NASA has set March 30, 2021, as the new launch date for the James Webb Space Telescope after the independent review board released its findings and recommendations for the program. NASA said Thursday IRB recommended that development work on the Webb telescope should continue and that the revised launch date …
Read More »Commerce, State Depts Remove Some Space-Related Items from Export Control List
The departments of State and Commerce have moved space-related equipment from the U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List as part of revisions to the May 2014 export control rules, Space News reported Thursday. Jeff Foust writes the revised rules took effect Jan. 15 and were published in the …
Read More »CBO: Senate’s NASA Authorization Bill to Cost $19.4B From 2017 to 2021
A new Congressional Budget Office report says a proposed Senate bill that would require NASA to create a transition plan to facilitate the involvement of industry partners and partner countries in the International Space Station would cost $19.4 billion to implement over five years. CBO said in a report published Monday that the NASA …
Read More »Navy’s MUOS-5 Comms Satellite Deploys Antennas, Solar Arrays After Arrival at Operational Orbit
The U.S. Navy‘s fifth Mobile User Objective System satellite has fielded its antennas and solar arrays after the MUOS team maneuvered the spacecraft into operational orbit, the Navy reported Thursday. The Lockheed Martin-built MUOS-5 satellite reached operational orbit four months after it launched aboard a United Launch Alliance-built Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air …
Read More »NASA Appoints Jerry Cook as Space Launch System Program Deputy Director
Jerry Cook, formerly deputy director at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, has been appointed deputy director of the Space Launch System program at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Cook assumed the role in December 2015 and oversees procurement, technical planning, testing, production, evaluation and testing operations related to the SLS program, …
Read More »NASA Completes 8 Aviation Tech Demos; Jaiwon Shin Comments
NASA researchers have collaborated with industry to research, develop and demonstrate eight technology platforms designed to reduce aviation’s environmental impact through a six-year project. The space agency said Tuesday it launched the Environmentally Responsible Aviation project in 2009 to develop new platforms that focus on vehicle systems integration, propulsion and airframe …
Read More »NASA Issues $5M Challenge for Small-Satellite Space Exploration Capabilities
NASA has launched its Cube Quest Challenge comprised of three sub-competitions designed to examine new space exploration technologies and capabilities for small satellites for a total prize money of $5 million. The agency said Nov. 24 that teams will also vie for an opportunity to launch their own CubeSat as a secondary payload on …
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