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Barrett said the Air Force is reviewing the NDAA conference agreement and discussing next steps WASHINGTON — In her first comments since the release of the conference agreement on the the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said service leaders are reviewing the language that would pave the

SAN FRANCISCO – TriSept Corp., a U.S. launch integration company, announced plans to open an office at the United Kingdom’s Harwell Space Cluster as part of a comprehensive teaming agreement with the Satellite Applications Catapult, a government-backed nonprofit. “Together, the duo expects to build a mission manifest for new vertical and horizontal launch sites in

NEW ORLEANS — The federal government issued updated guidelines Dec. 9 to mitigate the creation of orbital debris, but many in the space safety community were disappointed with the limited scope of the changes. The revised Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices (ODMSP), announced in conjunction with an orbital debris conference near Houston, are the first

The NDAA also establishes an Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy as the senior civilian in the Office of the Secretary of Defense WASHINGTON — Congressional defense committee leaders on Dec. 9 unveiled details of the conference agreement they have reached for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. The conference report

SAN FRANCISCO — Near Space Labs, a New York startup, unveiled an application programming interface Dec. 9 offering access to high-resolution imagery captured by instruments flying on weather balloons. The company plans to offer persistent observation of major metropolitan areas and sell imagery at prices low enough to attract real estate, insurance and logistics customers. “We see an

The Falcon 9 upper stage engine performed a 20.1 second burn after the six-hour coast LOS ANGELES — The upper stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 mission to the International Space Station Dec. 5 successfully performed a six-hour coast and a deorbit burn, a test that had been requested by the U.S. Air Force to

Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett: “It is time for us to move forward with the Space Force.” LOS ANGELES — A bipartisan deal struck between congressional leaders and the White House would allow the Defense Department to establish a U.S. Space Force as a separate military branch. The compromise language in the National Defense Authorization

Ron Lopez, president of Astroscale U.S.: ‘The Air Force is talking about safety, congestion and how that affects resilience’ LOS ANGELES — Astroscale, a Japanese company that recently stood up an American subsidiary, sees the U.S. military as a potential customer for the company’s debris removal and other in-orbit services. Astroscale is preparing to demonstrate

Fifty years ago, the Apollo 11 moon landing changed how the world viewed space exploration. For the millions of people who watched Neil Armstrong take his first step on the moon’s surface, it inspired new horizons for the human spirit and imagination and even offered the possibility of life beyond our pale blue dot. It’s

SAN FRANCISCO – Capella Space, a radar satellite startup, announced an agreement Dec. 4 making Remote Sensing Instruments (RSI) of India Capella’s exclusive reseller in that nation and giving RSI non-exclusive reseller rights for the rest of Southeast Asia. “Satellite imagery and remote sensing is global by nature and we plan to be very active

WASHINGTON — NASA space station managers are still trying to find ways to squeeze in at least three spacewalks into a crowded schedule before the station’s crew drops to three people in February. NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan and ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano completed the third in a series of spacewalks Dec. 2 to repair the

SAN FRANCISCO – The Founder Institute, an accelerator with operations in 180 cities globally, is establishing a new program with ties to the NASA Ames Research Center. The Founder Institute announced open applications Dec. 3 for the Advanced Technologies Accelerator for aerospace, space and frontier technologies firms that have not yet raised seed funding. (Frontier

WASHINGTON — Sky and Space Global, a startup planning a constellation of 200 cubesats for low-data-rate communications, has narrowed its near-term focus to raising enough money for an initial eight satellites. Difficulty obtaining financing has delayed Sky and Space Global’s target launch, once anticipated for late 2019, to the end of 2020, the company said

WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration has approved a reorganization of the office that oversees commercial launches in a bid to improve its efficiency as the number of launches grows. During a panel discussion at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce commercial space conference here Dec. 3, Wayne Monteith, FAA associate administrator for commercial space transportation,

WASHINGTON — The new head of NASA’s human spaceflight programs affirmed his support for the Space Launch System Dec. 3, saying the long-delayed heavy-lift rocket is “absolutely mandatory” for returning humans to the moon. Speaking at a town hall meeting with agency employees at NASA Headquarters, Doug Loverro, who started work Dec. 2 as the

Scolese said China is a top concern: “They are putting spacecraft up very quickly and we have to stay ahead.” McLEAN, Va. — In his first meeting with reporters as director of the National Reconnaissance Office, Christopher Scolese said the agency is focused on staying ahead of China and on forging closer ties with U.S.

Griffin warned that projects are being delayed and some may be prevented from happening because of the lack of funding. WASHINGTON — The newly created Space Development Agency has laid out ambitious plans to develop new satellite constellations for military communications and missile defense. For now, many of the agency’s efforts are temporarily on hold