General Atomics
Space Development Agency celebrates launch of its first satellites
The Defense Department’s space agency on June 30 hailed the deployment of its first missions which flew to orbit on a SpaceX rideshare carrying 88 small satellites.
DoD space agency to launch laser communications experiments on SpaceX rideshare
A pair of cubesats built by General Atomics for the Space Development Agency will seek to demonstrate optical communications between satellites, and from satellites to a military drone aircraft.
DARPA selects Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin to develop spacecraft for nuclear propulsion demo
DARPA selected Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin to develop competing spacecraft concepts for a demonstration of nuclear thermal propulsion.
General Atomics wins DARPA contract to develop nuclear reactor to power missions to the moon
DARPA awarded a $22 million contract to General Atomics to design a small nuclear reactor for space propulsion.
General Atomics selects Firefly to launch NASA Earth science instrument
General Atomics selected Firefly Aerospace to launch a small Earth science satellite for NASA on an Alpha rocket in 2022.
General Atomics acquires Tiger Innovations
General Atomics announced the acquisition Feb. 1 of Tiger Innovations, a Herndon, Virginia small business focused primarily on satellite systems and related hardware and software.
General Atomics acquires Guidestar Optical Systems
General Atomics announced Oct. 28 the acquisition of Guidestar Optical Systems, a space and defense company based in Longmont, Colorado, which it plans to integrate into the General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) group.
General Atomics to design Space Force weather satellite prototype
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems announced an agreement Aug. 4 to design a prototype for the U.S. Space Force Electro-Optical Infrared Weather System.
General Atomics opens satellite factory in Colorado
The new 33,514 square foot facility in Colorado triples the company’s capacity for satellite production.
General Atomics’ acquisitions of smallsat companies bearing fruit
General Atomics hopes to win military contracts for customized small satellite missions.
Draper bids on NASA commercial lunar lander competition
The organization that helped NASA’s Apollo spacecraft land on the moon a half-century ago is now working with an industry team that includes a Japanese lunar lander company to propose a commercial return to the lunar surface.
General Atomics buys Surrey’s US smallsat factory
British small satellite manufacturer Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) is selling off its U.S. factory to General Atomics, a defense contractor with a growing interest in military-optimized spacecraft.
