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NASA Awards Venture Class Launch Services Demonstration 2 Contract by Staff Writers Washington DC (SPX) Dec 14, 2020
NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP) has awarded multiple Venture Class Launch Services Demonstration 2 (VCLS Demo 2) contracts to launch small satellites (SmallSats) to space, including CubeSats, microsats or nanosatellites. The three companies selected to provide these commercial launch capabilities, and the value of their firm fixed-price contracts, are: + Astra Space Inc. of Alameda, California: $3.9 million + Relativity Space Inc. of Long Beach, California: $3.0 million + Firefly Black LLC of Cedar Park, Texas: $9.8 million SmallSats, including CubeSats, are playing an increasingly larger role in exploration, technology demonstration, scientific research, and educational investigations at NASA. These miniature satellites provide a low-cost platform for NASA missions. LSP supports the agency's CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) by providing launch opportunities to CubeSats that are awaiting launch. The VCLS Demo 2 contracts will launch CubeSats selected through the CSLI to demonstrate a launch capability for smaller payloads that NASA anticipates it will require on a recurring basis for future science missions. The Earth Science Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate has partnered with LSP to fund the VCLS Demo 2 contracts. These VCLS Demo 2 launches of small satellites can tolerate a higher level of risk than larger missions and will demonstrate - and help mitigate - risks associated with the use of new launch vehicles providing access to space for future small spacecraft and missions. + For more information about NASA's Launch Services Program, visit here + For more information about NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative, visit here
Space Force studies idea of national spaceport authority Orlando FL (UPI) Dec 10, 2020 The U.S. Space Force is studying the possibility of merging management of dozens of launch sites in Florida and California under a new operator to keep pace with the growing commercial space industry. "A future spaceport authority would ideally be able to address the needs of all consumers to include national security and civil customers," said Space Force Maj. Nicholas Mercurio, public affairs adviser to chief of space operations Gen. Jay Raymond. Reorganizing launch site management would h ... read more
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