News

York Space Systems (York) launched the company’s BARD mission on July 23rd from Vandenberg Space Force Base and York made contact with the satellite on the first attempt—all systems are healthy on-orbit.

The mission will flight-demonstrate the Polylingual Experimental Terminal (PExT), an advanced communications payload designed to enable real-time interoperability between government and commercial satellite relay networks.

BARD was procured as a commercial mission from York and developed in collaboration with NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). The mission will flight-demonstrate PExT, an advanced communications payload designed to enable real-time interoperability between government and commercial satellite relay networks—a first-of-its-kind capability supporting NASA’s shift toward a commercial communications architecture.

The successful BARD launch comes only one month following the successful deployment of York’s Dragoon mission. Moreover, BARD is the second of five distinct missions York is executing in 2025 alone. From spacecraft design and manufacturing to full mission integration, launch, and operations, York’s end-to-end capabilities are enabling customers across the defense and commercial sectors to deploy critical space assets faster, more affordably, and with greater mission flexibility.

The success of BARD reinforces York’s commitment to delivering impactful missions with speed, resilience, and performance,” said Melanie Preisser, GM and Executive VP of York. “From Dragoon to BARD, we’re delivering complete space missions that meet the most urgent operational needs of our customers. York continues to lead the way in redefining how space-based capabilities are developed, launched, and operated.York Space Systems launches BARD mission.”

 NearSpace Launch, Inc. (NSL), provider in small satellite innovation and mission success, achieved a major milestone: over 1000 systems and subsystems successfully deployed in orbit. Since its founding in 2014, NSL has grown from a visionary startup into a strong spaceflight provider, delivering flight-proven solutions that support commercial, government, and scientific missions worldwide. The company’s portfolio includes full spacecraft, communications systems, EyeStar radios, ThinSat buses, Black Box mission recorders, and rapid-turn TT&C solutions.
            

“NearSpace Launch is a strategic partner of SEOPS and a company that understands how to achieve mission success. With over 1,000 systems on orbit, NSL celebrates a decade of innovation proving that relentless iteration and being obsessed with mission requirements results in trusted space capabilities” said Chad Brinkley, of SEOPS Space. With a proven track record of mission success across over 30 launches, NSL’s technologies are helping shape the future of low-Earth orbit (LEO) operations, enabling real-time telemetry, robust situational awareness, and simplified satellite integration.          

NSL’s systems are now part of numerous constellations projects and government initiatives, and its EyeStar radios are supporting global connectivity with 24/7 Iridium-based communications. As the company looks to the future, NSL remains committed to innovation, reliability, and expanding space access for emerging missions and new entrants alike.       

“This milestone represents more than just numbers,” said Dr. Hank Voss, Co-Founder of NearSpace Launch. “It reflects the dedication of our team, the strength of our partnerships, and the success of our mission to make space more accessible and resilient.”           

NearSpace Launch provides reliable, rapidly deployable satellite solutions including EyeStar radios, Black Box systems, and custom CubeSats. NSL has supported NASA, DoD, commercial, and u niversity missions with a focus on mission assurance, space domain awareness, and innovative communications.       

As it celebrates its “1000th” benchmark, NSL will be at the upcoming SmallSat conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, on August 10-13.

HawkEye 360 Inc. has enhanced the firm’s GNSS Interference (GNSS-I) Detection product suite—these upgrades—designed with defense, intelligence, and national security operations in mind—offer unprecedented accuracy, coverage, and insight into global GPS jamming and spoofing threats.

The update includes a new wider frequency algorithm that better distinguishes individual emitters, incorporates GPS spoofing detection, and is terrain adjusted for better geolocation accuracy, delivering greater situational awareness and more precise geolocation of interference sources worldwide.

Many high-stakes operations rely heavily on accurate and uninterrupted GPS signals. Disruptions to these signals, whether through intentional interference or incidental factors, can introduce uncertainty and compromise the effectiveness of critical activities. HawkEye 360’s enhanced GNSS Interference Detection product suite supports strategic decision-making by providing timely, precise insight into potential signal disruptions, enabling stakeholders to better assess risk, respond confidently, and maintain operational continuity in dynamic environments.

With this release, HawkEye 360’s GNSS-I Detection product suite now provides…

• 15x Increase in geolocation density
• Spoofing Detection and differentiation
• Terrain Adjusted for increased accuracy
• Consistent Monitoring across wide areas of interest

Enabling Action in Contested Environments
These enhancements further solidify HawkEye 360’s commitment to equipping national security and defense partners with tools to operate confidently in GPS-denied or disrupted environments.

