2+ mon, 1+ week ago   (265+ words) Astrobotic is awarded $297.9 million total for two deliveries, as well as Firefly Aerospace $144.2 million and Intuitive Machines $148.3 million for one delivery each as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, a backbone of the Moon Base. Each…...

2+ mon, 2+ week ago   (105+ words) The accelerator targets five specific gaps in the agency’s current technology roadmap. Instead of funding studies, NASA requires awardees to deliver functional prototype systems and hard performance data within these focus areas: This approach allocates technical risk toward the contractors....

2+ mon, 3+ week ago   (165+ words) NASA Watch NAS Review Of NASA SBIR and STTR Programs Keith’s note: The National Academies has issued “Review of the SBIR and STTR Programs at NASA“. In a nutshell the NAS likes NASA’s SBIR and STTR Programs; feels that they…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago   (131+ words) NASA Watch Updated Protocols For The Detection of Extraterrestrial Intelligence Keith’s note: According to this SETI Institute discussion of the Updated Rules for Evaluating and Revealing the Detection of Extraterrestrial Intelligence “The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) has ratified updated…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago   (97+ words) NASA Watch Second Insourcing Wave Starts At JSC Keith’s note: the second contractor insourcing wave at NASA has started at JSC. MCC staff contractors were recently insourced. Now many more JSC contractors are going to be converted in flight ops,…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago   (220+ words) NASA Watch NASA Rethinks Commercial LEO Plans Keith’s note: During the “Ignition“ event in March NASA said it would launch a new government-owned anchor or core module to the ISS and then have it remain as the nucleus of any…...

3+ mon, 2+ week ago   (130+ words) NASA Watch Blue Origin Pad Explosion Update Keith’s note: I was just on CNN [Audio] talking about the New Glenn explosion last night – based mostly on video and initial reports of damage. The technical aspects, root cause etc. will take…...

3+ mon, 3+ week ago   (164+ words) NASA Watch NASA Clamp Down On China Co-Authorship? Keith’s note: according to U.S. researchers face new restrictions on publishing with foreign collaborators from Science Magazine: “Grants managers at two of the U.S. government’s largest funders of scientific research have…...

3+ mon, 3+ week ago   (186+ words) Biologist, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Biologist and Payload integrator, Editor of NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com, Lapsed climber, Explorer, Synaesthete, Former Challenger Center board member 🖖🏻 House Committee Claims Possible NASA/China Interactions Keith’s note: according to a press release…...

4+ mon, 14+ hour ago   (12+ words) the following email was sent by NASA Goddard Center director regarding insourcing...