Space

SpaceX clears hurdle to take on ULA: First up, a battle for GPS III

Los Angeles -- Boeing has been awarded the first crew rotation mission to the International Space Station (ISS) from NASA, marking a key milestone in the agency’s five-year effort to develop an indigenous U.S. capability to launch American astronauts to low earth orbit.

The United Launch Alliance is no longer the only rocket manufacturer capable of winning national security missions in the U.S.

“Our goal is to build rocket engine parts up to 10 times faster and reduce cost by more than 50%,” says Chris Protz, lead engineer on the project at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. “We are developing a repeatable process that industry can adopt to manufacture engine parts with advanced designs.”

Astrosat, India’s first astronomy-centered satellite, is set for launch in about five months; the parameters of the spacecraft are “normal, which indicates everything is functioning well,” ISRO states.

Vricon aims to reduce the cost and increase the speed of 3-D images for the military, intelligence and civilian customers.

Real-time space vehicle data will help the FAA deploy dynamic protective boundaries around a plethora of space activities set to begin in the next few years.

Aerojet consortium may challenge ULA’s monopoly of national security launch market.

A longtime space-engineering company is about to take the plunge into commercial space with a commercial hyperspectral imager for the International Space Station.

The U.S. space agency faces a $150 million bill to human-rate an upper stage for one flight.

An alignment problem with the massive friction-stir-welding tool built to manufacture NASA’s SLS tanks is causing some consternation, but overall the design appears sound.

The bill is expected to support the Obama administration’s $1.1 billion request for the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle to carry humans deep into space, including to Mars.

Boeing Defense, Space & Security CEO walks Aviation Week editors through the company’s recent realignment and answers questions about the state of the industry and Boeing’s plans on major defense and space programs.

Once a monopoly, ULA is countering a two-front attack from SpaceX and, now, Aerojet Rocketdyne.

NASA engineers think they can put four humans in orbit around Mars during the 2033 launch window— without increasing the space agency’s budget.

A key NASA technology goal poses problems in the construction of lightweight propellant tanks.

NASA division issues draft RFP for U.S. launch companies interested in inaugurating the Venture Class Launch Services dedicated to cubesat missions.

Russia’s federal space agency will delay near-term International Space Station Soyuz crew and Progress resupply launch and landing operations following the recent failed Progress M-27M cargo mission.

Reports of the planned demise of the Atlas V rocket may be premature.

Think the KC-X tanker program was messy? The forthcoming EELV procurement could make it look like a walk in the park.

The test, which culminated with splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean just offshore, marks a major milestone on the road to using the Crew Dragon for human missions to the International Space Station in 2017.

Bickering between Republicans and Democrats over global warming issues may jeopardize funding for NASA’s climate-monitoring missions

Lockheed Martin, responding to market changes, is merging its military and commercial satellite manufacturing operations while upgrading the A2100 bus.

SpaceX’s planned pad abort test for the Crew Dragon vehicle appears to be staying on track for May 6 following a successful ground firing of thrusters at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral.

China’s ASAT tests have forced the Pentagon to funnel billions of dollars into new satellite architectures and defensive measures.