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Northrop Grumman unveils flying data center for military intelligence
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Tamunofiniarisa , ,
Northrop Grumman unveils flying data center for military intelligence

Top Stories Tamfitronics

Northrop Grumman’s deep sensing and targeting system, housed on a civilian aircraft (right), was showcased at Vanguard 24, aligning with the Armys Global 6500 Jet Trainer (left). Credit: Northrop Grumman

WASHINGTON Defense contractor Northrop Grumman has demonstrated new technology that turns aircraft into a flying data center, processing real-time intelligence from satellites and drones to aid military operations.

The system, called Deep Sensing and Targeting (DSAT), was showcased at a U.S. Army exercise last month, the company said Oct. 21.

Were providing intelligence collection from space-based sensors to the airborne platform and delivering it to operators in real time, said Brent Swift, director of the DSAT program at Northrop Grumman’s Colorado-based intelligence unit.

The technology could help solve a persistent military challenge: getting precise targeting data quickly enough to guide long-range missiles and artillery in fast-moving combat situations, he said.

The demonstration took place during Vanguard 24, a two-week Army exercise in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, designed to test advanced military sensors and surveillance systems.

The DSAT system showed it could process multiple types of intelligence data aboard a commercial aircraft, drawing information from both commercial and military satellites. The setup uses tactical radios to communicate with forces both within and beyond direct line of sight.

This airborne approach helps overcome limitations of traditional fixed ground stations, which can lose direct contact with satellites due to terrain or distance constraints.

The Army is already investing in ground-based intelligence systems, including the TITAN (Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node) station made by Palantir Technologies. Swift said Northrop Grumman’s airborne system builds on an earlier TITAN prototype the company developed in 2022.

This development comes as the Army modernizes its intelligence capabilities. In a separate $1 billion program, defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corp. recently won a contract to build HADES (High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System), a specialized intelligence aircraft. That award is currently being challenged by competitor L3Harris Technologies.

Sandra Erwin writes about military space programs, policy, technology and the industry that supports this sector. She has covered the military, the Pentagon, Congress and the defense industry for nearly two decades as editor of NDIAs National Defense…More by Sandra Erwin

NASA Sets Coverage for Northrop Grumman’s 21st Station Resupply Launch
Science & Technology
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NASA Sets Coverage for Northrop Grumman’s 21st Station Resupply Launch

NASA Space Technology

NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX are targeting 11:28 a.m. EDT on Saturday, Aug. 3, for the next launch to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. This launch is the 21st Northrop Grumman commercial resupply services mission to the orbital laboratory for the agency.

NASA’s live launch coverage will begin at 11:10 a.m. on NASA+NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTubeand the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms, including social media.

Filled with nearly 8,200 pounds of supplies, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft, carried on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

NASA coverage of arrival will begin at 2:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 5 on NASA+NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTubeand the agency’s website. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick will capture Cygnus using the station’s robotic arm, and NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps will act as backup to Dominick. After capture, the spacecraft will be installed on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port.

Highlights of space station research facilitated by delivery aboard this Cygnus are:

  • Test articles to evaluate liquid and gas flow through porous media found in space station life support systems.
  • A balloonpenny, and hexnut for a new STEMonstration on centripetal force.
  • Microorganisms known as Rotifers to examine the effects of spaceflight on DNA repair mechanisms.
  • A bioreactor to demonstrate the production of many high-quality blood and immune stem cells.
  • Vascularized liver tissue to analyze the development of blood vessels in engineered tissue flown to the space station.

NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative also is sending two CubeSats to deploy from the orbiting laboratory, CySat-1 from Iowa State University and DORA (Deployable Optical Receiver Aperture) from Arizona State University, making up ELaNa 52 (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites).

Media interested in speaking to a science subject matter expert, should contact Sandra Jones at [email protected].

The Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the space station until January when it will depart the orbiting laboratory at which point it will burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere. This spacecraft is named the S.S. Richard “Dick” Scobee after the former NASA astronaut.

NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):

Friday, Aug. 2

3 p.m. – Prelaunch media teleconference (no earlier than one hour after completion of the Launch Readiness Review) with the following participants:

  • Bill Spetch, operations integration manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program
  • Meghan Everett, deputy chief scientist, NASA’s International Space Station Program
  • Ryan Tintner, vice president, civil space systems, Northrop Grumman
  • Jared Metter, director, flight reliability, SpaceX
  • Melody Lovin, launch weather officer, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron

Media who wish to participate by phone must request dial-in information by 1 p.m. Aug. 2, by emailing Kennedy’s newsroom at [email protected].

Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website at:

https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

Saturday, Aug. 3:

11:10 a.m. – Launch coverage begins on NASA+NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTubeand the agency’s website.

11:28 a.m. – Launch

NASA Television launch coverage
Live coverage of the launch on NASA Television will begin at 11:10 a.m., Aug. 3. For downlink information, schedules, and links to streaming video, visit: https://nasa.gov/nasatv.

Audio of the news teleconference and launch coverage will not be carried on the NASA “V” circuits. Launch coverage without NASA TV commentary via a tech feed will not be available for this launch.

NASA website launch coverage
Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 11:10 a.m., Aug. 3, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video on NASA+ and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468. Follow countdown coverage on our International Space Station blog for updates.

Attend Launch Virtually

Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following launch.

