#TAMPA, Fla. — #Viasat has successfully demonstrated a #satellite navigation signal on an airplane that could help the United Kingdom replace capabilities lost after leaving the European Union, the operator announced Jan. 18.

A Saab 340B turboprop plane used a positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) overlay signal from I-3 F5, Viasat’s 24-year-old satellite, to improve GPS accuracy during an hour-long test flight late last year over Cranfield, England.

“The test met expectations and was successful,” Viasat vice president of strategic programs and partnerships Gary Lay told SpaceNews, and involved four separate runway approaches.

#WASHINGTON — The Department of Defense is pushing to lower classification barriers and forge closer partnerships with the commercial space industry, John Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy, said Jan. 17.

Speaking to reporters at the #Pentagon, Plumb shared that Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks late last year signed a memo that “removes legacy classification barriers that have inhibited our ability to collaborate across the U.S. government and also with allies on issues related to space.”

#WASHINGTON — #Astroscale is developing an in-space refueling vehicle that will shuttle back and forth between a fuel depot in #geostationary Earth orbit and a client #satellite.

The refueling vehicle will carry and transfer hydrazine to its client spacecraft, “rather than the client having to maneuver to a fuel depot, allowing client operations to continue uninterrupted,” the company said Jan. 17.

Astroscale, headquartered in Japan with a U.S. subsidiary based in Colorado, is a provider of space services to extend the life of satellites. The company last year won a $25.5 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to develop a refueling vehicle. Under the private-public partnership agreement, the project will get an additional $12 million in funding from Astroscale and its suppliers.

#WASHINGTON — The Space Development Agency is gearing up for its next procurement of satellites for a #military communications network known as the Transport Layer Tranche 2.

SDA, an agency under the U.S. Space Force, plans to acquire 20 satellites carrying a new type of payload to transmit targeting information. SDA documents describe the payload, dubbed Warlock, as a communications node “specifically designed to close future kill chains.”

Unlike other payloads acquired by #SDA, which are commercially available, Warlock will have to be developed “for space systems to provide fire control solutions.”

#WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army plans to launch later this year a new procurement of #satellite communications terminals through the so-called Family of Terminals – Large (FoT-L) program.

The Army is trying to consolidate as many as six types of terminals into just two variants, said a Jan. 12 request for information from the Army’s program office that oversees tactical networks, based at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

Having fewer large terminal antenna variants is a key goal, said the #RFI, due to the logistics burden and rising cost of operating aging equipment.

#WASHINGTON — #SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk says a propellant dump caused the destruction of the #Starship upper stage on a November test flight, giving him confidence that the vehicle can reach orbit on its next launch.

On that Nov. 18 launch, the #Starship upper stage, or ship, was nearing the end of its burn to place it on a long suborbital trajectory when contact was lost. Hosts of the SpaceX #webcast said it appeared the automated flight termination system was activated, but did not give a reason why, and the company provided few details since.

#NEW #ORLEANS — D-Orbit, an Italian company that provides space transportation services, has raised 100 million euros ($110 million) in a Series C round to expand into satellite servicing and other applications.

The company announced Jan. 11 a first closing of a Series C round, led by Japanese company Marubeni Corporation. Also participating in the round is Avantgarde, a family office, along with venture funds CDP Venture Capital Sgr, Seraphim Space Investment Trust, United Ventures, Indaco Venture Partners, Neva SGR Spa and Primo Ventures.