NASA Accepting Small Satellite Demo Proposals

NASA is accepting proposals for low-cost flight demonstration of small satellite technologies through the agency’s Edison program.

NASA said the program is intended to demonstrate communication systems, proximity operations and propulsion systems.

In a broad agency announcement, NASA said the program is part of an effort to lower the threshold for accessing space…

Boeing Starts NASA Study to Power, Lengthen Space Missions

The Boeing Company has begun work under a $600,000 firm, fixed-price contract to develop a mission concept study for solar electric propulsion technologies, the company announced Wednesday. 

The company reported it will evaluate concepts for NASA that combine high-power solar arrays with advanced electric thrusters that will power both spacecraft and payloads into orbit. 

Boeing said it…

DARPA Looking to Tap Dormant Satellites for Communications System

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is looking to utilize dormant satellites floating in a geostationary orbit around Earth, the agency said in a  recent notice.

Through DARPA’s Phoenix Program, the agency said it wants contractors to develop a robotic system to “cooperatively harvest and re-use valuable components from” more than 1,300 retired, non-operating satellites.

DARPA estimates there is…

New NASA Portal Intends to Drive Open Source

NASA launched a new sourcing portal that will “lower the barriers to building open technology in partnership with the public,” the agency announced Wednesday on its open government blog. 

William Eshagh, a technologist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, wrote that the new code.nasa.gov portal will provide current information on open source opportunities. The…

New Year Means New Moon Data for NASA, Lockheed

For NASA and Lockheed Martin, ringing in the New Year included the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft beginning its orbit around the Moon. 

The GRAIL mission has two spacecraft map the moon’s gravitational field while in orbit around the moon. 

The Lockheed-built GRAIL spacecraft were launched in early September. The New…

NASA Gives Astronauts Remote-Controlled Assistants

A volleyball-sized, free-flying robot on the International Space Station helped astronauts complete tasks with a smartphone controller, according to a recent report by NASA. The first successful flight took place last month.

As part of NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions,…

Rockwell, NASA to Develop Unmanned Aircraft Control System for Safer Flights

Rockwell Collins will be working with NASA to develop a control system to enable unmanned aircraft to safely fly in the national airspace system, the company announced Monday.

Under the three-year partnership formed through NASA’s unmanned aircraft system communications research sub-project, the team will work to define the waveform for a non-payload communications data link used…

NASA Evaluates New Space Tech for Possible Contracts

NASA is in the process of evaluating a multitude of new space technologies as part of a multimillion-dollar program to spur innovation, according to a report by Information Week.

NASA is looking at 300 small-business proposals as possible contract awards through its Small Business Innovation Research and the Small Business Technology Transfer programs. 

According to…

NASA Planning Cloud Storefront for Scientists

NASA is planning to offer the agency’s scientists a cloud marketplace, or storefront, allowing them to determine their computing needs and access cloud services from any location.

NASA is cited as a success story in government cloud computing for its Nebula cloud computing platform, a private cloud platform using open source software, according to a report in

Agencies Hopping on Google Plus Bandwagon

NASA led the way in joining Google Plus, and now more federal agencies are quickly following.

The U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the National Nuclear Security Administration, among other agencies, have now joined Google’s social network, according to a report from Information Week.

Originally only made available to individual users, Google Plus was…