Military/Aerospace Electronics

PIP49R-MLRK1 is a rugged military-grade server from Swiss manufacturer MPL, built in half-size 19in rack rack form. Within is a conductive cooled Xeon E-2276ME 9th generation CPU, and the fanless unit can be operated in environments from -20°C to +60°C given a suitable thermally conductive environment. Screening for -40°C to +85°C operation is possible. “In such a case, the solution ...

Artemis II, the second launch in NASA’s programme to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon by 2028, will carry three robots to the moon next year. They will deploy cameras and ground-penetrating radar to create a 3D map of the lunar surface The rovers are part of NASA’s (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration) CADRE project and get their ...

The Space Foundation has released its 2023 Q2 report showing the annual growth of the global space economy reaching $546 billion. The U.S.-based nonprofit organisation said this represented an 8% growth for the space industry. Within this, commercial growth – accounting for 78% of the total space economy – was recorded at nearly 8%, reaching $427.6 billion, and international defense ...

Maxar Technologies has announced it’s completed the first Critical Design Review of its Maxar 300 series bus. The platform will be produced for L3Harris Technologies in support of the U.S. Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 1 Tracking Layer (T1TRK) programme. This mesh network of satellites is designed to provide global warning and tracking of advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile ...

Harwin has created a range of retro-fittable 360° anti-interference back-shells for its Kona high-power connector series. “These back-shells will prevent unwanted EMI leaking out from the connector-cable assembly into the surrounding system,” according to the company. “The two-part construction of the Kona backshells enables engineers to up-grade their existing cable assemblies with 360° EMC shielding.” Kona connectors come in 2, ...

Astrobotic has won a $34.6m Nasa Tipping Point partnership contract to demonstrate power transmission on the lunar surface. Specifically, the award will result in a demonstration on the Moon called LunaGrid-Lite, which will transmit power from a lunar lander to a tethered rover. “LunaGrid-Lite will pave the way for power generation and distribution services on the Moon, and change the ...

Amazon has announced – for its Project Kuiper satellite constellation – that construction is underway on a new satellite-processing facility at Space Florida’s Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center. A constellation of over 3,200 LEO satellites is planned to planned to provide global broadband services. The location at the Kennedy Space Center will be used to prepare and ...

Impulse Space – a Californian startup in space transportation services – has raised $45 million in a Series A funding round. The round – led by RTX Ventures – was oversubscribed, says the company, and the investment will be used for the development of Helios, Impulse’s largest vehicle. The Helios kick stage enables direct to Geostationary Equatorial Orbit missions, which ...

RAL Space is helping to create a new Small Satellite Calibration Facility, which will be located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus near Didcot in Oxfordshire. As the name suggests, it will specialise in instrument calibration and characterisation, helping to ensure the required performance for both full satellite payloads and components. Who will be using the facility? Small satellite ...

The U.S. Space System Command’s Moonlighter satellite has successfully reached its planned low earth orbit, ahead of an in-space hacking. competition. It will be the first on-orbit Capture the Flag, or CTF, hacking competition. In April we reported that the U.S. Air and Space Force had begun the fourth annual iteration of its Space Security Challenge: Hack-A-Sat 4, which it ...