Engage on Social Media

Let people know you’re watching the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by following and tagging these accounts:

X: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASASocial, @Space_Station, @ISS_Research, @ISS_CASIS

Facebook: NASA, NASAKennedy, ISS, ISS National Lab

Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @ISS, @ISSNationalLab

Coverage in Spanish

Did you know NASA has a Spanish section called NASA en Espanol? Check out NASA en Espanol on X, Instagram, Facebookand YouTube for additional mission coverage.

For information on Spanish-language coverage at Kennedy Space Center or to request Spanish-language interviews, please contact Antonia Jaramillo or Messod Bendayan at: [email protected] o [email protected].

Learn more about the commercial resupply mission at:

https://www.nasa.gov

-end-

Claire O’Shea / Josh Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
claire.a.o’[email protected] / [email protected]

Stephanie Plucinsky / Steven Siceloff
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-876-2468
[email protected] / [email protected]

Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
[email protected]

Laura Keefe
Northrop Grumman, Cygnus
571-205-0258
[email protected]

NASA’s 21st Northrop Grumman Mission Launches Scientific Studies to Station
Science & Technology
Tamunofiniarisa , , , , ,
NASA’s 21st Northrop Grumman Mission Launches Scientific Studies to Station

NASA Space Technology

NASA and its international partners are sending scientific investigations to the International Space Station on Northrop Grumman’s 21st commercial resupply services mission. Flying aboard the company’s Cygnus spacecraft are tests of water recovery technology and a process to produce stem cells in microgravity, studies of the effects of spaceflight on microorganism DNA and liver tissue growth, and live science demonstrations for students. The mission is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida by early August.

Read more about some of the research making the journey to the orbiting laboratory:

Packed bed reactors are systems that use materials such as pellets or beads “packed” inside a structure to increase contact between different phases of fluids, such as liquid and gas. These reactors are used for various applications including water recovery, thermal management, and fuel cells. Scientists previously tested the performance in space of glass beads, Teflon beads, a platinum catalyst, and other packing materials. Packed Bed Reactor Experiment: Water Recovery Series evaluates gravity’s effects on eight additional test articles.

Results could help optimize the design and operation of packed bed reactors for water filtration and other systems in microgravity and on the Moon and Mars. Insights from the investigation also could lead to improvements in this technology for applications on Earth such as water purification and heating and cooling systems.

STEMonstrations Screaming Balloon uses a balloon, a penny, and a hexagonal nut (the kind used to secure a bolt) for a NASA STEMonstration performed and recorded by astronauts on the space station. The penny and the nut are whirled separately inside an inflated balloon to compare the sounds they make. Each STEMonstration illustrates a different scientific concept, such as centripetal force, and includes resources to help teachers further explore the topics with their students.

In-Space Expansion of Hematopoietic Stem Cells for Clinical Application (InSPA-StemCellEX-H1) continues testing a technology to produce human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in space. HSCs give rise to blood and immune cells and are used in therapies for patients with certain blood diseases, autoimmune disorders, and cancers.

The investigation uses a system called BioServe In-space Cell Expansion Platform, or BICEP, which is designed to expand HSCs three hundredfold without the need to change or add new growth media, according to Louis Stodieck, principal investigator at the University of Colorado Boulder. “BICEP affords a streamlined operation to harvest and cryopreserve cells for return to Earth and delivery to a designated medical provider and patient,” said Stodieck.

Someone in the United States is diagnosed with a blood cancer such as leukemia about every three minutes. Treating these patients with transplanted stem cells requires a donor-recipient match and long-term repopulation of transplanted stem cells. This investigation demonstrates whether expanding stem cells in microgravity could generate far more continuously renewing stem cells.

“Our work eventually could lead to large-scale production facilities, with donor cells launched into orbit and cellular therapies returned to Earth,” said Stodieck.

Rotifer-B2an ESA (European Space Agency) investigation, explores how spaceflight affects DNA repair mechanisms in a microscopic bdelloid rotifer,Vague age. These tiny but complex organisms are known for their ability to withstand harsh conditions, including radiation doses 100 times higher than human cells can survive. The organisms are dried, exposed to high radiation levels on Earth, and rehydrated and cultured in an incubator on the station.

“Previous research indicates that rotifers repair their DNA in space with the same efficiency as on Earth, but that research provided only genetic data,” said Boris Hespeels, co-investigator, of Belgium’s Laboratory of Evolutionary Genetics and Ecology. “This experiment will provide the first visual proof of survival and reproduction during spaceflight,” said Hespeels

Results could provide insights into how spaceflight affects the rotifer’s ability to repair sections of damaged DNA in a microgravity environment, and could improve the general understanding of DNA damage and repair mechanisms for applications on Earth.

Maturation of Vascularized Liver Tissue Construct studies the development in space of bioprinted liver tissue constructs that contain blood vessels. Constructs are tissue samples grown outside the body using bioengineering techniques. Scientists expect the microgravity environment to allow improved cellular distribution throughout tissue constructs.

“We are especially keen on accelerating the development of vascular networks,” said James Yoo, principal investigator, at the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine. “The experimental data from microgravity will provide valuable insights that could enhance the biomanufacturing of vascularized tissues to serve as building blocks to engineer functional organs for transplantation.”

This mission also delivers plants for the APEX-09 investigation, which examines plant responses to stressful environments and could inform the design of bio-regenerative support systems on future space missions.

Melissa Gaskill
International Space Station Research Communications Team
NASA’s Johnson Space Center

Download high-resolution photos and videos of the research mentioned in this article.

Search this database of scientific experiments to learn more about those mentioned in this article.