HawkEye 360’s new spoofing detection capability identifies potentially malicious transmitters that imitate legitimate GPS Course/Acquisition (PRN) codes—a tactic increasingly used to deceive aircraft and mislead navigation systems. The capability supports threat mitigation and trend analysis by detecting and geolocating these spoofers down to a kilometer-level precision.

In contested environments, timely RF intelligence is the key to mission success,” said Alex Fox, President, International Business Unit. “Traditional land, sea, and air systems struggle in Anti-Access/Area Denial environments, while our satellites provide global GNSS-I detection and geolocation coverage. These enhanced capabilities give defense and intelligence teams the ability to identify and neutralize threats before they disrupt operations, enabling faster decisions and sharper visibility into adversary behavior.”

We deliver high-confidence RF intelligence that helps defense and intelligence professionals protect assets, outmaneuver threats, and gain the upper hand in the spectrum,” said Todd Probert, President, U.S. Government Business Unit. “By adding terrain-aware modeling, we give our partners a decisive advantage in detecting and responding to GPS interference—whether they’re operating in rugged mountains or dense urban environments. They can act with confidence, knowing the data is both precise and actionable.”

BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) has won the next phase of a competitive U.S. Navy research contract to further develop optical inter-satellite link (OISL) terminal apps for its Gen-3 constellation.

The OISL terminals are expected to increase the speed at which very high-resolution imagery and other high-volume space-based data travel directly between satellites before downlinking to ground stations.

Under the development agreement, BlackSky will explore hardware and software design adaptations, novel operating concepts for commercial transport network nodes and establish new protocols for data movement. Future Gen-3 satellites will be equipped with optical inter-satellite link terminals compatible with both the Space Development Agency’s Transport Layer and commercial transport networks.

Laser-based OISLs create high-bandwidth, direct communication lines between satellites, reducing the time it takes to transmit and process data. In addition to reduced latency and decision making, OISLs can provide a more secure and resilient data transmission path, making them less susceptible to interference and jamming.

This important award directly supports BlackSky’s ability to deliver timely, high-impact intelligence that drive decisions all the way to the tactical edges of the frontline,” said Brian O’Toole, BlackSky CEO. “High-speed inter-satellite communication links are a critical innovation that makes BlackSky’s commercial remote sensing services a robust and viable option for fleet-wide tactical ISR operations. Extending our Gen-3 capabilities with optical intersatellite link terminals will give customers reliable access to real-time earth imaging capabilities across the full range of warfighting scenarios. Enhanced Gen-3 satellites are expected to deliver data to end users 10 times faster than current systems, with data volumes five times greater than existing capabilities.”

Eycore, an emerging developer of compact synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) payloads, and small-satellite manufacturer Kongsberg NanoAvionics (NanoAvionics) now have an agreement that will place Eycore’s inaugural SAR demonstrator into orbit.

The flight will test Eycore’s X-band radar on NanoAvionics’ flight-proven MP42 microsatellite bus. It will lay the groundwork for an all-European, military-grade SAR solution that provides rapid, sovereign access to sub-meter, day-night, all-weather imagery for governments as well as NATO and allied defence applications. The launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter rideshare mission is scheduled for the first quarter of 2026.

The spacecraft will operate from a 510 kilometer, sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). At the core of the mission is Eycore’s deployable active phased-array antenna. It consists of five panels, one fixed and four unfolding in space to create a large aperture without compromising launch volume.

NanoAvionics’ MP42 platform will provide the necessary peak power for the payload, data downlink, as well as the attitude control agility and stability required for various imaging modes for different intelligence requirements: Stripmap for continuous swath coverage Spotlight for sub-meter resolution of priority targets ScanSAR for very wide-area awareness.

Together, these modes enable operators to seamlessly shift from border-length surveillance to vehicle-level inspection, supporting a broad spectrum of operational needs across intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), border security, maritime domain awareness, and rapid disaster response.

The companies have also been working in parallel on a satellite bus and next-generation payload, offering even higher resolution, wider swath, longer imaging times, higher incidence angle, and other improvements.

Partnering with a reliable bus provider like Kongsberg NanoAvionics lets us focus on perfecting our SAR technology while de-risking the platform, launch, and operations,” said Tomasz Kusowski, Co-founder & VP of the Management Board of Eycore. “This demonstrator is the springboard for high-performance European SAR satellites that will deliver tactical data for national security and defense applications.”

Atle Wøllo, CEO of Kongsberg NanoAvionics, said, “Across Europe we are seeing rising demand for domestically controlled, all-weather Earth observation. By combining our small satellites with Eycore’s sensors, we are giving governments a fast, cost-effective path to sovereign SAR capabilities that strengthen national security and resilience.”

Amazon’s Project Kuiper, its would-be broadband satellite rival to Elon Musk’s Starlink, is gearing up for its next launches.

