#WASHINGTON — The Space Development Agency confirmed on Jan. 8 that it awarded Rocket Lab a $515 million contract to build and operate 18 spacecraft that will be part of a low Earth orbit network of military satellites.

#SpaceNews first reported on this contract award on Dec. 23 after the agreement was disclosed in a regulatory filing.

#Rocket Lab becomes the third supplier of SDA’s Transport Layer Tranche 2 Beta satellites — projected to launch in mid-2027 — that will carry radios using the UHF (Ultra High Frequency) and S-band frequencies that military and intelligence units rely upon for voice and low-speed data transmissions.

#TITUSVILLE, Fla. — The United Arab Emirates has agreed to develop an airlock module for the lunar Gateway, helping complete the design of the lunar space station while enhancing the UAE’s role in the Artemis lunar exploration effort.

#NASA and the UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) announced Jan. 7 that the UAE would contribute the Crew and Science Airlock for the Gateway. That module will allow Gateway crews to perform #spacewalks outside the Gateway as well as install and retrieve external science payloads

#SAN #FRANCISCO – #NASA has been concentrating on the ground component of optical communications networks while the U.S. Space Force Space Development Agency focuses on space-to-space communications.

The two initiatives will intersect in two-to-three years when #NASA determines whether the commercial terminals #SDA is adopting for satellite-to-satellite communications can transmit data to Earth.

“We are going to have some commercial space terminals pointed down, talking to our existing ground sites,” Jason Mitchell, NASA Space Communications and Navigation program executive, told SpaceNews at the American Geophysical Union meeting here in December

#TITUSVILLE, Fla. — #NASA has added milestones and funding to agreements with two companies working on commercial space station concepts using money from a third agreement that ended last year.

#NASA announced Jan. 5 that it added a combined $99.5 million in funding to existing Space Act Agreements with #Blue #Origin and Voyager #Space. The two companies received the original agreements in December 2021 as part of NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations, or #CLD, program to spur development of commercial space stations intended to succeed the International Space Station.

#HELSINKI — India’s Aditya-L1 solar observatory has reached its destination orbit around Sun-Earth #Lagrange point 1 around 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.

Aditya-L1 entered orbit around Sun-Earth L1 at around 5:30 a.m. Eastern (1230 UTC) Jan. 6, following a burn by the #spacecraft’s engines, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced via X/Twitter.

The #spacecraft is the country’s first dedicated mission to study the Sun. Its halo orbit at L1 will allow it to continuously study solar phenomena. #spacecraft

#TITUSVILLE, Fla.— After a decade of development, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket is finally on the launch pad for its inaugural launch, carrying not just a lunar lander but also the company’s future.

#ULA rolled out its first #Vulcan #rocket to the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Jan. 5, ahead of a launch scheduled for 2:18 a.m. Eastern Jan. 8. The rocket’s primary payload is Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander.

#WASHINGTON — As a Mars #helicopter continues to operate far past expectations, lessons from that vehicle are being incorporated into NASA’s evolving Mars Sample Return plans.

NASA’s Jet #Propulsion Laboratory announced Jan. 2 that the Ingenuity Mars helicopter completed its 70th flight on Dec. 22. The helicopter flew 260 meters during the 133-second flight, and has now traversed about 17 kilometers since its first flight in April 2021.

Ingenuity was included on the Mars 2020 mission as a technology demonstrator with the intent of performing no more than five flights. The success of Ingenuity during those flights led #NASA to continue flying the helicopter, turning it into a scout for the Perseverance rover.

#TAMPA, Fla. — #SpaceX launched its first batch of Starlink #satellites designed to connect directly to unmodified smartphones Jan. 2 after getting a temporary experimental license to start testing the capability in the United States.

Six of the 21 #Starlink #satellites that launched on a Falcon 9 rocket at 10:44 p.m. Eastern from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, carry a payload that the company said could provide connectivity for most 4G LTE devices when in range.

SpaceX plans to start enabling texting from space this year in partnership with cellular operators, with voice and data connectivity coming in 2025, although the company still needs regulatory permission to provide the services commercially

#WASHINGTON — India launched an astronomy satellite to start a year that will feature key tests for its human spaceflight program and a potential joint crewed mission with NASA.

A Polar #Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) lifted off at 10:40 p.m. Eastern Dec. 31 (9:10 a.m. local Jan. 1) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. It deployed its primary payload, the XPoSat spacecraft, into a 650-kilometer orbit about 22 minutes later.

The 469-kilogram satellite carries two instruments to conduct X-ray polarimetry measurements. Astronomers plan to use the data collected by XPoSat to study neutron stars, black holes and supernovae. #spacenews