Northrop Grumman
Every Cosmic Herald story on Northrop Grumman — missions, launches, discoveries, and the business of space, newest first.
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NASA & Agencies
NASA and Northrop Grumman Repurpose Gateway's HALO Tech for Lunar South Pole Demo Missions
Facing scrutiny over Gateway's ballooning costs, NASA and Northrop Grumman are redirecting HALO module technology into three South Pole demo missions meant to prove out Moon Base hardware years before Gateway itself flies.
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Commercial
America's First In-Orbit Mechanic Is on Its Way to GEO
A Falcon 9 launched Northrop Grumman's Mission Robotic Vehicle on 21 July 2026, carrying DARPA/NRL's RSGS robotic arms to geosynchronous orbit to inspect, repair, relocate and life-extend aging satellites.
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Commercial
America's First Robotic Satellite Mechanic Reaches the Pad
A Falcon 9 is set to launch Northrop Grumman's MRV-1 and three Mission Extension Pods on July 21, carrying DARPA's RSGS payload — the first U.S. multi-mission robot built to inspect, repair, upgrade, relocate and refuel satellites in geosynchronous orbit.
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Military Space
Pentagon's Missile-Tracking Constellation Grows by 36 as SDA Hands Out $1.75 Billion
L3Harris and Sierra Space will build 36 new missile-tracking satellites for $1.75 billion, pushing the Space Development Agency's Tranche 3 constellation to 104 spacecraft in support of the Golden Dome missile-defense architecture.
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Commercial
SpaceX Marks the 600th Flight of a Reused Falcon Booster With a Pre-Dawn Starlink Launch
A pre-dawn Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral quietly notched a milestone that says more about SpaceX's operating model than any single mission: the 600th flight of a reused booster.
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Commercial
Katalyst's LINK Spacecraft Begins Checkouts Ahead of Historic Rescue Docking With NASA's Swift Observatory
Katalyst's LINK servicer is testing its xenon thrusters in orbit ahead of an unprecedented docking attempt meant to save NASA's decaying Swift Observatory from reentry.
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Commercial
A Rocket That's Flown Since 1990 Just Launched a Rescue Mission for a Dying NASA Telescope
A commercial spacecraft launched on what may be the last-ever Pegasus rocket to grapple NASA's decaying Swift Observatory and shove it into a safer orbit — a servicing job built and flown in just 10 months.
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Commercial
NASA's $30 Million Gambit to Save the Falling Swift Observatory
A commercial spacecraft built in nine months just launched to catch a decaying NASA telescope before it burns up — the first attempt ever to dock with a government satellite never designed for servicing.
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Missions
Robotic Servicer LINK Launches to Rescue NASA's Swift Observatory From Reentry
After three days of delays, a Pegasus XL rocket dropped from a jet over the Pacific deployed Katalyst Space's LINK spacecraft on a mission to grapple and reboost NASA's decaying Swift Observatory — and to close out the Pegasus program for good.
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Missions
Weather and a Balky Pegasus Keep Katalyst's Swift Rescue Grounded
Katalyst Space's LINK servicing spacecraft, tasked with grappling and reboosting NASA's aging Swift observatory, has been scrubbed three days running — twice for weather and, per follow-up reporting, once when its Pegasus XL failed to deploy.
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Military Space
Space Force Bets on a Jam-Resistant Swarm: First Two PTS-G Satellites Ordered for $437.7M
The U.S. Space Force awarded Viasat and Intelsat General contracts totaling $437.7 million to build the first two operational PTS-G 'Swarm 1' satellites — small, maneuverable, dual-band anti-jam spacecraft meant to replace the aging AEHF fleet, with launch slated for 2028.
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Missions
Astrobotic's Griffin-1 Lunar Lander Heads to California for Environmental Testing
Astrobotic has unveiled its Griffin-1 lunar lander and shipped it to California for environmental testing, marking a critical milestone in the company's Moon delivery ambitions.
