DARPA, SpaceLogistics step toward 2025 launch of orbital robotic ‘mechanic’ for satellites

DARPA, SpaceLogistics step toward 2025 launch of orbital robotic ‘mechanic’ for satellites
DARPA, SpaceLogistics step toward 2025 launch of orbital robotic ‘mechanic’ for satellites

The robotic arms built by the Naval Research Laboratory to be carried on a SpaceLogistics Mission Robotic Vehicle are designed to operate “autonomously” to do “inspection, orbital adjustment, repair and upgrade” missions on spacecraft “that were not designed to be grappled,” Bill Vincent, the lab’s program manager, told Breaking Defense.

SpaceLogistics Sat Servicing Mission Taps New Markets

SpaceLogistics Sat Servicing Mission Taps New Markets
SpaceLogistics Sat Servicing Mission Taps New Markets

“I see a great expansion in capability that will come as a result of this,” Anderson said of SpaceLogistic’s first robotic on-orbit servicing mission.

DARPA Doubles Dough For Nuclear-Powered Cislunar Rocket

DARPA Doubles Dough For Nuclear-Powered Cislunar Rocket
DARPA Doubles Dough For Nuclear-Powered Cislunar Rocket

DARPA’s budget documents say cislunar orbit is the “new high ground” at risk of being taken over by US adversaries.

DARPA In Talks With New Robot Sat Servicing Company

DARPA In Talks With New Robot Sat Servicing Company
DARPA In Talks With New Robot Sat Servicing Company

The robot satellite known as RSGS will provide four types of service: inspection of anomalies that appear in a satellite’s operations; assist with adjustments to a satellite’s orbit; correct mechanical problems; and, help install new payloads to upgrade capabilities.

China Satellite SJ-17, Friendly Wanderer?

China Satellite SJ-17, Friendly Wanderer?
China Satellite SJ-17, Friendly Wanderer?

When China published its description of SJ-17, the folks at AGI who track satellites for a living raised their eyebrows. The Chinese said it was an experimental satellite. But “the way they phrased it piqued our interest,” says Bob Hall, standing a dozen feet from AGI’s infamous ice cream stand here.

Space Council Should Tackle Air Force Weather Sats: Rep. Babins

Space Council Should Tackle Air Force Weather Sats: Rep. Babins
Space Council Should Tackle Air Force Weather Sats: Rep. Babins

                CORRECTED: Raytheon Builds VIIRS WASHINGTON: The Trump Administration’s new Space Council should tackle the thorny interagency problem of how much the Air Force will do to provide weather data to the US government, says the chairman of the House subcommittee that deals with space policy. More than…

Court Throws Out Orbital Suit Against DARPA

Court Throws Out Orbital Suit Against DARPA
Court Throws Out Orbital Suit Against DARPA

A Virginia federal court has thrown out a suit by Orbital ATK, basically arguing that while the company’s arguments might have some merits, the court did not have the legal right to cancel a DARPA program. Orbital ATK is building a system it believes competes directly with the DARPA program, known as Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous…

OSD To Review DARPA Sat Robot Program

OSD To Review DARPA Sat Robot Program
OSD To Review DARPA Sat Robot Program

WASHINGTON: Faced with a lawsuit by Orbital ATK and congressional concerns that its robotic satellite servicing program may violate the National Space Policy, the Office of Secretary of Defense has launched a review of the DARPA program. The news was included in an afternoon DARPA press release announcing the contract award to Space Services Loral (SSL),…

DARPA Program Mired In Controversy As Orbital ATK Files Suit

DARPA Program Mired In Controversy As Orbital ATK Files Suit
DARPA Program Mired In Controversy As Orbital ATK Files Suit

WASHINGTON: A robot satellite repair system under development by DARPA has drawn the baleful glances of half-a-dozen congressmen and a lawsuit to block it by aerospace company Orbital ATK. The technology, known as Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites, would offer enormous benefits to both the National Reconnaissance Office, operator of our spy satellites, as well as the…

Lawmakers Call For Halt To DARPA Program: Robots Repairing Satellites

Lawmakers Call For Halt To DARPA Program: Robots Repairing Satellites
Lawmakers Call For Halt To DARPA Program: Robots Repairing Satellites

WASHINGTON: Three influential House lawmakers have asked DARPA in a Jan. 25 letter to review a robotic space repair program to see if it violates the National Space Policy by competing with private-sector efforts and to put the program on hold until the review is complete. The National Space Policy requires “that the government not build or…