low-res imagery will cue high-res passes, while simulations will help manage ever-growing queues for service.

Defense

Industry ‘hamstrung’ by Space Force-intel community’s turf war

Commercial firms say NGA-centric acquisition can’t move fast enough to help combatant commands or foster innovation.

Digital Government

Commerce launches initial phase of its space traffic coordination system

The new system will provide conjunction data messages “for approximately 1,000 space objects six times a day” during phase 1.0.

Emerging Tech

What time is it on the moon? NIST proposes an answer

The establishment of universal moon time would support lunar GPS for future missions.

Modernization

Space missions rely on private sector engagement, NASA official says

The space agency needs to work more closely with its commercial providers to meet critical flight requirements.

Defense

Space Force aims to track enemy aircraft with satellites by 2030s

Research underway to shift tracking of air and ground targets to more survivable orbiting assets.

Defense

Space operations boss wants more virtual simulations to boost training

After a recent demo, Lt. Gen. David Miller said Space Operations Command needs realistic simulations to train at the highest levels.

Emerging Tech

NASA’s astronauts return after a year living on simulated Mars

Everything about the mission was conducted to simulate an actual Martian environment.

Defense

DARPA wants to use AI to find new rare minerals

With spectral analysis, it’s possible to “tell the difference [between] cocaine that came from one cartel’s area of Colombia versus another.”

Defense

How AI is turning satellite imagery into a window on the future

What can a picture from space tell you? “You're likely to have a drought here that might lead to civil unrest.”

Acquisition

Lockheed Martin tapped to develop NOAA’s new series of weather satellites

Lockheed Martin won a contract to build three satellites for NOAA’s Geostationary Extended Observations program, with the option to develop an additional four spacecraft, under a $2.27 billion award announced on Tuesday.

Acquisition

CACI wins $2B NASA IT centralization job

The space agency is looking to standardize and consolidate how it manages IT systems and applications.

Emerging Tech

NOAA looks to sharpen solar storm forecasts with new satellite

The agency’s GOES-U satellite, scheduled to launch next month, will include an advanced instrument, called a compact coronagraph, to provide scientists with faster, more reliable data about solar storms.