It has a new 100,000 square foot payload processing facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida that is capable of preparing satellites for three near-simultaneous launch campaigns.

The facility, when fully operational, will turn out 100 satellites per month. Amazon says it is already building a secondary support site that will improve that output. Phase 1 of the build was opened in April.

Amazon says it has secured more than 80 launches to deploy its initial satellite constellation, using a combination of rockets from Arianespace, Blue Origin, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance (ULA). Most of those missions will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and now having its own dedicated payload processing facility nearby means Amazon can streamline satellite processing, integration, and encapsulation work, and move more quickly from the factory to the launch pad.

Project Kuiper opened a satellite production factory in Kirkland, Washington State, in 2024, that gives it the capacity to build up to five satellites per day at peak. Once satellites are built, tested, and cleared for launch, they are safely transported across the country to its new payload processing facility at Kennedy Space Center.

There are no precise dates for the next Kuiper launches other than a ULA (KV-01) launch on a Vulcan VC6L in Q3, and at least three on ULA Atlas rockets (KA-06, KA-07, KA-08) as well as three other Atlas launches without—as yet—fixed dates.

We’ve completed three missions in less than three months, and we’re continuing to pick up the pace as we prepare to begin delivering service to customers. Our facilities and team in Florida play a critical role in that process,” said Steve Metayer, VP/production operations at Project Kuiper. “At full capacity, this building will house three dispenser systems stacked full of Kuiper satellites, and a combination of fairings from rockets like Atlas V, Vulcan, New Glenn, and Falcon 9. There’s nothing else like it on the Space Coast.”

Sidus Space, Inc. (Nasdaq: SIDU) closed its previously announced best-efforts public offering of 7,143,000 shares of its Class A common stock.

Each share of Class A common stock was sold at a public offering price of $1.05 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $7.5 million, before deducting the placement agent’s fees and offering expenses. All of the shares of common stock were offered by the Company.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for (i) sales and marketing, (ii) operational costs, (iii) product development, (iv) manufacturing expansion and (v) working capital and other general corporate purposes.

This offering, coupled with our recently announced launch of our dual-use Fortis VPX product line with integrated AI/ML processing, positions Sidus to focus on significant growth opportunities,” said Carol Craig, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.

Adarsh Parekh, Chief Financial Officer, said, “The additional capital bolsters our liquidity, allowing our team to fully focus on the execution of our strategy and high growth initiatives that we expect will drive real outcomes for our customers.”

ThinkEquity acted as sole placement agent for the offering.

The United States Space Force’s (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC) continues to transform the way satellite communications (SATCOM) capabilities are acquired. The Command has awarded a Protected Tactical Satellite Communications (SATCOM) – Global (PTS-G) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract and initial five Firm Fixed Price orders under Delivery Order 1 (DO1) totaling $37.5 million to the following companies:

• Viasat, Inc.
• Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation
• Astranis Space Technologies Corp
• Intelsat General Communications LLC
• The Boeing Company

PTS-G delivers resilience to military users worldwide with proliferated small satellites providing anti-jam capability in Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO). The DoD requires wideband global assured access for the tactical warfighter, ensuring their freedom to connect anytime, anywhere operations require. PTS-G is the cost-effective component of Space Force architecture that takes advantage of the advanced PTW waveform while maximizing use of existing user and gateway terminals.

During the first delivery order, each awardee will mature a design and provide demonstrations based upon their established commercial product lines, to meet PTS-G requirements. The results of this initial order will inform subsequent competition for follow-on production orders.

The initial PTS-G IDIQ award will be followed by an award in 2026 for the production of PTS-G Space Vehicles to meet IOC capability, with a projected launch in 2028, putting the first PTS-G satellite into orbit. A second wave of production awards for additional PTS-G satellite capability is planned for 2028, with launch planned for 2031.

Our PTS-G contract transforms how SSC acquires SATCOM capability for the warfighter,” said Cordell DeLaPena, Jr., program executive officer for SSC Military Communications and Positioning, Navigation and Timing. “The incorporation of commercial baseline designs to meet military capability significantly enhances the Space Force’s speed and efficiency to add capability to meet emerging threats.”

Erin Carper, division chief for SSC Tactical SATCOM, said, “By maximizing the use of commercially available products and awarding to a pool of offerors on this IDIQ contract, the Space Force ensures value for the DoD and taxpayer while driving competition and promoting the long-term viability of the SATCOM industrial base.”

Space Systems Command is the U.S. Space Force field command responsible for acquiring, developing, and delivering resilient capabilities to outpace emerging threats and protect our Nation’s strategic advantage in, from, and to space. SSC manages a $15.6 billion annual space acquisition budget for the Department of Defense, working with joint forces, industry partners, government agencies, academia, and allied nations.