Satellite News

Beyond Gravity (formerly RUAG Space, formerly Saab Space AB) said it is significantly ramping up its production of satellite dispensers in Linköping, Sweden, with the construction of a new facility. It will be used to produce dispensers for satellite constellations.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) retired two Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) demonstration satellites on 8 March 2022, ending an experiment that demonstrated that a space layer can significantly enhance the Missile Defense System (MDS).

Terran Orbital Corporation announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc., was awarded a contract by Lockheed Martin to build 42 satellites for the U.S. Space Development Agency’s Tranche 1 Transport Layer, the Initial Warfighting Capability Tranche of the National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA).

Rocket: Astra Rocket 3.3; Payload: Astra-1 (three smallsats); Date: 15 March 2022, 1622 UTC; Launch site: Pacific Spaceport Complex Kodiak, USA. The payloads were deployed successfully in their target orbit.