Aerospace and Defense Review : News

Formally announced by NASA in October 2019, the VIPER was discussed by agency officials at science meetings earlier the same year. The VIPER is similar to a previous mission named Resource Prospector canceled in 2018 NASA has decided to postpone a task order part of the commercial lunar lander program for the delivery of the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover , or VIPER. The rover was scheduled for use at the south pole of the moon, and the decision has been welcomed quietly by some lander companies. NASA has taken the decision based on feedback from a workshop discussion the agency had with companies who are part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program and thus eligible to bid on task orders. According to NASA spokesperson Grey Hautaluoma, NASA wanted to take more time to incorporate those comments, reflecting the complexity of the VIPER delivery. Formally announced by NASA in October 2019, the VIPER was discussed by agency officials at science meetings earlier the same year. The VIPER is very similar to a previous mission named Resource Prospector canceled in 2018. The rover has been designed to probe permanently shadowed regions of craters near the South Pole to characterize water ice believed to exist there. NASA decided to move quickly through the CLPS program to identify a lander to deliver the VIPER to the moon. However, the USD 250 million rover is not scheduled for launch until 2022. While the news to postpone the VIPER task order has been lurking for some time now, there is no clarity on why the decision was taken or the duration of the delay. With the VIPER mission on hold, NASA has shifted its focus towards a separate task order for smaller science payloads, similar to the ones awarded in May 2019 to Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines. "We did not want to delay the release of the next standard delivery task order to allow the CLPS providers to propose on the next delivery task order request," said Hautaluoma. According to Steve Clarke, deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, the next non-VIPER task order designated 19C is set to be released sometime in January. Unlike the two awarded last year, 19C would be used for the exploration of Polar regions. ...Read more

SpaceX managed to perform 21 launches in 2018, while it was able to complete only 13 in 2019, a 40 percent decline. At the new proposed launch rate, including the missions for NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and commercial customers, including its new smallsat rideshare program, SpaceX should be able to recover from a slow 2019 The year 2020 is an ambitious one for SpaceX in terms of launches and spacecraft. But these expectations are heavily modulated by what has been achieved and what hasn't in 2019. The first launch of 2020 was completed on January 6th, where the company launched 60 of its Starlink satellites on the Falcon 9 rocket. This was the first of the four launches the company plans to complete in the month of January, including two other Starlink missions and an in-flight abort test of the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft . The company's core launch programs for the year will be the launch of the Starlink satellites. According to Gwynne Shotwell, president, and chief operating officer of SpaceX, the company projects launching as many as 24 Starlink missions in 2020, placing enough satellites into orbit to make the system economically viable. SpaceX managed to perform 21 launches in 2018, while it was able to complete only 13 in 2019, a 40 percent decline. At the new proposed launch rate, including the missions for NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and commercial customers, including its new smallsat rideshare program, SpaceX should be able to recover from a slow 2019. According to SpaceX, the lull in launches is not related to the rocket itself but caused by the lack of customers ready to launch, an issue linked to the doldrums in the commercial communications satellite market that have persisted for several years. “This is the first year that we are seeing that we are now ready to fly our customers before they are ready,” said Shotwell. Although the Starlink satellites will help the company to boost its launch activity, the satellite program is not without its own challenges. The company has already conducted initial testing for systems with the Defense Department but is yet to disclose details as to when it will offer the networks to the consumers, at what costs it will be made available, and the availability of user terminals. See Also:  Top Aerospace Tech Solution Companies ...Read more

Saturn targets small scale national customers and small geostationary satellites for customers that can’t afford or justify a traditional, multi-ton communications satellite. Saturn's first NationSat satellite is for a Moscow-based client Intersputnik, scheduled to launch on a shared SpaceX Falcon 9 mission, which has been postponed from 2020 to 2021  Satellite building startup Saturn Satellite Networks is yet to close a deal with a customer for the small geostationary spacecraft it has booked aboard the inaugural launch of Northrop Grumman's OmegaA rocket. The company believes that by reserving the rocket for the 2021 mission, it can save time down the road and provide its customers with a one-stop-shop. Northrop Grumman had earlier announced that Saturn had agreed with them to launch one or two of its NationSat line of small geostationary communications satellites on the maiden flight of OmegA. The rocket runs on solid fuels, which Northrop is building in an attempt to land U.S. national security missions. “Part of our objective is to provide delivery in orbit of our satellite systems,” said Jim Simpson, CEO, Saturn Satellite Networks. “As such, it’s very incumbent upon Saturn to secure multiple launch options to give customers multiple alternatives at the lowest possible cost.” Launched in 2019, the company targets small scale national customers and small geostationary satellites for customers that can’t afford or justify a traditional, multi-ton communications satellite. Saturn's first NationSat satellite is for a Moscow-based client Intersputnik, scheduled to launch on a shared SpaceX Falcon 9 mission, which has been postponed from 2020 to 2021. According to Simpson, Saturn will retain ownership of the satellite but will lease the capacity to Intersputnik for the lifetime of the spacecraft. The company shall be providing lifetime capacity leases or full ownership of satellites depending on customer preferences and regulatory restrictions. The startup is also close to clinching a second NationSat customer. However, whether the new customer will be assigned to the OmegaA or another rocket is yet to be determined. Meanwhile, according to Charlie Precourt, Northrop Grumman’s vice president of propulsion systems, the company has a backup plan in place in case Saturn’s satellites don’t come through in time. "Northrop Grumman is counting on Saturn to fill one of two certification flights it needs to fly to qualify OmegA for U.S. national security launches. Those are details that we’ve worked with them behind the scenes,” Precourt said. “But our first focus is with the Air Force.” Check This Out:-  Top Aerospace Manufacturing Companies ...Read more